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Banking and business opportunities in Egypt – an underrated, non-crs country.

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Banking and business opportunities in Egypt – an underrated, non-crs country.

I decided to publish this thread based on @Martin Everson suggestion. also I would like to invite him here to share his experience in Egypt with all of us, so we could learn Something from him.​

Now, Back to the main topic. I learnt about Egypt from one of my Egyptian friends who I worked with in Dubai. For him it was his secret formula to a great business and banking opportunities not only for Egyptians but for foreigners no matter their nationalities.

And he told me about this amazing country that withstood the test of time. And he shared with me his knowledge and what his country has to offer.

I started this thread as I would like to share my knowledge about investment/banking in Egypt. I wouldn’t share most of what I know, as this would take ages, but I would share enough so that you have a head start in terms of banking and investing in Egypt. Also, this will be a long a*s thread so please bear with me, I’m not saying that Egypt is the Solution to all problems, but I promise you that by the end of this thread you will find lots of opportunities that you might not know before or even heard of. So, let’s begin, shall we?

Banking in egypt
Opening a bank account in Egypt is easy for both personal and corporate accounts but most banks will require resident permits like in Singapore but the difference is that laws in Egypt are more lenient.

For example there are lots of ways to overcome the residency problem, like:
  • The most obvious one is getting the resident permit and once you get it you don’t have to live in Egypt to keep it, you just have to visit the country once a year to maintain it. For the type of residence permit you should get…The cheapest, fastest and most straight forward residence permit is the one you get through investing or creating a LLC company. You have to deposit a 500,000 EGP (about 32,000 USD), and you get the residency for one year and you can renew it as much as you like without any problem as long as the company’s capital remain higher than 4000 USD.
  • You can ignore all of the above and open a bank account through POA (power of attorney) or a local nominee director.
  • Introducers who knows the banks’ managers and will help you get it done under a week or so.

My experience: I’ve done it through the introducer route. The banks that I ended up with are HSBC, CIB, alex bank and NBE.
The required documents for personal accounts for me were:
  • my passport and 4 photos of me, utility bill and source of funds.

The required documents for corporate accounts for me were:
Commercial register, certificate of incorporation, business address, type of business activity and IDs of the company director and shareholders (if they exist). Additional documents may be required but this depends on the type of business. Don’t worry though, most of the time your corporate bank account will be opened within 7 days.

NOTE: Egypt is a cash based society and has a big unregulated free-ish market!!. Let your imagination run wild.
Also, nobody asks for source of funds in Egypt besides banks. You can buy as much gold/cars/luxury assets/property as you like (although as a foreigner you’re limited to the amount of property you can buy but you could overcome this by buying properties through companies). And when it comes to banks the source of funds requirement is extremely lax. For example: you can buy any asset in Egypt with cash or whatever and then sell it and deposit the money into the bank. When the bank ask about the source of funds (they don’t ask often) you could show them the receipts or the contract of the asset you sold and that’s it, no more questions asked! Don’t stress it though as most of the time, things run very smoothly.


The best banks in Egypt in no particular order are:
1- NBE (national bank of egypt)
2- Emirates NBD
3- CIB
4- Abu Dhabi Islamic bank
5- Arab African international bank
6- HSBC
7- Arab bank
8- Citi bank (more of a wealth management subsidiary)
9- Alex bank
10- QNB

Payment processors also exist in Egypt. I didn’t need one personally but some of my friends who have Egyptian companies use them and cannot be more satisfied. Here are some of them who work with Egyptian companies:
So, in conclusion. Egypt provides one of the best banking options in Africa and middle east. And has lots of reputable and international banks, you may think it sounds complicated but nothing could be further from the truth.

Investing and company formations in Egypt:
Now this where the fun really begins.

Did you know that you could have a tax free company registered in Egypt with no import/export tariffs!

This is done by creating a free zone company in Egypt, but it’s better than the free zone ones that exist in the UAE, as most banks will work with Egyptian free zone companies unlike their UAE counterparts.

Free zones in Egypt are considered a special investment system governed by the provisions of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 and its Executive Regulations, which enforcement is overseen by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI)

So, What is a Free Zone?
A free zone is part of the State's territory, located within its borders, which falls under the rule of the state administration. Free zones are governed by special provisions on taxation, customs and finance.

