Analysis People & Lifestyle Egypt’s historic rent controls are a problem to be solved Ahmed lives in a four-bedroom apartment in a concrete tenement with his ailing mother. The flat has been in the family since his father, who died several years ago, began renting it when he graduated from university in the 1960s. It is in Manial, a bustling, lower-middle-class area of Cairo, the kind of place where […] December 6, 2024
Banking & Finance Retail investors offered 1.5% of Egypt’s United Bank in IPO A small stake in Egypt’s United Bank is to be offered to retail investors on Wednesday, when 16.5 million shares of the state-owned bank will be floated on the Egyptian Exchange as part of an IPO. The retail tranche, 1.5 percent of the bank’s shares, is part of an initial public offering of 330 million […] November 26, 2024
Renewable Energy Poland’s Hynfra to build green ammonia plant in Egypt Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones is linking up with Polish energy company Hynfra to build a green ammonia plant. The facility will produce ammonia for export from Egypt to the European Union, the GAFI and Hynfra said in a joint statement. It will require an investment of $1.6 billion in its first […] November 26, 2024
Renewable Energy UAE companies sign renewable energy deals in Egypt Companies from the UAE signed a series of memoranda of understanding in Egypt last week to develop and support green energy projects in the country. The non-binding agreements are the latest in a string of planned Gulf energy investments in Egypt. UAE renewable energy company Masdar signed an agreement to develop a floating photovoltaic solar […] November 25, 2024
Infrastructure Public-private tenders worth $1bn on offer in Egypt Eleven tenders worth more than $1.2 billion for public-private partnerships (PPPs), mainly involving water and waste water treatment, are about to be issued by the Egyptian government. Atter Hannoura, director of the PPP Central Unit at the Egyptian finance ministry, said that the total value of PPP agreements to be tendered is about EGP62 billion […] November 22, 2024
Tourism Abu Dhabi’s Adtic invests with Accor in Egyptian hotel The Abu Dhabi Tourism Investment Company (Adtic) has signed an agreement with the French hospitality company Accor to open a Sofitel hotel near the Giza Necropolis outside Cairo. Adtic, which is 84 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi Development Fund and 10 percent by the Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company, has allocated $100 million for […] November 21, 2024
Agriculture Egypt’s food exports grow by a third The value of Egyptian agricultural exports grew by $1 billion in the first 10 months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of around a third, as the government strives to open up new global markets and product lines. Egypt exported 7.1 million tonnes of agricultural goods between January 1 and October 30, with a total value […] November 8, 2024
Telecoms First Saudi Arabia-to-Egypt subsea cable announced Mobily and Telecom Egypt have signed an agreement to lay the first subsea cable between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the companies announced in a joint press statement on Monday. The new cable will connect the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh with the Saudi city of Duba. Egypt already has landing points for 18 […] November 5, 2024
Economy Egypt plans bonds drive and may review IMF measures Egypt plans to issue new sukuks and green bonds worth between EGP5 billion ($102.9 million) and EGP10 billion ($205.8 million) before June 2025, the end of its current financial year. The country’s finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk told reporters on Saturday of the ministry’s intentions to issue the new bonds. Earlier in the year Kouchouk spoke […] October 21, 2024
Trade Saudi Arabia signs deals worth $15bn with Egypt Egypt and Saudi Arabia provisionally agreed investment deals worth a combined $15 billion following the meeting of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Cairo on Tuesday. Speaking to Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday, the head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council, Bandar Al-Ameri, said that the deals include projects in […] October 17, 2024
Transport Private jets and yachts take passengers fleeing Lebanon People trying to flee the escalating conflict in Lebanon are turning to expensive private bus, yacht and jet operators as an increased number of airlines cancel flights. “If Beirut’s airport is closed due to the ongoing conflict, don’t worry,” reads one of the many such adverts that have inundated Lebanese social media. “Our luxury yachts […] October 14, 2024
