SCZONE, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank explore investment, financing partnership

Moustafa Shaikhon, Chairperson of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE), met on Tuesday with a delegation from Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) to discuss joint investment opportunities, project financing mechanisms, and infrastructure development across the economic zone.

The meeting, held at SCZONE headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, was led by SPDB Vice President Cui Bingwen and attended by Ahmed Gamal, Vice Chairperson of SCZONE for the Southern Zone, alongside senior executives from both organisations.

During the meeting, Shaikhon said SCZONE has emerged as a major destination for international investment, citing steady growth in capital inflows in recent years.

He noted that the authority has updated its development strategy to focus on attracting targeted, high-value investments in strategic industrial sectors aligned with Egypt’s national development priorities.

Shaikhon outlined two main areas for potential cooperation with SPDB, particularly as Egypt continues to strengthen its financial and business ties with fellow BRICS members.

The first focuses on attracting investment in priority manufacturing industries, including wind energy equipment, such as turbine blades, rotors, transformers, and power generation systems, as well as advanced electronic components serving key manufacturing supply chains.

The second involves financing and upgrading core infrastructure, utility networks, and essential services across the zone to accommodate expanding industrial activity.

For his part, Cui Bingwen highlighted SPDB’s position as one of Shanghai’s largest financial institutions, with total assets exceeding RMB 10trn ($1.38trn), annual profits of more than RMB 50bn, and a global ranking of 18th, according to The Banker.

Cui said the bank, which currently operates overseas branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, and London, is actively exploring expansion into Egypt, the Middle East, and Africa to capitalise on the region’s strategic location.

He also praised the success of the Egypt-China TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, which hosts more than 200 companies, and reaffirmed SPDB’s commitment to exploring financing options and credit facilities for Chinese enterprises seeking to enter the Egyptian market.