Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr (2nd L) speaks during the "CEOs Thoughts Conference 2019" in Cairo, Egypt on Dec. 8, 2019. The sixth "CEOs Thoughts Conference 2019," which brings together leaders of large Egyptian corporations operating in six major sectors, kicked off on Sunday in the capital Cairo. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The sixth "CEOs Thoughts Conference 2019," which brings together leaders of large Egyptian corporations operating in six major sectors, kicked off on Sunday in the capital Cairo.
The two-day conference, which is organized by AL MAL Newspaper, one of Egypt's leading daily business newspapers, was inaugurated by Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and Minister of Public Business Sector Hesham Tawfik.
During the conference, business leaders in financial market, banking, insurance, manufacturing, construction and e-payment will examine opportunities and challenges of 2020 as the government has put in place economic reforms, and the central bank has been reducing the interest rate.
With the participation of 300 firms operating in 10 key sectors, the conference will also reveal the sixth annual report of confidence index of CEOs in the Egyptian economy.
The indicators of the private sector's investment and their implications on the economy in terms of inflation, exchange rate, sales and costs as well as target growth projections of these businesses in 2020 will also be revealed.
"During the conference, I talked about many elements that could contribute to improving the business environment in Egypt," Tawfik told Xinhua.
The minister added that the conference focuses on the role of the Egyptian private sector and possible ways to revive it to lead the economy of Egypt.
Supported by a 12-billion-U.S. dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund, Egypt started a three-year austerity-based economic reform program in November 2016, including local currency devaluation, fuel and energy subsidy cuts and introduction of value-added tax.
Despite consequent price hikes, the reform program achieved positive results that reflected on the country's growth rate, which hit 5.6 percent during the 2018-19 fiscal year that ended in late June.
