Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, whose family controls the Orascom corporate empire, said he would invest $1 billion in the country in the first quarter of 2014.

He told Reuters on the sidelines of an economic conference designed to lure Gulf investors to Egypt that the investment would focus on construction, real estate, agriculture and microfinance.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Abazeid, an adviser to Egypt's investment minister, said the government was preparing a law to reinforce the legal standing of past contracts with the state.

The business environment in Egypt has been clouded by court cases that have challenged past contracts concluded by the state.

These have included rulings ordering the reprivatisation of public sector businesses sold off in the era of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.-Reuters