Economy - AmCham...Tahoun explained that the target project’s incineration capacity will reach 600 tonnes of waste per day, adding that the project will be financed by a Saudi investor

4 (2019) Report

Economy

1 of 59American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt - Business Information Center

Economy Sector - Q4 2019 Report

Copyright ©2019, American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham). All rights reserved. Neither the content of the Tenders Alert Service (TAS) nor any part of it may be reproduced, sorted in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. In no event shall AmCham be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits.

Non-Tenders Section

Special RemarksThe Economy Q4 2019 report provides a comprehensive overview of the Economy sector with focus on top tenders, big projects and important news.

- Business News - Projects Awards - Projects in Pre-Tendering Phase - Privatization and Investments - Published Co. Performance - Loans & Grants - Fairs and Exhibitions

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Economy

This report includes tenders with bid bond greater than L.E. and valuable tenders without bid bond

Tenders may be posted under more than one sub-sector

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Tenders Section



Banking, Finance & Insurance - Non Tenders Section Type Description Date Published

Business News IBRD predicting Egyptian Expatriates Transfers (from abroad) to reach by the end of 2019 about $ 26.4 billion driving Egypt to rank 5th world wide in terms of receiving/ attracting such transfers from its own expatriate's world wide. Other four front runners include India, China, Mexico & Philippine. IBRD revealed the said transfers totaled in 2019 $ 551 billion, up by 4.7 % from their level in 2018 and are expected to reach $ 591 billion in 2021.

Dec 06, 2019

Both Ministries of Electricity and Environment have received a load of proposals to establish waste-to-energy projects after the cabinet approved the feed-in tariff for such projects. Total investment bids received from Arab and foreign companies amounted to $2bn.

A government source told Daily News Egypt that bidding companies included Entag, Egyptian Company for Solid Waste Recycling (ECARU), Empower Energy, Global Knowledge Company (GKC), China Power International Development, Recovered Energy Group, Intro Group, Shanghai Electric, and others.

The cabinet set the feed-in tariff for waste-to-energy projects at 140 piasters per kW/h. The tariff will be payable in EGP and will remain in place for 25 years. Under the tariff decision, the governorate in which the project is set up will pay 103 piasters per kW/h, while the remaining 37 piasters will be paid by sanitation organisations falling under the Environment Ministry’s jurisdiction.

According to the cabinet’s decision, the land of the project will be allocated by the hosting governorate on a usufruct scheme. Furthermore, each governorate – where the plant is located – will be responsible for providing the needed waste for the plant free of charge.

Khalid Al-Farra, a consultant for the waste-to-energy tariff, said the 140 piasters tariff set by the cabinet is feasible. According to the technical and financial studies upon which the tariff was determined, it is attractive and very encouraging for investment, and took into account the interests of both the state and investors, he added.

Ehab Tahoun, chairperson of the South Korea’s GKC Group, said the government-approved tariff is encouraging and attractive for investment, and opens the way for companies to invest heavily in this sector. The group aims to enter a waste-to-energy project with $225m investment in the first week of December, he revealed.

Tahoun explained that the target project’s incineration capacity will reach 600 tonnes of waste per day, adding that the project will be financed by a Saudi investor. GKC also aims to establish 10 power plants in Egypt in the coming period.

Hatem El Gamal, chairperson of Empower, said his company aims to launch four waste-to-energy plants in Egypt with investments up to EGP 400m.

Nov 03, 2019

UK investments in Egypt Increased to $ 47.8 billion divided on 1,817 companies. That was announced by Ms Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment & International Cooperation, inviting the UK business society to benefit from the development. That came during a meeting of the Minister attended by Eng. Yehia Zaki, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Economic Zone.

Dec 01, 2019

Loans & GrantsEuropean Investment Bank extending Euro 500 million loan for three years to Banque Misr to finance small & medium sized projects. This is the second time the European bank extends such a facility to the Egyptian Bank.

Dec 01, 2019

Projects in Pre-Tendering Phase.A delegation of Abu Dhabi Holding for Development is scheduled to visit Egypt to launch a joint strategic body identified as Tharaa - an integral joint strategic investment fund managed by Egypt & the UAE valued $ 20 billion.

Dec 15, 2019

Economy - Non Tenders Section Type Description Date Published




Business News The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), in collaboration with RiseUp enterprise, announced the winners of the African App Launchpad Cup on Saturday, the last day of RiseUp Summit 2019, held at the American University in Cairo (AUC).Agora, Bouita, Arcanium Studios, 247Medic, Find Me Football and Alkottab Game Studio received a total of $60,000 in cash prizes divided per each track -- gaming and application development tracks -- to help build and grow their businesses.

The selected startups were chosen from a group of 28 finalists who belong to more than nine countries from across Africa.

For the gaming track, Agora from Egypt won the first prize, worth $15,000, while Alkottab Game Studio walked away with $10,000 for the second prize and Arcanium Studios came third, winning $5,000.

For the application development track, Bouita from Algeria won the first prize of $15,000, while the second and the third prize were equally shared between Find Me Football from Egypt and 247Medic from Nigeria, winning $7,500 each.

ITIDA vice president, SECC chairman and TIEC Chairperson Hassan Othman said that all the competing ideas were innovative and across diverse industries such as health, sports, and tourism, adding that there were a lot of creative ideas from Nigeria, Algeria, and Egypt.

"We would like to thank Egypt for hosting the first of a kind competition in Africa and praise the government ’s role in supporting entrepreneurship across Africa," the statement read.

“We were impressed when we saw how the entrepreneurship scene across Africa is generating innovative ideas like what we saw at the pitch competition today. Collaborating with ITIDA on the African App Launchpad Cup is another step that we believe will widen the opportunities we are offering to the startups through the RiseUp summit, ”Abdel-Hamid Sharara, co-founder and CEO of RiseUp, said.

The winners got a chance to join an accelerator programme and were granted exhibition spaces during the RiseUp Summit, in addition to certified training grants for all teams through the African App launch pad.

Sherif Badawy, project manager and product owner at Arcanium Studios, the third winner at the game track, said he was pleased that the Egyptian community and the government are now focusing on game development in Egypt.

“This will give us a wide platform and opportunity to succeed,” Badawy added.

Meanwhile, Amr Kamel, managing director of 5D, and one of the competition’s judges, said it has been a very interesting competition, as it witnessed some strong applications and propositions, both from Africa and Egypt.

"It makes us very proud to see the young generation and what they are capable of. I think it was quite hard to choose the winners but it was successful in terms of people’s choices," he said.

ITIDA collaborated with RiseUp to launch the pitch competition in Africa a few months ago. The competition invited startups working in either gaming or application development from nine different African countries to participate in the contest that offers grants totalling $60,000.

The competition is part of the Africa App Launchpad, a presidential initiative that targets building the capacity of 10,000 learners and establishing 100 startups while positioning Egypt as a hub for startups in Africa by gathering some of the continent’s best startups in one place.

This year, over 190 startups applied to present at the pitch and 30 were selected from countries including Egypt, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Dec 08, 2019




Business News Ministers of local development, investment and international cooperation, environment and transport held a meeting with a mission of the World Bank under WB Country Director for Egypt Marina Wes on combating pollution and managing solid waste project.

There are 3,500 buses roaming the streets of Cairo in addition to small buses that are operated with gasoline or diesel which pollute the air, Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy said.

Within five years, these vehicles will be operated by natural gas to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, he said, adding that taxis will be operated by natural gas as well.

A new system will be started to manage solid waste, he added.

Meanwhile, Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr asserted the importance of the WB's support to the project of combating pollution, adding that the project aims at decreasing pollution in Cairo to improve the environmental circumstances locally and internationally.

Minister of Environment Yassmine Fouad asserted the importance of the fruitful cooperation programs between the Ministry of Environment and the WB in the issues of climate change and air pollution within the past two years.

Also, Transport Minister Kamel el Wazir said that the Ministry of Transport has a plan to decrease the emissions and protect the environment in Cairo and a number of other governorates.

The WB is keen on supporting the Egyptian strategy to limit pollution especially in Cairo and offering support to the projects that contribute to improving the living conditions of the people, Wes said.

Oct 07, 2019

Majid Al Futtaim, the shopping mall, communities, retail, and leisure group across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and the operator of Carrefour brand in Egypt, pumps 1.2 billion Egyptian pounds over two years (2019-2020), according to Herve Majidier, Executive Regional Director.He further told Amwal Al Ghad that his company will direct these investments to open 24 new branches of Carrefour during 2020.He added that the company has invested 700 million pounds in 2019 to open 9 new Carrefour branches distributed between hypermarkets, hyperboxes and supermarkets.He also pointed out that the company is targeting to inject new investments amounting to 500 million pounds minimum in 2020.MAF currently owns 14 hybermarkets and 35 supermarkets, while offering indirect jobs to 6000 employees in Cairo, Alexandria, Sharm El Sheikh, Tanta, Mansoura and Zagazig.Majidier added that is planning to expand all over Egypt, it is also aiming a 10-15 percent growth in sales during the current year.The company has recently signed an initiative with the National Service Products Organization and the ministry of investment and international cooperation of Egypt to open 100 new Carrefour branches.Majidier stated that they plan to add 15 new branches during 2020 in Minya, Marsa Matrouh, Delta, the Red Sea, Qena, and Alexandria, bringing the number of branches in Egypt to about 60 by the end of this year.Majid Al Futtaim owns and operates 25 shopping malls, 13 hotels, and four mixed-use communities, with further developments underway in the region. The company is the exclusive franchisee for Carrefour in 37 markets across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, and operates a portfolio of more than 270 outlets in 15 countries.

Nov 26, 2019




Business News Egypt’s Prime Minister opened on Monday the 5th Arab Forum on the prospects for nuclear power for electricity generation and seawater desalination, organised by Nuclear Power Plant Authority and the Arab Atomic Energy Agency, in cooperation with the Arab League, the Arab Ministerial Council of Electricity and the Arab Union of Electricity.

In his opening speech, Moustafa Madbouly said nuclear power is one of the strategic choices to achieve sustainable development, and stressed that the forum is a vital event for the Arab region given the increasing interest in the peaceful uses of nuclear power in various fields.

“What we are all aware of is the significance of the constant coordination and affirmation of the peaceful use of nuclear power, as evidenced by the high-level representation of various international institutions in the forum,” the prime minister said.

He asserted that the forum is an opportunity to express support for Arab countries’ orientation toward the enduring development and the peaceful usage of nuclear power, in addition to achieving communication and discussion between specialists and experts to back decision makers to meet the growing demands on electricity and desalinated water using nuclear power.

Dec 03, 2019

Minister of Petroleum Tarek el Molla on Wednesday said that his ministry welcomes new investments by international firms in oil exploration in Egypt.

In a statement by the ministry, he added that the new mineral resources law will contribute to attracting more international firms to this important field.

Dec 08, 2019

Wafa Bank Egypt (of Morocco) announcing the opening of 4 new branches in Egypt in Cairo & Giza located on Maadi Cornish, Palm Strip Mall & Cargo Mall in 6th October City. Development drove total number of branches to 64 till date.

Dec 22, 2019

The state's political leadership attaches great importance to upgrading the tax management system, digitizing it along with unifying its measures, said Finance Minister Mohamed Maait on Monday.

Also, improving the business climate along with the human resources are prioritized by the state with a view to maximizing productivity and enhancing growth rates, Maait said during a meeting with the leaderships of the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA).

The new unified management structure of the ETA is one of the paths towards enhancing the nation's tax policy along with upgrading the legislative system through the proposed unified tax measures bill and amending the value added tax law.

The minister pointed out to directives issued by the political leadership to confront tax evasion which in turn will lead to maximizing public revenues as well as bringing down the budget deficit and the public debt.

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi offers all means of support to improve the tax performance, Maait said, adding that the president is closely following up the issue in order to remove all hindrances in this regard.

The Ministry of Finance is working on renovating the state's tax system through tapping modern technologies and relying more on artificial intelligence to improve tax performance alongside establishing a date base of taxpayers' transactions, minister Maait added. Source: Ahram Online

Dec 30, 2019

A national economic summit is going to kick off on Tuesday under the patronage of Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, in the presence of more than 40 state officials, besides economic experts from the public and private sectors.

The summit is organised by the Egyptian Media Corporation.

The event is anticipated to discuss Egypt’s future in the wake of the implementation of its economic reform programme. It will also discuss ways to boost several economic sectors including banks, manufacturing, real-estate, information technology.

Nov 12, 2019




Business News The Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is scheduled to review its key lending and deposit interest rates during its much anticipated meeting on Thursday.The committee's upcoming meeting will be the seventh convened to review interest rates in 2019. Since its first meeting this year, on 14 February, the committee cut interest rates thrice with a total of 3.5 percent, or 350 basis points (bps).

Egypt’s annual inflation rate plummeted to 2.4 percent in October 2019, down from 17.5 percent in October 2018, recording the lowest annual inflation rate since 2002, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

Egypt's cabinet media centre announced in October that unemployment in Egypt hit its lowest rate in 30 years, with 7.5 percent in the second quarter of 2019, down from 9.9 percent during the same period of 2018.

The drop was driven by the implementation of 9,039 state projects from July 2014 to December 2018 at a total cost of EGP 2.1 trillion, in addition to loans and facilities granted to companies and micro and small enterprise institutions at a value of EGP 144.2 billion from December 2015 to June 2019, serving over 565,000 clients, reported the cabinet's media centre.

On Thursday, the MPC may introduce the fourth cut in interest rates in 2019.

Banking expert and former managing director at Emirates NDB Sahar El-Damati told Ahram Online that the MPC was expected to decrease interest rates by 0.5 percent (50 bps) or one percent (100 bps) in its meeting on Thursday.

The anticipated decrease, according to El-Damati, is driven by the unprecedented drop in annual inflation rates. After all, she added, the MPC's target is to stabilise market prices.

"The CBE has to lower interest rates to decrease the burden on investors and manufacturers who have been shouldering heavy financial costs as a result of the high interest rates in previous times," she said, adding that "the lowered interest rates will reduce the prices of commodities in the domestic market and increase the profits of investors and manufacturers. It's a win-win."

Economic expert Yasser Agiba also expects the MPC to drop interest rates by 0.5 percent (50 bps) driven by the committee's tendency to respond to improvements of macroeconomic indices and the decreased annual inflation rate.

Trading Economics, an online economic platform, anticipated that interest rates would go down to 12.75 percent by the end of current quarter, based on its macro models and analysts' expectations.

The platform estimated that interest rates would stand at 12.5 percent in 12 months' time, while in the long-term Egypt's interest rates would be projected to trend around 12 percent.

A Reuters poll showed that the CBE would likely cut interest rates on Thursday, driven by the recent drop in inflation.

Eight out of 14 economists surveyed by Reuters anticipated the cut to stand at one percent (100 bps), two predicted a 0.5 percent ( 50 bps) cut, two foresaw the bank slashing 1.5 percent (150 bps), and two expected no change.

Nov 14, 2019




Business News Egypt plans to increase local components of renewable energy industry to 40% for wind farms and 30% for solar plants, especially with the growing interest in renewable energy in Egypt and the Arab region, Deputy Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Osama Asran, said.

He noted that the local components of traditional energy projects amounted to 100%, including the distribution network equipment up to 220 kV.

Asran pointed out that increasing local production of renewable energy components is feasible, especially as they proved profitable in exporting.

He added that the electricity and renewable energy sector was always interested in increasing local manufacturing in all power projects even when overcoming the crisis of power outages in 2014. During the crisis, participation of local partners with foreign sides in the execution of these projects helped train and qualify Egyptian companies to work on these sorts of projects, allowing them to work abroad and train Egyptian workers to implement such projects.

The efficiency of conventional power plants was also reviewed. The participation of national companies had the greatest impact in the implementation of these projects.

He added that Egyptian companies have distinguished experience in the fields of construction and maintenance of power plants and strengthening of electrical networks, through the participation of national companies -Orascom and El Sewedy Electric- in cooperation with international companies -General Electric, Siemens, and Ansaldo- in the implementation of urgent plan stations.

These Egyptian companies and factories have been able to establish partnerships with foreign companies producing the equipment of power transmission and distribution stations.

The projects carried out by the sector also provided opportunities for investors to set up factories to produce station equipment to cover the needs of transmission and distribution networks.

He pointed to the importance that the sector attaches to the strengthening of transmission and distribution networks, especially in light of the large capacities currently being produced and also expected from renewable energies, which requires a network of electricity with high reliability.

He explained that the strengthening of electricity transmission networks also corresponds to the expansion of electricity distribution networks through a plan to increase the number of medium and low voltage distributors, transformers, lines, and cables until the end of 2019.

He added that smart grids represent a leap into the future of transmission and distribution of electric power at the present time, and rely heavily on the exploitation of renewable energy resources and the optimisation and exploitation of electricity and reduce the cost of production, as well as working to make the consumer one of the partners in the management of the electrical system, and offers many options to buy electricity.

