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Egypt

Egypt’s net foreign assets deficit rises $1.5bn in March

Egypt’s deficit of net foreign assets (NFAs) rose by about $1.47 billion in March, bringing the total drawdown in the first quarter of the year to $4.47 billion, central bank data showed, a development that may prompt a consultation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Almost all of the deficit represented NFAs with banks. NFAs, […]

An electronics retailer. There are 54 eXtra stores across Saudi, Oman and Bahrain

Electronics retailer eXtra pulls plug on Egypt plans

United Electronics, the Saudi company behind tech retailer eXtra, has abandoned its plan to expand into Egypt as analysts predict that soaring inflation in the North African country will dampen consumer spending. The company said in a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange on Monday that the decision followed a feasibility review, but did not […]

The Muscat metro project aims to stimulate investment and improve infrastructure

Egypt signs $734m transport investment deal with Japan  

Egypt has signed its largest investment package with Japan directed at supporting the North African country’s transportation development plan, according to a statement released by Egypt’s cabinet. The package, valued at 100 billion yen ($734 million), will contribute to financing Cairo’s metro expansion, a 30km stretch of land that would link the Egyptian city of […]

Egypt hydrogen

Egypt to press ahead with state asset sales

Egypt will not retreat from its programme of selling state assets and will meet all of its debt repayment commitments, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said. Delays in selling stakes in state companies have been caused by the government’s keenness to secure “the best return from the sale”, he told a news conference. “Egypt will continue […]

Gulf India rail port links deal

Egypt secures funds for $2bn Alexandria metro project

Construction of the Alexandria metro project in Egypt is set to begin after President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi approved an agreement with the French Development Agency (AFD) for a €250 million ($276.50 million) loan. The project is a joint initiative with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Egypt Today […]

The International Monetary Fund and Egypt have agreed on the key policy elements of an economic reform programme

Egypt faces another devaluation, predict experts

Economic analysts are predicting that the Egyptian government will be forced into a fourth devaluation of the Egyptian pound since February last year although uncertainty surrounds its timing and magnitude. Ramona Moubarak, head of Mena country risk at Fitch Solutions, cited sluggish capital inflows to Egypt and a growing parallel currency market due to persistent […]

Egypt gas wells

Chevron seeks to expand gas search off Egypt and Cyprus

Chevron is seeking a drilling ship to explore for natural gas off Cyprus, Egypt and Israel as the US energy major looks to meet growing demand in the region and Europe, two sources told Reuters. Chevron, which operates in the three eastern Mediterranean countries, issued a lease tender on Monday seeking a drilling vessel in […]

Logo, Person, Man

IMF says review date for $3bn loan to Egypt not yet decided

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have yet to agree on a date for the initial review under a $3 billion financial package signed in December, an IMF official said. The fund in December approved a $3 billion extended facility loan for Egypt, which has been under acute financial pressure since long-standing problems were […]

Suez

Egypt to fund green projects in Suez Canal economic zone

Egypt will fund environmental projects of local companies in the Suez Canal Economic Zone to drive sustainability and reduce carbon footprint.  The move by the Ministry of Environment aims to support Egyptian companies to become more efficient, decrease energy and resource consumption and comply with national and global environmental standards, Ahram Online newspaper reported, citing […]

Residents of the Matareya district of Cairo break their Ramadan fast on April 6. Food prices have risen sharply in Egypt

Food prices drive latest hike in Egyptian inflation

Egypt’s inflation hit some of the highest levels on record in March, the state statistics agency Capmas said on Monday. Year-on-year headline inflation increased to 32.7 percent while core inflation, which strips out energy and some food prices, slipped from an all-time high of 40.3 percent in February to 39.5 percent in March. The month-on-month […]

Baby, Person, Body Part

Egyptian treasury bills sales climb as yields increase

Sales of 273- and 91-day Egyptian treasury bills at an auction on Sunday climbed from last week’s low after the finance ministry paid record high yields to partly reflect a 200-basis-point hike in central bank overnight interest rates on March 30. Investors have sought higher yields to match the increased central bank rates and on […]

Egypt collects $385m through ‘cars-for-deposit’ initiative

Egypt has collected $385 million through an initiative that lets Egyptians living abroad import cars customs-free when they deposit hard currency in five-year certificates of deposit (CDs). Finance minister of Mohamed Maait said that 600 cars had been released so far to Egyptians living abroad who signed up for the initiative. He added that the […]

Osman Sultan

Osman Sultan on Mena’s move from ‘telco’ to ‘techco’

Osman Sultan proclaimed in 1997 he would put “a mobile in the hand of everyone” in Egypt. At the time, even some shareholders at Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil), where he was CEO, were unsettled by his audacious statement.  Egypt’s telecoms regulator granted him a licence to become the country’s first mobile operator, but […]

man, lectern

Egyptian interest rates nearing a 30-year high

Interest rates in Egypt could soon reach a 30-year high, according to economists, amid fears that core inflation, already at a record 40.3 percent, will rise further.  Last week, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) increased its overnight deposit rate and lending rate by 200 basis points (bps) to 18.25 percent and 19.25 percent respectively. […]

China’s $500m subsea optic cable to link Middle East

Chinese state-owned telecom firms are developing a $500 million undersea fibre-optic internet cable network that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe to rival a similar US-backed project, four people involved in the deal told Reuters. The plan is a sign that an intensifying tech war between Beijing and Washington risks tearing the fabric […]

man, woman, sunglasses

The rise and fall of millionaires in Morocco and Egypt

The number of millionaires living in Morocco has increased by 28 percent over the last 10 years, but fallen by 25 percent in Egypt. While Morocco was awarded a $5 billion credit line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week to shield it from the impact of the pandemic, droughts and the Ukraine war, […]

Egypt closes $680m funding for 500MW wind farm 

The Red Sea Wind Energy consortium has signed a financial closing agreement worth $680 million to establish a wind farm in the Gulf of Suez with a capacity of 500mw. The project will be funded by the Japan Cooperation Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing an Egyptian […]

Baby, Person, Body Part

Egyptian bond sales fall on likely currency devaluation

Sales of three-year Egyptian treasury bonds issued on Tuesday plummeted to EGP1.09 million ($35,332) after the government baulked at the high yields demanded by investors concerned the currency is likely to depreciate soon. The central bank received 26 bids worth EGP5.77 billion with a weighted average yield of 24.15 percent at an auction on Monday, […]

Islamic Development Bank IsDB board

Egyptian electric train project gets IsDB green light

The Islamic Development Bank has approved $344.5 million in financing towards the first phase of the planned Egyptian electric train system. The 660 km railway will connect Egypt’s port cities of Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean with Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea. The Egyptian electric train project is expected to benefit 25 […]

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in June 2022 to discuss trade and investment

Egypt’s Sisi heads to Saudi Arabia amid financial pressure

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi has travelled to Saudi Arabia as Cairo continues to seek financial inflows to ease pressure on its currency and bolster a faltering economy. Sisi was welcomed in Jeddah on Monday morning by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia has long provided financial support to Egypt but […]