Finance Egyptian billionaire moves family office to Abu Dhabi Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris is moving his family office to Abu Dhabi, as global investors choose the emirate as a key hub for their operations, Bloomberg reported. Sawiris intends to re-domicile NNS Group in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre, subject to regulatory approval, Bloomberg reported. Sawiris, Egypt’s wealthiest man, has […] December 6, 2023
Renewable Energy Egypt strikes Cop28 deals to drive green energy goals Egypt has signed several major agreements at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai, as part of its drive to achieve its green energy goals, a local daily reported. Minister of international cooperation Rania Al-Mashat oversaw the signing of agreements with the Norwegian company Scatec, the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the British International Investment (BII) […] December 5, 2023
Finance Currency and inflation in focus ahead of Egypt polls In the run-up to Egypt’s December 10-12 presidential election, financially strapped people queue at state-managed cooperatives trying to buy scarce rations of subsidised sugar. It is the latest sign of economic pressures that have risen sharply since early last year, leaving Egyptians grappling with soaring prices and an unresolved foreign currency crunch, and overshadowing pledges […] December 5, 2023
Video length: 06:23 Banking & Finance How banks are navigating fossil fuel financing Banks are navigating a complex battleground over fossil fuel phase-out: deciding whether or not to fund companies in oil and gas and other high-emitting sectors, they told a Dubai event staged in parallel with the Cop28 summit. The chief executive of ING, the Netherlands’ biggest retail bank, said the company had stopped providing dedicated finance […] December 4, 2023
Industry Chinese firm to build $2bn industrial complex in Egypt Chinese company Befar Group will build a $2 billion industrial green complex in Suez Canal Economic Zone for the production of specialised chemicals, according to a local media report. The project’s initial phase will see investments of $500 million, leading to the creation of 1,000 jobs, Egypt Today newspaper reported. The complex is expected to […] December 4, 2023
Finance UAE extends $1bn deposit with Egypt until 2026 The UAE has renewed its $1 billion deposit with the Central Bank of Egypt for an additional three years. The deposit, which matured in June this year, has been extended until June 2026, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing a central bank report. Deposits of Arab countries with the central bank accounted for more than half […] December 1, 2023
Agriculture RedSea to dig further into Egypt’s agricultural market RedSea, an agtech business based in Saudi Arabia, is prioritising Egypt to transform the North African nation’s agricultural industry. The company has also announced the appointment of Bruno De Oliveira as vice president of Egypt and East Africa as a result of increasing customer demand for its products. RedSea has already installed heat-blocking roofing materials […] November 30, 2023
Oil & Gas Dana Gas to invest $43m to expand gas wells in Egypt Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas plans to invest $43 million to begin a significant drilling programme in Egypt to expand gas wells next year. The programme will boost the UAE energy company’s daily gas production by 30 million cubic feet by drilling 11 development wells and three exploratory wells, Egypt Today newspaper reported. During a meeting […] November 30, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Sustainability Opec Fund piles up financing for wheat, wind and water The Opec Fund for International Development is on track to meet its pledges to increase grants and loans to climate-related projects, its Middle East and North Africa head has told AGBI. Musab Alomar, the fund’s director of public sector operations for Mena, said climate financing made up 33 percent of all Opec Fund approvals in […] November 30, 2023
Retail Majid Al Futtaim to invest $1bn in Egyptian market Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim Holding plans to invest $1 billion in the Egyptian market, according to CEO Ahmed Galal Ismail. The retail conglomerate has already invested $2.5 billion in Egypt so far, Ismail told Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during a meeting, Egypt Today newspaper reported. He disclosed that a Carrefour branch will open at Administrative […] November 28, 2023
Industry Egypt’s agriculture sector gets $100m funding boost UAE-based Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development (AAAID) plans to invest $100 million into Egypt’s agricultural and livestock production sectors over the next three years, according to a local media report. The authority’s current investments in Egypt have reached $158 million, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing chairman Mohamed Al Mazrooei. The significant investments include […] November 24, 2023
Oil & Gas Shell makes new natural gas discovery in Egypt Shell Egypt has discovered a new natural gas reservoir in the North East El-Amriya block in Egypt’s Mediterranean Sea. The company finished drilling the first well in its three-well exploration campaign, Mina West, located in the North East El-Amriya block, it said in a statement. Drilling was conducted at a water depth of 250 metres […] November 22, 2023
Tech PIF raises stake in Egyptian e-finance company Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has raised its stake in an Egyptian developer of digital payments infrastructure. PIF submitted a request to increase its stake by two percent in E-Finance Company to the Financial Regulatory Authority almost a month ago, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing details from the technology company’s chairman Ibrahim Sarhan. The […] November 20, 2023
Opinion Economy Egypt must weigh up finance woes with key role in conflict The country has a crucial part to play November 17, 2023
Analysis Industry Future is rosy for Mena phosphate producers With Morocco and Saudi Arabia now holding the bulk of the world’s high-quality, accessible phosphate rock reserves, the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is a major centre for the phosphate mining industry’s future growth, analysts say. Morocco alone holds around 70 percent of the world’s total reserves of phosphate rock, the raw material […] November 17, 2023
Finance Egypt’s largest private bank gets $150m capital top-up The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a $150 million subordinated loan to Commercial International Bank (CIB), Egypt’s largest private bank, to shore up its capital base. The facility will strengthen CIB’s Tier II capital, bolster its growth prospects and improve its ability to weather external economic shocks, EBRD said in a […] November 17, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance ADIB expects profits to keep rising after stellar year Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s net profit margin will expand further, according to its group chief financial officer Mohamed Abdelbary. The sharia-compliant lender has enjoyed a bumper first nine months of 2023 in which its earnings increased by nearly half. “We’ve managed to capitalise on the increase in interest rates in the market because of the […] November 16, 2023
Real Estate Qatar to invest $1.5bn in Egypt’s industrial sector Qatar will invest $1.5 billion in Egypt’s industrial sector in 2024, according to Egyptian commercial service chief Yahya Al-Wathiq Billah. This is the first investment by the Gulf nation in Egypt since signing a bilateral agreement in March 2022, Egypt Today newspaper reported. Billah said that trade volume between the countries increased by 47 percent […] November 16, 2023
Energy Egypt expected to resume LNG exports by January Egypt is expected to resume exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in December or January as domestic demand declines during winter and as it receives more gas from Israel, an executive at Italy’s Eni said on Tuesday. “Consumption in Egypt is reducing and we would expect by December, possibly January, (LNG) exports could resume,” Cristian […] November 15, 2023
Finance Egypt and India explore local currency trade settlement Egypt discussed with India’s ambassador to Egypt the possibility of entering Indian financial markets, Egypt’s finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “The two sides discussed ways to encourage the use of national currencies to settle payments,” in a meeting between Egyptian finance minister Mohamed Al Maait and ambassador Ajit Gupte, the statement said. […] November 15, 2023
Analysis Trade China shows faith in Egypt with deeper investment When President Xi Jinping welcomed the prime minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly, to Beijing’s Great Hall of the People in October, it was a signal that China is stepping up bilateral co-operation with Cairo. Their meeting, on the sidelines of the Belt and Road forum, took place as Egypt grapples with mounting debt and delays […] November 15, 2023
Dubai Airshow Aviation Airbus chief defends Rolls-Royce engines French plane manufacturer Airbus has defended its Rolls-Royce engines following words of caution from Emirates president Tim Clark. The Dubai carrier’s chief told reporters on the second day of the Dubai Airshow that he wanted improvements on durability and maintenance costs before going ahead with any plans to buy Airbus A350 jets. His comments came […] November 14, 2023