Work is underway to establish 47 control centres -in five phases- in the electricity distribution networks covering the whole of the country, including the first phase of five centres.

A pilot project is underway to install about 250,000 smart metres for six distribution companies. More than 105,000 smart metres have been installed so far. The pilot project will be completed by the end of this year.

It is intended to change all the meters in the electrical network (about 30m meters) with other smart and prepaid metres in addition to the establishment of networks and data centres.

Nov 12, 2019




Business News Average occupancy rates in Egypt's Red Sea hotels recorded 75 percent in 2019, a tourism ministry official said on Monday, as the country moves to boost the sector vital for foreign currency revenues.Abdel-Fattah El-Assi, head of the tourism ministry's sector responsible for monitoring hotels and resorts, told Reuters that the occupancy rose from a reported 65 percent last year.

He forecast increased occupancy in Red Sea hotels, anticipating somewhere between 65,000 and 85,000 room reservations in the tourist hub in December, during Christmas holidays.

Egypt aims to increase the number of tourists to 12 million in fiscal year (FY) 2019/2020; an 11 percent rise on the last year.

It eyes increasing tourist nights to 127 million in the current fiscal year, up from 113 million nights last year.

Tourism revenues rose by 28.2 percent in FY 2018/2019, hitting $12.5 billion, up from $9.8 billion in FY 2017/2018.

Egypt continues to push through with efforts to revamp a now improving sector which had suffered major hits due to political instability in recent years, including a Russian plane crash over Sinai, which killed all on board in late 2015.

The crash has led to the suspension of flights by mainly Russia and the UK to the country's popular tourist resort Sharm El-Sheikh. However the UK lifted the ban in October.

Russia has only re-established flights to Cairo to-and-from Moscow in April 2018, ending a suspension which lasted over 2.5 years.

The ban on charter flights to Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada continue to be in place.

Nov 19, 2019

Egypt is set to issue its first corporate sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in the coming weeks, an official at the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said on Tuesday.

FRA department head Sayed Abdel-Fadil told Reuters that CIAF Leasing, an aircraft leasing company, will issue sukuk worth $50 million, becoming the first corporation in Egypt to issue the bonds.

A second company, a contractor, will also issue sukuk worth more than EGP 1 billion ($62.27 million) within weeks, he added, without providing more details.

The official's statements come a few weeks after FRA head Mohamed Omran said that the authority is considering the approval of the country ’s first sukuk issuance next year, worth EGP 750 million ($46.5 million).

Over the past few years, Egypt has repeatedly announced its intention to issue its first sukuk, but the plan has not yet been realised.

Dec 05, 2019




Business News eputy Assistant Administrator for the Middle East region at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Andrew Plitt has praised Egypt ’s economic and social reforms and the procedures that the Egyptian government has taken to upgrade the venture climate.

In a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr on Monday, Plitt said that USAID is proud of the partnership with Egypt in implementing a number of projects and that it is looking forward to a robust economic partnership over the next phase.

Nasr praised the strategic ties between Egypt and the US and their economic cooperation, which covers developmental sectors that are priorities for the Egyptian government.

She said that the government’s priorities include empowering young people, supporting SMEs, upgrading water and sanitation, and expanding social protection programmes under the umbrella of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s initiative of investing in human capital.

The project portfolio between Egypt and USAID records $1 billion, according to the Egyptian-American Business Fund.

Nasr called for USAID to pump new investments in Egypt, which currently record $22.8 billion.

Dec 10, 2019




Business News Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power on Saturday has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Egypt to develop, finance, construct and operate the Kom Ombo photovoltaic plant, which will yield a capacity of 200 MW.

The signing took place under the patronage of the Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Osama Naqli, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Egypt, and Mohamed Shaker, Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy.

The PPA was signed by Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer at ACWA Power, and Sabah Mashaly, chairman of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, in the presence of senior executives from ACWA Power and delegates from the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.

Construction is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2021. Once operational, the plant will cater to the power needs of 130 thousand households, in addition to offsetting 280 thousand tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy said that the signing of the project is a crucial building block that contributes to the Egyptian government’s vision – which aims to upscale sustainable energy security by moulding a balanced energy mix.

In reflection of HH Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the overall government’s ambitious vision, we are keen to leverage renewable energy sources through transparent competitive procurement, which will cater to the country’s current clean energy needs while simultaneously safeguarding our future”.

“The lowest tariff contracted to date for a solar energy in North Africa is not only a reflection of continuing improvement in technology and the entrepreneurship of the developer ACWA Power, but also of the attractiveness of Egypt as an investment destination and the trade and commercial environment of Egypt to enable facilities of this nature to be financed, constructed and operated efficiently”, Shaker added.Paddy Padmanathan, Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power said: “The Egyptian government has long recognised renewable energy as a safe and secure source of power to reliably provide electricity to its citizens while advancing their efforts in reducing carbon emissions. The Kom Ombo project that we are embarking upon today is a very strong testament to ACWA Power’s commitment to contribute to this mission.”

Padmanathan added: “ACWA Power works alongside its partners to deploy the most up-to-date technologies and leverage sound investment opportunities to continue reducing the cost of generating renewable energy, which is one of the key pillars in driving sustainable economic development of a country.”

“As a Saudi company, we are particularly proud of this partnership with our brothers and neighbours that will accelerate the deployment of clean energy, and contribute to the social and economic development of the Arab Republic of Egypt. This investment will not only generate 200 megawatts of solar energy, but will also power the creation of jobs by propagating a green economy and nurturing a vibrant society,” Padmanathan said.

Rajit Nanda, Chief Investment Officer of ACWA Power: “We commenced our operations in Egypt through the launch of the Benban PV IPP project, and we are currently in discussions with the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity to finalise agreements for the 2250 MW Dairut CCGT, with an investment value of $2.3 billion.”

Yesterday, through the deployment of the Kom Ombo Plant, we are further branching our commendable trail in Egypt.

Moreover, this clean energy project embodies the extension of our investments in the renewable sector in the continent, particularly in the North African region, which is witnessing a rapid growth in renewable energy projects.

The construction and development of new PV plants in Egypt bolsters the efforts of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to increase the overall capacity of renewable energy to 20% by the year 2020.

Nov 03, 2019




Business News The National Organization for Military Production (NOMP) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with American company GE Digital for cooperation in digitalisation.The signing of the protocol with GE Digital came in line with Egypt’s digitalisation strategy, according to a statement released by the NOMP on Wednesday.President and CEO of GE’s the Middle East, North Africa & Turkey region, Nabil Habayeb, stressed his company’s interest in the partnership with Egypt’s military production ministry, given the technological, manufacturing, technical, and research capabilities the ministry ’s companies enjoy, in addition to rich human resources and advanced infrastructure.GE Digital will cooperate in national and development projects executed in Egypt by military production companies, Habayeb added.

Nov 28, 2019

Egypt’s Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer said on Wednesday he expects the deal to sell a stake in the United Bank to complete within the first half of 2020.

United Bank, owned by the central bank, was formed 15 years ago by the merger of three financially distressed commercial banks. The central bank has since appointed new management to reform the bank’s operations.

In March 2018, Egyptian government named 23 state-controlled companies in which it will sell mainly minority stakes on the local bourse. It said the plan would hopefully raise 80 billion Egyptian pounds ($4.92 billion).

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has not decided yet the amount of share to be sold, Amer further told Amwal Al Ghad.

“The CBE hopes to sell a stake to a strategic partner who would upgrade its operations in areas of financing micro, small, and medium-sized businesses,” Amer said.

Late November, the central bank selected EFG Hermes and New York-based Evercore as financial advisors to lead the planned sale of an equity stake of the United Bank to a strategic investor. The sale aims at turning the United Bank into a specialised lender for MSME projects.

Dec 15, 2019

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli on Thursday said that the political leadership pays great attention to diversifying sources of electric power, with a view to enhancing services and achieving sustainable development goals.

The premier added that the government is keen on expanding in the use of new and renewable energy sources, through establishing more clean energy projects based mainly on wind and solar power.

Madbouli made the remarks while he was inspecting Benban solar power park along with Senegalese President Macky Sall and Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker, on the sidelines of the first Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace, Security and Development in Africa which kicked off yesterday.

The world's biggest solar photo-voltaic park consists of 32 power plants, with a total production capacity of 1,465 megawatts. It costs USD 2.2 billion.

The electricity minister explained that the Benban solar power park contributed to securing 10,000 jobs for the residents of Benban village and adjacent villages and townships.

Shaker also touched on the Electricity Ministry's efforts to develop the national grid, in addition to incentives provided to the private sector to inject investments in the renewable energy sector.

Dec 15, 2019




Business News Egypt's Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait has announced that the government is targeting positive results for the coming fiscal year regarding financial indices, with a growth rate of 6.4 percent and a decreased overall budget deficit to 6.2 percent.In a statement released on Monday, Maait said that the budget's preliminary statement for the fiscal year 2020/21 also aims to decrease the local debt-to-GDP ratio to 80 percent through financial consolidation procedures that the ministry is adopting to increase Egypt's economic competitiveness.

The minister clarified that the FY 2020/21 budget focuses on applying large scale, profound structural reforms to push the private sector to be the engine of economic development, adding that a new package for supporting exports will be launched to pave the way for maintaining a more competitive export base.

"FY 2020/21 will witness several reforms to create an attractive investment environment, with a focus on small and medium projects and manufacturing," Maait added.

The new budget will include expansion in new cities and urban communities to house 10 million people, in addition to using clean technology, especially in waste recycling projects.

Maait added that the ministry is making serious efforts to ensure financial sustainability, achieve cash stability, control price hikes, improve the payment balance and hard currency to pave the way for a stable environment able to withstand internal and external shocks caused by swings in the economy.

The ministry said it is also focusing on human development and increasing investment, especially in healthcare, education, and social housing.

The customs system will witness several reforms in FY 2020/21, including providing more facilities and decreasing the customs clearance duration and fees for a better ranking in the World Bank's Trading Across Borders Index.

Maait added that the new customs draft law, the applying of Single Administrative Document (SAD) and the single window system will improve Egypt's customs system and put it on par with developed countries.

"Egypt's economic reform programme is in line with the country's sustainable development vision 2030, which focuses on creating sufficient, suitable, and productive job opportunities that help decrease unemployment, increase domestic production, integrate the Egyptian economy globally, and achieve stable tax policy," according to Maait.

Nov 12, 2019

The solid growth in National Bank of Kuwait - Egypt’s (NBK Egypt) profits affirms the bank’s leading position in the Egyptian market which enjoys promising growth opportunities and positive outlook, NBK Egypt’s deputy group CEO Shaikha Al-Bahar stated.

NBK Egypt’s profit in the first nine months of 2019 contributed third of the group’s profit from international branches, Al-Bahar added, according to a bank statement released on Saturday.

“We seek to transfer our FinTech expertise to the Egyptian market to capitalise on the promising investment opportunities and the exceptional growth witnessed in the region's most populous markets,” the top official commented.

NBK-Egypt operates 50 branches in various Egyptian governorates and cities including Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Delta, Sinai, Red Sea, and Upper Egypt, the bank ’s vice chairman and managing director Yasser El-Tayeb said.

NBK Egypt’s net profits grew to EGP 1.66 billion in the nine-month period ended 30 September, compared to EGP 1.46 billion in the year-ago period.

Nov 16, 2019




Business News Egypt inked on Wednesday an executive agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), to support Egypt's essential logistic and petroleum commodities valued at $1.1 billion for 2020.The agreement is part of the 2018 $3 billion framework agreement between the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and the ITFC.

Sonbol said the agreement not only provides funds, but introduces trade development and business upgrade programmes as well, with the aim of supoporting Egyptian exporters through Gosor programme for Arab-African trade in cooperation with Egypt's Export Development Authority (EDA).

Sonbol added that the agreement contributes to implementing Egypt's value chains in the cotton sector in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the integrated trade solution project of Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities, and the Women in Global Trade project for Egypt.

"The ITFC will support Egypt's development process, and this agreement strengthens ties with Egypt's government and people. In addition, it has several positive effects on Egypt's development efforts, social upgrade, and intra-trade," Sonbol pointed out.

He highlighted that the ITFC, as one of Egypt's strategic partners, has provided around $1,675 billion as funds to the country from 1985 to 2007 to support oil products and the wheat system.

Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said that for the second year in a row, Egypt has coordinated with the ITFC to focus on logistic commodities and oil products to provide food security for Egyptians, adding that the ministry is eager to increase cooperation with the ITFC to boost internal trade and attract more investments to the domestic market.

Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said the agreement reflects a successful partnership between Egypt and the ITFC to meet Egypt's market needs.

Dec 05, 2019

Former secretary general of the Egyptian Banks Federation and banking expert Abdel-Rahman Baraka has said that increasing Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) foreign reserves is a sign that Egypt has adopted a sound, successful and balanced monetary policy.Speaking to Ahram Online, Baraka asserted that the situation sends a positive message to investors that Egypt ’s economic environment is sound for further investment and establishing new projects.

In addition, Baraka said, it means that Egypt has the ability to repay its debts in hard currencies in due time, expecting that reserves will continue to rise in 2020.

Foreign exchange reserves in Egypt increased to $45.354 billion in November from $45,247 billion in October 2019, an increase of $107 million, which is the highest it has ever reached to date.

Meanwhile, the CBE's gold reserves value was estimated at $3.148 billion in November, down from $3.267 billion in October, a decrease of $119 million, according to CBE data.

Hard currencies registered $41.930 billion in November up from $41.611 billion in October, rising by $319 million.

Foreign exchange reserves in Egypt averaged $22.026 billion from 1992 until 2019, reaching an all time high of $45.354 billion in November 2019, with a record low of $100.88 million in June 1992, according to CBE data.

Foreign exchange reserves are foreign assets controlled by the CBE, comprised of gold or a specific currency.

They can be used to gain special drawing rights from international financial institutions, and as marketable securities denominated in foreign currencies, like treasury bills, government bonds, corporate bonds and equities and foreign currency loans.

Dec 05, 2019




Business News The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) approved new facilities for investors who purchased the statements of work of the 107 industrial services units in Mit Ghamr investment zone.In a meeting held on Monday, chaired by Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, GAFI approved the new facilities for the sake of improving and developing investors' businesses in the zone.

The new facilities give a six-month grace period for all projects to pay their dues, and introduce a 10 percent annual increase on leasing for a maximum of three years. The increases percentage will be determined according to the annual inflation percentage announced by the Central Bank of Egypt.

GAFI also decided to open reservations in the textile, timber, and engineering industries, as well as other supplement industry units as of Monday through the website www.investinegypt.gov.eg.

The new facilities aim at attracting more investments to Mit Ghamr investment zone, focusing on metal and aluminum, textile, timber, textile, and small and medium-sized projects as a part of the investment ministry's plan that targets improving and establishment investment zones, which are key on the government's agenda, said Nasr.Minister Nasr added that the investment zones were established in accordance with the integrated development system which is easing the procedures of new projects.

GAFI has offered 107 specialised industrial units for investment purposes in September in various places. Licences and approvals are issued by the authority.

Oct 20, 2019

Egypt’s Ambassador to Greece Ismail Khairat discussed on Friday with a delegation of Egyptian businessmen the major obstacles facing their investments in the country.

The meeting came on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Arab-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Development, according to a statement released by Foreign Ministry.

They also mulled establishing an Egyptian-Greek chamber of commerce to enhance trade exchange between the two countries.

Dec 01, 2019




Business News Egypt topped Forbes’ “Where to Go Next” list, in which the world-renowned magasine recommended 27 countries for adventure-loving readers to visit in 2020, according to Egypt Independent on Thursday.

Each country selected in the list was chosen by a traveler who roamed the world looking for his or her favorite destination.

The list included The Greek Islands, recommended by traveler Becca Ingle, Rwanda, recommended by Nathalie DiScala, Brazil, recommended by Katie Jackson, and India, recommended by Teddy Minford among others.

Egypt was chosen by Lexie Alford, who broke the Guinness World Record as the youngest traveler to visit all of the world ’s 196 countries at the age of 21.

Discussing her recommendation to visit Egypt, the passionate young traveler began by briefing readers about her favorite spots in Egypt. Alford insisted that Egypt remains one of the most underrated countries for tourism, adding that it deserves more recognition and paying tribute to the country ’s rich culture and well-preserved history.

Alford said that Egypt has finally begun to receive the attention it deserves, particularly after being named the world ’s fourth fastest-growing travel destination by the World Tourism Organization.

Meanwhile, AFAR, an award-winning travel magazine, ranked Egypt fourth among the world’s 10 Fastest Growing Tourist Destinations in November 2019, with the country’s tourism sector having recorded a 36.8 percent increase.

It was not the first time for the country to make an appearance in the magazine — Egypt topped AFAR’s rankings in 2018 when growth in the tourism sector reached 55.1 percent.

