How Egypt is drawing Chinese investors with the Suez Canal shortcut to Europe – and other lures
- Egypt has secured investment deals with Chinese companies worth more than US$8 billion for its Suez Canal Economic Zone in recent months
- Japanese, Indian and Middle Eastern companies have also been eyeing opportunities near the Suez Canal
The zone, covering more than 455 sq km (176 square miles), was built by the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (Teda) and has since attracted hundreds of companies, most of them Chinese.
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Why is Egypt’s Suez Canal so important?
Within the zone, China has built a 7.34 sq km industrial estate known as Teda City, a joint venture funded by Tianjin Teda Investment Holding Co Ltd and the China-Africa Development Fund.
Egypt is providing more tax and investment incentives to attract investors, especially in the automotive industry, green hydrogen fuel projects and complementary industries.
It wants to position its Suez Canal Economic Zone – a massive industrial and logistics area being developed along the canal consisting of six major ports and four industrial zones – as a regional hub for green fuel trading. It is relying on Chinese companies to fulfil that ambition.
For instance, Chinese state-owned energy conglomerate China Energy Engineering Corporation, also known as Energy China, plans to build a US$5.1 billion green hydrogen plant that will export ammonia to European markets.
