EGYPT The rebirth of EGYPT ARCHIVED REPORT May 31st, 1999	Egypt The rebirth of EGYPT Read our exclusive interview HUSSEIN SALEM GROUP MöVENPICK JOLIE VILLE "When It Comes To Dreams, You May As Well Have Big Ones" Manager: Mr. HUSSEIN SALEM, Chairman Contact: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts Reservation Service Toll free: USA 180034 Hotel Switzerland 0800899999 Germany 013852217 Great Britain 0800898317 France 0800898317 Italy 0800908717 Netherlands 167876169 Belgium 08000220717 Denmark 080018739 Sweden 020793017 Airline Access Code MK Strategy Golf Hotel Sharm Mövenpick Jolie Ville Tel. : (2062) 603 200 - 210 Fax : (2062) 603 223 Web site: http://www.moevenpick-sharm.com Mövenpick resort Jolie Ville Luxor - Crocodile Island, Luxor/Egypt Tel : (209) 537 4855 - (209) 537 4937 Fax : (209) 537 4936 Location On Crocodile Island in the Nile, 4 Km South of Luxor Airport Luxor International (20 minutes) Classification *** Rooms 332 bungalow-style rooms with terrace. All rooms with air-conditioning, minibar, color TV, telephone, radio, bath/shower Restaurants/Bars Jolie Ville/ Mövenpick/ Shehrazade Nile Terrace/ Crocodile Bar/ Fellah’s Tent Banquets Up to 160 persons Conferences Up to 120 persons (classroom seating) Children Under 16 sleep free in their parents’ room Fitness/Sport Swimming pool, tennis courts, gymnastics, football, volleyball, table tennis, bicycles, jogging track, felucca sailing, billiards Sightseeing To the famous Valley of the Kings, Temples of Luxor and Karnak, Hurghada, Quseir, Aswan, Dendera, Abu Simbel Credit Cards Carte Gourmet Mövenpick, American Express, Visa, Eurocard, Mastercard, Access, JCB Dream in Sharm El Sheikh… Situated at the Red sea in south Sinai has for several years Been a slice of paradise for tourists from all corners of the world. Sharm El Sheikh with its multitude of marine life has a perfect "Summer climate" all year round. The magnificent coral reefs provide some of the best diving and snorkeling sites in the world and the adventure of the Sinai desert mountains lie just a short drive away. The vision and commercial daring of the Jolie Ville development has added a new dimension to SHarm EL Sheikh. The 5 star Golf Hotel Sharm Mövenpick Jolie Ville together with its unique water park overlooking the Read sea and an international status Championship golf course is set to pioneer an emerging market Location 5 Km from Sharm EL Sheikh airport 5 Km from Naama Bay Water Theme Park 30,000 m2 of salt and fresh water pools water side, Lakes, Grottos, Rivers and wet bars children’s area includes shipwreck and giant mushrooms, featuring a natural and safe playground. 2000 m2 man made white sand beach 4m. high waterfalls with rock grottos, pool decks, walkways and jungle bridges. Sports & Leisure Facilities 18 hole championship golf course with double ended driving range and par 3 course, a clubhouse with 2 restaurants and pro shop stocked with leading brands of golf merchandise. Le spa, 3000 m2 Jolie Ville health center including; massage, Sauna, Jacuzzi, Whirlpool, gymnasium, Hydrotherapy and beauty salon. Excursion & activity center including; Safari, boat Trips, camel Trips, snorkeling, Bedouin Dinners… etc. animation program Nursery and children’s snoopy club water sports & Recreation including; windsurfing, Sailing, water skiing, parasailing, Billiards, darts, Table Tennis, volleyball, basketball, Flipper and Tennis courts. Convention & Meeting Facilities State of the conference facilities at the golf clubhouse with a capacity of 400 people, equipped with latest audio-visual communication system and language translation. The golf Hotel has 4meeting & function rooms and fully equipped Business center. Dinning & Entertainment In 11 outlets we offer our guests: Les Palmiers-Breakfast & Dinner Buffet Jolie Bistro – International a la carte Le Méditerranée – Authentic Italian & Spanish specialities Mikado – Authentic Japanese Teppanyaki Mandarin – Ethnic Chinese specialities Pool BBQ Dolphin – Snack Bar Grotto Bar-Late night action under the waterfalls Tutti Frutti – Juice Bar Ascot Bar- The elegant Hide away Lobby Bar – To see and be seen Room Service – 24 hours Jolie Ville out of house Catering In addition, the Golf Course Club House offers: 19th Hole – Golfers meeting spot Jolino – Italian specialities restaurant Guest Rooms 270 rooms, 42 m2 18 Suites, 84 m2 2 Presidents Suites, 300 m2 3 Apartments 40 Villas, 4-5 bedrooms. All Villas have private pool 42 m2 Guest Room Facilities 270 rooms over looking the Red Sea coastline, the Golf Course and Garden view. All rooms include: Furnished balcony Air conditioning with temperature control Direct dial telephone Shower, hair dryer and shaver outlet 220 v Electronic Safe Personalized mini bar 24- hours room service Nightly turndown service Same day laundry and valet services Express pressing Cribs Special Guest Services In house doctor service 24 hours mailing and facsimile service Luggage storage Foreign currency exchange Photocopying, secretarial services Translators Gust relation services Baby sitting and children’s playground Sight-seeing and tour services Tour and Travel Agent desks Complimentary Shuttle Buss between the Hotel and Airport Golf Course, Naama Bay and the Mövenpick Hotel Strech Limosine available Guest Shops Our Shopping arcade within the hotel offers a selection of exclusive shops and services. General Information Language: English, Arabic, German, Italian and French is widely spoken Weather: May to October 24-35°C, November to April 16-24 °C. Places of Interest: St. Gatherines Monastery and Mt. Moses, Coloured Canyon, Ras Mohamed National Park, Known as the capital of the diving world, Train Island diving and snorkeling. For more information or reservation, please contact: Golf Hotel Sharm Mövenpick Jolie Ville Tel. : (2062)603 200 or 210 - Fax : (2062) 603 223 