Alford also discussed the highly-anticipated opening of the new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM). Constructed on approximately 500,000 square meters, the mega museum is located near the Giza Pyramids and is expected to be one of the largest museums in the world showcasing artifacts from a single civilization.

The museum will also break new ground and aims to impress with King Tutankhamun displays, exhibiting artifacts that have never been shown since they were unearthed in 1922.

After several years of work on restoration and transportation, the GEM is expected to house around 100,000 artifacts from various periods of Egypt’s rich history.

“The best way to discover everything this astonishing country has to offer is by taking a Nile River cruise with Abercrombie & Kent,” Alford said at the end of her review.

Abercrombie is an award winning Travel Company offering luxury vacations in Egypt.

Egypt also topped The Independent’s new travel recommendations list for 2020 this month, with the newspaper urging people from around the world to pay a visit to Cairo’s much-anticipated Grand Egyptian Museum.

According to official figures provided by The Independent, 11 million people visited Egypt last year. Moreover, the English newspaper has predicted a remarkable comeback for the Egyptian tourism sector, especially given the resumption of flights to the South Sinai vacation spot Sharm El Sheikh, citing luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent.

Dec 22, 2019




Business News A number of global pharmaceutical enterprise representatives said they are willing to expand their investments in Egypt, benefiting from Egypt ’s location and potential as a regional hub for the MENA region.

In a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr, the representatives praised measures undertaken to develop the investment climate in Egypt, in particular cooperation between Egypt’s health and investment ministries to eliminate barriers investors face in the pharmaceuticals sector.

Manager of emerging markets in Europe and the MENA region at Johnson and Johnson Luis Diaz said the firm has expanded its activities in Egypt by 125 million pounds in 2019 thanks to the improvement of the investment climate, adding that Johnson and Johnson’s total investments in Egypt stand at 2.3 billion pounds.

Representative of Pharma Corporation Samir Khalil stated that the company has 22 enterprises working in the Egyptian market, praising Egypt’s investment climate for medication manufacturing.

Vice President and cluster director for Egypt and North Africa at GlaxoSmithKline Amre Mamdouh said that gross investments of the company in Egypt reached $800 million, with 15,000 workers across 10 plants.

He revealed that the company will finalise the establishment of two new production lines with a total investment of 100 million pounds, while it intends to open the second production line at its Al-Salam plant by 2020, worth 80 million pounds.

For her part, Nasr said the Egyptian government is looking forward to additional contributions from international companies to the developmental process in Egypt, especially in healthcare and the pharmaceuticals sector, under the umbrella of human capital investment.

Nov 11, 2019

Egypt’s government and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) on Saturday have signed loan deal worth $85 million to finance a road project, according to Mubasher.This project is part of Sinai’s development flagship, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.The road project is aimed at developing Egypt’s road network to boost road safety and reduce operating costs.The latest loan is the fifth-second to be offered by the KFAED to Egypt, increasing total finance provided by the fund to the North African country to $3.5 billion.

Nov 24, 2019




Business News Real estate sales rate increased by about 40% in 2019 compared to 2018, according to a recent study by Inland Properties Group.

The study stated that the number of projects under construction increased to about 260 projects.

According to the study, Ain Sokhna city is the most attractive area for tourism and industrial investment during 2019, recording a turnout of vacationers by about 58%, compared to the North Coast, Sharm El-Sheikh, Alexandria, and Fayoum.

Inland Property’s CEO, Rabab Farrag stressed that Ain Sokhna area is promising and the state’s interest in it makes it special not only at the local level, but globally. Accordingly, 2019 witnessed a 5% increase in the number of companies operating there.

Farrag added that the Ain Sokhna’s importance lies in its easy promotion externally, especially in the Gulf region, which revives the export of the Egyptian real estate.

She attributed the revival of Egypt’s property export to the decrease in demand for real estate investment in the region, such as Turkey, as a result of the turmoil there. In addition, the Egyptian property enjoys a competitive advantage after the depreciation of the Egyptian pound during the past five years.

She stressed that Galala area in Ain Sokhna provided medical and educational services to all projects there. She also pointed out that after the complete opening of both Cairo-Ain Sokhna and El Galala roads, the city has become one of the most important sites, and the most attractive for businessmen and investors, who have established many luxury hotels and tourist resorts in that region.

Rabab called on companies to offer easy payment methods that suit citizens’ purchasing power, as well as waiving part of the profit margin to maximise sales.

Nov 12, 2019

Etisalat Misr, the Egyptian unit of the UAE’s Etisalat, has achieved profits worth 4 billion Egyptian pounds ($247.9 million) by the end of the first nine months of the year.Nine-month revenues amounted to around 10.6 billion pounds against 8.8 billion pounds during the same period in 2018, making a 47 percent growth.During third quarter of 2019, revenues were about 2.4 billion pounds, up from 1.8 billion pounds during the same period last year, according to the company’s results.The company’s mobile operations accounted for 8.9 billion pounds in revenues, while fixed services accounted for 488 million pounds. On the other hand, the sales of appliances and equipment hit 213.5 million pounds, in addition to 681 million pounds in general sales.The company’s customer base stood at 26.5 million pounds at the end of the third quarter of this year, losing 1.3 million customers compared to the same period last year, due to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority’s (NTRA) government measures.The value of the company’s investments in the Egyptian market is about 50 billion pounds over the past 10 years, pointing out that the company has allocated investments worth 4.5 million pounds this year in the development of its infrastructure network, part of which is directed to digital services.

Nov 17, 2019

Egypt said on Saturday it had signed several multimillion-dollar energy investment accords including a $430-million deal for Texas-based Noble Energy to pump natural gas through the East Mediterranean Gas Company’s pipeline.

Under another Noble agreement, which will also be financed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the energy company will manufacture petroleum products in partnership with Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings.

The cabinet detailed the plans at the end of an Africa investment forum held on the site of the country’s planned new administrative capital in the desert east of Cairo.

Amsterdam-based Lekela also announced the start of construction work on its West Bakr wind power plant, which will have a capacity of 250 megawatts and require a total investment of $350 million.

Lekela CEO Chris Antonopoulos said Siemens Gamesa will build the West Bakr plant in the Gulf of Suez, which is expected to create 550 jobs, according to the cabinet statement.

Nov 24, 2019




Business News Sudan is completing the installment of distribution parts so that the first phase of the electricity linkage with Egypt starts operation by mid-January at a capacity of 50 MW, according to Egypt Today on Saturday.

The following phases will enter service gradually in tandem with the rate of accomplishment on the Sudanese side, a source at the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy told Egypt Today.

The official pointed out that the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. finished the overhead power lines in six months revealing that professionals from both countries are exchanging visits to accelerate finishing work in the project.

The extension of Toshky transmission plant, which is a double circuit transmission line stretching over 170 kilometers with a capacity of 220/66 kV, has been established and linked with Sudan’s Wadi Halfa in collaboration with Siemens. The first phase of the linkage was due to enter service in March but has been delayed.

Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. (EETC) Sabah Mashaly indicated in a press release in February that the cost of the project is LE32,550,000 and €562500. The statement explained that the network consists of air-insulated substations (AIS) to inhibit power loss. The amount of electricity to be transmitted is estimated to be 400 megawatts.

Dec 01, 2019

Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) Yehia Zaki signed a concession contract with the Bolloré Toyota Tsusho NYK global consortium for establishing and operating East Port Said Ro-Ro terminal with BOT system.

The contract will be submitted to the Cabinet then to the House of Representatives to be endorsed.

This came after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi opened the new quays in East Port Said harbor and July 3rd tunnels in southern Port Said in November as part of the Egyptian state's approach to work on developing the economic zone and enhancing the value of the country's economy.

Under the contract, the global consortium will have the right to use 66-m-long quay in the western side and operate the Ro-Ro terminal on an area of 270,000 square meters, the SCZone chief said.

The consortium said it will pump $150 million investments in equipment and infrastructure of the project so as to be capable to handle about 800,000 vehicles at the station.

Dec 22, 2019




Business News The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) plans to deliver 500,000 sqm of the Russian industrial zone by the end of this year.

Yehia Zaki, head of the SCZone, told Daily News Egypt that it was planned to complete the development of 500,000 sqm of land in the Russian industrial zone by March 2020, but the SCZone will intensify its efforts to complete this phase by the end of December 2019.

He explained that there is an understanding between the Egyptian and Russian sides on the implementation of the Russian industrial zone on an area of 5.25 sqkm.

Zaki disclosed that there have been bilateral workshops between both parties on the development and implementation of the Russian industrial zone.

Russia will establish a modern industrial and logistic zone in the Suez Canal region, specifically for the hardware, wood, and pharmaceutical industries.

The industrial zone will be implemented under the usufruct system for 50 years, automatically renewed for five consecutive years if the two sides agree.

Egypt and Russia signed an agreement to establish the Russian industrial zone in May last year. The investments of the 5.25 sqkm zone amounts to $6.9bn, located in East Port Said, which is expected to be delivered over three phases.

He also mentioned the negotiation between the SCZone and DP World to develop 40 sqkm in Ain Sokhna.

The target industries in this region include medical, telecommunications, building materials, logistics, textile, automotive, food, energy, and petrochemicals.

This comes after partnership agreement signed between the two parties during the Youth Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2017, on the establishment of a major development company in partnership between the SCZone and DP World. Both parties will share the right of management at 51% (SCZone) and 49% (DP World).

A total of 245 companies are set to operate in the southern region, and 43 companies are under licensing, he said.

He added that the current year will witness the completion of the negotiations between the SCZone, Bolloré, Toyota, and NYK alliance to contract the operation of Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) docks along 600 metres of coastal land with $150m investment.

Oct 08, 2019




Business News Egypt’s Arab Organisation for Industrialisation (AOI) on Wednesday signed four deals with major German companies to transfer and localise German technology in Egypt, in addition to training Egyptian engineers and technicians to transfer expertise.

General Abdel Moneim Al-Tarras, chairman of the AOI, said the agreements included fields like digital transformation, localisation of the orthopedic supplies industry, in addition to the manufacturing of tools and equipment for street cleaning, hospitals, and metal plates for cars.

Al-Tarras assured genuine political will to boost development in Egypt, noting that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi follows up on deepening local industrialization, and transferring and localizing technology.

The agreements came on the sidelines of Egyptian participation in an investor’s conference, under the auspices of the G20’s Compact with Africa initiative, being held in Berlin.

Al-Tarras said the participation of an Egyptian ministerial delegation and group of senior Egyptian businessmen and industry representatives came within the framework of Egypt’s growing importance on the international scene.

“Egypt’s position in the Africa continent looks like the German one in the European Union, so when the two countries meet, that opens the door for economic cooperation and partnership between the countries of two continents,” he stressed.

He added that the decision of international companies such as DMG Mori and Karcher to open their doors and to full cooperation with Egypt, through the AIO, is a major and important development.

“The major German specialized companies are looking forward to cooperating with and pumping more investments into Egypt in a way that keeps pace with the growing partnership between the two sides,” he added.

Nov 21, 2019

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said 19,000 feddans of the world's best fish farms are being established in East Port Said.

"The financial cost of equipping this land is huge,” Sisi added during the inauguration of a number of projects in Port Said and North Sinai.

The president stated, "We are preparing the land of the economic zone for investment, which costs a large amount of money." He explained that a single phase of development in the region costs billions just to be able to offer the investor a piece of land to build the factory on.

President Sisi inaugurated Tuesday a number of national projects in Port Said and North Sinai governorates.

The projects include July 3 tunnels in Port Said, which is one of the major national projects, as it links south Port Said with Sinai, besides connecting west of canal cities with its eastern parts to facilitate trade movement in the Suez Canal area.

Nov 28, 2019




Business News Minister of Transport Kamel al-Wazir received the first batch of 10 new American tractors that arrived Alexandria port as part of a deal signed with General Electric Company.

The deal stipulates that the company will manufacture and support 100 new tractors to the Egyptian side.

This comes as part of Egypt’s moves to renovate the railway system including new locomotives, signals and crossings.

The minister said that the new tractors will be taken to the tractors maintenance workshops in the sorting area in Cairo to be examined.

The model tractor will be tested on railway railways on a distance of 75 thousand km, for a period of two months, to make sure it complies with the specifications set by the Egyptian Railway Authority.

The Ministry of Transportation overhauled 217 train stations between 2014 and 2019, as well as 480.6 kilometers of railroads, the government indicated in a report submitted to the Parliament in November.

The report shows the government’s achievements between June 2018 and June 2019 as examined by 25 committees at the House of Representatives, including those of planning, education, health, workforce, religious affairs, industry, economy, agriculture, and housing. Each will prepare a report evaluating the government ’s work and putting forward demands by November 20. The reports will be discussed by the plenary session in order to draft a final report.

The Egyptian Railway Authority (ERA) signed with PRL (Progress Rail Automotives) a number of contracts worth $466.3 million after meeting with President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi last week.

The American company will supply 50 train engines over 22 months, will carry out long-term maintenance for 41 engines by June 30, and will upgrade 50 others within 30 months from the conclusion of the deal. The company will also provide maintenance services and spare parts for the 141 train engines for 15 years. The value of contracts will be secured through soft loans, except for $27 million that will be paid by ERA’s treasury.

Dec 08, 2019

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli has said Egypt's economy showed strength in the recent period despite the world's economic challenges, expressing keenness on encouraging the private sector to achieve economic growth.

In a press conference at the cabinet headquarters Thursday, the prime minister said the cordial settlement of a legal dispute between Al Nasr Housing and Development Company, which is an affiliate of the Public Business Sector, and Emaar Misr company on the Moqattam plateau project took place within the framework of the government's keenness to encourage the private sector to launch more projects.

He said the government is keen on solving all problems as soon as possible to the benefit of all sides, pointing out that the government has managed to resolve settlement contracts' problems in many sectors such as oil and gas.

On the state support to the industry sector, he said the cabinet on Wednesday took an important decision to issue a new price for gas and energy consumed by heavy industry including iron, ceramics, cement and aluminum industries.

He said the government provided LE 100 million to pay the dues of junior exporters to encourage small industries.

Oct 07, 2019




Business News The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided Tuesday a €182.9 million loan to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) to strengthen the transmission network in the country.

EBRD clarified that this loan aims to support the development of a more resilient and robust electricity grid across Egypt.

“Demand for electricity in Egypt is expected to grow significantly over the next 10 years due to economic growth. The project will address Egypt’s key challenge in reaching its strategic objective in the energy sector by expanding the country’s electricity transmission network,” the bank stated.

The EBRD fund will facilitate the integration of 1.3 GW of new renewable energy into the Egyptian electricity system by connecting new renewable energy plants, with the help of new or refurbished high-voltage substations. “In addition, the investment will help in reducing electricity losses, thus saving 77,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.”

EBRD added that it will also assist EETC and the electricity regulator in designing and structuring a regulatory framework for private-to-private projects, developing a new channel for the growth of the private renewable sector, which will further improve the sector’s competitiveness.

“This is linked to the electricity law that was passed in 2015, which sets out a roadmap for the liberalisation and reform of the power sector, driven by the government ’s aim to generate 20 percent of Egypt’s energy from renewable sources by 2022,” the bank clarified.

According to EBRD, this project is also supported by the EBRD’s Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) Multi-Donor Account (Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Taipei China and the United Kingdom) and is expected to be supported by the European Union through a €20 million grant.

EBRD announced earlier in November providing Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC) a loan of $50 million to support the modernisation of Egypt’s oil industry by upgrading the oil refinery owned by SOPEC.

Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations in Egypt in 2012, the bank has invested over €5.5 billion in 102 projects in the country. In 2018, Egypt was the largest economy where the EBRD invests, in terms of new commitments.

Nov 28, 2019

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and the Social Housing Fund have launched an initiative to collect the installments of mortgage and home loans electronically with the partnership of mortgage lenders.

According to a statement from the bank, CBE the initiative came within the framework of efforts by the national council for payments to develop the collection and payment systems in partnership with state institutions.The statement added the new service would help the clients pay the installments of their home loans easily and without additional charges through the use of mobile phone payment applications.

Dec 08, 2019

U.S. investments in Egypt rose 26 percent to more than $22 billion in 2019, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Monday.

Madbouly made these remarks at an event organised by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce marking the 40th anniversary of the U.S.-Egypt Business Council.

“Egypt’s economy had become one of the world’s top 10 economies in terms of attracting direct foreign investments and growth rates,” he said.

Such investments were made by more than 1,500 US companies operating in different economic fields, including oil, renewable energy, agriculture, foodstuff, industry, communications and information technology.

Madbouly underlined that Egypt held the first position in attraction of foreign direct investments in Africa.

