Egypt

In Partnership With

Strategically positioned between the Middle East, Africa and Europe, Egypt is actively working to become a key international trade and investment hub. While its economy remains largely based on the export of oil and mineral products, in recent years this country of over 100 million has actively pursued investment for mega projects, including the expansion of the Suez Canal, the establishment of new smart cities and the construction of new roads and transport infrastructure—all of which are expected to boost Egypt’s GDP.

Stimulating growth remains a priority, and the country counts more than 100 bilateral investment treaties and grants foreign investors equal rights in many sectors. Among the challenges that remain for foreign and domestic businesses are a cumbersome bureaucracy, lack of transparency, and a shortage of skills in some key sectors.

Hassan Abdalla has led Egypt’s central bank since August 2022.

Source: World Integrated Trade Solution

Source: World Integrated Trade Solution

Source: World Integrated Trade Solution

Source: World Integrated Trade Solution

CIB is the leading private-sector bank in Egypt, offering a broad range of financial products and services to its customers, which include more than 500 of Egypt’s largest corporations, enterprises of all sizes, institutions, and households. CIB’s strong brand and growth in retail and SME banking segments continues to introduce new customers to the bank. As a result, CIB has succeeded in becoming the most profitable commercial bank operating in Egypt for more than 40 years.

The Bank was founded in 1975 as Chase National Bank, a joint venture between Chase Manhattan Bank and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE). In 1987, Chase divested its stake to NBE, who renamed the former joint venture Commercial International Bank.

Over time, NBE’s ownership in CIB declined, and in 2006 a consortium led by Ripplewood Holdings acquired NBE’s remaining 19%. In 2009, Actis, a Pan-African private equity firm specializing in emerging markets, acquired 50% of Ripplewood Consortium’s stake and became CIB’s single largest shareholder, with a 9.06% stake.

The emergence of Actis as CIB’s predominant shareholder marked a key transition in the bank’s strategic relationships. In March 2014, Actis divested 2.6% of its stake in CIB on the open market, maintaining its seat on the board, and in May of that year, sold its remaining stake to several wholly-owned subsidiaries of Fairfax Financial Holdings. Fairfax Financial Holdings owns through its wholly-owned subsidiaries a total of 6.55% of CIB’s shares. In April 2022, Alpha Oryx Ltd (a subsidiary of ADQ) acquired 18.595% of CIB.