Authorized Activities in Free Zones All types of investment activities are allowed to be exercised inside free zones in accordance with the policy set by GAFI, mainly export-oriented industries, with the exception of the following:

  • Weapons, ammunition, explosives and any industry relating to national security.
  • Wine and alcoholic beverages.
  • Fertilizers.
  • Manufacturing of iron and steel.
  • Petroleum refining.
  • Liquefaction, manufacture and transport of natural gas
  • Energy-intensive industries.

Advantages, Guarantees, and Exemptions Granted to Projects
  • Free transfer of invested capital and profits abroad.
  • Freedom to select the field of investment and the legal form of projects.
  • ֺFree pricing of products and profit margin.
  • There are no minimum or maximum limits for invested capital (for public free zone projects only).
  • No restrictions with regards to the nationality of the capital's owner, where a foreign investor can be the sole owner of the capital or can have any share in the investment (excluding projects set up in Sinai).
  • The ability to operate for others in order to maximize exploitation of the project's potential (in accordance with the rules adopted by GAFI in this regard)
  • Providing foreign investors with residency facilities.
  • Granting foreign workers residence permits as requested by the project.
  • Legal action may not be initiated against projects operating in free zones until GAFI is first consulted. ֺ
  • Projects and establishments may not be nationalized or confiscated. ֺ
  • No sequestration may take place over projects according to administrative decisions, nor may their funds be seized, frozen or confiscated by any other means except through judicial proceedings.
  • Exemptions ֺ
  • All capital assets and production requirements for carrying out the project activities (excluding passenger cars) are exempt from custom duties, sales taxes and any other taxes throughout the project period, even if the nature of the activity necessitates its temporary presence outside the free zone.
  • The project's exports and imports are exempt from custom duties and taxes, whether sales taxes or other taxes or fees applicable within the country.
  • The project and its profits are not subject to any taxation or customs laws or legislations applicable in the country throughout the project period. ֺ
  • Project imports and exports are not be subject to customs procedures or regular importation rules applicable in the country. ֺ
  • Project supplies from the local market are exempt from VAT. ֺ
  • Goods in transit, with a fixed destination, are exempt from the payment of any fees imposed on goods in transit according to the following conditions: A- The project falls under the custom office's jurisdiction. B- The final destination of the goods is determined in the bill of lading and the invoice.
  • Local components of goods produced by free zone projects are exempt from custom duties in case of sale in the local market (inside the country).

Private Free Zones
A unique establishment/system that represents only one independent project or more than one project exercising similar activities, as required (based on nature of the activities). It is imperative to be located outside the public free zone vicinity, due to the economics of the project, and the nature of its activities, which renders it essential to be located in specific places to benefit from the advantages offered by this site, in terms of proximity to raw material sources, production requirements, export markets or required labor, for integration with nearby projects, or due to proximity to a particular port or road.

The private free zone site may be owned or rented by the investor.

For more Information Press here or here

Public Free Zones
There are currently 9 public free zones across Egypt, well equipped with the necessary facilities and infrastructure for the operation and execution of projects (roads - electricity - sewerage stations - water networks - telecommunications), in addition to an integrated customs unit, a police station for ports’ security maintenance, and a security unit in each zone, operating 24 hours a day.

The locations of free zones were selected to be situated in main cities with distinctive locations, sufficient labor and other facilities and capabilities that support both the zone itself and nearby maritime ports and airports.

Investment areas are allocated based on an annual rent system where the rate is determined per square meter, depending on the type of activity of the project (US$ 5 for industrial activities – US$ 10 for service and storage activities).

For more Information Press here or here

For more information about free zones and its investment opportunities Press Here

That’s it for now, If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me and I will try my best to answer your questions.

Cheers
 
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Also, sorry for the formatting issue. I can't fix nor edit this thread as every time I do this, I get this stupid message
"Oops! We ran into some problems. Please try again later. More error details may be in the browser console"
Ughhh gru87¤¤gru87¤¤..

PS: @Admin Try and check with the website host.
 
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Also Mashreq can be added to the list of banks, they offer Egyptian non resident account that can be opened remotely (from UAE):
Yup, That's a great addition @BlueMist. If you're in the UAE, that's probably the easiest and most straight forward way to open an Egyptian bank account.

As I said before, I consider Egypt as a great destination for banking as well as have an easy "source of funds" documents for your other Emi/Banks/crypto exchanges/whatever you want.
 
