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Egypt’s New Peace Attracts Pepsi and Coca Cola Investments

Egypt’s New Peace Attracts Pepsi and Coca Cola Investments

US soft drinks giants Pepsi and Coca cola, through their Saudi Arabian partners, plan to invest nearly a billion dollars in Egypt as the north African country, which was hit hard by a series of political and economic setbacks during the Arab Spring, enters a peaceful transition after former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was elected as president.

A Reuters report quoted Saudi Arabia’s Almarai, the Gulfs biggest diary company,  saying that together with Pepsi, they plan to invest at least $345 million, with hopes of reaching $560 million, in Egypt over the next five years. The investment it said will be through Egyptian dairy and juice products firm International Company for Agro-Industrial Projects (Beyti), a subsidiary of International Dairy & Juice Ltd, which is owned 52 percent by Almarai and the remainder by Pepsi.

The $345 million investment plan, approved by Almarai’s board, includes setting up a new juice factory, expanding existing facilities, increasing Beyti’s fleet of vehicles and sales network, and creating a new dairy farm for 5,000 cows, Beyti’s chief executive Mohamed Badran told Reuters.

In a similar investment Coca cola announced in March it plans to invest $500 million in the country with $100 million of the money going into building a new Juice plant near Cairo in a joint project with Saudi Arabia’s Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Co.

Reuters said the announcement was a fresh sign that after three years of stagnation because of political and economic turmoil following Egypt’s 2011 revolution, foreign investment in the country may revive as a measure of stability returns.

This year’s election of former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as president has raised hopes for greater political stability and better economic management of the country and foreign companies see Egypt as a potential export base for markets in Africa and Middle East due to its strategic location.