Up to 1,067 new companies have been established in March, Chairman of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Hassan Fahmy said on Tuesday.

"This rate is the highest in the past eight years," Fahmy said during his participation in the sixth session of the Conference of Arab and Chinese businessmen, now held in Beirut.

He called on Chinese businessmen to pump investments in the Arab countries, praising the Silk Route initiative aiming at facilitating trade between China and other countries.