Also, sorry for the formatting issue. I can't fix nor edit this thread as every time I do this, I get this stupid message
"Oops! We ran into some problems. Please try again later. More error details may be in the browser console"
Ughhh gru87¤¤gru87¤¤..

PS: @Admin Try and check with the website host.
All done, it's the firewall protection that kick in here, that's good.
 
egypt is very bad choice for investment because corruption and bureaucracy tackle any progress - paper works are extremely awful. its rather unstable economy the rules of central bank often change against foreign investors to support local currency mutual benefits are highly overlooked which made a lot of investors to run from country in times of crises or prosperity . the country has long history of systemic abusing done by local workers to foreigns business since 1960 to 2000's .

also to open company in egypt a 50-60% of national workers are required plus a nominee . there is national stance that most egyptians trust business owned by egyptians due to previous colonization .but since 40 years the government tried to privatize many sectors to milk investors money after series of failures from public sectors to save country from poverty .

after 2013 the army start to rule the country and main projects are run by them like how it was before .
 
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egypt is very bad choice of investment because corruption and bureaucracy tackle any progress - paper works are extremely awful. its rather unstable economy the rules of central bank often change against foreign investors to support local currency mutual benefits are highly overlooked which made a lot of investors to run from country in times of crises or prosperity . the country has long history of systemic abusing done by local workers to foreigns business since 1960 to 2000's .

also to open company in egypt a 50-60% of national workers are required plus a nominee . there is national stance that most egyptians trust business owned by egyptians due to previous colonization .but since 40 years the government tried to privatize many sectors to milk investors money after series of failures from public sectors to save country from poverty .

after 2013 the army start to rule the country and main projects are run by them like how it was before .
Dude, you made it sound like a godawful place, which is basically not the case. Yes, there is military and yes there is corruption. But this exist in lots of places. by your metrics, nobody should invest offshore at all.

Nevis, Belize, Seychelles and all of these islands are corrupt AF and have their name blacklisted in every list available in existence. Yet, Egypt is not black listed nor grey listed despite Egypt being a non CRS country that does business with every sanctioned country like Iran and North korea. and still, the US consider Egypt their ally. I gotta give Egypt credit to that. Politics at its finest. I don't mean Egypt is the the answer to all, it's still has a s**t ton of problem that they need to solve, specially their human rights issues. But nowadays the term "Human rights" doesn't mean s**t if any government in the world really want to f**k with you. look at julian assange for example

Georgia, yeah good luck having a long term success, when Russia wants to f**k with them left and right.

Panama, no need to explain.

UAE, the ruler can say that he just doesn't feel it and put your and your company for god knows what and good luck getting any form of justice.

the US specially the IRS can f**k you too if you owe them any money. and yeah bribery doesn't exist in the US you silly, these people are just lobbyists. and don't let me start talking about there trigger happy culture and their corrupted piece of s**t cops and their civil forfeiture abuse.

What else, hmm the f*****g EU, the number 1 reason why we are here in the first place and why we left our comfort in Europe and go offshore to escape their theft that they call "progressive taxation" Lol.

South america, lots of corruption, lots of dictators BUT there are great opportunities if you know what you're looking for.

Thailand, Dictatorship and corrupted as f**k.

Hong Kong.. china's "Capitalist" bridge to the west.

and the list goes on

Every single country has it's fair share of problems, but the thing is I don't see these problems as problems but as opportunists, and that's why I find these so-called "3rd world countries" as a gold mine for banking and business.

Easiest thing you can do is you can find a successful business in the west, tweak it a little bit to suit the local markets and offer it to these "3rd world countries".

Look at souq.com. it's the amazon of the middle east and it was sold to amazon for 580 million dollars.

look at careem, it's the UBER of the middle east and it was sold to UBER for 3 billion dollars.

See the pattern, literally a gold mine. The whole middle east is still a shy virgin when it comes to technology but that's quickly started to change, and people who don't hop on the train now will regret it later.

in the end, you do what makes you comfortable. one's hell is another person's paradise.

Cheers.
 
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Dude, you made it sound like a godawful place, which is basically not the case. Yes, there is military and yes there is corruption. But this exist in lots of places. by your metrics, nobody should invest offshore at all.

