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Saudi Arabia’s new investment of $5bn will be separate from its deposits with the central bank, Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said

Egypt explores new mega deals like Ras El-Hekma

Egypt is planning new developments along the Red Sea coast, with at least five new areas identified for deals similar to Ras El-Hekma, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said. The UAE sovereign fund ADQ unveiled plans in February to invest $35 billion to build the “largest new city” in Egypt to promote tourism and drive […]

Scuba diving in the Red Sea off Egypt. The Ras Banas headland is close to the St John's coral reef system, a scuba-diving hotspot

Egypt offers Red Sea peninsula for development

Egypt has started promoting another sizeable Red Sea peninsula, the Ras Banas headland, to tourism developers. Egypt’s minister of housing and urban communities Sherif El Sherbiny said on Saturday that the area is being offered in a deal similar to the Ras El Hekma scheme on the Mediterranean coast agreed in February.  The state retained […]

El Sharara Libyan National Army Commander Khalifa Haftar takes part in a meeting with U.S. Africa Command General Michael Langley (not pictured) at an unidentified location, in Libya, in this handout image released on August 27, 2024. Libyan National Army/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT El Sharara oilfield was shut down in August by Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army

Oil production in Libya returns, but full recovery is uncertain

Oil production in politically divided Libya is slowly recovering, after a tumultuous August when fields across the country were shut down. But crude exports remain disrupted, and government revenues are still dampened, amid concerns over prolonged instability. Libyan factions failed last week to resolve crises over the central bank’s powers and oil revenues. Crude output […]

Work has commenced on Morocco's Khouribga pipeline project, which will have a total annual capacity of 80 million cubic meters

Moroccan company gets $108m to tackle water scarcity

A new €100 million ($108 million) loan from a World Bank unit will help Morocco tackle water scarcity, which has been hindering economic growth. The loan is being provided through the International Facility Corporation (IFC) to Casablanca-based OCP Group, a producer of plant nutrition solutions and phosphate-based fertilisers. It will fund the construction of a […]

Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly and Saudi crown Prince and prime minister Mohammed bin Salman meet in Riyadh on Monday

PIF to initiate $5bn investment in Egypt

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will pump $5 billion into Egypt in a first investment phase. The directive was given by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman during his meeting with Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement. No other details were given on the planned investment. NewsletterGet the Best […]

A shot from a UN Habitat animation showing the Ras El-Hekma development. Property in the region is being snapped up before any building has started

ADQ’s Egypt project lights fire under region’s real estate

The $35 billion investment by the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ in Egypt’s tourism sector appears to have spurred a jump in real estate transactions on the country’s Mediterranean coast. In February ADQ unveiled its plan to build Egypt’s “largest new city” in Ras El-Hekma, and develop the coastal region into a Mediterranean vacation […]

A busy market street in Cairo. Credit-hungry Egyptians can use consumer finance app MNZL to borrow money using their home or car as collateral

Funding flows to fintechs wooing Egypt’s eager borrowers

Egyptian financial technology entrepreneurs bagged the highest amount of funding in the Middle East and North Africa in July, as they targeted untapped opportunities among the country’s massive unbanked population. Egyptian startups as a whole raised $185 million across seven deals in July, a huge surge from $15 million raised through four deals the month […]

Egypt has slashed custom duties on components and spare parts for renewable energy systems from 5% to 2%

Egypt advances 7,150MW of renewable energy projects

Egypt is actively developing 7,150 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects, a government official has said. These projects are divided into 3,450MW of wind energy and 3,700MW of solar power. The wind energy projects include collaborations on the Red Sea involving the Orascom-Engie-Toyota consortium, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power and UAE’s Masdar, Egypt Today newspaper reported, […]

Rua Al Madinah hotel

Mena hotel construction to focus on Saudi Arabia and Egypt

The Middle East and North Africa is forecast to see a rapid increase in hotel construction over the next 12 months, led in particular by high-end properties in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, new industry data suggests. During the second quarter of 2024 there were 607 projects and 147,088 rooms in the overall regional pipeline at […]

economic benefits Morocco World Cup, Morocco economy

Morocco makes 2030 World Cup a focus for investment

The artist’s impression shows a massive polygonal structure, with an aluminium lattice roof draped in floating cream sheets.  This is the Grand Stade Hassan II de Casablanca at Benslimane, north of Morocco’s commercial capital. The successful design was unveiled earlier this week by the winning architects, the Casablanca-based Oualalou + Choi and the arena specialist […]

