Naguib Sawiris discusses politics, investments and his meeting with North Korea's leader

Egypt Independent

24-02-2025

Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris revealed the details of his meeting with North Korean President Kim Jong Un, which he called 'historic' as North Korea is a fully communist country which makes it difficult for the private sector to operate there.
The economy is the real political power of countries, the Egyptian billionaire said, a point he also brought up during his conversation with the North Korean leader.
During an interview with TV host Lamis al-Hadidi on the'Last Word' (Kalema Akhera) TV show on Sunday, Sawiris explained that half of his investments are directed to gold mining companies, while the real estate sector represents a third of his investments, expecting them to increase in the coming period.
He also spoke of political matters, including recent tensions in the region.
'Israel does not wish good for Egypt, nor does the US. No one wants good for Egypt except the Egyptians themselves,' he noted.
He added that Algeria was an important source of financial flow for his company, but after his losses there he decided to exit the telecommunications sector and instead move to the real estate sector and invest in gold.
The real estate sector represents a third of his investments, he said, and is expected to continue growing.
He also explained that he owns nine gold mines, five of which are in Egypt, and said that he has not suffered any losses since he began investing in gold in 2015.
Sawiris revealed that his company, Ora Developers, originally incurred losses in its first three years due to the sudden rise in the US dollar price and abnormal inflation, but he expected to achieve its first gains in the market this year.
He explained that despite the 12 percent increase in Ora sales, it incurred losses of 18 percent due to inflation, adding that 'inflation is eliminating growth in real estate sales.'
Egypt is now the most important market for Ora projects, the billionaire noted, expecting Ora's sales profits abroad to double within two years to reach two billion dollars.
He noted that Arab sales in Ora projects range between 10-15 percent, calling for facilitating the payment of real estate payments by Egyptians and Arabs in dollars to encourage the inflow of foreign currency.