Nevis, Belize, Seychelles and all of these islands are corrupt AF and have their name blacklisted in every list available in existence. Yet, Egypt is not black listed nor grey listed despite Egypt being a non CRS country that does business with every sanctioned country like Iran and North korea. and still, the US consider Egypt their ally. I gotta give Egypt credit to that. Politics at its finest. I don't mean Egypt is the the answer to all, it's still has a s**t ton of problem that they need to solve, specially their human rights issues. But nowadays the term "Human rights" doesn't mean s**t if any government in the world really want to f**k with you. look at julian assange for example

Georgia, yeah good luck having a long term success, when Russia wants to f**k with them left and right.

Panama, no need to explain.

UAE, the ruler can say that he just doesn't feel it and put your and your company for god knows what and good luck getting any form of justice.

the US specially the IRS can f**k you too if you owe them any money. and yeah bribery doesn't exist in the US you silly, these people are just lobbyists. and don't let me start talking about there trigger happy culture and their corrupted piece of s**t cops and their civil forfeiture abuse.

What else, hmm the f*****g EU, the number 1 reason why we are here in the first place and why we left our comfort in Europe and go offshore to escape their theft that they call "progressive taxation" Lol.

South america, lots of corruption, lots of dictators BUT there are great opportunities if you know what you're looking for.

Thailand, Dictatorship and corrupted as f**k.

Hong Kong.. china's "Capitalist" bridge to the west.

and the list goes on

Every single country has it's fair share of problems, but the thing is I don't see these problems as problems but as opportunists, and that's why I find these so-called "3rd world countries" as a gold mine for banking and business.

Easiest thing you can do is you can find a successful business in the west, tweak it a little bit to suit the local markets and offer it to these "3rd world countries".

Look at souq.com. it's the amazon of the middle east and it was sold to amazon for 580 million dollars.

look at careem, it's the UBER of the middle east and it was sold to UBER for 3 billion dollars.

See the pattern, literally a gold mine. The whole middle east is still a shy virgin when it comes to technology but that's quickly started to change, and people who don't hop on the train now will regret it later.

in the end, you do what makes you comfortable. one's hell is another person's paradise.

Cheers.
it's not yet clear why you are disrespectful in your post and use so many fu*king remarks. but it's sound your are angry/defensive because i provide plain facts you didn't thought it's coming while you at brainwashing battle .

matter of fact i did not accuse you at first but i did smell the SCAM in your post as to lure forum members pouring money in failed economy like egypt . the reason might be your friends you try to do something to their favor i understand how they feel desperate for their country future . before you start talking i know a lot of firsthand stories happened in egypt where investors lost investment and left bare hands not because they take bad decisions . however the locals known to destroying goods , tackle operations , involve in all monkey business someone can imagine if they know owner is foreigner .

you try to make it look like if i mean the ruling class who is responsible for corruption but it's component in country culture and wide spreaded in all sectors .egypt seeking projects but the government plans are not real cause of oppressing them.

you can ask your egyptian friends what bring them to UAE ? why doctors flee why engineers flee why business men flee out the country ? why they didn't stay in their country if there a successful business .incredible numbers of egyptians run from the hell country to find jobs in gulf states but these states are too small to take all of them.

egypt has largest population in middle east souq and such companies trying to sell basics to millions of poor people . souq is basically uae company imagine them selling good to 5 mil only in emirates it wouldnt be too profitable for long . also such companies have huge experience in region and just copied their success .

international companies exit egypt market regularly. ubereats , glovo etc . why they would escape when there no competition/alternatives lmao?

egyptian culture in general try to take advantage of foreigners and deceive the s**t of them . it's important to understand the culture/language before even decide to buy something .

resident permit is not remotely cheap by country economic standards and most egyptians do laugh when hear about things happens to foreigners regularly .

dude keep your machiavellian lying character to yourself but i say to anyone take you seriously to not trust you as credible source .do things at your own risk .
 
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you can ask your egyptian friends what bring them to UAE ? why doctors flee why engineers flee why business men flee out the country ? why they didn't stay in their country if there a successful business .incredible numbers of egyptians run from the hell country to find jobs in gulf states but these states are too small to take all of them.
Money. There is no way Egyptians, even doctors, can earn the same money in Egypt as they do earn in UAE.

