埃及計劃通過蘇伊士運河獲利

As it struggles to revive its economy and create more jobs, Egypt is seeking to take further advantage of its strategic location between Africa, Asia and Europe.

埃及正艱難恢復經濟并創(chuàng)造更多就業(yè)，為此，該國正尋求進一步利用其處于非亞歐交界的戰(zhàn)略地理位置。

The Suez Canal Economic Zone, launched in 2015, has plans to create an industrial and logistics hub surrounding the Suez Canal, the vital shipping route connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

2015年推出的“蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)”(Suez Canal Economic Zone)計劃圍繞蘇伊士運河建設一個工業(yè)和物流中心。這條運河是連接紅海和地中海的重要航線。

“The most important feature of the zone is its geographical location on an international trade route,” says Mohab Mamish, the SCEZ chairman who also heads the Suez Canal Authority that runs the waterway. He adds that “10 per cent of global trade goes through the Suez Canal”.

蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)董事長穆哈卜•馬米什(Mohab Mamish)表示：“這個經濟區(qū)最重要的特點是其位于這條國際貿易航線上的地理位置。”他補充稱，“全球有10%的貿易要經過蘇伊士運河”。他還管理著經營這條運河的蘇伊士運河管理局(Suez Canal Authority)。

Egypt hopes to attract foreign investors into export-oriented industries in the special zone — which encompasses ports on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean — and to exploit Egypt’s trade agreements with African, Arab and European countries. These increase access to a market of more than a billion people.

埃及希望吸引外國投資者進入該經濟區(qū)(包括紅海和地中海的港口)的出口導向型行業(yè)，并充分利用埃及與非洲、阿拉伯和歐洲國家的貿易協(xié)議。這些舉措將推動埃及企業(yè)進入總人口逾10億的上述市場。

Another ambition is to provide logistical services such as bunkering and transshipment to some of the 17,000 vessels that use the canal every year. “If you can grab the attention of a good percentage of these vessels and provide some value-added services you make a huge amount of money,” says Ahmed Darwish, former chairman of the zone.

埃及的另一項偉大理想是向每年經過蘇伊士運河的1.7萬艘船舶中的部分船舶提供物流服務，例如加油和轉運業(yè)務。蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)前董事長艾哈邁德•達爾維什(Ahmed Darwish)表示：“如果你能抓住其中一些船舶的注意力，提供一些附加值服務，那么你就能賺很多錢。”

The SCEZ will be helped by the reforms undertaken to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund. These include the flotation, and subsequent sharp devaluation, of the Egyptian pound, which has made the country more attractive to foreign investors. The IMF recently agreed to disburse the second tranche of a $12bn loan.

埃及為從國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)獲得一筆貸款而實施了一些改革，蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)將從中受益。其中包括埃及鎊的匯率波動以及隨后的大幅貶值。這增加了該國對外國投資者的吸引力。IMF最近同意發(fā)放這筆120億美元貸款的第二批資金。

However, business people and analysts still want to see an improvement in Egypt’s labyrinthine bureaucracy. It is ranked 122 out of 190 countries in the World Bank ease of doing business rankings.

然而，商界人士和分析人士仍希望看到埃及錯綜復雜的官僚體制有所改善。在世界銀行(World Bank)的經商環(huán)境排行榜上，埃及在190個國家中排在第122位。

In an effort to avoid that bureaucracy and attract investment, the zone has been established as an independent entity able to register companies and issue permits with minimum delays. It is customs free and allows repatriation of profits.

為了規(guī)避官僚和吸引投資，蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)已成為一個獨立實體，可以盡可能快地注冊公司和發(fā)放許可，免關稅，還允許將利潤匯回本國。

Work is under way to expand and develop the zone’s ports so they can handle bigger vessels and accommodate activities such as transshipment, with the facilities to handle, store and repackage cargo. Tunnels are being dug under the canal to improve connectivity between its two banks.

埃及正致力于擴大并開發(fā)該經濟區(qū)的港口，建設處理、存儲和再打包貨物的設施，這樣它們就能容納更大型船舶并安排轉運等活動。蘇伊士運河下方正在開挖隧道，以改善運河兩岸之間的聯(lián)系。

Officials say they have already leased 23m sq m of land for $15bn worth of investment in projects that are due to be built over the next five years. Clients include Siemens and General Electric, as well as such industrial developers as the ASEC-Capital alliance, which includes prominent Saudi, UAE, Egyptian, and Lebanese companies.

官員們表示，他們已租借了2300萬平方米的土地，計劃在未來5年建成價值150億美元的投資項目?？蛻舭ㄎ鏖T子(Siemens)、通用電氣(General Electric)、以及ASEC-Capital聯(lián)盟——該聯(lián)盟包括沙特阿拉伯、阿聯(lián)酋、埃及和黎巴嫩的知名公司——等工業(yè)開發(fā)商。

The SCEZ is in talks with a consortium comprising Toyota, Japanese shipping group NYK and Bolloré, the French transport and logistics company, for a roll on roll off ferry terminal at East Port Said, part of the zone. There are also negotiations with the Port of Singapore and French shipping group CMA CGM for an East Port Said container terminal.

蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)正就該地區(qū)東塞得港的一個滾裝船碼頭與一個財團進行談判，這個財團包括豐田(Toyota)、日本航運公司日本郵船(NYK)和法國交通和物流集團博羅雷(Bolloré)。他們還在就東塞得港的一個集裝箱碼頭與新加坡港和法國達飛海運集團(CMA CGM)進行談判。

The SCEZ also hopes to attract job-creating medium and light industries, such as textiles and pharmaceuticals. But some investors say transport is inadequate and that, apart from Port Said, the region’s biggest city, canal zone towns have small populations.

蘇伊士運河經濟區(qū)還希望吸引能創(chuàng)造就業(yè)的傳媒和輕工業(yè)，例如紡織和制藥。但一些投資者表示，該地區(qū)交通設施薄弱，除了地區(qū)最大城市塞得港，運河地區(qū)城鎮(zhèn)的人口很少。

Alaa Arafa, of Arafa Holding, one of Egypt’s biggest garment exporters says proximity to labour is more important than being near a port: “It is no good building a factory then transporting people to work in it.”

埃及最大成衣出口商之一Arafa Holding的阿拉•阿拉法(Alaa Arafa)表示，靠近勞動力所在地比接近港口更重要：“建工廠，然后將員工運到這里工作，這并非一件好事。”

Wael Ziada, head of investment company Zilla Capital, says that the zone’s success depends on “whether managers will be responsive to investors’ needs”. It will need “patience and planning”, he says, to avert the pitfalls which often mar economic management in Egypt.

投資公司Zilla Capital負責人瓦埃勒•齊亞達(Wael Ziada)表示，該經濟區(qū)的成功取決于“管理者是否響應投資者的需要”。他表示，在埃及，要想避開一些常常會擾亂經濟管理的陷阱，需要“耐心和規(guī)劃”。