Nov 19, 2019




Business News Emaar Misr for Development has signed two agreements with the Egyptian New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) to establish two urban projects at a combined area of 621 feddans with total investments of EGP 49.3 billion in Sheikh Zayed Extension, according to a statement released by the Egyptian cabinet on Wednesday. Under the first deal, Emaar Misr will obtain a 52.4-feddan land in Sheikh Zayed, in addition to the area it waived for the establishment of roads, totalling a land area of 120.9 feddans in the new city for the construction of Cairo Gate residential project with total investments of EGP 11.5 billion. The second agreement includes the allocation of 500 feddans in Sheikh Zayed Extension for building a new residential project with the aim of expanding one its projects in West Cairo with total investments of EGP 37.8 billion. This project is expected to create more than 70,000 direct and indirect jobs.The head of Sheikh Zayed Development Authority Mostafa Fahmy previously told Mubasher that Emaar Misr has bought a 68.5-feddan land, representing 50% of its owned land in Sheikh Zayed, which had previously been waived in exchange for fees imposed on the company for changing the use of the land from agricultural to residential purpose.Fahmy also revealed that Emaar Misr obtained a 500-feddan land plot in Sheikh Zayed Extension through direct land allocation.

Nov 28, 2019

Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport topped the list of the fastest-growing major airports in Africa by capacity, a new study by Routesonline has found, as airlines continue to return to the Egyptian Red Sea resort.

The latest figures revealed that the airport, which is the third busiest in Egypt, has increased its capacity by 28.9 percent in 2019 to 1.49 million available departure seats, compared to 1.16 million departure seats in 2018.

Number three on the top 10 list is Hurghada airport, which recorded a growth rate of 11.9 percent in 2019.

At number two is the international airport in Marrakech, western Morocco. A total of 3.91 million departure seats are on offer this year at Marrakech airport, with a rise of 22.6 percent from the previous 12 months, the study said.

Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport’s growth comes as the destination continues to recover from the slump in tourism that followed the crash of Metrojet flight 9268 in the Sinai desert after take-off from Sharm El-Sheikh airport on 31 October 2015. All 224 passengers and crew on the charter flight to St Petersburg died, according to the study.Since the crash, which was likely caused by a bomb on board the Airbus A321 aircraft, security procedures have been tightened at the Egyptian airport. In October 2019, the UK government lifted its four-year ban on air travel to the Red Sea resort, paving the way for direct air services to resume.

Routesonline is focused entirely on aviation route development and the company’s portfolio includes events, media and online businesses.

The company organises and operates world-renowned airline and airport networking events through its regional and World Route Development Forums. They are held in key markets throughout the year in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Dec 10, 2019




Business News African investments in Egypt are worth $2.8 billion and Egypt’s investments in Africa are worth $10.2 billion, with $1.2 billion of that amount added in 2018, Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed said on Friday.Speaking at Rotary Egypt’s regional conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Minister El-Saeed said that Egypt is eager to cooperate effectively with African partners in various developmental and economic areas, as part of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, especially given that Egypt is the AU’s current chair.

“In this regard, Egypt has implemented number of initiatives, included establishing an investment risk assurance fund in Africa which aims to stimulate Egyptian investors to direct their investments to African countries,” El-Saeed said.

The Central Bank of Egypt is making significant efforts through its presidency of the Association of African Central Banks, and is seeking to establish an African central bank and a fund to boost banking and financial stability in Africa, she said.

It is also working on supporting investment and development alongside Egyptian banks, which have begun to work in African markets to maximise trade exchange, support exports and imports, and provide required funds for joint trade and investment, according to El-Saeed.

She said that Egypt supports the efforts to implement a number of infrastructure projects to achieve African regional integration, including the Cairo-Cape Town road, which will increase the trade flow between African countries; the electronic linkage of African stock markets to enhance joint cooperation and exchange of experiences; and the establishment of an African central bank.

On health care, she said that Egypt is seeking to mainstream its experiences in African countries, especially its 100 Million Health initiative.

At the same time, Egypt is also working on supporting African corporations and achieving governance and supporting anti-corruption efforts.

In this regard, Egypt is to host a roundtable that will be organised by the African Association for Public Administration and Management (AAPAM) in December, with the purpose of enhancing dialogue and exchanging experiences in the administrative reform sector.

Last month, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced in his address to the United Nations General Assembly that the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in December would be a model for regional dialogue, the minister said.

“Egypt is intensifying its efforts to achieve inclusive, sustainable economic, social, and environmental development under the umbrella of Egypt ’s Vision 2030,” she added.

El-Saeed also noted that Egypt has adopted a national program for economic and social development that includes structural reform procedures in some sectors, especially in the energy sector.

Oct 07, 2019

Oslo, 16 October 2019: Scatec Solar and partners have grid connected the last of the six 65 MW solar power plants in Egypt. This marks the completion of the 390 MW Benban solar project located near Aswan in Upper Egypt. The project is part of the 1.8 GW Benban solar park – one of the world’s biggest solar parks where Scatec Solar is the largest developer. “We have been a pioneer in Egypt since 2013 and been supporting the country’s efforts to increase generation capacity and increase the share of renewables in its energy mix. I’m very proud that we have completed our largest project ever. Constructing a total of six solar plants in just over 16 months is a major achievement for everyone involved”, says Raymond Carlsen, CEO of Scatec Solar. In April 2017, Scatec Solar and partners KLP Norfund and Africa 50 signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with the Government of Egypt for delivery of electricity from six solar plants, totaling 390 MW. The project was both the company’s first, as well as the world’s largest solar plant to utilise bi-facial solar modules, capturing the sun from both sides of the panel to increase the clean energy generation. The estimated annual electricity production is 870 GWh, enough to provide energy for more than 420,000 households in Egypt. The solar plants will also contribute to avoid about 350,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Oct 17, 2019




Business News Egypt's exports of leather, leather products and footwear declined by 21.9 percent for the period between January and September, registering $62.9 million, compared to $80.6 million for the same period last year.

However, the sector's exports witnessed a 15.2 percent increase in September to reach $6.02 million, against $5.23 million for the same month in 2018, according to a monthly report issued by the Leather Export Council of Egypt (LEC) on Wednesday.

Leather exports constituted 93.9 percent of the sector's total exports during the above-mentioned period, registering $52.1 million, the report said.

Spain, Portugal, India, China and Italy were the leading importing nations, recording $13.96 million, $9.083 million, $9.082 million, $7.807 million and $7.204 million, respectively, the council noted.

Dec 03, 2019

Egypt is going to produce electric buses in 2020 to operate in new cities including the New Administrative Capital as well as other major cities across the country, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Wednesday.

In a press conference held on Wednesday, Madbouly said that the Egyptian government has been in contact with more than one international company to draw up plans to produce electric buses and to replace microbuses and minibuses with gas powered minibuses and microbuses in the upcoming period.The prime minister added that there are plans to replace tuktuks with gas powered cars in cities and governorate.

Oct 31, 2019

Community and data platform for start-ups, MAGNiTT, released a report on startup financing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) showing growth in the number of financing deals that concluded in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

The report stated that about 354 investment deals worth $517m were concluded in the third quarter (3Q) of this year, an increase of 30% in the value of funds from last year, and 3% in the number of deals concluded.

According to the report, the average deals completed were about $2.5m, constituting the highest average achieved by startups in the region.

Egypt topped the list of countries concluding finance deals in the Middle East and North Africa with 27% of concluded deals, and ranked second in terms of attracting funds with a share of 13% of the total funds attracted by the region.

The UAE topped the list of countries attracting startups to finance and acquired 62% of the total funds established by startups in the Middle East and North Africa.

The report ranked the Egyptian startup “Maksab” as the largest company to attract funding in the Middle East and North Africa in 3Q, with $6.2m.

The report said that the financial technology sector dominated the largest number of financing deals with a share of 14% of total transactions, up 3% from the comparative period last year due to the demand of investors and business accelerators on startups operating in the sector.

The report showed that the number of investors increased during the current year until the 3Q to 163 investors compared to 159 investors during the whole year.

Nov 17, 2019



Egypt's Sovereign Wealth Fund (ESWF), known also as Misr Fund, is expected to start operating by the start of 2020, an official source told Ahram Online on the condition of anonymity.

The new fund is Egypt's first experience ever in this regard, with a registered capital of EGP 200 billion ($11.2 billion) and an issued share capital of EGP 5 billion. The fund is meant to run all state-owned assets, especially untapped ones, for the sake of achieving sustainable economic development according to the best international standards, and is allowed to cooperate with other foreign and Arab funds and financial corporations.

According to the fund's inception law no.177 for 2018, which was approved by the House of Representatives in July 2018 and published in the official gazette in August 2018, the fund has the right to sell, lease for property, authorise utility, and share as in-kind portion in other projects or assets according to the market value by no less than the price assessment determined by the Central Bank of Egypt and the Financial Regulatory Authority.

The fund has its autonomous budget as well, and its financial resources involve its capital, assets that will be under its management, revenues from investing in its assets and resources, loans and banking facilities it received, bond issuing proceeds and other financial tools, and other resources that would be approved by the fund's board.

Hani Tawfik – a stock market expert and former head of Venture Capital Management Company, a state-owned investment fund established in 2017 with a total capital of EGP 150 million to support stumbling factories – told Ahram Online that the new fund is meant to be a key supporter of Egypt's economy through maximising benefits from its untapped assets and working hand in hand with the private sector.

However, Tawfik said that Egypt has little experience in this field, adding that "the hope is the new fund’s CEO has international experience in this regard."

"The success of the new fund in its mission of bolstering Egypt's economy depends on releasing it from any likely restrictions and have it be free in dealing with the private sector, as cooperation with the private sector is one of the new fund’s objectives. Moreover, the new CEO must cope with the investors in private sector prospects to be able to develop state-owned assets effectively," Tawfik said.

Regarding the challenges that the new fund could face, Tawfik said that these include the lack of liquidity in the domestic market and local real estate market depression, especially since the fund’s mission is based on tapping assets and buildings.

Sahar Al-Damaty, a board member of Emirates NBD Egypt and former monetary policy researcher at the International Monetary Fund, told Ahram Online that private-public partnership is a key facet for ESWF’s success in its mission.

"The new fund is meant to open the door wide before the private sector to attract foreign, Arab, and even local investments," Al-Damaty said.

Introducing facilities, easing procedures, and eliminating any likely obstacles would ensure that Egypt's economy benefits from its first sovereign wealth fund, according to Al-Damaty.

In June, the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF), a global network of sovereign wealth funds from more than 30 countries, announced that it admitted Egypt's new fund as an associate member for three years, which marks the Egyptian fund’s first international recognition.

IFSWF associate membership is specifically for institutions in the early stages of becoming a sovereign wealth fund. By becoming an associate member, the Egyptian fund voluntarily agrees to work to apply the generally accepted principles and practices for governance, investment and risk management of sovereign wealth funds, known as the Santiago Principles, as it puts its investment and risk management processes in place.

"The Egypt Fund will mainly focus on investing domestically, whether in existing assets and companies or in new fields and areas to capitalize on existing and new opportunities in the Egyptian economy. The Fund will acquire utilised and unutilised assets and stakes in companies at their market value (including land and buildings) to co-develop with private investors injecting capital and advanced management strategies to generate higher returns and create job opportunities. All forms of investment models will be feasible to allow the Fund to create the highest returns on these assets while also developing specific activities and geographical areas in Egypt. The Egypt Fund will mainly operate through sub-funds and affiliate companies to invest in specific sectors, or projects, with private investors," according to the IFSWF website.

The IFSWF added that the fund will be the largest investment fund in Egypt, with the full weight of the government behind it in resolving any impediments that face investors, and more importantly, in moving in a more structured manner to mobilise assets and companies in Egypt. Furthermore, it will work with investors in an environment that will be equal to any opportunity abroad, without complications and with clear regulations governing the entry and exit of investors, in a way that protects the interests of all parties involved.

Oct 08, 2019




Business News The Economist expects Egypt’s economy to grow by 5.8% during fiscal year 2020/2021, up from 5.6% in FY18/19, the cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) revealed.

Despite low global demand, the North African nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) has recorded remarkable growth levels when compared to other economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in particular and the world in general, IDSC noted in a statement on Wednesday.

This improvement in GDP growth reflects the success of economic reforms that have been implemented since 2016.

Nov 21, 2019

60 new oil and gas discoveries have been made during the last financial year 2018/2019, Chairman of the General Petroleum Authority Abed Ezz told Egypt Today on Tuesday.

He pointed out during the meeting of the House Committee on Budget and Plan that two new discoveries will be announced soon, referring that the first discovery is for Eni in the Gulf of Suez and the second for Petro Gulf in Sinai.

On Friday, the Italian Company Eni announced the discovery of new resources in Abu Rudeis Sidri development lease in the Gulf of Suez, with estimations for the place to contain about 200 million barrels of oil.The company added that the well would be completed and put into production in the next few days with an expected initial flow rate of about 5,000 barrels per day.

Abed noted that there is a plan to develop, modernize and raise the efficiency of the old refineries, especially that there are seven old refineries “semi-rickety” with low value product.

“Therefore, we will develop and raise the efficiency of the seven plants and will establish the new Cairo Oil Refining Company at a cost of $4.4 billion to produce 4.2 million tons per year,” Abed said.

Assiut Company was established and will begin production in the first quarter of 2020 for the gasoline production unit. The Red Sea Company was established as well.

Oct 30, 2019

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) expressed interest in furthering cooperation with Egypt, said the fund’s vice-chairman and managing director, Khaled bin Sulaiman Alkhudairy, during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) held in Riyadh from 29 to 31 October.

Alkhudairy stated that Egypt’s stability and development meant the stability of the Arab nation, adding that the economic and legislative reforms Egypt adopted had improved the investment climate in Egypt and attracted Saudi investors to do business in Egypt.

Nasr said at the FII that Egypt wanted to boost cooperation ties with Arab financial corporations, and particularly with the SDF.

She stressed the fund’s important work on development projects in Sinai which have a positive social impact on the residents of the peninsula. These projects, Nasr said, improved services, generated jobs and upgraded infrastructure networks to attract more investments.

The SDF financed the first phase of the Sinai development programme with a total of $2.6 billion, and was at present engaged in financing the second phase.

Nasr called on Saudi investors to increase investments in Egypt, saying the country was providing venture opportunities in national mega-projects, including the Suez Canal, the New Administrative Capital, and New Alamain city.

The Egypt-Saudi Arabia cooperation portfolio recently recorded $2.013 billion in 24 production and venture projects.

Oct 31, 2019




Business News The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will issue treasury bills (T-bills) worth EGP 18.5 billion on Sunday on behalf of the Ministry of Finance.The first tranche of the T-bills amounts to EGP 9 billion and will be offered through 91-day notes, while the second tranche will be offered through 273-day notes valued at EGP 9.5 billion, the CBE said via its official website.The issuance will be used to finance the country’s budget deficit. The Ministry of Finance previously revealed that it aims to diversify its financing sources and expand into local long-term financial instruments with the reduction in interest rates.The Egyptian government succeeded in cutting public to debt to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 90.5% at the end of June, compared to 98% at the end of June 2018.

Nov 24, 2019

The Cabinet’s Information Centre highlighted on Monday Egypt’s breakthrough in renewable energy fields, achieving leading positions in relevant international indices.

An infograph published by the centre shows Egypt ranked 24th on the climate change index for 2019, up from the 28th position in the previous year.

Egypt is ranked 32nd worldwide and third in the Middle East and North Africa in the Regulation, Renewable Energy, and Energy Efficiency Index, according to the centre.

Egypt has become one of the best 36 world countries in the renewable energy index by the World Bank for 2017 over seven years, moving up from 58 to 68 points.

The infograph also highlighted, along with other projects, the implementation of eight renewable energy ventures from 2014 to 2019, mainly the Benban solar energy project which is planned to produce 1,465 megawatts and includes 32 power plants.

Dec 03, 2019

Egypt’s cabinet on Tuesday set five requirements to grant nationality to foreigners by investment in the country’s economy, per Law No. 90 of 2019, a law recently approved by the Parliament.

The requirements include either purchasing state-owned or public juridical person-owned property valued at $500,000 or more, or to establish or partner in an investment project with $500,000 or more. Other cases include depositing $750,000 through direct wire transfer from abroad into a special Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) account and to be retrieved in Egyptian pounds after five years without interest, or depositing $1m through direct wire transfer from abroad in a special CBE account, and to be retrieved in EGP after three years without interest. The fifth case is to deposit $250,000 non-refundable, through a direct wire transfer to the CBE.

Moreover, the cabinet approved the establishment of a special unit to look into citizenship by investment applications.

According to the law, the application for obtaining Egyptian nationality shall be submitted at the unit ’s headquarters or through its to-be official website accompanied with the required data and documents after the payment of a $10,000 fee.

The unit shall examine the applications and made its decision within three months from the date of submission, after making the required security investigation, and in the case of initial approval for the request, the foreign individual will be granted the right of temporary residence in Egypt for six months to complete the procedures and documents necessary to obtain the final approval of his application.