The shady, ahem, non CRS part is definitely interesting. I am also quite sure that it should be possible to open bank account being non resident while visiting Egypt. You can always try to sell them a story as well, like being stuck on a tourist visa and you don't want to stash too much cash with you in the hotel. It should work with some bank, eventually. Also considering it is Egypt, some banks premium offerings had the lowest requirements in the world, like HSBC Premier, which I would hope would be even easier to open.

I personally preferred Mubarak times and I think Egyptians made huge mistake overthrowing him, however from tourists perspective everything seemed to be under control security wise. You could have felt safe in Egypt, especially in the tourist areas.

These days some strange decisions are being taken, like handing over Tiran island to KSA etc. I am also sure nobody, even Egyptians, believe in transparency of Covid tests reporting. There is no way for them having just 100-200 cases daily.

Until not long ago there was foreign transfers limit of $100.000 per annum (outgoing), also quite recently (this year) national bank imposed limits on cash withdrawals (both ATM & banks branches) to avoid people taking cash from the banks. In the pandemic stable financially countries have rather increased ATM limits (e.g. UAE banks) in order to reduce people queuing at the branches.
 
it's not yet clear why you are disrespectful in your post and use so many fu*king remarks. but it's sound your are angry/defensive because i provide plain facts you didn't thought it's coming while you at brainwashing battle .
I'm not angry nor defensive. The thing is you don't know jack s**t about what you're talking about, what facts are you talking about mate? Every country has it's own problems that doesn't mean that this country has no place in business. Not sure where did you brought these "facts" from.
matter of fact i did not accuse you at first but i did smell the SCAM in your post as to lure forum members pouring money in failed economy like egypt . the reason might be your friends you try to do something to their favor i understand how they feel desperate for their country future . before you start talking i know a lot of firsthand stories happened in egypt where investors lost investment and left bare hands not because they take bad decisions . however the locals known to destroying goods , tackle operations , involve in all monkey business someone can imagine if they know owner is foreigner .
Yes, you got me!. matter of fact I'm the minister of foreign investment in Egypt and I would like to take all these members money to invest in my failed country. But now I'm exposed Idk what should I do with my life now. No one is gonna invest in Egypt now. Yeah, what about Bloomberg that said Egypt is gonna be the 7 biggest economy by 2030. yeah, completely Fake news I know.
you try to make it look like if i mean the ruling class who is responsible for corruption but it's component in country culture and wide spreaded in all sectors .egypt seeking projects but the government plans are not real cause of oppressing them.
One man's hell is another man's paradise. I prefer the obvious "corrupt" system where you can get around it easily by having connections to some people or "gifting" money to them. Instead of going through the "legal corruption/connections" that exist nowadays in the west and around the world. believe it or not, opening a bank account in Egypt was Extremely easier in Egypt than the ones that I opened in Hong Kong and Dubai.
you can ask your egyptian friends what bring them to UAE ? why doctors flee why engineers flee why business men flee out the country ? why they didn't stay in their country if there a successful business .incredible numbers of egyptians run from the hell country to find jobs in gulf states but these states are too small to take all of them.
Why there are British Expats in the UAE? why there are American Expats in the UAE? why there are Americans denouncing their citizenship and leave the American dream behind them? Why there are corrupt cops in the US that Get away with a lot of s**t? why there are excessive taxes in the EU? Why the sun is hot? Why the Winter is cold?
Every human being is unique and has his own priorities. Every country has it's own priorities and the way of dealing with things. Asking why a person is doing that or this. or why this country is doing this Won't solve jack s**t.

egypt has largest population in middle east souq and such companies trying to sell basics to millions of poor people . souq is basically uae company imagine them selling good to 5 mil only in emirates it wouldnt be too profitable for long . also such companies have huge experience in region and just copied their success .
what basics man, these poor people buy from local markets that buy bulk from places like turkey and sell them for locals or "poor people" as you call them - for pennies. These poor people don't buy online, they buy from local markets, and that's why there are a big un regulated free-ish market in Egypt and the government know about this and there are kinda of mutual agreement between the unregulated market and the government. Sorry mate, you really don't know what are you talking about.
international companies exit egypt market regularly. ubereats , glovo etc . why they would escape when there no competition/alternatives lmao?
international companies exit in the UK market regularly. Airbus, Aviva etc . why they would escape when there no competition/alternatives lmao?
egyptian culture in general try to take advantage of foreigners and deceive the s**t of them . it's important to understand the culture/language before even decide to buy something .
Sorry man, that's total BS. Yes there are the shady sellers that exist in touristy areas. But they exist in Rome, pairs, Prague and in lots of other cities/countries. nothing, totally unique to Egypt.
resident permit is not remotely cheap by country economic standards and most egyptians do laugh when hear about things happens to foreigners regularly .
You keep talking about "most Egyptians" pretty often, have you dealt with them, they are pretty warm and welcoming most of the time. they remind me of Malaysians and Indonesians and some people in countries in Latin America like Cuba and Chile. Totally warm and welcoming people. That's been my experience at least. Some people hate Egypt some people love it. Some people Hate the US, some people love it, Some people hate Europe, some people love it. That's life.
dude keep your machiavellian lying character to yourself but i say to anyone take you seriously to not trust you as credible source .do things at your own risk .
Dude, I can't keep wasting my time at you. I'm not trying to sell anybody anything. I started this thread based on @Martin Everson suggestion and he can confirm this.

