OGH is pleased to announce its opening of a Cairo office, 1 February 2023.
With our first office in the Giza district, we will provide a full-service practice to our international, regional and local clients, with a particular focus on foreign investment set up, projects, sports, employment (and employment related matters including social insurance), general corporate advisory, tax and capital markets, as well as all aspects of dispute resolution.
This is part of OGH’s wider regional expansion, coming a year after our opening of the Abu Dhabi office and our continued service of clients in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Egypt is at the heart of the Middle East with rich historical legal discipline which informs other parts of the MENA region. The Cairo office will be our gateway to serve our clients, not only for the local Egyptian market, but also to Africa.
OGH Legal has enjoyed strong connections to Egypt for several years, having facilitated our clients’ inbound and outbound needs in respect to Egypt since our establishment and through the hiring of several key Egyptian lawyers. Our team in Egypt bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise, particularly in corporate advisory work, in major industries including: pharmaceuticals, IT and software, construction, hospitality, real estate development and energy.
We believe this expansion will be hugely beneficial to our clients and indeed the legal market across the region.
Mohamed ElGhatit, Founding & Co-Managing Partner of OGH Legal, stated:
“We believe in growing organically and following the energy of our clients. This step into the Egyptian market cements foundations we have been laying for years and is a natural fit for us, our clients and our joint ambitions. As the UAE is the gateway to the GCC, Egypt is the gateway to Africa and this expansion of our services truly makes us a MENA law firm. We are pleased to be one of the first law firms to truly be able to offer a full-scale legal service to multinationals, GCC entities and African corporations with inbound and outbound transactions, investments and projects across the Middle East and North Africa.”
Sherif Hikal, Founding & Co-Managing Partner of OGH Legal, stated:
“We are honored to take this further step into the Egyptian market, knowing that our clients will benefit from deep legal expertise, international service standards and a connective attitude, which places their interests and objectives first. We are excited to bring a fresh perspective to the Egyptian legal market and to add new talent and expertise to our team.”
Why is Egypt an important step in our strategic outlook?
Relations between the UAE and Egypt have never been stronger.
The two nations recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations as well as signed the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth. The UAE is Egypt’s second leading trade partner in the region while Egypt is the fifth leading trade partner of the UAE in terms of non-oil trade. There are synergies and complementary objectives between the two nations which will also be of benefit to our clients.
Further investments are on the horizon. Aside from government-led initiatives such as the joint US$10 billion investment fund, private sector investment between the UAE and Egypt is flourishing. More than 1,250 Emirati companies operate in Egypt. One of the UAE’s largest diversified conglomerates announced its plan to inject investments worth US$700 million to US$1 billion into the Egyptian market over the next three years. A large Abu Dhabi investment and holding company holds stakes in numerous Egyptian corporations, including the Commercial International Bank and the Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company. The opportunities for investors are huge and we are well placed to assist and advise on these transactions.
A high-growth market & gateway to Africa. Egypt is a business-friendly jurisdiction for multinationals with positive attributes such as tax exemptions and ease of set-up. It has an excellent geographical location, close to major trade routes such as the Suez Canal, and also has one of the most dynamic growth rates in Africa. It is one of the five jurisdictions across Africa which account for 60% of all African GDP (and the second largest GDP in 2021). Egypt also has many ambitious government targets and initiatives creating several growth sectors and a strong pipeline of infrastructure, energy and logistics / transport projects. It is a high-growth market, and widely viewed as the gateway to wider Africa, which many of our international clients will be interested in.
KEY CONTACTS
Mohamed ElGhatit