The unit shall complete the examination of each application and submit its report to the prime minister for approval, all within three months of the submission date of the required data and documents.

Dec 12, 2019




Business News The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company has completed the construction of the 300-megawatt electrical connection line with Sudan, with the operation phase expected will launch early next week.

The launch ceremony will be start in Toshka, with the presence of Egyptian Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker, and leaders from both Ministries of Electricity in Egypt and Sudan, and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company.

The extension of Toshky transmission plant, which is a double circuit transmission line stretching over 170 kilometers with a capacity of 220/66 kV, has been established and linked with Sudan’s Wadi Halfa in collaboration with Siemens. The first phase of the linkage was due to enter service in March but has been delayed.

Chairperson of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. (EETC) Sabah Mashaly indicated in a press release in February that the cost of the project is LE32, 550, 000 and €562500. The statement explained that the network consists of air-insulated substations (AIS) to inhibit power loss. The amount of electricity to be transmitted is estimated to be 400 megawatts.

An official from the Ministry of Electricity pointed out that the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. finished the overhead power lines in a record time of less than six months, revealing that experts from both countries are exchanging visits to accelerate the final works in the project.

The following phases will enter service gradually in tandem with the rate of accomplishment on the Sudanese side, a source at the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy told Egypt Today.

Dec 29, 2019

N.B.E. National Bank of Egypt declared winner of a deal to arrange finance for an L.E. 2.4 billion contract awarded to a German Co. & technology holder (Woodtech) to recycle rice straw to produce wood - MDF Fiber Board & overcome environmental harms. Estimated project costs are Euro 210 million and annual production capacity is 205,000 M2 of wood recovered from 245,000 tons of rice straw. Project would be the first in kind for both Egypt, also for Africa & the Middle East and the second after the US.

Dec 17, 2019

Chevron, Shell, and Mubadala have been awarded oil and gas exploration concessions in the Egyptian Red Sea area in an international tender, the Ministry of Petroleum announced on Sunday.

Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla affirmed that Egypt will start exploiting its oil and gas wealth in its Red Sea economic waters for the first time.

In February, the results of the geophysical data analysis in the Red Sea, carried out by Schlumberger in cooperation with Ganope, pointed out that there is a 70% chance for new natural gas discoveries.

The Red Sea is one of the most promising areas in Egypt, as no exploration activities were undertaken before the agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border with Saudi Arabia in 2017.

The first concession block was awarded to Chevron, the second to Shell, while a third block was awarded jointly to Shell and Mubadala with a total exploration area of around 10,000 square km and with a minimum investment of $326m, the ministry explained in the statement

Egypt’s oil and gas sector has been one of the top receivers of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in 2019. In the third quarter of 2019 net inflows for oil and gas sector investments rose by $256.4m to $744.2m.

Egypt has finalised a new form of petroleum agreements for the first exploration tender in the Red Sea. The agreements include new incentives, such as increasing the partner’s share and reducing the expense recovery period, in a bid to encourage foreign companies to further invest in Egypt ’s oil and gas sector. Source: Daily News Egypt

Dec 30, 2019




Business News The Egyptian Ministry of Local Development will develop 130 villages in 26 governorates at a total cost of 5 billion Egyptian pounds ($239.2 million).

Five villages of each governorate are selected as part of National project for the development of Egyptian villages, the minister of local development Mahmoud Shaarawy, said.

A total of 160 projects have been chosen to be implemented in the target villages at an estimated cost 821 million pounds

An amount of 551 million pounds has been allocated by the ministry for fiscal year 2019/2020. In addition, an amount of 270 million pounds has been allocated by the Central Agency for Reconstruction

Moreover, 78 electricity projects, 55 roads and bridges, and 15 drinking water projects are being implemented at a cost of 300 million pounds, 317 million pounds, and 53.27 million pounds, respectively.

Dec 22, 2019

Two electric bus prototypes will be inaugurated in Egypt by the military production ministry on Tuesday, as part of the first phase of an agreement to manufacture the vehicles in Egypt.

Egypt signed an agreement with China’s Foton Motor company in April when a delegation of ministers accompanied President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to China.

The two sides agreed to transfer the technology for manufacturing electric buses to Egypt, and 2,000 buses will be manufactured in an Egyptian military factory over four years, with a local manufacturing rate of up to 45 percent.According to the agreement, China will also provide Egypt with 50 buses, the first two of which are arriving on Tuesday.The two buses are considered a prototype to determine how the vehicles would operate in Egypt.

The inauguration ceremony will involve Minister of Military Production Mohamed El-Assar and representatives of Foton Motors.

Oct 30, 2019

The project to connect over 55 African countries will cost more than $250 billion to be funded by banks and global companies that will execute the project, Egypt president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stated on Saturday.Each of these countries will sign an agreement for a soft loan, el-Sisi added during Africa 2019 Conference, according to eXtra News.The more the cost of finance increases in Africa, the more risks become likely, he remarked.El-Sisi noted that a continental infrastructure will reshape and transform Africa in 10-15 years.The relationship between African governments and the private sector is at its best and marked by mutual trust, however, the fruit of this relationship is still very humble, the Egyptian president said.

Nov 24, 2019

Egypt's non petroleum exports during the first 10 months of 2019 recording 2.3 % increase above their level in the comparison period of 2018 accompanied with 3 % decline of total imports during the same period. Development drove the deficit of the balance of payment for the period under caption by $ 2.15 billion or 6 % below its level in the previous year.

Dec 06, 2019




Business News Dubai port operator DP World has agreed with Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) on the allocation of an industrial plot of land in the canal areaIn a press conference celebrating the company’s ten years of operations in Egypt, DP World’s Middle East & Africa CEO and Managing Director Suhail Al Banna said that a main development company will be built in the area, 51 percent of which will be owned by the zone and 49 percent by DP.

He said the agreement has been referred to technical experts for a financial assessment of the area in terms of infrastructure and the best engineering implementation methods.

Technical studies are expected to be finalised before the end of the year, he said.

He added that Egypt’s industry and trade activities have encouraged DP to invest in the country and to contribute to its economic growth.

Egypt has been pushing forward with efforts to lure investors to its SCZone in recent years, highlighting the available opportunities for foreign corporations.

Earlier this year, Egypt and Russia agreed to establish a company to operate and administer an anticipated $7 billion Russian industrial zone east of Port Said.

The Russian industrial zone is set to be established over three phases on a 5.25 million square-metre plot of land, with the first phase to cost $190 million.

Sokhna port expansion by Q2 2020

DP World also said that it will finalise an expansion project at the Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna, with investments of $520 million by the second quarter of 2020, Reuters reported.

Forty percent of the investments to establish the second terminal at the port are bank-financed, while the rest is self-financed.

The second terminal should double the port’s capacity to 1.75 million containers annually, from a current 970,000.

The expansion would make Sokhna the only port in Egypt able to handle the world’s biggest container ships.

The port received 655,000 containers in 2018, with DP’s Al Banna forecasting a 7 percent increase in 2019, and a 10 percent rise in 2020.

Total investments by the ports operator would total $1.6 billion following the expansion plan, he said.

Nov 21, 2019

Egypt will auction $1 billion in one-year dollar-denominated T-bills on Dec. 9, the central bank said on Thursday.

The T-bills will be settled on Dec. 10 and will mature on Dec. 8, 2020, the central bank said.

Dec 08, 2019




Business News Egypt and Germany signed on Monday an 36 million Egyptian pounds ($2.2 million) grant agreement on quality assurance in agricultural production.

The deal was signed by Egypt’s Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr and the German Ambassador in Cairo Cyrill Nunn, in the presence of Mona Mehrez, deputy minister of Agriculture on Livestock, Fish and Poultry.

The project aims at improving regulatory systems related to quality assurance of agricultural products.

The project also aims at establishing a platform for dialogue between experts on quality assurance in agricultural production as part of the bilateral cooperation between the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Egyptian deputy minister of Agriculture Mona Mehrez stated that around 25 million Egyptians working in the agriculture sector will benefit from thie deal.

Minister Sahar Nasr highlighted the rise in German investments in Egypt during the past four years which reached $ 7.4 billion, in the fields of oil, chemicals, telecommunications, iron and steel, gas and auto components

German Ambassador Cyrill Nunn asserted that the investment climate in Egypt will encourage German companies to increase their contribution in Egypt.

Dec 10, 2019

Egypt has signed its first oil and gas deal with South Sudan, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

The ministry did not elaborate on the details of the deal, which was signed during an energy conference in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, but said it is part of a broader strategy sponsored by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to boost investment in Africa.

The memorandum of understating is the “first legal framework regulating relations between the two countries in the oil and energy field,” the ministry said.

South Sudan in August made its first oil discovery since independence from Sudan in 2011.

The country generates most of its revenues from oil.

Oct 31, 2019




Business News Egypt's hotel sector has witnessed its highest performance since 2008, as occupancy levels in the previous quarter (Q3) increased by 300 basis points to 73 percent this year until August 2019, according to JLL’s third quarter Cairo Real Estate Market overview report issued on Tuesday.In parallel, the tourism sector continues to perform well with new infrastructure, improved security and major attractions such as the Grand Egyptian Museum set to open next year, the report added.

"Cairo’s real estate market has seen positive performance across all sectors of the market including the hotel, residential, retail and office sectors. The hotel sector in particular has significantly improved occupancy levels as the economy starts to pick up at a time when there is limited new hospitality supply underway," the report said.

It also said that tourism arrivals to Egypt are expected to increase, with Easy Jet and other operators resuming operations to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Moreover, once the Sphinx International Airport in Western Cairo is complete, this will allow more multi-destination visits, to the benefit of the capital ’s hotel sector.

In the residential sector, villa sale prices have improved dramatically over Q3, by 13 percent in the west of the city and 11 percent in New Cairo. Responding to stronger sale prices, two of Egypt’s biggest developers have announced new gated community projects in the west of Cairo, where prices are currently more affordable than in New Cairo, according the report.

Retail rents, the report said, have increased by 5 percent in Q3, bringing the total increase to around 20 percent YoY. The market has been boosted by the opening of two major developments, one being the long awaited Almaza City Centre, which opened its doors last month. Almaza City Centre continues the recent trend of including a cinema and other F&B and entertainment options as mall owners attempt to broaden the experience offered and increase dwell times.

Cairo’s office sector has seen rents increase by 9 percent in central and eastern Cairo, while rents in western Cairo have drastically improved by as much as 11 percent in Q3. This is due to the strong demand in high-end gated communities and recently announced projects in western Cairo. More developers are offering flexible office space on short-term leases and this concept may prove attractive to financial and other companies who are currently assessing their requirements for space and the potential of relocating staff to the New Administrative Capital.

“As the economic situation in Cairo is recovering and the Egyptian pound is strong, we are witnessing healthy demand levels across all the sectors of the market. We expect to see an even more healthy economy in the months to come as government initiatives and large scale tourism projects continue to boost demand and drive investment in the market,” country head of JLL in Egypt Ayman Sami said.

Nov 07, 2019

Egypt’s exports are expected to rise by 20 percent by the end of 2019, Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar said, adding that Egypt’s Sustainable Development Vision 2030 targets an increase in the macroeconomic indices, including the export sector as a key source of hard currency.

Nassar made his statements during his participation in the Egypt Economic Summit on Tuesday on behalf of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

Nassar explained that the government has undertaken legislative and structural reforms including new laws and amendments, including an amendment to the investment law, a new industrial licenses law, a competitiveness protection law, as well as laws on customs system and SME development.

“Recent years have witnessed intensive investments in infrastructure projects in Egypt, including road projects that have pushed Egypt to jump 90 spots in the global ranking of road quality, in addition to electricity and energy projects," Nassar said.

Nassar said that the SME sector has been essential in contributing to the sustainable growth that has been achieved over the last years.

He added that Egypt aims to increase domestic manufacturing between 2019 and 2024 to boost the competitiveness of domestic products and stimulate investments.

Nov 14, 2019




Business News Beltone Financial, the Egyptian investment bank owned by billionaire Naguib Sawiris, expected that Egypt’s economy will achieve a growth rate of 6.1 percent within the 2020/2021 financial year from 5.6 percent during the 2018/2019 financial year.

In its annual report about Egypt’s economy 2020, the bank said on Sunday the country’s economic growth will continue, driven by the noticeable increase in the revenues of tourism and natural gas.

It noted that underway mega national projects will contribute to sustaining the economic growth in Egypt, as they are expected to give more space to the private sector to absorb new entrants to the labor market each year.

The bank predicted a decline in the current-account deficit to reach $7.2 billion of GDP in the current financial year.

It forecast that the Egyptian market will see the best performance in terms of profitability of shares denominated in dollars by 15.1 percent, surpassing the Middle East markets and border emerging markets.

As for the interest rates, the bank expected that the Central Bank of Egypt will keep lowering the interest rates in 2020 by 300 basis points, which will positively reflect in the performance of shares at the stock exchange.

Nov 19, 2019




Business News RiseUp Summit 2019, MENA’s leading entrepreneurship event, held from 5 to 7 December, organised its second day activities at the American University in Cairo (AUC) New Cairo Campus, with a focus on the tech entrepreneurship scene in MENA and the importance of corporate innovation and an internal entrepreneurial mindset. The day hosted speakers from media service provider Spotify, Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) and Intel. Founder of Emotional Particle Mona Hamdy, cofounder and CEO of Eventtus Mai Medhat, and Cofounder of Womena Elissa Freiha were among the most prominent women providing their take on the entrepreneurship and tech sectors.

On the second day, a report by the Atlantic Council showed that there are around 90 million internet users in the Middle East and North Africa, accounting for 40.2 percent of the region's population, and the number is steadily growing.

While some are worried that technology will take over certain jobs in the future, the advancement of technology gives birth to a multitude of new jobs, which is why having savvy developers is essential. In the entrepreneurship world, technology has become an enabler and having a solid developer onboard is essential to any startup’s growth, according to the report.

“Developers are among the architects of the future. They build the tools and services that improve our lives and therefore it becomes crucial to underline the importance of developers in today’s global economy. With our initiatives such as ‘Developer Circles from Facebook’, a programme designed to create locally organised communities for developers, we’re empowering tech innovators everywhere, supporting them at every stage of their journey towards realising their goals -- whether they ’re early on their developer journey or they’re building a startup”, Facebook’s Product Partnerships Programme Manager Walid El-Amin said.

Global Innovation Director at Nestlé Gerardo Mazzeo talked about the importance of corporate innovation, announcing that Nestlé is launching a new project in Egypt, looking for a tech partner that can develop a tool to complement its existing automated sales platform which will provide optimised routes for its sales representatives that can take into account live-feed traffic and predicted traffic for rush hours, school times and so on. Interested startups can apply at henri.nestle.com/live-projects.

“Many startups are leading trends and disrupting the food and beverages industry. Major food companies are now increasingly looking to innovate in different ways by collaborating with and investing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups,” Mazzeo said, adding that Egypt is the fastest growing ecosystem in MENA, with incubators on the rise, the government investing in resources, and boot camps, and events making connecting easier.”

Speaking on the MENA ecosystem in general, Hassan Fayed, acting head of innovation at the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA), explained that "in the region many things need to be tailored to the local context, unlike in other countries. One of the key factors still missing from the ecosystem and the entry of which can be crucial is family businesses. The second and third generations of young people family business owners have seen the startup ecosystems abroad and are more aware that if they do not find a way to disrupt themselves, they themselves will get disrupted."

During the summit, MINT by EG Bank announced its Startup Account, tailored to suit young companies ’ banking needs. Its benefits include no fees on the account, a competitive interest rate, and the convenient transfer of payroll online.

Additionally, Egyptian startup “Your Parts”, an online marketplace for purchasing car parts, announced some of its newest features, such as pickup points for ordered spare parts, the listing of truck parts, and a partnership with Mobil.

On its second day, RiseUp Summit hosted the first day of the African App Launchpad Cup in partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), for which winners will be announced on Saturday. The two-day event saw 15 Egyptian and 13 African startups competing to present the best gaming or app development project for a chance to win up to $60,000.

For the first time this year, RiseUp Summit is featuring an in-summit hackathon powered by Dubai Commercity in which 160 developers will gather at the venue to share their innovative ideas for e-commerce digital inclusion and compete for prizes totalling $15,000. The Dubai Commercity Hackathon will focus on promoting e-commerce accessibility in underpenetrated areas, with developers working on addressing digital awareness and solving delivery and internet access challenges.

RiseUp Summit 2019 is hosting four main stages: Tech, Capital, Creative and Growth. The seven tracks that the content focuses on are Creative Culture, Creative Economies, Smart Capital, Growth Hacks, Emerging Tech, FinTech and Tech 4 Humans. The summit will be followed by the regional Pitch by the Pyramids competition, in which 15 startups from MENA will pitch for various prizes.

