Energy Dubai firm plans $1.1bn clean energy investment in Egypt Dubai-based Amea Power announced on Wednesday that it has achieved a financial close to deliver 1 gigawatts (gw) of wind and solar energy projects in Egypt. The 500mw wind and 500mw solar projects, represent $1.1 billion of investment into the Egyptian economy and takes the company’s clean energy portfolio to 2gw in the country. Amea […] December 1, 2022
Economy Egypt’s net foreign assets continued to decline in October Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFAs) fell by EGP 109.9 billion ($4.47 billion) in October, extending a decline that began in September 2021, central bank data showed. The decrease works out to about $228 million after calculating for devaluations during October. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February sparked a currency crisis that led to Egypt to […] December 1, 2022
Tourism Europe’s Ryanair in talks to expand into Egypt and Libya Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, Ryanair, is in talks with authorities in Egypt and Libya about operating flights to the countries for the first time, chief executive Michael O’Leary said on Tuesday. Ryanair’s only flights outside of Europe currently are to and from Morocco, Israel and Jordan. Its Hungary-based rival Wizz, which flies to […] November 30, 2022
Economy Egypt not out of the woods after IMF rescue deal Egypt’s finances remain in a precarious state despite two major currency devaluations this year and a brand new $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package, economists say. With debt interest payments set to soak up over 40 percent of the government’s revenues next year and a lack of foreign currency still hurting the economy, […] November 27, 2022
Agriculture 5,000 Egyptian farm workers to head to Greece in pilot scheme Egypt will provide 5,000 seasonal workers to help meet the growing needs of Greece’s agricultural sector under a pilot scheme agreed by the two countries. Greece’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the deal could be a “guide” for future agreements signed by Greece and the European Union (EU) with third countries to combat […] November 24, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt and Turkey among nations facing high-risk currency crises Nomura has warned that seven countries – Egypt, Romania, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Czech Republic, Pakistan and Hungary – are now at a high risk of currency crises. The Japanese bank said that 22 of the 32 countries covered by its in-house “Damocles” warning system have seen their risk rise since its last update since May, […] November 23, 2022
Energy Egypt said to start building $11bn wind farms project from 2024 Egypt will start construction of an $11 billion wind farms project in 2024, which is likely to supply electricity to Europe and Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported. A consortium comprising Abu Dhabi-owned Masdar and Infinity Power Holdings will finish building the 10-gigawatt (GW) onshore plant by 2030, Mohamed Mansour, chairman of Infinity Power, told the news […] November 21, 2022
Cop28 Cop27 deal delivers landmark on ‘loss and damage’, but little else Countries adopted a hard-fought final agreement at the Cop27 climate summit early on Sunday that sets up a fund to help poor countries being battered by climate disasters – but does not boost efforts to tackle the emissions causing them. After tense negotiations that ran through the night, the Egyptian Cop27 presidency released the final […] November 20, 2022
Banking and Finance Egyptian expat remittances fall slightly to $20.9bn Remittances from Egyptian expatriates reached $20.9 billion in the first eight months of 2022, compared to $21.4 billion a year earlier, Egypt Today reported, citing data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Remittances from Egyptian expatriates fell to $2.2 billion in August 2022. Money inflow from Egyptian expatriates increased by 1.6 percent during the […] November 20, 2022
Cop28 ‘Blame game’ and tension over lack of final proposal Cop27 attendees are preparing for a long weekend as it appears increasingly likely that talks in Sharm el-Sheikh will be extended. Speaking on Thursday evening at a press conference that was due to begin the process of wrapping up the summit, Cop27 president Sameh Shoukry told reporters that “there are still a number of issues […] November 18, 2022
Sustainability New Egyptian fund to invest in projects issuing carbon certificates Egypt has launched the first domestic fund to invest in projects that issue carbon certificates (EgyCop), Egypt Today newspaper reported. The Egyptian fund for investment in projects that issue EgyCOP has an authorised capital of EGP1 billion ($40.78 million). It funds projects of local companies that reduce emissions in the country and issues them internationally […] November 18, 2022
Analysis Energy Egypt aims to overcome obstacles to supplying more gas to the EU Depleting gas fields and soaring domestic consumption will stymie Egypt’s immediate efforts to boost Europe-bound energy exports – however, new exploration and additional pipelines could help it become a sizeable supplier to the EU later this decade. The EU has vowed to slash its imports of Russian gas by two thirds this year following Vladimir Putin’s […] November 17, 2022
Development Egypt awards $500m contract to build new container terminal Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) has signed a $500 million contract with the Suez Canal Container Company (SCCT) to establish a second container handling terminal in East Port Said, it said in a statement. The project aims to expand the existing SCCT’s container terminal at Port Said East Port, with extra length of 955 […] November 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt to join Brics’ development bank in coming weeks Egypt is looking to join the New Development Bank (NDB), established by the Brics countries, to improve cooperation in infrastructure and sustainable development, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported, citing a statement from the Egyptian finance ministry. The Egyptian parliament will officially discuss the final procedures to join the bank in the coming weeks. Brics is a […] November 14, 2022
Real Estate Egyptian investors look to real estate to hedge against inflation Egyptian investors are looking to real estate as a hedge against inflation and a depreciating pound, while landlords are increasingly pricing in US dollars. Merna Arafat, an analyst at Beltone, a Cairo-based brokerage, said that many investors had begun moving into property in March this year when the government started allowing the Egyptian pound to […] November 11, 2022
Economy Egypt’s headline inflation jumps to 16.2% in October 2022 Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation accelerated faster than expected in October, climbing to a four-year high of 16.2 percent, data from the statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Thursday. Year-on-year inflation increased to its highest since October 2018, when it hit 17.68 percent, from 15.0 percent in September. Core inflation rose to 19 percent in October […] November 11, 2022
Cop28 US plan to sell carbon credits to private firms gets mixed reaction With the opening speeches out of the way, day four of Cop27 was the first of the “thematic days”, as member parties moved into the back rooms out of view of the cameras to conduct the real negotiations. The biggest announcement of the day came via the US climate envoy, John Kerry. A new carbon […] November 10, 2022
Tourism Egypt solves riddle of how to attract 30 million tourists Egyptian tourism minister Ahmed Issa has said that the country has worked out plans to attract 30 million tourists. “Egypt has always felt that it deserves 30 million tourists and the challenge that has been given to me as a problem solver [is to] figure out what to do and what needs to be done,” he […] November 9, 2022
Cop28 Decoding Cop27: the many shades of green bonds Banks, governments and businesses say financial markets can play a crucial role in driving the shift to a lower-carbon world. At the Cop27 climate conference in Egypt, companies and country delegates are discussing ways of enhancing the market for green bonds, or bonds that are linked to projects deemed environmentally beneficial. Green bonds have their […] November 9, 2022
Cop28 Developing countries call for new taxes on oil and gas producers By the end of the second full day of Cop27 the tone of the conference had been set. One after another, leaders of developing countries took to the plenary stage to voice their frustration and demand that rich nations offer more support to help combat the effects of climate change. After Barbadian prime minister Mia […] November 9, 2022