Welcome to Crocodile Island, our lush garden on the Nile, Staying in the bungalows of the Mövenpick Hotel Jolie Ville is like living in paradise. Amidst the thousand shades of green of our tropical plants and surrounded by their floral perfume, you will feel as if you were a million miles away from the humdrum routine of every day life. Our friendly hosts look after you and ensure that every meal is a culinary event, while the unforgettable historical sites wait for you just beyond our little bridge to the mainland. Crocodile Island is such a beautiful oasis that no one should be surprised so many of our visitors become regular guests. Our bungalows are set in the midst of luxuriant tropical gardens and are tastefully furnished. We promise you modern comfort and spotless cleanliness. With room service available round the clock, we will do our best to ensure that you feel right at home- in a "1001 Nights" atmosphere. From the very first day we opened, our gardens have the most careful attention. Beyond the hibiscus and birds-of- paradise that add bursts of color to the tropical green, we have deliberately cultivated a diversity of plant species, which have in turn attracted a wide range of native birds. We urge our guests to explore our little piece of paradise along the romantic footpaths that wind around the island. The superb cuisine served in our various outlets has long ceased to be a secret shared only by our regular guests. We offer you a choice of enjoying your meals outside in the fresh unspoiled air or inside in one of our cosy restaurants. Either way, you will find everything you could imagine-our famous buffets feature a different theme every night, providing plenty of surprises, and our a la carte restaurant offers an interesting variety of local and international specialities, including of course the famous Mövenpick ice cream. Luxor is the ideal starting point for all types of excursions. Luxor and Karnak Temples are nearby, the renowned Vally of the Kings is just across the Nile and the hotel’s location is perfect for all day outings to many of the numerous fascinating sites in surrounding areas. As a bustling city., Luxor also offers a variety of modern shops as well as the traditional "suk" where you can enjoy bargaining for native crafts. In addition, our recreation facilities provide everything for the active body, whether it is sunbathing by the pool, playing teennis on our four floodlit courts, horseback riding, cycling through the countryside or watching the sun set as you sail along the Nile. We can also offer offer you fully equipped conference rooms for incentive events, gala evenings and banquets in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. Our expertise and modern facilities combine to make every event a success. Holiday at the Luxor Mövenpick Jolie Vaille are a unique experience- all the convenience you expect with a touch of the exotic as well. We look forward to welcoming you for a relaxing visit on our island paradise Top of page INTERVIEW WITH HUSSEIN SALEM CHAIRMAN OF HUSSEIN SALEM GROUP On 25th February 1999 1/Q: Could you give us a profile of the entire group? The group includes a joint venture for hotels and resorts that manages three hotels in Egypt, two in Sharm El Sheikh and one in Luxor. The group owns the three hotels and about 80% are owned by the family. We also have a water company that produces desalinated water in Sharm El Sheikh for the supply of fresh water to hotels in the area, which is a very important production for the development of the area. We are also engaged in environmental projects, like our sewage treatment project. We also have a sewage treatment station in Sharm El Sheikh with the capacity of 3000 cubic meters per day, which may increase to 6000-7000 cubic meters per day. In addition, we have minor participation in a refinery, which is a partnership with EGPC and an Israeli partner. This is the first partnership between Egyptian businessmen and Israel of that kind. - When did you start operating in the tourism sector? We started about 10 years ago. The Jolie Ville was one of the companies owned by Mövenpick and we bought it from them. We own Jolie Ville now. Jolie Ville is the managing company for all of our hotels. We have about 1000 rooms in the three hotels. We have a good contract with Mövenpick, which is a very good and high standard company. They give us advice on all aspects and provide us with the know-how, especially for hotel management and restaurants. They are responsible for making sure that the 5-star standard is maintained in all our hotels. 2/Q: Could you give our readers the basic figures about your group? Regarding the tourist activity in Sharm El Sheikh, our two hotels have about 40% of the market share. Both hotels are 5-star standard. The first hotel has 350 rooms. It is a resort on Naama Bay with a casino. The other hotel, on Om Merykha Bay, which was opened in November 1998, is a complex of a very luxurious hotel and very big pool built on 30,000 square feet. It is a jungle theme pool with some features from Euro Disney. In addition, there is an18-hole golf course with 17 man made lakes, in addition to 232 luxury villas, and a conference hall. It is a big complex that is built on 1.2 million meter square in Sharm El Sheikh. For the hotel operations, we have about 1800 employees of different caliber and from different countries. - Since you have a lot of companies, do you plan to consolidate them? I do not understand the stock exchange very much. In addition, being a conservative, I would like to keep the shares in the family. I believe in what I am doing very much. The next generation in my family may probably list some of the shares on the stock exchange. But, as long as I am in charge I do not plan to go public. 