August 2011 Newsletter

CEO, David Danaher, has spent the past four weeks in Egypt finalising project details and arranging the commencement of work at Palo Verde. In brief, the following has been achieved and a time-line set to move the project to the next development stage;.

Land survey permissions granted with ease as expected due to the enormous benefits to the local community in Ras Sudr

Front road sector design being upgraded with the Phase 1 marina entrance being altered

Sourcing of earth moving machinery to commence shortly and site banners

On site work schedule to begin in October

Cityscape the premier international real estate, investment and development expo comes to Egypt and Vanquish will be there! Cityscape, which is rivalling MIPIM for creating exhibition, forums and investor-focused activities across the Middle East with established events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is launching its first expo in Cairo at the end of November. As well as taking part in the four-day event Vanquish will be sure to enter into the first annual Cityscape Egypt awards in both the current and future developments. Watch this space! To sign up as a visitor go to www.cityscapeegypt.com.

A further meeting was held with the UKTI at the British Embassy in Cairo on 16th August with director of trade and investment, Alan Penrith and his communications team. A briefing of the project development to date was discussed in length as part of our work plan. A profile from the site visit in June is being prepared by the UKTI and ready to be launched with articles expected in The Springboard Magazine and a case study on the UKTI website in the near future. This is a real positive move forward for the Pale Verde project. Vanquish will continue to work in association with the UKTI both in the UK and Cairo and have been invited to attend a number of important events planned for September and October. Updates of these events will follow next month.

Kent based company; Aurora Electrical visited Egypt this August to assess the potential of setting up an international branch at the V1 Palo Verde ‘Enterprise Village’. The five day visit incorporated a site visit to Ras Sudr as well as inspecting other areas for business expansion in Egypt, including Hurghada on the Red Sea coast. Incentive and partner schemes are currently available for a selected number of UK based companies looking to benefit from the new opportunities now available in Egypt.

August is the month of Ramadan this year. This is a very important time in the Egyptian calendar with Muslims fasting between the hours of sunset and sunrise. This is a very festive time with special celebrations taking place and decorations adorn many streets and cities.

Meanwhile, important parliamentary and presidential elections are being prepared for October and November when the country will complete its transition to a freely elected nation.

Tourism has enjoyed a rebound this August with official numbers better than expected particularly in the Red Sea coastal areas of Hurghada and Sharm El Sheik. This has been quite evident during our visits in July and August. We hope to see figures return to pre-revolution numbers by the end of 2011.

Mr. John Kenny has been appointed as the new Honorary Consul for Hurghada. He has been living in Hurghada since 2008 and will be on hand to help the British community with general consular services. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Kenny in July to discuss the present situation in Egypt and the Palo Verde project. He was most helpful with details of new contacts available to us in the Red Sea Governate and within local business in Hurghada. We look forward to working together in the future on the project and future business in Egypt.

An Embassy visit to Egypt has been arranged for September, travelling with two of the Vanquish Team including the CEO, David Danaher. Stanmore Mallion and Protocol Office Supplies have already confirmed there places on the trip. There are still a limited number of places available for interested parties either for investment or business set-up. There is nothing like firsthand experience to see the potential of the project and future opportunities in this emerging country. To register your interest please e-mail info@vanquishdevelopments.com