CFLD Secures First Project in Africa

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CFLD Secures First Project in Africa

CFLD has been awarded the contract to build a new industrial city in Egypt’s new administrative capital. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between the President of CFLD International Zhao Hongjing, Mostafa Madbouly, Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development and Dalia Khorshid, Minister of Investment in Cairo, was witnessed by the Egypt’s Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the Minister of Trade and Industry and other officials, announcing that CFLD will build a new industrial city in Egypt’s new administrative capital.

Prior to this, Egyptian President, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi welcomed CFLD’s plans to develop and construct Egypt’s new administrative capital, expecting CFLD to play an instrumental role in the development of Egypt’s infrastructure and urban development plans. This signals a breakthrough for CFLD in the African market, as this marks a positive move forward in its global plans.

Egypt’s new industrial city to have strategic importance
Facing Europe in the north and Asia in the east and adjoining Africa in the south, Egypt is the place where the League of Arab States is headquartered. This strategic position makes Egypt a key node under “the Belt and Road” strategy and a bridgehead via which Chinese enterprises go out for trans-continental development.

Egypt is an important gateway for African and Middle-East countries. China has become Egypt’s largest trade partner, with a trade volume amounting to USD12.9 billion dollars in 2015 alone.
In September 2015, China and Egypt signed the China-Egypt Industrial Capacity Cooperation Framework Agreement. On January 21, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with President al-Sisi, with both sides signing bilateral cooperation agreements in areas such as energy, infrastructural construction, economic trade, energy, finance and aerospace. A series of major national strategic projects mirroring China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative was also launched in Egypt, attracting a growing number of Chinese enterprises to be part of Egypt’s national major projects.

According to the terms of the MOU, the phase 2 of Egypt’s national strategic project-new administrative capital initiative will see CFLD integrate the urban planning, construction and the operation to build this city with a high degree of industrial agglomeration, urban functionality, all within a sustainable ecological environment.

Egypt’s new administrative capital will be located between Cairo and Suez, a city along the Suez Canal. Once completed, the new administrative capital, which will serve as Egypt’s new political and financial center will effectively drive the development of the Suez Canal Economic Belt and the Red Sea Economic Belt. With this, Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP), urbanization rate and foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflow is expected to grow by 2 percent, 10 percent and over 15 percent respectively.

According to President al-Sisi, it’s all about cooperation between Egypt and CFLD. “CFLD is superior in industrial planning, industrial investment promotion, and urban development, construction and operation and in the future, the two sides can deepen cooperation by complementing each other’s superior resources.”

“This is a good development opportunity for Egypt,” said Zhao as CFLD is ramping up its efforts to get involved into the industrial and financial planning of the new administrative capital, support the economic development of Egypt, and build a one-stop service platform for global investment in Egypt.
CFLD extends its global footprint
“The establishment of this new industrial city in Egypt is undoubtedly an important step in the global deployment of CFLD’s new industrial cities. The signing of this MOU is another positive result of “the One Belt and One Road” strategy. It is of great significance to deepening China-Egypt industrial capacity cooperation and promoting regional economic development,” Zhao added.

To put it in perspective, from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and the Yangtze Economic Belt to the Pearl River Delta, from Indonesia and Vietnam in Southeast Asia to India in South Asia and to Egypt in North Africa, CFLD is ramping up its development of new industrial cities worldwide.
“Egypt will be a new starting point for CFLD’s new industrial cities,” exclaimed Zhao, adding that CFLD attaches great importance to the Egyptian project, will dispatch global resources, provide more support for China-Egypt cooperation in fields such as urban infrastructure construction, and deepen and extend China-Egypt industrial capacity cooperation.

Source: en.cfldcn.com

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.