Majid Al Futtaim, the Dubai-based conglomerate whose businesses span shopping mall, real estate, retail and leisure sectors, is opening 100 additional Carrefour stores in Egypt, adding to 37 outlets it already operates in the most populous Arab country.

The company has signed a “cooperation protocol agreement” with the Egyptian investment ministry and the National Service Projects Organization, an affiliate of the country’s armed forces to open new stores in industrial zones across various governorates in the country, it said in a statement on Monday without giving the financial details or the timeline of the project.

The investment into new outlets, is on top of the Majid Al Futtaims’s previously announced 23 billion Egyptian pound (Dh4.77bn) investment strategy for Egypt, Africa's third largest economy. The company’s ongoing projects in the country include Mall of Egypt and its various leisure and entertainment attractions such as Ski Egypt, the expansion of VOX Cinema in the country and development of City Centre Almaza.

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“This agreement comes in line with Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment towards the socio-economic development of Egypt and subsequently fulfills the government’s vision,” Abdalla El Nockrashy, Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ Egypt country head said.

Sahar Nasr, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation noted that the pact with the UAE firm delivers a strong message to leading companies that “Egypt and all its governmental bodies are in full support of investors”.

Carrefour is one of the world's largest hypermarket and supermarket chains. Majid Al Futtaim has the exclusive franchise of the brand in 38 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It opened its first Carrefour hypermarket in 1995 in Dubai’s Deira City Centre before expanding it to more than 230 stores across 15 countries in the region.

The company had launched the first Carrefour branded store in Egypt in 2002. It currently operates 11 hypermarkets and 25 supermarkets. The additional stores, the company said, will contribute to the Egyptian economy by creating more job opportunities and provide quality commodities with fair market value to Egyptians.