Not sure what's your issue with me or what I wrote in this thread? Do you think that people in this forum are stupid or what? Do you think that they do not now that there are certain risks when investing in Egypt or Africa in general?.

people here talk about Vanuatu, Nevis, Belize, Seychelles and all these banana republics and these countries/islands are corrupt to the teeth and they are blacklisted every where, yet people still go to these countries and invest/bank there despite the risks. Every one has a different/unique risk appetite and If this don't apply to you, then simply don't bother with this thread and try to make fun of yourself arguing about something that everybody know about.

people come here because they want to escape the hell hole of these "clean" countries if these even exists. people came here because they want to lower their taxes and have a plan B just in case something happens or they just want better banking or whatever. Don't bring morals and all these bulls**t 5 year old arguments with me. As history shows us, no country on earth gave a s**t about morals.

You look at problems and see them as problems, a lot of people (including me) look at these problems and see them as untapped opportunities.

This is my last reply to you mate, as I don't have any more time to waste. Sorry

Good luck.
 
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Money. There is no way Egyptians, even doctors, can earn the same money in Egypt as they do earn in UAE.

The shady, ahem, non CRS part is definitely interesting. I am also quite sure that it should be possible to open bank account being non resident while visiting Egypt. You can always try to sell them a story as well, like being stuck on a tourist visa and you don't want to stash too much cash with you in the hotel. It should work with some bank, eventually. Also considering it is Egypt, some banks premium offerings had the lowest requirements in the world, like HSBC Premier, which I would hope would be even easier to open.

I personally preferred Mubarak times and I think Egyptians made huge mistake overthrowing him, however from tourists perspective everything seemed to be under control security wise. You could have felt safe in Egypt, especially in the tourist areas.

These days some strange decisions are being taken, like handing over Tiran island to KSA etc. I am also sure nobody, even Egyptians, believe in transparency of Covid tests reporting. There is no way for them having just 100-200 cases daily.

Until not long ago there was foreign transfers limit of $100.000 per annum (outgoing), also quite recently (this year) national bank imposed limits on cash withdrawals (both ATM & banks branches) to avoid people taking cash from the banks. In the pandemic stable financially countries have rather increased ATM limits (e.g. UAE banks) in order to reduce people queuing at the branches.

tourism was way to bring money flow to egypt before arab spring revolution but never reach expectations considering the amount of monuments based there . tunisia is extremely small country in mediterranean had relatively close number of tourists but they rely on resorts mainly . egypt is more rich of natural resources and ancient stuff but could not utilize them the best way possible . the tourism industry took several hits starting from japanese tourists attack under mubarak regime and explosion in sharm el sheikh then airplane crush carrying russian tourists returning to their country in 2015 .some extremist may have interest to knockout egyptian economy using tourism but nobody know who were responsible for attacks.

nowadays egyptians complain from current regime but it's far safer than chaotic time 2011-2013 .
 
Money. There is no way Egyptians, even doctors, can earn the same money in Egypt as they do earn in UAE.

The shady, ahem, non CRS part is definitely interesting. I am also quite sure that it should be possible to open bank account being non resident while visiting Egypt. You can always try to sell them a story as well, like being stuck on a tourist visa and you don't want to stash too much cash with you in the hotel. It should work with some bank, eventually. Also considering it is Egypt, some banks premium offerings had the lowest requirements in the world, like HSBC Premier, which I would hope would be even easier to open.