3/Q: What is the group’s coming development projects in the tourism sector? Actually I am planning to retire this year. But, there is a project that I have been considering. No decision has been made, yet. There are very important natural hot springs in Sinai that are called Moses Springs. It is one of the hidden treasures of the world. These water springs come at 70 or 80 degrees and this could be a very healthy spa. It would be very attractive to tourists from the United States and Europe because they would enjoy the weather very much, which is very different from their countries. The site is very close to Al Tore, the Capital of Sinai. The area enjoys 360 days of sun every year. The Moses Springs has quite hot natural water for all kinds of rheumatic and bone illness. I am considering the project very seriously. 4/Q: What is your strategy for the future? My 1999 strategy is to stop for a while and take an overall look at the companies to make sure that everything is moving in the right direction, to make sure that the financial structure of the group is in good shape and that there is no over-borrowing. We do not borrow money from banks. So, the last year of this millenium will be the year for meditation, organization and cementing the success that we achieved to go to something better and bigger. 5/Q: You said that you are planning ahead for Mövenpick, would the group be interested for further partners in the coming years? We are open to any kind of cooperation. For the time being we are not looking for partners. We just want to promote our current projects, especially the golf course. We want to make it known internationally and to have international competitions held there, especially in view of the competition with the three golf courses in Dubai. They are very good and very well maintained. I believe that the golf course in Sharm El Sheikh could be more attractive if it is well publicized because golf activities can take place for 10 months every year. The other two months, July and August, are very hot so, people can also play in the early morning. 6/Q: And the Jolie Ville in Giza? This is the name that Mövenpick used on Jolie Ville 15 years ago and they requested that we give them the permission to use it until the end of their contract in the year 2001 and we agreed. But, we do not manage it. 7/Q: Are you planning to build hotels in Cairo? I am considering with a group of my friends to establish a very big international tour operator company. This is one of our strategies. I can not release any figures or planning for the time being. The Jolie Ville Group is a management company which is a brand in the markets already, but we plan to strengthen it in cooperation with Mövenpick. Our target is always to look for new investments in order to have full integration and a better management center. We have to start looking for different hotels in different parts of the world. We have to first complete the golden triangle in Egypt. 8/Q: Will you be interested in attracting foreign investors? No. We believe in having a majority ownership in the group because this is the way of making the right and quick decisions. Having other investors will create problems in making decisions. In principal, we invest within our managerial capacities. - You sound extremely confident. Yes, I am but I don’t have any over confidence neither do I have any arrogance. I am a very simple and modest person. I like to dream and work very hard to make my dreams come true. 9/Q: What is your opinion of the business environment in Egypt today and the future of Egypt? I do not think that Egypt has been in a good atmosphere as it is now. For the last two centuries. Mohamed Aly was the first man to revive the Egyptian economy. The second was Khedewi Ismail who built the Suez Canal and the second Opera House in the world that was built in Cairo and introduced western civilization to Egypt. In our modern period, Egypt has an unprecedented $21 billion in reserves, which mean that the economy is prospering. We have a balanced budget and the deficit is less than 1% [of GDP]. Most importantly the rate of population growth in the 90’s is 1.8% and the national income growth rate is more than 5% compared with a rate of population growth was 2.8% and the national income growth rate was 0.5% in the 60’s. I do not fear that Egypt will fall in the trap as South East Asia and other emerging markets did. The Egyptian economy is stronger and investors are more conservative. The stock exchange is not that important in our economy. There is a lot of potential as we have a big market of 60 million people. So, I am very optimistic. 10/Q: What is your most satisfying achievement in your career? I am most proud of the golf hotel and the refinery. After building the refinery we proved that people who have struggled for 30 years could work together. I am part of the generation that participated in the 4 wars against Israel but we are partners now and can work together successfully. This is the main message that I want to say. The golf course was the challenge in the desert. It was a rocky land and with no water. In 22 months we built 18 lakes and 400,000 meters of green area were created, in addition to a magnificent five-star hotel and 232 luxurious villas. - Would you say that this refinery is another step in the peace process in the region? We already have peace in between Egypt and Israel. 11/Q: Keeping in mind that Forbes magazine reaches more than 4 million people, what will your final message to them be? My message to them would be to come, visit Egypt, and see for themselves the wonderful progress of our country, the hospitality of the Egyptians, and the ongoing hard work to build a brighter and promising future.   Read on   © World INvestment NEws, 1998. This is the electronic edition of the special country report on Egypt published in FORBES Magazine, May 31st issue. Developed by AgenciaE.Tv