Fouda made his statement in an answer to AO's question on how the actions Egypt has taken to support the private sector have contributed to attaining its targets and helping the experience of the Cairo Festival City Mall (CFC) to grow in revenues and sales.

This came during a roundtable Fouda held with a group of Egyptian journalists on Wednesday at the CFC headquarters in Cairo.

Fouda told AO that the CFC mall sales increased by 32 percent in 2023 despite the economic challenges in the local market, especially the high inflation and the US dollar severe shortage.

He noted that they target a 12 percent growth annually.

“The unification of the foreign exchange (FX) rate and other actions taken to restore stability in the local market have significantly contributed to doing business more easily for the investors and boosting the shopping mall industry in Egypt. The Egyptian market has a lot of potential, and we look at it as a strong market in the region,” Fouda explained.

In March, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) applied the fourth wave of local currency depreciation against the US dollar, allowing the Egyptian pound to lose over 60 percent of its value against the greenback.

This action has largely contributed to unifying the FX rate in the local market, which has led the currency parallel market to disappear.

Moreover, the CBE has hiked the key interest rates by a total of eight percent since the start of 2024 to reach a record level.

Additionally, Fouda revealed that the CFC mall, a part of the Al-Futtaim Group, plans to add a new range of stores and restaurants to meet the growing needs of customers and enhance its status as a destination for shopping, entertainment, and dining.

The CFC mall currently houses 290 stores across various sectors, including 12 entertainment venues, 118 fashion outlets, 81 restaurants and cafés, and 20 home furnishing stores.

“By the end of 2024, the mall plans to open and renovate 49 retail outlets as part of its strategic growth plan aimed at enhancing offerings and choices, which has contributed to creating hundreds of job opportunities in the retail and entertainment sectors,” according to Fouda.

It is worth noting that Cairo Festival City Mall opened 15 new stores in 2023 and aims to achieve more milestones this year.

The CFC mall also continues to develop its facilities, introduce new features outside the shopping centre, and enhance the residential, commercial, and other service areas, further solidifying its status as a distinguished integrated destination.