Smartphone shipments in the Middle East recorded a 20 percent year-on-year increase in Q2 2024

Chinese brands gain ground as Mena smartphone sales surge

Economic stability and rising populations have fuelled a 20 percent year-on-year surge in the sale of smartphones in the Middle East and North Africa. Chinese brands have made significant gains on other, more established manufacturers. Smartphone shipments in the Middle East reached 11.5 million units in the second quarter of 2024. That was a 20 […]

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority is overseeing the carbon trading market in partnership with the stock exchange. Seven Egyptian brokerage firms have applied for licences

Egypt launches Africa into carbon trading market

The first three trades were made on Egypt’s new carbon trading platform on Tuesday, the first of its kind in Africa. Two local food companies, Daltex and ISIS Organic, became the first Egyptian buyers of the instruments, purchasing a combined 2,000 carbon credits. Each credit represents a tonne of carbon reduced or removed from the […]

A branch of EFG Hermes investment bank in Cairo. The group's net profit rose 95 percent year on year

EFG Holding quarterly revenues surge 63% to $104m

Egypt-based EFG Holding said revenues surged 63 percent year on year to EGP5.1 billion ($104 million) in the second quarter of 2024 thanks to strong income from the investment banking division. The group’s different verticals – investment bank EFG Hermes, EFG Finance, the non-bank financial institution and aiBank, the commercial bank – all posted strong growth in the […]

Companies led by men dominated Mena startup funding – businesses with women among their founding partners secured less than $21 million in investment

Mena startup funding trebles with fintech leading the way

Technology entrepreneurs across the Middle East and North Africa led a recovery in startup investments in July despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties. The value of investments in the Mena region hit $355 million last month across 38 startups, an increase of 206 percent on the previous month and 260 percent year on year. NewsletterGet […]

Dubai and Jeddah dominate airport construction in Mena

Just two giant projects, in Dubai and Jeddah, account for almost 80 percent of current spending on airport development in the Middle East and North Africa, a report has revealed. Some 19 different projects, ranging from expansions to additional runways and entire new airports, are under way in 11 countries across the region, according to […]

A Tunisian farmer works on his prickly pear plantation. Tunisia has secured loans to help with food security and its national budget

Tunisia approves $54m loan from Italy

Tunisia has officially approved a €50 million ($54 million) loan from Italy to support its state budget for the current financial year. The loan was originally signed in April. It will be repaid over 40 years with a 31-year grace period and a zero percent interest rate. Tunisia’s current account deficit narrowed to 2.3 percent […]

Egypt's SCA is seeking revenue of $9 billion from the Suez Canal operation in 2024/2025, 25 percent more than the previous year

Egypt to float Suez Canal subsidiary next year

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is planning to list Canal Mooring & Lights Company, a specialist in the mooring and unmooring of ships, on the local bourse, a news report said. The proposed listing will take place early next year, Bloomberg Ashraq reported, quoting SCA’s chairman Osama Rabie. In June 2023, the official confirmed the […]

Company executives at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new container terminal at Egypt's Ain Sokhna port

Expansion work begins at Egyptian Red Sea port

Construction has commenced on expanding a container terminal at Egypt’s Ain Sokhna Port on the Red Sea. Red Sea Containers Terminals, jointly owned by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports, France’s CMA Terminals and China’s Cosco Shipping Ports, has appointed Cairo-headquartered Edecs as the main contractor to work on constructing the infrastructure, yards and buildings.   The […]

Dubai Humanitarian hosts a community of around 80 members comprised of UN organisations, non-profits and NGOs Video length: 03:25

Dubai Humanitarian and the Mena aid challenge

The Mena region requires nearly $14 billion in humanitarian aid, according to the UN. Dubai Humanitarian, formerly known as International Humanitarian City, plays a vital role in bringing together aid organisations and mobilising both funds and relief to countries affected by conflicts and climate emergencies. Dubai Humanitarian sends 1,300 dispatches of aid worth up to […]