Dec 08, 2019




Business News The Ministry of Petroleum has reduced Egypt’s production of natural gas to about 6bn cubic feet per day (scf/day) from 7bn scf/day due to the decline in domestic market consumption and export.

A source at the Ministry of Petroleum told Daily News Egypt that the country has achieved a surplus in the production of natural gas from different concession areas, estimated at 1bn scf/day, along with the decline of power plants’ gas consumption.

He pointed out that the gas consumption of power plants decreased to about 3.7bn scf/day now, compared to 4.5bn scf/day during the summer, due to lower temperatures, which increased the efficiency of production plants and reduced electricity consumption.

He pointed out that the new gas projects recently linked to production, such as Zohr, Noras, North Alexandria, 9B, and Baltim South West fields, contributed to the rise of Egypt’s gas production at unprecedented rates.

The source added that Egypt’s natural gas production is expected to increase to 7.5bn scf/day during 2019/20.

The source pointed out that the rate of consumption of natural gas in the domestic market is growing annually, according to the industrial and urban development plan along with the increase in the number of cars operating with natural gas.

Power plants’ gas consumption represents 61% of the total consumption, while the rest is split between industry, household, and automotive sectors.

The source said that the rate of domestic gas consumption will rise gradually to 7bn scf/day during the next fiscal year (FY) 2020/21, compared to about 6.2bn scf/day in FY 2019/20.

The average gas consumption in the domestic market will rise to about 9bn scf/day by FY 2020/21, according to the industrial development plan. This will also lead to increasing the productive capacity and gas delivery to homes and the conversion of more cars to run on gas instead of petroleum.

The plan of the Ministry of Petroleum aims to complete the implementation of the Zohr, North Alexandria, and Burullus fields, to contribute to increase domestic production and cover consumption rates.

Oct 08, 2019

Three Egyptian insurance companies are competing for an insurance policy bid to cover the engineering risks of Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel in Ismailia port city, northeast of Cairo, said sources on Saturday.

The 1,640-metre long car tunnel is named after Ahmed Hamdi, an Egyptian engineer and general killed in action during the October War. It has two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, and connects Sinai to the town of Suez.

The three companies are Suez Canal Insurance (SCI), Arab Misr Insurance Group- GIG, and Orient Takaful Insurance, official sources in the country ’s insurance sector further told Amwal Al Ghad.

At a total sum insured of $400 million or around 6.5 billion Egyptian pounds, the policy will see the coverage of all the engineering risks that may occur during the period of carrying out the tunnel, they added.

“The insurance policy will include all contractors’ risks as well as the mechanical, machines, and equipment failure, besides the coverage of the civil liability and natural disasters,” the sources said.

The policy will also cover a digging machine used in the tunnel, with total sum insured up to around ý€45 million, equivalent to 813 million pounds, the sources added.

Nov 03, 2019




Business News Egypt’s economic situation continued to strengthen, in which the real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6% in the FY 2018-2019, recording the highest rate in 11 years, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

It added in its latest transition report named “Better governance, Better economies,” that Egypt’s inflation declined markedly to one-digit levels, the fiscal and current account deficits narrowed, and unemployment has declined to its lowest level in eight years.

“In fiscal years (FY) and 2020-21, we expect the GDP to rise by 5.9%. Growth will be supported by the continued strengthening of the tourism sector and of exports, large public construction projects including the building of the new administrative capital, natural gas production from the Zohr field and other new discoveries, the reengagement of private investors – both domestic and foreign – following the recent trend of interest rate cuts, and the continued implementation of business environment reforms and prudent macroeconomic policies.

The report praised the Egypt Tourism Reform Programme (E-TRP), stating that these measures were reflected in an increase in competitiveness and attractiveness.

It also pointed out to that Egypt had the fourth-highest performance improvement in the World Economic Forum ’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019, which highlighted tourism’s revenue increase to $12.5bn in the FY 2018-2019, a record high.

“Structural reforms have progressed greatly. The government has taken effective steps towards reforming energy subsidies, widening social protection coverage, strengthening tax collection, and deepening the efficiency of financial markets, in addition to amending the investment law,” according to the EBRD’s report.

The EBRD briefed the key priorities for Egypt in 2020 in three points including prioritising the measures to improve private investment.

It further explained that laws encouraging private participation in certain public-dominated sectors should be implemented, and interest rates led by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) policy rates should continue to be lowered, in line with the decline in inflation.

“Sustained and advanced implementation of structural and fiscal reforms is essential to consolidating the gains in macroeconomic stabilisation. Expected reforms in the coming year include conducting a medium-term revenue strategy, promoting comprehensive privatisation of state-owned enterprises, improving the availability of and access to industrial land, reforming competition policies, and implementing e-public procurement,” the EBRD recommended.

The third point that the EBRD is developing solutions for water scarcity in the National Water Resources Plan.

It further explained that Egypt is already below the United Nations’ water poverty threshold and is approaching a state of “absolute water crisis”.

“There is an urgent need to develop non-renewable subterranean water extraction methods, desalinate water, manage wastewater and ration water usage,” the EBRD asserted.

Dec 03, 2019

Egypt’s M2 money supply growth accelerated to 13.03% year-on-year in September from 11.78% in August, data from the central bank showed on Thursday.

The money supply stood at 4.01 trillion Egyptian pounds ($249.22 billion) as of the end of September from 3.93 trillion Egyptian pounds at the end of August.

Nov 03, 2019




Business News Egypt is poised to launch its first ever communication satellite "Tiba 1", which will be earmarked for public and trade telecommunication services.

The move comes in implementation of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's directives to develop the Information and Communications Technology sector, in line with the Sustainable Development Strategy (Egypt's Vision 2030).

The satellite, manufactured by a consortium of Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, is set to be launched by Arianespace.

It will provide coverage for Egypt, some states in North Africa and the Nile Basin countries.

The Tiba 1 satellite will offer telecommunication services and broadband internet to remote areas in the country, with a view to supporting development projects and bridging the digital gap between urban and rural areas.

It is also expected to serve the sectors of energy, education and health, as well as to help all state bodies combat crime and terrorism.

Nov 05, 2019

Egypt, Cairo - October 20, 2019: Shell Egypt is to market its current onshore upstream assets in the Western Desert in order to fully concentrate on growing its Egyptian offshore exploration and integrated gas business. Wael Sawan, Shell Upstream Director, said: “Shell is proud to have worked in Egypt for over 100 years. We remain committed to Egypt and see our future in supporting the Government’s energy hub vision by growing Shell positions across the offshore and LNG value chain. This is where we can best leverage our expertise, deliver the strongest added value to Egypt, and optimize our portfolio to ensure the company delivers a world class investment case.” Khaled Kacem, Shell Egypt Country Chair, said: “Shell companies are progressing with new offshore activities, including our West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) Phase 9B project, which involves eight new development wells, and exploration in WDDM, for which a 2nd offshore rig has been recently mobilized, that will be followed up with exploration in Rosetta as well as the recently awarded Blocks 4 and 6”. “We are looking for a capable buyer that will bring new investment and growth into the Western Desert and build on our successful partnership with the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation. Any sale is contingent on finding an appropriate buyer, commercial negotiations and required approvals. We anticipate the start of active engagement with potential buyers in Q4 2019. During the divestment process we remain committed to ensure continued safe and reliable operations, and will keep our stakeholders regularly informed.”

Oct 21, 2019

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) announced that Egypt is the biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) attractive in Africa during the first half of 2019.

In a report issued on Monday, UNCTAD unveiled that Egypt has attracted FDI flows worth $3.6 billion.

It also mentioned that the FDI flows to Africa registered $23 billion during 1H 2019, down two percent in the same period in 2018.

It clarified that despite this decrease, Egypt has managed to keep its position as the biggest FDI attractive in the continent, which is in line with the success of its economic reform program that Egypt’s government has adopted since November 2016, macroeconomic indices improvement, and the legislative reforms that Egypt has implemented, which improve its investment climate.

On the other hand, the global FDI flows reached $650 billion in 1H 2019 with an increase rate of 24 percent compared to the same period in 2018, according the report.

The report anticipated that global FDI flows would witness a slowdown increase due to the global trade tensions.

Oct 31, 2019




Business News The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) said on Monday it will provide $430 million in insurance to advance energy security in Egypt by rehabilitating a natural gas pipeline and transporting gas from fields offshore in Israel.The insurance will enable U.S. company Noble Energy to restore the 90km EMG Pipeline running from Israel’s coastal city of Ashkelon and under the Mediterranean sea to its destination in Al-Arish, Egypt, the state department’s Bureau of Public Affairs said in a statement through its Africa Regional Media Hub.It will also support the transport of three trillion cubic feet of natural gas over 15 years.“Strengthening energy security, which bolsters trade, supports investment, and improves quality of life, is critical to ensuring lasting prosperity and stability in Egypt,” the Africa Regional Media Hub quoted DFC chief executive Adam Boehler as saying at the signing ceremony at the Investment for Africa Forum in the capital Cairo.“This project will help the country meet growing demand for reliable, low-cost energy in order to fuel sustained economic growth and create opportunities that have a stabilizing impact in Egypt and across the region.”The project will advance energy security in Egypt and support the country’s efforts to grow its economy by exporting gas to parts of Europe and other global markets. The pipeline being restored had initially been used to transport natural gas from Egypt to Israel but ceased operations in 2012.

Nov 26, 2019

Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad participated Saturday in a workshop organized by the Ministry of Local Development on December 7-8 for newly appointed governors, where she reviewed the state's new Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) system. Outlining the system's implementation phases, Fouad touched upon its executive plan, which falls under the third phase and seeks to raise citizens' awareness of the new system and promote community engagement.

The minister noted that the new system is an national project requiring cooperation and coordination at all levels.

She also shed light on the efforts exerted by the local development ministry to carry out the first phase, which focused on preparing necessary infrastructure.

The governors of Gharbiya, Sohag, Alexandria, Marsa Matrouh, Qena, Ismailia, Aswan, Red Sea, Menoufiya, Beni Suef, Minya and Dakahliya attended the session.

Dec 08, 2019

Vodafone Egypt, part of the British multinational telecommunications conglomerate, has topped the list of the best places to work for in Egypt for 2019.

The annual prestigious Best Places To Work program recognizes leading employers around the world and provides employers the opportunity to learn more about the engagement and the satisfaction of their employees and honor those who deliver an outstanding work experience, nurture and develop talent throughout all levels of the organization, and which strive to continuously optimize employment practices.

Vodafone Egypt received outstanding scores across several aspects of their workplace such as leadership, learning and development and culture recognizing the company’s commitment to ensure exciting career prospects for their employees, attracting the best talent with outstanding conditions and making continuous efforts to develop their people and open up their opportunities.

“Vodafone has been working hard to create a culture where everyone feels included and inspired to be at their best, and it is always looking to improve – particularly in three key areas: building a digital talent base, investing in future digital talent, and creating a diverse and inclusive workplace,” said Alexandre Froment-Curtil, CEO of Vodafone Egypt.

“Vodafone Egypt has proudly become one of the best places to work over the years not only in Egypt, but also in Africa, through hard work, people focused and forward thinking strategies; earning its place in the hearts and minds of its employees,” said Nagla Kinawi, Vodafone HR Director.“The results prove once again that the employees of Vodafone Egypt are proud to work for the company in an environment where everyone feels enabled to contribute to the company success,” said Hamza Idrissi, Program Manager for Egypt.

The Best Places To Work Programme certifies and recognizes leading workplaces in many countries including leading programmes in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia.

The program focuses on 8 Workplace factors including workplace culture, opportunities for growth and overall employee satisfaction with the company ’s people practices. An HR audit is also conducted to examine HR Practices within the organization.

The certification is only granted to companies that achieve the highest quality standards in human resources management.

Dec 12, 2019




Business News Near the southern Egyptian city of Aswan, a swathe of photovoltaic solar panels spreads over an area of desert so large it is clearly visible from space.

They are part of the Benban plant, one of the world's largest solar parks following completion last month of a second phase of the estimated $2.1 billion development project.

Designed to anchor a renewable energy sector by attracting foreign and domestic private-sector developers and financial backers, the plant now provides nearly 1.5 GW to Egypt's national grid and has brought down the price of solar energy at a time when the government is phasing out electricity subsidies.

In 2013, Egypt was suffering rolling blackouts due to power shortages at aging power stations. Three gigantic gas-powered stations with a capacity of 14.4 GW procured from Siemens in 2015 turned the deficit into a surplus.

National installed electricity capacity is now around 50 GW and Egypt aims to increase the share of electricity provided by renewables from a fraction currently to 20% by 2022 and 42% by 2035.

"They have plans to bring out renewable energy, private sector invested, across the Red Sea in wind and throughout the deserts for solar power," said Christopher Cantelmi of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a lead backer of Benban along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The Benban project's 32 plots were developed by more than 30 companies from 12 countries, including Spain's Acciona, UAE-based Alcazar Energy, Italy's Enerray, France's Total Enren and EDF, China's Chint Solar and Norway's Scatec. Developers of the plant, around 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Aswan, are guaranteed a feed-in tariff price for 25 years.

"It really introduced a lot of them to Egypt for the very first time, to project finance and to infrastructure finance," said Cantelmi.

A third phase at Benban could add more than 300 MW, though nothing has been decided yet, while another large scale solar development is planned 45 km north of Aswan at Kom Ombo.

Egypt has struggled to attract foreign investment outside the oil and gas sector, despite winning praise for an IMF-backed economic reform programme since 2016.

At Benban, developers visited by an IFC team last month raised the issue of a stand-off over a government demand that they collectively pay an extra 1.9 billion Egyptian pounds ($118 million)in infrastructure costs. There had also been some curtailment of supplies to the grid as they waited for new transmission lines to be added.

But operations were generally going well, and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company was paying on time, they said.

Dec 19, 2019




Business News The US Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director in Egypt Sherry Carlin said USAID supported all efforts that helped Egypt's growth and improvement, adding that US-Egypt ties depended on trust, respect, and value.The USAID programme in Egypt, totalling over $30 billion since 1978, was seeking to enhance the contribution of government officials, civil society, communications, and individuals to build and strengthen institutions that meet the political and economic needs for Egyptians, Carlin said in her address during a discussion panel held on Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo titled “USAID and Egypt’s strategic partnership."

She also revealed that USAID was allocated about $6.6 million as a portfolio for each sector it covered, adding the Egypt’s government was paying attention and commitment to its cooperation with the USAID especially during the past four years.

Carlin said the agricultural sector was a major component of the Egyptian economy, contributing 14.5 percent of its GDP, and that the USAID had provided more than $1.4 billion to the sector since 1978.

“Currently, USAID is working on three projects in this sector with a total of $64.8 million in various governorates,” she said.

As far as the trade and investment sectors were concerned, Carlin clarified that the USAID was directed by the US administration to boost the economic reforms Egypt adopted to meet the International Monetary Fund benchmarks, and to spur its trade and investment.

The USAID was boosting Egypt's economic reforms through macroeconomic, stability, trade, enterprise, and work force development activities, she added.

Director of Economic Growth Office at the USAID Briton Bohling stated that the USAID had worked on an initiative over the past two years to boost Egypt ’s exports environment to be completed by 2020.

“A key priority for the USAID is increasing the growth of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to generate employment and promote trade and investment. MSMEs constitute more than 95 percent of private enterprises and generate over 80 percent of private sector employment in Egypt,” Carlin said.

She added that the USAID was working on five basic projects with a total of $1.345 billion all over Egypt.

Carlin said that the USAID had provided more than $100 million since the mid-1990s to the tourism sector, adding that the USAID focused on boosting the sector’s role as an engine of economic growth and employment. The USAID is adopting three tourism projects with a total of $13.7 million in various governorates.

The USAID is also working on number of projects in the water and sanitation, education, and health sectors and governance area.

Answering one of Ahram Online's questions about the major obstacle the USAID faced during its work in Egypt, Carlin said "the lack of official data".

She added that data was a key components that helped the USAID evaluate processes, thus the lack of data affected the USAID's work.

While the Private Sector Engagement Programme Officer at USAID Sarah Atwood said in response to Ahram Online's question about the role of private sector in Egypt ’s economic reform that it was playing a role in improving economic growth in an effective manner.

Atwood added the USAID welcomed the private sector in Egypt to cooperate and find solutions for problems they face in their line of work.

Oct 07, 2019




Business News Capital economics praised the success of Tarek Amer during his tenure as governor of the central bank, which will end on Nov. 26."His time at the helm of the CBE will be deemed a success," Capital Economics stressed.

Capital Economics referred that Monetary Police Committee's meeting on Nov. 14 might be Amer's last meeting if his term is not renewed.

"He has been instrumental in restoring macroeconomic stability over the past few years, taking the painful decision in 2016 to devalue the pound as well as steps to improve the CBE’s credibility," Capital Economics stated in a recent report.

