confirmed Naguib Sawiris, President of Orascom Investment Holding Companythat the company does not have any investments in Ukraine currently, but he indicated that it had a desire to invest in Ukraine, especially in the field of mining and mining, noting that he met with the Ukrainian president regarding a year ago regarding this issue, but the issue was postponed following the outbreak of the Russian war Ukrainian.
Sawiris added in an interview with “Al Arabiya” over the phone, that the company’s business in Europe was affected only by the tourism field, in light of people’s concern regarding travel during wars, pointing out that Russian and Ukrainian tourists were a large part of incoming tourism to Egypt, and therefore this will negatively affect .
He pointed out that the agreement on the sale of “Euro News” was completed, but the approval of the French government and the rest of the shareholders remained, explaining that the buyer is a Portuguese fund specializing in the field of media, and he expected the deal to be completed at the end of March.
Sawiris stated that the situation before the Russian invasion of Ukraine is not the same as following it, as it will cause a global rift, considering that the whole world will change.
He explained that the mining sectors and those working in battery-producing materials will be among the main beneficiaries of the war, in addition to gold, whose prices he expected to continue to rise, pointing out that for the tourism sector, it is accustomed to crises.
Sawiris said that the war would put pressure on Egypt in terms of wheat and oil, but stressed that it would overcome the crisis.
He called on the Egyptian government to maximize the use of solar energy and increase the construction of alternative energy stations, as well as reducing the use of gas to increase exports.
He also called for an increase in wheat cultivation to reduce imports and the search for alternative tourist markets.
Sawiris stressed that the demand for the real estate sector in Egypt is great, and that the company will increase its investments in the mining field.
