Actis signs an MOU with The Sovereign Fund of Egypt for strategic cooperation on future investment opportunities in Egypt
The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and Actis, a UK based leading emerging markets investor, have signed an MOU relating to strategic cooperation across multiple sectors in Egypt. The signing took place during the UK-Africa Investment Summit witnessed by Dr Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of the Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities, from the UK Government.
The MOU establishes a cooperation protocol for the two leading financial institutions to partner in a number of high profile areas, in particular energy and infrastructure, and directly supports the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s objective to attract and steer private investment toward critical sectors for Egypt’s economy, through co-investment with foreign investors in value accretive opportunities serving to unlock the potential of Egypt’s assets and resources.
The UK-Africa Investment Summit, taking place in London this week, underscores the importance of future investment in Africa for the UK and Actis, which is uniquely positioned for a partnership with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. The firm has a very strong track record of investment in Egypt and is a leading international energy and infrastructure investor having invested in, built, owned and operated 116 power projects across Africa, Latin America and Asia.
Dr Hala El-Said the Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and the Chairperson of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt stated that this agreement emphasizes the Fund’s attractiveness as an investment partner in Egypt due to its flexible investment model and its ability to engage government stakeholders to increase the value added of Egypt’s assets and resources and contribute to strategic sectors’ growth, supporting the implementation of the Egypt 2030 vision for sustainable development, which is overseen by the Ministry of Planning.
Secretary of State for International Trade, Elizabeth Truss commented: “I am delighted at today’s agreement between Actis and The Sovereign Fund of Egypt. This important cooperation agreement will support energy transition and underscores a new chapter for sustainable, high-quality UK investment in key markets such as Egypt. Trade with countries across Africa has never been more exciting. As opportunities there grow, it’s great to see so many British firms paving the way in trading and investing in the region to drive growth, create jobs and boost vital infrastructure.”
Commenting on the MOU, Mr Ayman Soliman, Chief Executive Officer of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt said: “We are pleased to have entered into this cooperation protocol with Actis. This agreement reflects the mandate of the Fund to unlock and promote partnerships with investors in high priority sectors in Egypt, by forging partnerships with credible investors with long term experience, directing both know-how and investments to such sectors. We look forward to capitalising on this MOU and quickly progressing our cooperation with Actis. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt had received a strong proposal from Actis, that manifested the growing appetite of leading global financing institutions to support investments into Egypt, endorsing Actis’ proposal to participate in the announced monetisation process of one of the three Siemens-built 4.8GW gas power plants. We consider Actis’ proposal to be a strong sign reflecting its underlying interest in expanding its investments in Egypt and we look forward to unlocking further appetite and value through such partnerships.”
Actis Partner and Head of the Middle East & North Africa Dr. Sherif Elkholy added: “Actis has a long history of investing across Africa in multiple sectors including energy, education, consumer, financial services and healthcare. Our Energy business has completed 23 projects in Africa to date, delivering some 4GW of capacity and today has over US$1billion committed to the continent.
Egypt has been one of Actis’ largest and most important markets, this MOU has only been possible because of our unique capabilities in the global power sector and deep experience in the country. We look forward to building on this momentum and cooperating with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt in securing mutually beneficial outcomes.”
Actis’ energy portfolio in Africa currently includes Lekela, 1GW of wind across Egypt, Senegal, SA; Azura a world class IPP focused on baseload generation across Nigeria, Senegal and Mozambique; Biotherm, a pan-African wind and solar platform which includes Kenya’s largest wind farm and Eneo, the utility of Cameroon.