Banking & Finance EFG Holding quarterly revenues surge 63% to $104m By Pramod Kumar August 15, 2024, 5:23 AM Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh A branch of EFG Hermes investment bank in Cairo. The group's net profit rose 95 percent year on year Egypt-based EFG Holding said revenues surged 63 percent year on year to EGP5.1 billion ($104 million) in the second quarter of 2024 thanks to strong income from the investment banking division. The group’s different verticals – investment bank EFG Hermes, EFG Finance, the non-bank financial institution and aiBank, the commercial bank – all posted strong growth in the second quarter. The group’s net profit rose 95 percent year on year to EGP791 million. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week Operating expenses, however, increased 59 percent yearly to EGP3.4 billion in the second quarter due to the impact of the currency devaluation and high inflation. Revenue of EFG Hermes rose 74 percent year on year to EGP2.8 billion in Q2 2024, which reached an all-time high. Net profit for the division jumped 72 percent annually to EGP305 million. EFG Finance reported revenues of 70 percent to EGP1.1 billion. Net operating profit was up 167 percent to EGP383 million. Meanwhile, aiBank revenues soared 39 percent year on year to EGP1.2 billion, driven by higher net interest income amid loan book growth and enhanced net interest margins. Net profit climbed 55 percent year on year to EGP426 million as revenue growth outpaced expenses.
Mining Ma’aden signs $1bn contracts to develop industrial cities Saudi mineral giant Ma’aden has signed three contracts worth a combined $922 million with foreign companies to develop a third phosphate fertiliser project. The majority state-owned Saudi mining company announced the agreements in a note to the Saudi bourse on Thursday, coinciding with the final day of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. Ma’aden is […] 2 hours ago
Tax $660m a year ‘sin tax’ target set by Kuwait Kuwait hopes to raise 200 million dinars ($660 million) a year through a “sin tax” on unhealthy products as part of tax reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund, the country’s finance minister said on Wednesday. Noora Al-Fassam told the official Kuwaiti news agency that her ministry was working on a new law for a […] 3 hours ago
Transport Tenders issued for high speed Abu Dhabi-Dubai rail link Tenders have been issued for the design and construction of central components in a high-speed rail link between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Etihad Rail, the national rail company of the UAE, has sent out tenders for designing and constructing civil works and station packages for the line connecting the two cities as part of the […] 4 hours ago
EXCLUSIVE Aviation Wizz Air increases flights from UAE to Israel after ceasefire The budget carrier Wizz Air is increasing the number of flights between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The airline had previously scaled back its Tel Aviv-Abu Dhabi service to four flights a week because of the conflict, down from its pre-crisis schedule of two flights a day. […] 4 hours ago