Infrastructure Giza mega station opening drives Egypt’s rail investments The first passenger train arrived on Sunday at the new Upper Egypt Railway Station in Bashteel, Giza, as the country invests in developing its ageing rail network. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi opened the station on Saturday along with 19 other transport infrastructure projects across the country. The new station is designed to serve […] October 14, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Global car makers expand Egyptian operations Car makers in Egypt are expanding their operations after the conclusion of a long-running currency crisis earlier this year. The devaluation of the Egyptian pound in March has made the country a more attractive proposition both as a consumer market and a base from which to export. Among those who have announced expansion plans since […] October 13, 2024
Construction Egypt’s Forbes Tower has designs on Burj Khalifa records Egypt’s 50-storey Forbes Tower is a self-consciously Dubai-esque development. It will have the world’s tallest central atrium, the fastest elevator, and is due to be the first net-zero tower in the Middle East and North Africa. Magnom Properties, the Egyptian-Saudi-owned developer, plans to spend $1 billion building the 240m tall tower, and has embraced comparisons […] October 11, 2024
Economy As GCC calls for ceasefire, UAE gives Lebanon $100m The UAE directed an urgent $100 million aid package to Lebanon on Monday, as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued. President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan said: “This initiative is part of the UAE’s continuous efforts to support Lebanon through its current challenges, underscoring the nation’s unwavering commitment to assisting the Lebanese people.” The […] September 30, 2024
Analysis Renewable Energy Egypt looks to Gulf investors to end power blackouts Egypt’s energy blackouts have created new opportunities for Gulf investors, as the cash-strapped Cairo government tries to end the crisis and plug the gap in its electricity supply before next summer. Prime minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on September 19 that there would be no more power cuts over the coming period, potentially marking an end […] September 27, 2024
Tourism Plan announced to build six new hotels in Egypt Plans to open six new hotels in Egypt in 2025 at a cost of $215 million have been revealed by the CEO of an Egyptian hotel company. Alaa Akel, chief executive of Jaz Hotel Group, a subsidiary of the Egyptian travel and tourism company Travco, said the group will open two new hotels on Egypt’s […] September 18, 2024
Renewable Energy Egypt to receive half of Acwa Power’s $30bn Africa investment Saudi energy company Acwa Power is hoping for financial close on the first phase of a scheme to invest $15 billion in Egypt over the next six years, as part of a plan to quadruple its total investment in Africa. A flagship green hydrogen scheme in Egypt, as yet unnamed, could become the second-largest of […] September 17, 2024
Real Estate Egypt offers Red Sea peninsula for development Egypt has started promoting another sizeable Red Sea peninsula, the Ras Banas headland, to tourism developers. Egypt’s minister of housing and urban communities Sherif El Sherbiny said on Saturday that the area is being offered in a deal similar to the Ras El Hekma scheme on the Mediterranean coast agreed in February. The state retained […] September 17, 2024
Economy Tax reforms launched by Egypt to entice more investors A range of measures to make the Egyptian tax system more transparent and attract further investors to the country has been unveiled by finance minister Ahmed Kouchouk. The reforms will boost the country’s competitiveness and make it easier for foreign investors to work there, Kouchouk said in a press conference on Wednesday. “It’s evident that […] September 12, 2024
Economy Egypt’s private sector begins to feel impact of reforms Egypt’s non-oil private sector economy expanded for the first time in three years as the impact of the government’s currency strategy and international investment drive begins to trickle down to the business community. The country’s economic outlook was transformed in February following a $35 billion investment deal for Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ to develop […] September 3, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Funding flows to fintechs wooing Egypt’s eager borrowers Egyptian financial technology entrepreneurs bagged the highest amount of funding in the Middle East and North Africa in July, as they targeted untapped opportunities among the country’s massive unbanked population. Egyptian startups as a whole raised $185 million across seven deals in July, a huge surge from $15 million raised through four deals the month […] September 2, 2024