I personally preferred Mubarak times and I think Egyptians made huge mistake overthrowing him, however from tourists perspective everything seemed to be under control security wise. You could have felt safe in Egypt, especially in the tourist areas.

These days some strange decisions are being taken, like handing over Tiran island to KSA etc. I am also sure nobody, even Egyptians, believe in transparency of Covid tests reporting. There is no way for them having just 100-200 cases daily.

Until not long ago there was foreign transfers limit of $100.000 per annum (outgoing), also quite recently (this year) national bank imposed limits on cash withdrawals (both ATM & banks branches) to avoid people taking cash from the banks. In the pandemic stable financially countries have rather increased ATM limits (e.g. UAE banks) in order to reduce people queuing at the branches.
Yeah there are lots of Egyptians in the gulf countries but that's because of the zero taxes and high wages, also they speak the same language which is a plus. What happens is Egyptians make bank in the gulf for a couple of years and then return to Egypt and live on their money by buying property and rent it to tenants and then live on this money and some of them invest it in other schemes. They remind me of the British people who immigrate to Australia/New zealand or vice versa or Aussies going to america/Canada or vice versa.

Mubarak times where the best for US as Mubarak was quite of the businessman. and he kept the military at check and didn't let them get too involved in business. Nowadays sisi turned the military into a business power house. Some people see this as a negative. others see this as opportunity to do business easier when you deal with one entity (the military) instead of multiple entities. Things get done faster, loans approved quicker..etc.

Yeah not sure about the Tiran island, there are rumors that this say it's actually for Palestinians/Israelis peace plan. Not sure how accurate this info is though.

Yeah, the covid numbers are total BS. there is no way in hell that these numbers are true.

heh, there are ways that will help you get around these restrictions. Been there and done that.

Cheers
 
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I'm following this thread since it was put online. Very interesting point of views you guys have.

Egypt would have been a great alternative actually.
 
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Dude, you made it sound like a godawful place, which is basically not the case. Yes, there is military and yes there is corruption. But this exist in lots of places. by your metrics, nobody should invest offshore at all.

Nevis, Belize, Seychelles and all of these islands are corrupt AF and have their name blacklisted in every list available in existence. Yet, Egypt is not black listed nor grey listed despite Egypt being a non CRS country that does business with every sanctioned country like Iran and North korea. and still, the US consider Egypt their ally. I gotta give Egypt credit to that. Politics at its finest. I don't mean Egypt is the the answer to all, it's still has a s**t ton of problem that they need to solve, specially their human rights issues. But nowadays the term "Human rights" doesn't mean s**t if any government in the world really want to f**k with you. look at julian assange for example

Georgia, yeah good luck having a long term success, when Russia wants to f**k with them left and right.

Panama, no need to explain.

UAE, the ruler can say that he just doesn't feel it and put your and your company for god knows what and good luck getting any form of justice.

the US specially the IRS can f**k you too if you owe them any money. and yeah bribery doesn't exist in the US you silly, these people are just lobbyists. and don't let me start talking about there trigger happy culture and their corrupted piece of s**t cops and their civil forfeiture abuse.

What else, hmm the f*****g EU, the number 1 reason why we are here in the first place and why we left our comfort in Europe and go offshore to escape their theft that they call "progressive taxation" Lol.

South america, lots of corruption, lots of dictators BUT there are great opportunities if you know what you're looking for.

Thailand, Dictatorship and corrupted as f**k.

Hong Kong.. china's "Capitalist" bridge to the west.

and the list goes on

Every single country has it's fair share of problems, but the thing is I don't see these problems as problems but as opportunists, and that's why I find these so-called "3rd world countries" as a gold mine for banking and business.

Easiest thing you can do is you can find a successful business in the west, tweak it a little bit to suit the local markets and offer it to these "3rd world countries".

Look at souq.com. it's the amazon of the middle east and it was sold to amazon for 580 million dollars.

look at careem, it's the UBER of the middle east and it was sold to UBER for 3 billion dollars.

See the pattern, literally a gold mine. The whole middle east is still a shy virgin when it comes to technology but that's quickly started to change, and people who don't hop on the train now will regret it later.

in the end, you do what makes you comfortable. one's hell is another person's paradise.

Cheers.
Hi, could you show me where Nevis is black or grey listed please? I can't find anything saying it is.
Also Egypt is on UK & EU Financial sanction lists. Just FYI.
 
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