Iraq is now the top destination for Egyptian corporate investment abroad

Iraq has become the top destination for Egypt’s corporate investments abroad. Investment into the country topped USD 102 bn between 2022 and 2025, according to UNCTAD FDI data compiled and shared with us by senior economist and macro analyst Islam Magdy. Egyptian firms, armed with frontier-market execution experience and pricing made competitive by the EGP’s slide, are crowding in.

The case(s) in point: Real estate giant Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) secured land and an investment license for a USD 10 bnmegaproject in Baghdad spanning 12.8 mn sqm, targeting USD 18.8 bn in sales and USD 108 mn in annual recurring revenues. Sawiris-owned Ora Developers also inked an agreement with the Iraqi government to develop Ali Al Wardi New City, described as the biggest residential complex in Iraq. Meanwhile, EGX-listed snackmaker Edita and the country’s biggest state-owned bank NBE are looking at expansions into Iraq.

The case for Iraq rests on the recent relative de-risking of the market. The country’s 2021 accession to the New York and Singapore conventions, two major international frameworks that help mitigate cross-border investment risks and disputes, gave foreign firms enforceable investor protections, letting Egyptian developers into the reconstruction pipeline without leaving their capital fully exposed, Magdy tells us.

But real risks remain in Iraq, Al Ahly Pharos' Hany Genena tells us. GB Corp saw its operations in Iraq — which span the distribution of passenger cars like MG, JAC, and Foton, Bajaj light mobility vehicles, and aftermarket spare parts — hurt by the regional war, turning a perceived hedge into a “valuation destroyer,” as inventory piled up and the company was forced to absorb markdown losses.

REMEMBER- Iraq’s reconstruction pipeline rests on shaky fiscal ground due to the war. With Hormuz shut and oil exports down to 600k bbl/d from 3.3 mn before the war, Iraq's new government may not make public-sector payroll within months, as we previously reported. And because salaries and pensions are untouchable, the budget line that gets cut first is non-oil investment — the reconstruction and infrastructure spending Egyptian firms are banking on.

Devaluation lit the fuse, but it isn’t the whole story. “If the chance was not there, it wouldn't have happened,” EFG Hermes Chief Economist Mohamed Abu Basha says, pointing to Saudi opening its property market, Oman’s industrial programs, and Iraq’s pull on regional capital. The instinct also predates the worst of the crash. Genena traces it to the 2016 float, when Edita first looked to Morocco. The 2022-24 shock turned this strategy into a necessity, Genena adds. “The devaluations accelerated existing expansion plans and enhanced the relative attractiveness of foreign markets for hard currency generation,” Magdy adds.

The Iraq pipeline is the sharp end of a much broader push for Egyptian players. Outward FDI hit USD 524.1 mn in FY 2024-25, up from USD 508 mn in 2024, as the EGP shed roughly half its value across three devaluations between 2022 and 2024 — and the move spans sectors and borders. In the UAE, Palm Hills Developments is deploying USD 3.8 bn to develop Saadiyat Shores in Abu Dhabi, and Orascom Construction and OCI Global are exploring a cross-border merger to create a single global infrastructure platform domiciled and listed in Abu Dhabi. In Morocco, Edita is building production lines, and a consortium led by b'naire Samih Sawiris is investing EUR 200 mn to kick off the first phase of the long-stalled Mogador resort in Morocco. Meanwhile, Juhayna and Domty are pushing in Saudi, and Enppi and Petrojet are becoming active in Oman.

The benefits of this outward FDI surge for Egypt’s overall economy comes with a price tag. The whole case for cheering corporates abroad rests on USD income being brought back home. Investment income receipts hit USD 2.9 bn in FY 2024-25, a 5.5x ratio against net outward FDI, and Abu Basha calls self-generated USD a healthy outcome of devaluation that eases demand on the interbank market. But the balance-of-payments win evaporates if earnings are routed through offshore SPVs rather than repatriated, Genena warns — a breakdown Magdy says deserves closer institutional scrutiny. The move is also draining skilled Egyptian labor to the Gulf and Iraq, ultimately pushing domestic wages up.