Banking & Finance IMF says Egypt interest rate hike is a step in right direction Egypt’s move to raise interest rates is a step in the right direction and a flexible exchange rate will help protect its economy from shocks at a time of tightening global financial conditions, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said. Egyptian authorities pledged a “durably flexible” exchange rate in conjunction with a staff-level agreement for […] October 31, 2022
Economy Egypt warns commodity hoarders of legal action as inflation rises Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has warned against stashing, overpricing, or monopolising commodities in the local market on higher inflation, Ahram Online reported, citing a cabinet statement. He stated that violators will face strict legal action, and vowed to continue implementing monitoring mechanisms to manage the market and provide commodities. The prime minister ordered the […] October 30, 2022
Analysis Tech Cairo is the tech hub of Africa – and it’s just getting started Almost 20 percent of African tech startups are based in Egypt, and the vast majority in its sprawling capital of 10 million inhabitants. Egypt is Africa’s tech hub and Cairo is its heart. According to Access Partnership, a public policy consultancy focused on technology, more than a third of Egypt’s startups have benefited from national […] October 28, 2022
Banking & Finance IMF confirms $3bn loan for Egypt, as currency hits record low The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday it had agreed a $3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) over 46 months with Egypt, welcoming a move to “durable exchange rate flexibility” regime and commitments to boosting social protections. Egypt’s currency fell by about 13.5 percent to a record low against the dollar on Thursday, Refinitiv […] October 28, 2022
Banking & Finance Egyptian banks follow currency devaluation with high-yield CDs Egypt’s three biggest state banks on Thursday offered three-year certificates of deposit with a 17.25 percent annual yield, a move designed to absorb liquidity and contain inflation after a devaluation of the currency. The move by National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr (BM) and Banque du Caire followed a 200 basis points rate hike […] October 28, 2022
Real Estate Egypt’s SODIC offers to buy Orascom Real Estate for $125m Egyptian property developer SODIC has offered to buy Orascom Real Estate for $125 million, the residential compound builder’s parent company Orascom Development Egypt said on Tuesday. Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties and state holding company ADQ bought a controlling stake in SODIC late last year, and the purchase of Orascom Real Estate would further expand their […] October 26, 2022
Analysis Sustainability Revealed: Gulf climate targets – and the progress so far The economies of the Middle East differ greatly in size and diversity – partly because of the distribution of oil and gas resources. Their impact on the climate varies accordingly. Governments’ willingness and ability to tackle climate change also differs. Many oil-rich Gulf states are engaged in high-profile renewable energy projects, for example, yet their […] October 26, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt to develop new currency indicator to wean off dollar peg Egypt will develop a new currency indicator partly to wean people off the idea that the Egyptian pound should be pegged to the US dollar, the new central bank governor said on Sunday. Hassan Abdalla, appointed in August, told an economic conference that the central bank was also working to introduce currency hedging and had […] October 24, 2022
Analysis Sustainability Egypt’s Cop27 will see developing nations call for ‘climate justice’ Drought and famine haunt the Middle East. The Dead Sea has fallen to its lowest level in centuries. Starved of food and fresh water, desperate migrants criss-cross the Mediterranean, fomenting social unrest and violence. Within a few decades, a healthy global trade network has collapsed. Every major settlement has been abandoned or razed to the […] October 21, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt signs $595m financing pacts for economic development Egypt has approved three development financing agreements with the World Bank Group, French Agency for Development and Spain worth $595 million, Egypt Today newspaper reported. The new financing will improve the wheat supply chain, reduce waste and improve farm access to local grain markets by providing financing to the Silos Holding Company to design, build […] October 20, 2022
Energy Egypt ready to start natural gas exports to Lebanon Egypt can start exporting natural gas to Lebanon as soon as the project gets the go-ahead, Egypt Today has reported, citing the minister of petroleum and mineral resources Tarek El-Molla. The Cairo government signed an agreement in June to supply 650 million cubic metres of natural gas each year to Lebanon. The project needs World […] October 18, 2022
Analysis Tourism Pyramid selling: Egypt wants to get tourism back on its feet The Grand Egyptian Museum, a $1 billion mega-project close to the Giza pyramids, will open to the public next month. The opening, which coincides with the COP27 climate change conference in the resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, is an opportunity to focus attention on a tourism industry that has been blighted by terrorism, conflict and […] October 17, 2022
Analysis Economy Egypt aims to double private sector to tackle economic woes Weakened by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Egypt has been forced to negotiate a new loan from the International Monetary Fund and wants to double the private sector’s share in its economy. By 2025 Egypt’s government wants the country’s private sector’s investment contribution to more than double to 65 percent from the current […] October 17, 2022
Analysis Manufacturing Egypt’s industrial sector ‘building on strong foundations’ Egypt defied global trends – and the expectations of many – to grow throughout the coronavirus crisis. With its sizeable population, rising middle class and tech-savvy population, the country “showed resilience in the face of the pandemic” and is forecast to record GDP growth of 5.9 percent in 2022, according to the International Monetary Fund. […] October 17, 2022
Analysis Development The Golden Triangle: treasures of the Eastern Desert In Ancient Egypt, real wealth was measured in grain. Temple granaries were the reserve banks of their day, with gold and silver seen as lesser commodities. “In my brother’s country, gold is as plentiful as dirt,” marvelled one foreign king in a begging letter to Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Even so, mining was a serious business. […] October 17, 2022
Banking & Finance IMF and Egypt agreement set to finalise ‘very soon’ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Egyptian authorities have agreed to finalise work to reach a staff-level agreement ‘very soon’, the multilateral lender said on Saturday. “IMF staff and the Egyptian authorities have held very productive in-person discussions on the margins of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings and made substantial progress on […] October 16, 2022
Economy Egypt’s inflation rate rises to near four-year high Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation rose to a slightly faster-than-expected 15 percent in September, its highest in almost four years, data from the country’s statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday. The inflation rate sped up from August’s 14.6 percent year on year, according to CAPMAS data, to the highest level since November 2018, when it […] October 11, 2022
Banking & Finance Egyptian banks tighten foreign currency withdrawals Egyptian banks have tightened limits on foreign currency withdrawals from local currency accounts as they seek to conserve scarce dollars. Though no industry-wide rules have been announced, in recent days a number of banks have sent notifications instructing clients with Egyptian pound accounts of new monthly limits on how much foreign currency they can withdraw […] October 11, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt’s central bank to allow trading in NDFs and derivatives The new governor of Egypt’s central bank, Hassan Abdalla, has alerted Egyptian banks that it may soon allow them to begin trading in non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and derivatives for local currency transactions. The measures, part of a new foreign exchange convention under review by banks, are designed to smooth operations as the central bank moves […] October 6, 2022
Economy Egypt’s non-oil sector hit by weak demand, home and away Egypt's non-oil output fell in September, a 13th consecutive month of contraction, as exports dropped sharply too October 4, 2022
