`Made in China` now made in Egypt

A Chinese textile group have turned to Egypt as an ideal location to produce their cut-price clothes, beating stiff competition at home, the AFP reported on Sunday.



The report said Chinese-owned Nile Textile Group has set up shop in the Port Said free zone, overlooking the north entrance of the Suez Canal, and developed an industrial estate now hiring 600 workers.



Most of their clothes are now labelled "Made in Egypt" rather than "Made in China".



"Egyptian free zones allow for export all over the world with almost no restrictions," Mohammed Abdel Samie, the industrial estate`s administrative director, told the AFP.



With cheap labour, investment incentives and unrestricted exports, the company has more easy access to foreign markets, mainly to the United States.



According to the report, around 950 Chinese companies have set up operations in Egyptian free zones, representing a total investment of nearly 300 million dollars.



Trade between China and Africa has increased ten-fold since the start of the decade, the report said. Direct Chinese investment in Africa marked $7.8 billion in 2008.