Majid Al Futtaim, a leading retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), has been named as a ‘platinum sponsor’ for a investment conference to take place in Egypt next week.

The inaugural Egypt Economic Development Conference, titled ‘Egypt the Future’ will run from March 13 to 15 at Sharm El-Sheikh.

The conference, which will be hosted by the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, has been organised to showcase the development and stabilising of Egypt’s economy and encourage international investment.

Majid Al Futtaim’s sponsorship is a sign of its continued confidence in Egypt and support of its ambitious economic development plans, said a statement.

Alain Bejjani, chief executive officer of MAF Holding, said: “It is an honour to showcase our continuous commitment to Egypt through sponsoring Egypt Economic Development Conference. The current Egyptian government is taking solid steps towards full economic recovery.

“As such, I believe that now is the time for all stakeholders of the Egyptian economy to stand together and send across a strong message confirming that Egypt is on the right track. We’ve been successfully operating in Egypt for over 15 years, and are looking forward to further achievements and expansions locally.”
 
The sponsorship comes on the back of MAF’s recently announced EGP18 billion ($2.3 billion) multi-year investment plans in Egypt, which is in its early stages of execution. 

It includes development of three new shopping malls, including Mall of Egypt with 420 stores and Africa's first indoor ski slope, the redevelopment of its existing City Centre Alexandria and City Centre Maadi malls, and expanding the network of Carrefour hypermarkets and supermarkets to 55 by the end of 2019.
 
Upon completion, this investment plan will have created a sizeable 144,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2018, providing significant employment opportunities for Egyptians.

The Egyptian Government has endorsed Majid Al Futtaim’s current investment plan, signalling the successful, historic relations that exist between both parties.

Furthermore, Majid Al Futtaim is in the process of finalising other investment opportunities beyond this plan and is in talks with key Egyptian stakeholders and officials to realise its participation in Egypt’s socio-economic development. - TradeArabia News Service