The report noted that the next governor will have a tough act to follow.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) cut the overnight deposit rate, the overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation for the third consecutive meeting in row by 1 percent or 100 basis points during the-meeting held on Nov. 14, matching experts' anticipations.

The overnight deposit rate, the overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation are cut to be at 12.25 percent, 13.25 percent, and 12.75 percent, respectively. Moreover, credit and discount rates were declined to 12.75 percent from 13.75 percent.

On Interest Rates note, Capital Economics expected a further monetary easing in Egypt during the coming months after the 100 basis points cut in November's meeting.

"While we expect inflation to edge up in the near term, it will remain below the central bank’s target. As such, we continue to anticipate another 225bp of cuts by end-2020," it said in a report Egypt Today got a copy of.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) also announced that Egypt’s annual consumer price inflation declined to 3.1 percent in October 2019, compared to 4.8 percent in September 2019, with a monthly inflation up-tick from 0.3 percent to 1 percent.

The CBE said that Egypt’s annual core inflation rate rose to 2.7 percent in October 2019, from 2.6 percent in September 2019.

The report also thought that the easing cycle has further to run, expecting the overnight deposit rate to be lowered to 10 percent by the end of next year and to 9.50 percent by end-2021.

Nov 19, 2019

Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el Molla underlined Tuesday 29/10/2019 the need to emulate the successful experiment of the Egypt-Greece-Jordan cooperation while working to deepen the Arab-European partnership and cooperation in all spheres.

According to a statement to the press by the Ministry Petroleum and Mineral Resources, the minister made his remarks at the opening ceremony of the 4th EU-Arab World Summit hosted by Athens, Greece, on October 29-30.

Conveying President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s greetings to the gathering, Molla underscored the need for continued collective efforts to address and overcome challenges facing the Mediterranean region.

Atop of these challenges are terrorism, the problem of refugees and illegal migration, the minister noted, highlighting their direct and indirect effects on the region ’s sustainable development efforts.

Molla spoke about the Arab countries’ trade deficit with Europe, noting that their exports to the European countries constitute 11 percent of the Arab world’s total global exports. Arab countries’ imports from Europe represent 27 percent of their total imports, he further pointed out.

This imbalance could be addressed by focusing on further cooperation in added-value industries to help raise the living standards of Arab peoples and attain the goals of reform programs adopted by the Arab countries.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul Gheit, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, the prime ministers of Serbia, Ukraine, Albania and North Macedonia and the Palestinian deputy prime minister are among the summit attendees.

Oct 31, 2019




Business News Egypt’s net foreign reserves rose to $45.247 billion in October from $45.118 billion in September, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The reserves have been climbing steadily since Egypt secured a three-year, $12 billion loan, now disbursed in full, from the International Monetary Fund in 2016 as part of efforts to attract foreign investors and revive its ailing economy.

Nov 07, 2019

The Ready-Made Garments Export Council (RMGEC) announced on Monday that exports of the sector increased by 11 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (FY 2019/20) to reach $456 million, compared with $409 million during the same period in the past fiscal year (FY 2018/19).

In its monthly report, the council said that the exports of the sector to the US achieved an increase of 27 percent, recording $263 million in the first quarter of 2019, against 207 million dollars during the same period of 2018.

Meanwhile, Egypt's exports to Europe declined by 2 percent to register $137 million , the report added.

As for garment exports to Arab countries, they went up by 35 percent, recording $18 million in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 13 million dollars in the same period of 2018, the report noted.

The report showed that Germany came in the first place among European countries buying Egyptian garments, with imports of $26 million.

Nov 19, 2019

A joint initiative by the government and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to support local industries with 100 billion pounds will help increase the country’s economic growth rates and the gross domestic product (GDP).

The fund will benefit around 96,000 eligible factories, CBE Deputy Governor Gamal Negm said.

The GDP is planned to increase to 7.5 percent annually, and growth rates will rise to 5.9 percent, up from 5.2 percent, by the completion of the initiative, Negm told a press conference held in Cairo on Monday.

Over the past few years, the CBE has launched a number of initiatives to boost the industry with 15 billion pounds, he said, referring to more than 865 factories receiving funds directed to increasing their capital and purchasing machinery and equipment.

Egypt’s exports are planned to reach around $200 billion by 2030, compared to $29 billion last year, he stressed.

He added that 8,586 industrial entities will benefit from an initiative to drop the debts of defaulter factories which amount to 31.2 billion pounds.

These factories will be eligible to the fund once they pay 50 percent of their original debt. Banks will then lift these factories off the defaulters list, he said.

Defaulting factories have debt burdens worth 35.6 billion pounds, while their original debts stand at 4.4 billion pounds, Negm said, pointing out that the initiative mainly targets industrial entities with debts worth less than 10 million pounds.

Dec 10, 2019

Inflows of US dollar to Egypt have amounted to some 200 billion over the past four years, said Tarek Amer, governor of The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

Amer's statements came during a speech at the Arab Banking Conference, which is held on 8 and 9 December in Cairo.

The CBE governor attributed the rise in dollar inflow to the successful financial and monetary programs applied by Egypt, which have helped stabilize the money market and reduce inflation.

'Egypt has also issued bonds for 40 years, as work is underway to implement a huge project meant to upgrade the industrial sector in the country, the CBE governor said.

The CBE backs initiatives that support the industrial sector, he told the conference, stressing that unity behind the political leadership has helped overcome the financial crisis.

Dec 12, 2019




Business News Egypt’s finance ministry announced on Thursday that the state's public budget has achieved an initial surplus of EGP 7.1 billion from July to September for fiscal year 2019/2020, without calculating loan interests.

With loan interests, Egypt’s budget deficit recorded EGP 131.4 billion during the first quarter of FY2019/2020, accounting for 2.1 percent of the GDP, the ministry added in a statement.

The fiscal performance report for November also noted that the budget’s revenues recorded EGP 173 billion over three months, as tax revenues recorded EGP 131.6 billion, while non-tax revenues reached EGP 41.4 billion.

It added that receipts from income taxes rose to EGP 38.5 billion due to the increase of salary taxes that reached EGP 12.6 billion.

The report also revealed that property revenues recorded EGP 14.4 billion thanks to an increase in Suez Canal share profits, which reached EGP 7.8 billion, in addition to the increase of share profits from state-owned economic entities that recorded EGP 3.4 billion.

On the other hand, public expenditures recorded EGP 303.3 billion over three months, including wages and state-worker compensations that rose to EGP 74.9 billion, besides the increase of supply good subsidies that reached EGP 12.4 billion.

The ministry also revealed that spending on health insurance and pharmaceuticals witnessed an increase, recording EGP 1.2 billion, while spending on commodities and service purchases rose to EGP 12.8 billion.

Interest expenditures recorded EGP 138.5 billion, spending on non-fiscal assets and investments reached EGP 24.9 billion, while spending on subsidies, grants, and social benefits recorded EGP 34 billion, the report said.

Meanhwile, the government has offered treasury bills worth EGP 19.25 billion ($1.2 billion) to bridge the budget deficit.

Dec 22, 2019

Chairman of the General Petroleum Authority Abed Ezz confirmed that 60 new discoveries have been made during the last fiscal year in the field of oil and gas.

He pointed out during the meeting of the House Committee on Budget and Plan that two new discoveries will be announced soon, referring that the first discovery is for Eni in the Gulf of Suez and the second for Petro Gulf in Sinai.

On Friday, the Italian Company Eni announced the discovery of new resources in Abu Rudeis Sidri development lease in the Gulf of Suez, with estimations for the place to contain about 200 million barrels of oil. The company added that the well would be completed and put into production in the next few days with an expected initial flow rate of about 5,000 barrels per day.

Abed noted that there is a plan to develop, modernize and raise the efficiency of the old refineries, especially that there are seven old refineries “semi-rickety” with low value product.

“Therefore, we will develop and raise the efficiency of the seven plants and will establish the new Cairo Oil Refining Company at a cost of $4.4 billion to produce 4.2 million tons per year,” Abed said, adding that Assiut Company was established and will begin production in the first quarter of 2020 for the gasoline production unit. The Red Sea Company was established as well.

Oct 30, 2019




Business News Betsy Nelson, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) vice president for risk and compliance and chief risk officer, has praised the bank’s successful partnership with Egypt.The EBRD has chosen Egypt as a key state for the bank’s operations as a result of its success achievements on the economic level, she said, during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr in London.

Nelson said that Egypt’s infrastructure projects are a role model for the region, and that the EBRD is committed to boosting the country ’s reform efforts and increasing its investments in the domestic market.

The EBRD’s investments in Egypt stand at around 5.3 billion euros over 99 projects, 58 percent of which are private sector.

More than 50 percent of the bank’s investments in Africa are in Egypt, with the remainder focused on Tunisia and Morocco.

“EBRD will expand its investments in the private sector in Egypt in the light of the economic reforms that Egypt has adopted which improved the investment climate, sent positive messages to investors, and stimulated international corporations to channel more funds to reinforce private sector in Egypt especially with the attractive investment climate that Egypt enjoys now,” Nelson said.

For her part, Nasr said that Egypt is looking forward to enhancing cooperation and partnership ties with the EBRD in the transport sector, including both the Cairo metro and on railways; on small and medium-sized enterprises; in the energy sector; and in increasing financing to the private sector.

Dec 01, 2019

Egyptian Orascom Development Holding reported on Wednesday a 218.7 percent year-on-year growth in net real estate sales during the first nine months of the year.

Net real estate sales recorded 5.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($340.8 million), up from 1.74 billion pounds during the first nine months of 2018.

Revenues reached 3.3 billion pounds versus 2.4 billion pounds during the same period last year, marking a 39.4 percent growth.

Profits before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization also surged 6.7 percent to 1.1 billion pounds, compared with 987.5 million pounds during the first nine months of 2018.

Nov 14, 2019

Egypt is completing a solar power plant in Kom Ombo, Aswan governorate with a capacity of 26 MW, a senior official told Egypt Today on Monday.A 200 MW solar plant will be also installed in the same areain Kom Ombo city, Head of the New and Renewable Energy Authority Mohammad al-Khayyat added. “Several projects to establish solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of 2000 MW are still under study and that the financial closure of these projects will be finalised next June,” al-Khayyat said.The renewable energy is expected to contribute 42 percent of the energy mix by the year 2035, said Khayyat, stressing that by the year 2022, the share of renewable energy in Egypt will reach 20 percent.In August, a total of €19 million have been invested by the Renewable Energy Authority in the field of solar energy, and €150 million have been allocated to future projects.

Nov 26, 2019




Business News ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC S.A.E. (EGX: SWDY.CA), the leading Integrated Energy and Infrastructure Solution Provider in the Middle East and Africa, signed on the 3rd of December 2019, in Juba a contract with the «Ministry of Energy and Dams» of the «Republic of South Sudan» to build a hybrid solar photovoltaic project with battery storage system, with a value of approx. 45 million USD.

The Project shall be built on 250,000 square meter land near Nesitu County, which is 20km from Juba, the capital and largest city in the Republic of South Sudan and shall start producing energy by 2020. The Project will consist of 20 megawatts-peak solar photovoltaic park, a 35 megawatts-hour battery storage system and and in-house training center serving Jubek State and the entire Equatoria region.

ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC’s scope of work covers engineering, procurement and installation of the entire Project on turkey-basis; and should be started up in 12 months from the Project commencement date.

The Project features the first of its size and structure Finance by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) in this ambitious oil-rich country with unique economic potentials. The estimated annual 29,000,000 kWh of clean energy produced by the project will power more than 58,000 South Sudanese households while avoiding more than 12,000 tons of CO2 a year, and should contribute significantly to the electrification of the capital and its region.

“It is a privilege being selected by the esteemed government of the Republic of South Sudan to deliver this project, which shall be one of the largest battery storage solar photovoltaic projects in Africa,” Ahmed Elsewedy, President and CEO of ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC, said in a statement. “The support of the AFREXIMBANK was significant to conclude this contract which will help South Sudan to tap its incredible renewable resource potential and deliver significant economic, social and environmental value. At ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC, we realized that reliable power and water supply is the key to developing economies, and we will deploy all our global resources in ensuring South Sudan and its people to unlock their full potential; same as we will do in all countries we operate in."

Dec 05, 2019

Governor of Alexandria Mohamed El-Sherif has signed a protocol with the Informal Settlements Development Fund’s (ISDF) executive director Khaled Seddiq for the development of seven slums in the governorate.

These areas are located in Montaza, El-Agamy, West, and East Alexandria, Seddiq added, according to a statement released on Saturday.

The top official revealed that the development works serve two million people in Alexandria, with a total cost of EGP 811 million.

Works include asphalting and lighting of roads, and water and sanitation networks building, development, replacement, and restoration.

Dec 29, 2019




Business News he Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that net international reserves recorded an all time high of $45.117 billion at the end of September 2019, up from $44.969 billion in August.

According to the CBE data, Egypt's foreign exchange reserves reached $39.753 billion in September, up from $39,652 billion recorded in August.

July witnessed the highest foreign exchange reserves at $39,785 billion.

Gold reserves fell slightly in September to $3.209 billion from $3,324 billion in August.

For gross official reserves, foreign currency recorded $41,545 billion in September compared to $41,278 billion recorded in August.

Egypt's foreign exchange reserves averaged $25,105 billion from 2003 to 2019, while it recorded the lowest level in March 2013 with $13,448 billion, according to Trading Economics.

CBE board member and former expert at the International Monetary Fund Fakhry Elfiky told Ahram Online that the reserves amount is the CBE's highest ever, covering Egypt's imports for more than eight months into the future.

Elfiky said that the $1,8 billion increase in reserves stems from recent rising gold prices, adding that Egypt has about 76 tons of gold reserves.

Foreign exchange reserves in Egypt are foreign assets controlled by the CBE, made of gold or a foreign currency. They can be used for special drawing rights and marketable securities denominated in foreign currencies, like treasury bills, government bonds, corporate bonds and equities and foreign currency loans.

Oct 08, 2019

Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) signed Tuesday with the World Bank an assistance agreement worth EGP 2.5 million as part of Egypt’s national strategy for upgrading statistics.

Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nassr said the agreement was signed to in order to better evaluate all economic and business sectors in Egypt, and to track the implementation of sustainable development objectives.

Nasr added that the assistance agreement will also help build the capabilities of the group that has been assigned to prepare Egypt ’s national strategy for the upgrade.

For her part, Marina Wes, World Bank country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, expressed her support for the agreement, saying it will help Egypt make the right policy decisions.

Wes added that the national strategy on upgrading statistics is the first of its kind in the country and will improve the lives of Egyptians.

Dec 19, 2019

The Suez Canal witnessing the crossing of 5,000 vessels during the last quarter of 2019 with 314 million tons of loads considered unprecedented record. That was announced by General Ossama Rabieh, Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, indicating the development documents the fruits of the close cooperation between the Authority & the Egyptian Naval Forces, its leadership & staff. Observers predict both the Canal & its economic Zone will record huge successes in the next stage.

Dec 26, 2019

Egypt’s Suez Canal recorded its highest ever monthly revenues in October, the Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said.

Canal revenues hit $515.1 million in October, with a net monthly cargo of 108.9 million tons, he stated, adding that the figures were "unprecedented".

The Suez Canal, the fastest shipping route connecting Europe and Asia, is the country’s main source of foreign currency.

Revenues from the canal recorded a yearly growth rate of 5.4 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2018/2019, reaching $5.9 billion, up from $5.6 billion in FY 2017/2018.

Nov 05, 2019




Business News A delegation of Emirati investors, currently visiting Cairo, have praised Egypt’s New Administrative Capital project and its venture opportunities, saying it reflects the rapid upgrade Egypt's economy is undergoing.

During a tour in the new capital, the investors expressed their willingness to inject new investment into the Egyptian market, boosting the role of the private sector in Egypt’s economic development.

Jamal Saif Al-Jarwan, secretary general of the UAE International Investors Council, said Egypt is one the best country in the world to invest in currently, in terms of investor opportunities and returns.

“The UAE targets that its investments in Egypt reach $14 billion over the coming five years, benefiting from the Egyptian market that enriches with promising opportunities and potentials,” Al-Jarwan said.

He called on Emirati investors to consider current venture opportunities of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, adding that the Egyptian government has offered significant incentives to attract investors and businesspersons to invest in various economic sectors.

Al-Jarwan praised Egypt’s investment climate, especially investor services centres, established by Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation.

The Emirates-Egypt Forum for Trade and Investment, held Wednesday, is one of the biggest economic, commercial forums in the history of UAE-Egypt ties. It brings together notable Emirati and Egyptian investors and businessmen and enjoys, Al-Jarwan said, the “full support of the Emirati Ministry of Economy and the Egyptian government.”

For her part, Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr highlighted promising venture opportunities in the New Administrative Capital, praising the successes of Emirati companies in Egypt.

