When a multinational corporation begins operating in a country it is for one reason; to make money. Ensuring that it can make money usually requires the implementation by the government of several regulatory measures; opening different sectors to private investment, wage controls, tax and tariff incentives, relaxation of health and safety standards, immunity from litigation, and so on. But there is one overriding factor that determines whether a company believes it can profit in any given country, and that is security. When businesses talk about security, they do not mean security in the society as a whole; they don’t mean that there mustn’t be any conflict; but only that the conflict must not affect their business.
If there is a rebellion of some sort in the country, and that rebellion exclusively targets security forces and government entities, well, from the perspective of business that can still be a secure environment. If rebels attack police stations and burn security vehicles, this has no impact on business.
However, if the companies’ interests, if their facilities, if their supply chains, are targeted, that is another matter entirely. Even if the company believes that their interests may be targeted, this causes a sense of insecurity, and this wariness will affect their decision making.
When there were a number of attacks last year against multinationals like Vodafone, Carrefour, and KFC, ahead of the Economic Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, the international media was highly alarmed. Even though there were dozens of other attacks taking place at the same time in Sinai, and against security forces throughout Egypt, none of these attacks troubled them. As soon as rebels began targeting business, everyone noticed. Company executives were quoted as saying that they were just waiting for the Summit, and hoping that disruption would die down once it was finished.
You have seen for yourselves the power of this strategy, and how you were able to force the IMF to delay its decision on the $12 billion loan to Egypt simply by warning them, and the local offices of multinationals, that the private sector would be targeted if the loan proceeds.
You have the power to change the situation in Egypt if you manage your resources strategically and target the vulnerabilities of the power structure instead of its strengths. You can commandeer the influence of the multinationals. If you can disrupt a system, you control that system. Deliver the clearest possible message to investors, “No Justice, No Profit”, and they will have no choice but to listen.