Pepsi Invests $500 million in Egypt

PepsiCo has announced that it will invest $US 500 million in Egypt in 2015, a day after Coca-Cola similarly announced it would be investing $US 500 million.

General Manage of the PepsiCo North East Africa and Egypt Business Unit Ahmed El-Sheikh told Reuters at the Egyptian Economic Development Conference (EEDC) that PepsiCo plans to expand its production in Egypt.

El-Sheikh added that in 2014, PepsiCo achieved sales of $US 1.2 billion in Egypt.

The investment, El-Sheikh said, would provide new job opportunities for locals.

PepsiCo’s announcement came after Coca-Cola announced $US 500 million in investments during the coming three years, creating 4,000 direct jobs and thousands of indirect job opportunities.

The conference, held to boost foreign investment to restore Egypt’s economy, has attracted delegations from the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Japan, China, India and more.

Among those in attendance are the US Secretary of State John Kerry, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordanian King Abdullah II, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Desalegn, Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir and other high level officials.

The conference will see 2,000 delegates from 112 countries come to Sharm El-Sheikh amid tight security.