Markets Egypt to unveil plan to offload stakes in 20 state entities shortly Egypt’s government aims to announce a detailed plan next week to offer stakes in at least 20 state companies over the coming year, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. An Egyptian plan to sell stakes in public companies, first announced more than five years ago, has gained new urgency since […] February 2, 2023
Economy High inflation boosts demand for gold Demand for gold coins, bars and jewellery soared in the Middle East last year, according to the World Gold Council. In 2022 demand for gold coins and bars in the Mena region surged 42 percent year-on-year to 77.8 tonnes, the highest annual total since 2018. “Egypt, Qatar, Iraq, the UAE and Oman significantly boosted their […] February 1, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Banking and Finance Egypt’s Paymob in Gulf expansion drive following $50m funding Paymob, the Cairo-based payments facilitator, is seeking to expand into Saudi Arabia after its recent debut in the UAE market. The company is also launching tap-on-phone payments in the UAE this year following its partnership with Mastercard to offer the service in its home market in 2021. “We see a massive opportunity to serve this […] February 1, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt’s net foreign assets climb by $2bn in December 2022 Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFAs) improved by EGP47.28 billion in December 2022, marking a second month of increases after it allowed its currency to depreciate sharply in October, central bank data showed. NFAs improved to a negative EGP494.3 billion from a negative EGP541.5 billion in November. This works out to an improvement of about $2.06 […] February 1, 2023
Tourism Tourism rebound brings spot of light to lessen gloom for Egypt Egyptian tourism performed strongly in the final quarter of 2022 – and this could have “a multiplier effect” for the country’s economy, analysts have said. Hotel occupancy in Cairo has continued to rebound despite Egypt’s economic challenges, according to the latest report by real estate consultancy JLL. The average occupancy rate for January to November […] January 30, 2023
Markets Egypt to announce listing of state-owned companies shortly Egypt’s cabinet will announce the country’s plans to list state-owned companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) during 2023, Ahram Online reported, citing Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly. “In less than two weeks, the cabinet will fully announce the plan to offer all [mandated] companies on the Egyptian exchange in 2023,” he stated. The step follows the recently […] January 29, 2023
Egyptian gaming startup acquires Tunisian rival Galactech Egyptian startup GBarena, an esports platform operating across the Middle East, has acquired Tunisian rival Galactech in a share swap valued at $15 million. The deal comes as GBarena prepares to close its Series A funding later this year, with participation from investors in the US, Singapore and the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) […] January 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Egyptian banks to support local SMEs with $120m funding Saudi-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an affiliate of the Islamic Development Bank, is planning to provide financing worth $120 million to local Egyptian banks, including Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Egypt Today newspaper reported. Funds will help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and provide integrated […] January 25, 2023
Analysis UK seeks North Africa trade boost after Cairo deal The British export credit agency has signed a deal with Egyptian engineering and construction company Hassan Allam Holding to increase cooperation on projects across the Middle East and North Africa. The agreement, signed at the British embassy in Cairo, aims to secure inward investment into the UK and promote cooperation on financing projects and encourage […] January 24, 2023
Development Egypt’s Sisi defends mega-projects while economy is under strain Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday defended mega-projects undertaken since he took power, saying they were not to blame for economic turmoil that has seen the currency plummet and inflation accelerate. Since Sisi became president in 2014, Egypt has embarked on an infrastructure splurge spearheaded by the military that has included the expansion of […] January 24, 2023
Analysis Economic success for Menap hinges on greater regional trade Many countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan (Menap) region are enjoying growth, but new research has found that intra-regional exports account for only 2.9 percent of total gross domestic product. This compares to a global average of 7.9 percent, and 22 percent across the European Union (EU), Norway, Switzerland and the […] January 24, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt signs $1.5bn financing pact for energy and commodity imports Egypt has signed a $1.5 billion financing agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to fund its trading, including imports of energy products and essential commodities, CNBC Arabia wrote on Twitter, citing the head of the corporation. Last year Egypt signed a similar agreement also worth $1.5 billion with the ITFC, which is […] January 23, 2023
Banking and Finance Russia adds Egyptian pound and UAE dirham to exchange rate list Russia’s central bank has added nine currencies to its list of exchange rates against the ruble, including the UAE dirham, Qatari riyal and Egyptian pound (EGP), from January 18, Ahram Online reported. The other six are Thai baht, Vietnamese dong, Serbian dinar, New Zealand dollar, Georgian lari and Indonesian rupiah, the news portal said, citing a […] January 20, 2023
Economy Egypt’s soaring prices drive home economic pain In better times, Om Mohamed’s family used to take holidays at resorts on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. Now there is no money for vacations. Om Mohamed, 61, and her husband, who live with two grown-up sons in an apartment near the Cairo ringroad, are cutting back on items like meat as they try to get […] January 20, 2023
Economy Egypt sees high demand from investors after currency drop Egypt is seeing good investor appetite for stakes in its state-owned enterprises, the country’s planning minister said, as the government pursues partial privatisations to drum up funds after a sharp fall in the value of its currency. Egypt, faced with a currency crunch exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, recently started a $3 billion International […] January 19, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt’s banks can cope with sharp currency drop, say experts Egyptian banks can withstand the impact of further currency depreciation as they are supported by “healthy internal capital generation”, analysts say. Fitch Ratings report that large private sector banks are better placed to deal with a weaker pound than the two largest public banks, National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, due to their higher […] January 18, 2023
Sustainability $100bn ‘a drop in the ocean’ for climate action, says Cop27 host The world still urgently needs to address the “elephant in the room” in the climate crisis, which is financing action for vulnerable developing countries, officials from Cop27 host nation Egypt said. In 2020 combined adaptation and mitigation finance flows fell at least $17 billion short of the $100 billion pledged annually to developing countries, according […] January 17, 2023
Markets Foreign investors pour $925m into Egypt in just three days Foreign investors transferred more than $925 million into the Egyptian foreign exchange market in the three days since its currency sharply depreciated last week, Egypt’s central bank said in a statement. The Egyptian pound weakened to about 32 to the dollar from 27.60 at the open on Wednesday before rebounding to 29.61 pounds by end-Monday. […] January 17, 2023
Energy New gas discovery in Egypt’s Eastern Mediterranean sea Italian energy group Eni and US energy major Chevron said they have made a new gas discovery in an Egyptian offshore field in the Eastern Mediterranean sea. The Nargis-1 well is part of Egypt’s 1,800sq km Nargis Offshore Area concession operated by Chevron, which holds a 45 percent interest in it. Eni also holds a […] January 16, 2023
Economy Egyptian small businesses optimistic about 2023 The majority of Egyptian small business owners are optimistic about their growth prospects for 2023. YouGov and GoDaddy’s 2023 Small Business Survey found that 67 percent of Egyptian entrepreneurs are expecting growth this year, with the food and beverage, technology and e-commerce sectors perceived as having the most potential. Selina Bieber, commercial strategy senior director […] January 16, 2023
