Kamel, who is also chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said details about the bank would be announced within two months, adding that it would make long-term investments in Egypt creating new job opportunities for Egyptians.
Kamel made the important announcement during a meeting of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council in Jeddah, which was attended by Saeed Al-Anani, a senior official at the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah in charge of trade. He reiterated the desire of Saudi businessmen to expand their investments in Egypt.
Kamel said the losses suffered by Saudi investors following recent political events in the Arab country were operational losses, adding that their assets were unaffected. Saudi investments in Egypt are estimated at more than 30 billion Egyptian pounds with 70 percent funds in real estate and tourism projects, 20 percent in industries and 10 percent in other business sectors.
Abdullah Dahlan, president of the business council, said the meeting would review the damage caused by anti-government protests in Egypt to Saudi investments. Many businesses, homes and public buildings have been looted and vandalized because of an absence of police in the streets of Cairo and other major Egyptian cities.
In a previous statement, Al-Anani reassured Saudi investors that he would hold meetings with the Egyptian authorities immediately after the formation of a new government to ensure the safety of Saudi investments. “At present, the picture is not clear with regards to the fate of Saudi investments,” he said. Trade exchange between the two countries amounted to $2.5 billion last year.
Kamel also announced on Wednesday that a long-touted Islamic megabank has received approval from Bahrain and a preliminary green light from Malaysia to begin operations.
Kamel, who is founder and chairman of Bahrain-based Al-Baraka Bank and spearheaded the megabank initiative, said the venture was still in talks with Qatar to obtain a license. The new bank will have an authorized capital of $3 billion, a third of which will be raised in a private placement.
The fragmented Islamic finance industry lacks sufficient capital to compete with the Islamic units of Western banks on mandates to syndicate loans, arrange Islamic bonds and supply project finance in the region.
The lack of a lender of last resort is seen as one of the nearly $1 trillion industry’s greatest weaknesses, as few central banks issue liquidity instruments compliant with Islamic law, forcing Islamic banks to place their liquidity with large conventional banks. In November, Kamel said he expected the megabank to launch in 2011.
