Economy Egypt secures $616m loan to bolster banking reforms The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) has extended a $615.8 million loan to Egypt to support the country’s reforms in the financial and banking sector. The program focuses on raising the efficiency of the payment systems infrastructure, improving financial inclusion and sustainability and strengthening supervisory and regulatory framework in the financial and banking sector. The AMF […] August 1, 2023
Energy Egypt rations electricity to tackle power shortages Egypt’s government will implement emergency moves, including rationing electricity and increasing fuel oil imports, as it bids to tackle a summer power shortage, the country’s prime minister said on Thursday. Egypt will import between $250 million and $300 million worth of mazut fuel oil to manage the power cuts, and will announce a plan to […] July 28, 2023
Banking & Finance Gulf investor may buy stake in Egyptian fertiliser firm Egypt is planning to sell a stake in state-owned El-Nasr Fertilizers and Chemical Industries Company (Semadco) to a strategic investor from the GCC and foreign funds, a local media reported. The Holding Company for Chemical Industries, which owns Semadco, is currently determining the fair value of the share, which is expected to be completed within […] July 26, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt offers dollar deposits to ease currency crunch Egypt’s two biggest state banks on Tuesday issued US dollar-denominated certificates of deposit with high returns, in what appears to be the country’s latest attempt to lure dollars away from the black market and back into the financial system. The North African nation is grappling with a shortage of hard currency, with the Egyptian pound […] July 26, 2023
Economy Egypt’s current account deficit narrows to $5.3bn Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $5.3 billion in July-March of 2022/23 driven by an increase in the revenues of tourism and the Suez Canal, the central bank said on Tuesday. This compared to $13.6 billion in the same period a year earlier. Remittances from Egyptians working abroad have dropped by 26.1 percent for the […] July 26, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt grants five ‘golden licences’ for $329m projects Egypt has issued golden licences to five projects with a total investment of EGP10.2 billion ($329.34 million). The first project is a 78,000 square metre recycling factory for alternative fuel and fibre, which will be built by Enviro Process in Minya at the cost of EGP73.5 million. Fayoum Company for Storage and Warehouses will build, […] July 25, 2023
Oil & Gas Egypt denies Zohr gas field facing technical problems Egypt denied reports its giant Zohr gas field was facing technical problems, in a statement on Monday, instead highlighting investments to boost its production. Total investment in the offshore gas field has reached $12 billion and is expected to hit $15 billion in three years, the government said in a statement on Monday. “The field […] July 25, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt fuels private sector investment in Saudi industrial zones Private sector investment in Saudi industrial zones has spiked by nearly 25 percent in the second quarter of 2023, with Egypt the primary source market for overseas investors. The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) announced that SAR 2.77 billion ($735.5 million) was invested in Q2 2023 — up 23.5 percent year-on-year. […] July 24, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt plans fertiliser complex with help from China and Italy Egypt will build a third industrial fertiliser production complex in Ain Sokhna in cooperation with Chinese and Italian companies. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met and discussed with executives of China’s Wuhan Engineering Co. and Italy’s Ballestra on establishing the industrial complex, the president’s office said in a statement. “The meeting discussed the ongoing cooperation with the […] July 24, 2023
Trade Egypt finalises mining terms with UK and Canadian firms Egypt has signed agreements with UK-listed Centamin Plc and Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation on the commercial, fiscal and legal terms for mining gold and associated minerals across several concession blocks awarded to them two years ago. All legal procedures are underway to submit the agreement to the authorities for approval, said Tarek El Molla, minister […] July 21, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE fund agrees $100m grain loan facility with Egypt Egypt is to sign a $100 million renewable loan facility with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to fund its grains purchases, supply minister Ali Moselhy said. Abu Dhabi-based agribusiness firm Al Dahra will be one of the first suppliers of the grain through the deal, but Moselhy said that the funding could be […] July 21, 2023
Energy Egypt set to resume LNG exports by October Egypt is planning to resume exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by October, according to petroleum minister Tarek El Molla. Summer exports of LNG increased last year because the government switched from using natural gas in power stations to mazut (heavy, low quality) fuel oil to bank on the higher natural gas prices, he said. […] July 20, 2023
Video length: 03:19 VIDEO Employment 60% of young Arabs want to emigrate, survey finds High unemployment rates, conflict and lack of strong government policies in North Africa and the Levant are making young Arabs want to emigrate, the latest edition of the Arab Youth Survey has found. At 26 percent, the region has the highest unemployment rate in the world. As a result, 60 percent of young Arabs want […] July 19, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt set to issue tenders for precious metal mining Egypt will issue tenders for mining precious and basic metals between July and September 2023, according to minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El Molla. The tenders will be for mining precious metals, phosphate, sulphur and potash, he added. The minister stated that the government has launched a regional geophysical survey programme, which includes […] July 19, 2023
Energy Saudi firm agrees deal for 10GW wind farm in Egypt Acwa Power, a Saudi-listed company and the world’s largest private water desalination company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority to allocate land for a 10 gigawatt wind project. The agreement allocates approximately 3,000 sq km of land west of Sohag, an urban centre on the Nile, for the […] July 18, 2023
Development Egypt explores plans for new free zones Egypt is weighing plans to build three new free zones to stimulate foreign direct investments, according to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The new free zones will be established in Alexandria, the 10th of Ramadan and the 6th of October cities, Ahram Online reported, citing an official statement. No project or cost details were given on […] July 17, 2023
Infrastructure Egypt opens 17 infra projects for private sector investment Egypt has approved 17 infrastructure projects under its public-private partnerships (PPP) scheme, according to finance minister Mohamed Maait. The projects include three wastewater and industrial waste plants in Sadat, New Beni Suef and New Mansoura, and nine transformer plants and electrical grid projects in the New Administrative Capital, 6 October City and New Aswan City. […] July 14, 2023
Economy Egypt to sell stakes in 3 oil firms to ADQ for $800m Egypt has signed contracts with the private sector to sell state-owned entities worth $1.9 billion under its initial public offering (IPO) privatisation programme, said Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. The government has received $1.65 billion and the remaining $250 million will be received in the Egyptian pound, Ahram Online reported, citing Madbouly. The new contracts include […] July 12, 2023
Tourism Tourism in Egypt thrives as 7m visitors arrive in H1 2023 Egypt received seven million tourists during the first half of 2023, according to tourism and antiquities minister Ahmed Issa. The higher visitor numbers were driven by the cooperation of the private sector and the government agencies, Ahram Online newspaper reported quoting the minister. In April, Egypt received a record high of 1.35 million tourists. The […] July 11, 2023
Entrepreneurs Egypt’s currency slump deters startup investors Egypt’s economic woes have led to a 70 percent decline in the number of startup funding deals in the first half of the year. The country’s currency devaluation and other ongoing economic challenges are deterring investors, industry experts said. Funding for startups across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) fell 21 percent year-on-year to […] July 11, 2023
Economy Egypt’s inflation rises to all-time high of 35.7% in June Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation in June rose to a record 35.7 percent year-on-year from 32.7 percent in May, data from the country’s statistics agency Capmas showed. Analysts had expected the country’s headline inflation rate to jump to an all-time high, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, as an unfavourable base effect and increased […] July 10, 2023
Manufacturing France’s Alstom to establish industrial complex in Egypt The Egyptian cabinet has approved an investment plan by French train maker Alstom to set up an industrial complex in Alexandria. Alstom proposes setting up two factories, one for producing components such as signals, panels and electrical control circuits, Egypt Today newspaper reported. The second plant will manufacture mobile units for metro lines, trams, light […] July 7, 2023