UAE investments in Egypt reach $7.2 billion through 1,165 companies working in various sectors, including real estate, tourism, entertainment, oil, energy, food, agriculture, and information technology (IT).

Dec 12, 2019

Egypt has received an offer from an UAE company to implement new desalination plants, with investments worth $800 million.

The UAE company has submitted a bid to implement desalination plants in Egypt with a total capacity of 500,000 cubic metres per day, over several phases, Osama Hamdy, Deputy Minister of Housing for follow-up, projects, and utilities, told Daily News Egypt.

He added that a committee has been formed to study the offer. After completing the study, a memorandum will be presented to the Minister of Housing, and then to the cabinet for final decision.

In Egypt, there are 63 desalination plants, based in the governorates of North Sinai, Matrouh, Red Sea, and South Sinai, producing 700,000 cubic metres per day. Meanwhile, other 19 desalination plants with a total capacity of 400,000 cubic metres per day, are being implemented.Egypt plans to launch more 21 desalination plants before the end of 2022 to bring the total desalinated water in Egypt to 2.5 million cubic metres per day. The country has a plan to expand in the establishment of desalination plants to solve the water deficit and reduce the cost of transporting Nile water to the border governorates.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the private sector to enter the field of desalination, pointing out that most of the production requirements are imported.

On the sidelines of the opening some national projects last Tuesday in Suez and South Sinai governorates, Sisi added that the state continues to expand the establishment of desalination plants, especially in light of the decline in Egypt’s water per capita.

He explained that the industrial sector still needs the support of the state and banks, noting that the sector does not take its full chance.

Nov 11, 2019

Egypt's non petroleum exports during the first 10 months of 2019 exceeded the $ 2 billion level. A month earlier a statement of the Ministry of Trade & Industry indicated that non petroleum exports during the first nine months of the year reached $ 19.2 billion which means that the said exports for the ten months together have reached $21.2 billion level.

Nov 28, 2019




Business News Toyota Tsusho will manufacture 240,000 natural gas minibuses in Egypt in cooperation with the Arab Organization for Industrialization, it said Thursday.The Japanese company’s announcement came during a Cairo meeting between a delegation from the firm, chaired by the its regional manager for Africa, and Egypt ’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr.

The meeting discussed Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly’s recent meetings with Toyota on the topic of manufacturing gas-powered minibuses to replace diesel-powered models.

The delegation also said that Toyota is eager to expand in the Egyptian market and to manufacture for it, in addition to exporting to regional and African markets.

The delegation also praised the incentives that the Egyptian investment law has introduced for investors to encourage investment, adding that the company is looking forward to make use of the promising opportunities that Egypt’s economy offers.

Nasr said that Egypt’s government has made replacing diesel minibuses with gas-powered models a priority and manufacturing them in the domestic market will boost national manufacturing.

She also said that Egypt’s developmental projects offer further opportunities that could be tapped by the company.

Toyota Tsusho has around $1 billion invested in Egypt in the transport, oil, energy and wind power sectors.

Dec 22, 2019

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will issue treasury bills (T-bills) worth EGP 19 billion on Sunday on behalf of the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

The first tranche of the T-bills amounts to EGP 9.25 billion and will be offered through 91-day notes, while the second tranche will be offered through 266-day notes valued at EGP 9.75 billion, the CBE said via its official website.

The issuance will be used to finance the country’s budget deficit.

It is noteworthy that on 14 November, the CBE decided to lower interest rates by 100 basis points (bps), slashing the overnight deposit rate, the overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation to 12.25%, 13.25%, and 12.75%, respectively.

The Egyptian government succeeded in cutting the public debt to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 90.5% at the end of last June from 98% in the same month a year earlier.

Nov 17, 2019

The Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh will host the 14th African Economic Conference on 2-4 December.

The conference is Jointly organised by the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and the United Nations Development Programme.

Egypt was chosen as a host country after it succeeded in overcoming all the challenges it faced and achieved successes by implementing its economic reform programme, a statement issued by the three organisations said Thursday.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Jobs, Entrepreneurship and Capacity Development for African Youths.”

The conference seeks to bring together youth representatives, researchers, policy makers, and development practitioners from Africa and from around the world to discuss recent developments on the issues of jobs for youth, skills and entrepreneurship in Africa.

It will provide an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of ongoing reforms on addressing the youth skills gap in Africa and developing youths ’ entrepreneurial capacities.

In addition, the conference will discuss the latest evidence and emerging challenges on youth jobs, skills and entrepreneurship in Africa to inform country strategies and identify evidence-based innovative and implementable policies.

Dec 01, 2019




Business News The Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation announced launching fully-finished 147 industrial units in the investment zone in Benha.

Units will be offered in collaboration with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) in sizes ranging between 240 square metres and 360 square metres per unit.

The ministry is also offering 18 stores, 16 sales outlets, and 6 refrigerators, the request for proposals (RFPs) will be available as of 12 December to 26 December at the investments center in General Authority For Investments main office.

Dec 15, 2019

Egypt and the USAID signed on Tuesday an agreement for an additional $6 million for the North Sinai development initiative, bringing the total in the bilateral assistance programme to the governorate to $56 million.The agreement was signed by Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and the USAID Mission Director in Egypt Sherry Carlin, in attendance of the US Ambassador in Egypt Jonathan Cohen.

Nasr said that the agreement aims at achieving major social and developmental improvement for citizens in North Sinai through providing safe drinking water and sanitation services for around 100,000 residents, in addition to upgrading the infrastructure in order to attract investments.

"The ties between Egypt and the USA are strategic. The current economic cooperation reflects the economic partnership between the two countries in the developmental sectors of top national priority, in line with the social and economic reform programme that Egypt is undertaking," according to Nasr.

The minister said that the Egyptian government’s priorities include the empowerment of young people and women, supporting SMEs, improving drinking water and sanitation, and expanding social protection programmes through implementing development projects in all sectors, especially in infrastructure, new road networks, social housing, healthcare, and education.

Dec 19, 2019

The Italian company Eni has completed the production test of the 14th and last well in the Zohr gas field in the Mediterranean, bringing the total production capacity of the field to about 3.2 billion cubic feet per day.

A source in the petroleum sector told Daily News Egypt that the current production capacity of the field is about 3 billion cubic feet/day, and will increase to 3.2 billion after completing the implementation of the gas pipeline linking the field to the national grid in April.

He said that production has been reduced from the rest of the wells until the 14th well is tested, which has a production rate of 150-250 million cubic feet/day because the local market currently does not need any additional quantities of natural gas.

He added that the Ministry of Petroleum fully meets the needs of electricity generation, factories, cars, and household of gas, and directs shipments of LNG for export, and it does not need additional quantities during the current period in light of the decline in consumption of power stations by about 1 billion cubic feet/day during the winter.

Petro Shorouk, which is responsible for managing the development of the Zohr field, said in the financial year 2018/2019, seven wells were drilled and completed, bringing the total number of wells that were linked and put on production to 12.

In addition, the company has completed the construction of the land station to process the production eight months before the scheduled date by operating production units 5, 6 and 7 in February, March and April 2019, respectively, bringing the total capacity of the treatment station to reach 2.3 billion cubic feet/day.

The total investments of the Zohr development project amounted to about $10.6 billion to date, including $3 nillion during the year.

Dec 22, 2019




Business News Petroleum Minister Tarek el Molla said on Tuesday that the phosphoric acid production complex in Abu Tartour, New Valley, aims at attracting more investments in the mining field upon directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

The minister made the remarks during the signing of a contract between Misr Phosphate Company and a Chinese consortium to establish the complex in the presence of New Valley Governor Mohamed Zamlout and the Chinese ambassador in Cairo.

The $1-billion project is expected to produce a total of one million tons of phosphoric acid a year, the minister said.

He added that the project will be established on an area of 560,000 square meters and will have a storage capacity of 3 million square meters.

Dec 26, 2019

Egypt’s non-oil trade balance deficit contracted by 10.8%, or $1 billion, year-on-year during the first quarter of fiscal year 2019/2020.

The North African nation’s trade deficit retreated to $8.2 billion during the July-September period, compared to $9.2 billion in the prior-year period, according to data released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Wednesday.

The drop in trade deficit was ascribed to an increase in Egyptian non-oil exports and a decline in the country ’s imports during the three-month period ended 30 September.

Exports

Egypt’s non-oil exports grew by $707.3 million to $4.7 billion in Q1 of FY19/20, up from $4 billion in the year-ago period.

Top rising exports included gold, radio and TV transmitters and receivers, medicines, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and organic and inorganic compounds.

Imports

On the other hand, the country’s non-oil imports fell by $322.7 million to $12.9 billion in the three-month period ended 30 September, compared to $13.2 billion in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Falling imports included cast iron, wheat, wood, as well as spare parts of cars and tractors.

Dec 26, 2019

Egypt’s tourism revenue surged 6.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of the financial year 2019/2020 to $4.2 billion, central bank data showed on Thursday.

Financial year in Egypt starts in July each year.

The tourism sector is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign currency but has struggled since a 2011 uprising that ousted then president Hosni Mubarak.

Dec 29, 2019




Business News Leading Egyptian and international energy corporations are scheduled to participate in Al-Ahram Establishment's two-day energy conference in its third edition, slated to open on 29 December in Cairo under the sponsorship of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.Under the theme of “Energy, Investment Horizons and Development Opportunities”, 1,000 energy, petroleum, natural gas and energy officials and experts will set an integrated vision about the energy sector and the investment opportunities it promises, in addition to reviewing its growth potentials, in line with Egypt's transformation into a regional energy hub.

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) will participate in the conference based on its essential support to Egypt, and as a core supporter to its development projects, especially in the field of energy.

Mohamed Saddiqui, an engineering consultant, will represent the fund in the conference as a moderator of the session that covers the role of financial corporations that should play a role to boost funding capabilities of the energy sector.

Al-Ahram said in a statement on Wednesday that it’s looking forward to draft bold recommendations that support the significant progress Egypt has achieved in the energy sector over the past few years and reinforce the notable success of Egypt’s unprecedented economic reforms.

It added that it is eager to convene the conference annually.

“The participation of international, Arab, and Egyptian experts in the conference paves the way for shaping an effective vision that can help decision-makers to set a strategy that boosts investment in the energy sector, and ensures the optimisation of venture investments in electricity, petroleum, and natural gas," according to the statement.

Throughout seven sessions, the conference will cover investment management methods and discuss how Egypt has succeeded in overcoming the sector ’s challenges.

Conference participants will introduce a comprehensive vision about the future of sustainable energy in Egypt and Africa and discuss the future of natural gas development in Egypt in light of new natural gas discoveries.

Participants will also tackle the national natural gas delivery project and the role of the natural gas sector in turning Egypt into a regional energy hub.

The conference will touch upon the connection between electricity and digital transformation, as well as the role financial corporations should play in boosting funding for the energy sector through adjusting bank policies on joint loans and insurance.

The annual conference was established to serve as a one-of-a-kind event that focuses on the energy sector in Egypt and the investment opportunities it offers, as well as to help decision-makers adopt a strategy regarding investment in the sector.

The first edition of the conference was held in 2017. It drafted a national vision in line with Egypt’s efforts to be a regional energy hub.

The second edition was held in 2018 under the theme " The Future of Energy and Sustainable Development: Egypt’s Vision 2030."

Dec 26, 2019




Business News Egypt's annual headline inflation hit its lowest in a decade to reach 2.4 percent in October, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Saturday, as the country nears the end of its economic reform programme, backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).The official statistics agency CAPMAS said inflation dropped to 2.4 percent year-on-year in October, plunging from 17.5 percent in October 2018.

The decrease in annual inflation was the result of a drop in food and beverage prices by 6.3 percent, CAPMAS said.

Urban consumer price inflation dropped to 3.1 percent, down from 4.8 percent in September.

"Urban inflation stands at one percent month-on-month and 3.1 percent year-on-year. This is slightly lower than our expectations of 3.5 percent year-on-year," head of equity research at Pharos Holding for Financial Investments Radwa El-Swaify told Ahram Online.

October's monthly inflation is one per cent higher than September's, with CAPMAS reasoning the jump to increased prices of books, newspapers, and other products. The rise came despite a decrease in the prices of vegetables, poultry, and grains.

Inflation has been on a downward trend since May 2019, despite a hike in domestic fuel prices in July 2019 as part of the terms of the IMF agreement which helped Egypt secure a $12 billion loan in 2016.

Inflation skyrocketed to 33 percent in the summer of 2017, as the country proceeded with its economic reform programme which included the flotation of the currency and fuel subsidy cuts among other measures.

The eased rate is still within the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) target of nine percent, plus or minus three percent, for the fourth quarter of 2020.

The declining rate has pushed the CBE to proceed with its trend in cutting interest rates, slashing it by a total of 250 bps during the past two policy meetings since August.

Overnight deposit and lending rates, as well as the rate of main operations, today stand at 13.25 per cent, 14.25 per cent, and 13.75 per cent, respectively.

El-Swaify is predicting that the newly announced inflation rate would "set the stage for 100 bps cut in interest rates on 14 November," when the CBE's Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet to decide on interest rates.

"The interest rate fell to its lowest level in the past nine years. This paves the way for the CBE to continue easing the monetary policy and cut rates in the next meeting," Sherif Nabawy, director of international markets at Naeem Holding, told Ahram Online.

Like El-Swaify, Nabawy expects the CBE to cut interest rates by around 100 bps.

"However, if the CBE maintains the current interest rate, it would be to assess the impact of the recent cuts on the overall activity," he added.

Nov 11, 2019




Business News The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said that Egypt’s annual core inflation rate rose to 2.7 percent in October 2019, from 2.6 percent in September 2019, according to a report.

Core inflation discounts or strips out certain categories that are considered more volatile.

CBE said in a statement on its website Monday that the core inflation recorded a monthly rate of 1.1 percent in October 2019, compared to -2.3 percent in September 2019, and 1 percent in October 2018.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced earlier that Egypt’s annual consumer price inflation declined to 3.1 percent in October 2019, compared to 4.8 percent in September 2019.

Inflation has surged in Egypt since the flotation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016, reaching a high record level in July 2018 due to energy subsidy cuts, and gradually easing since July 2019.

Egypt targets an inflation rate of 10.5 percent in fiscal year of 2019/2020 and was targeting 13 percent in 2018/2019 budget.

Nov 14, 2019

President of the Egyptian French Businessmen Council & the Egyptian French Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Mr. Mahmoud Al Qeisy, the increase of French investments in Egypt to Euro 2.6 billion divided on 162 companies & agents hosting about 38,,000 employment. They are involved with a wide variety of sectors including food industries & chemicals, construction materials, the automotive industry & pharmaceuticals, also banking, insurance, communications & logistics.

Dec 22, 2019

As part of their plan to expand and lead the field of cloud services in the Egyptian market, Vodafone Egypt has become the first and sole accredited provider by VMware of the cloud services in Egypt. This enhances Vodafone’s attempts to support and contribute to Egypt’s strategy to transform digitally in more organizations, public entities and entrepreneurial enterprises. Vodafone has been the partner of VMWare since 2005, causing it to be the first company to deploy the services of VMWare. Enterprise Business-Unit Director, Karim Shehata, stated that the accreditation from VMW highlights Vodafone’s endeavors and commitment towards providing top-notch integrated services to their customers. Shehata added that this reflects the competence and expertise of Vodafone’s team and its technical support staff and their ability to help customers develop their IT operations, which is part of Vodafone's services to develop the ICT sector in Egypt. He further added, “This technology enables immediacy in customer service and provides the needed tools to monitor and control the cloud of each enterprise. Moreover, it facilitates more expansion in businesses, and better application of security measures in less time.” “Accrediting Vodafone comes as a part of our plans to expand in new markets especially in the MENA region, and to transform Egypt into a hub for advanced technological services,” said VMWare’s Regional Manager in Egypt, North Africa and the Levant, Ahmed Al Saadi. As the first accredited partner of VMWare, Vodafone offers a diverse set of the cloud services including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Through its official website and sales reps, Vodafone offers its customers fully-fledged cloud services provided by VMWare at the best prices and with ease of access.

Dec 11, 2019




Business News Global energy giant ExxonMobil Corp said on Monday it has won more than 1.7 million feddans for exploration offshore Egypt.

The acquisition includes an area of land in the 1.2 million North Marakia Offshore block, which is located approximately five miles offshore Egypt’s northern coast in the Herodotus basin, ExxonMobil said in a statement.

The remaining 543,000 feddans is in the North East El Amriya Offshore block in the Nile Delta.

“These awards strengthen our exploration portfolio in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil.

The U.S. oil major firm will operate both blocks and hold 100 percent interest. Operations, including acquisition of seismic data, are scheduled to begin in 2020.

“ExxonMobil has been a partner in Egypt’s growth for more than 115 years, and these awards reaffirm our commitment to pursuing high-quality opportunities in the country,” said Hesham Elamroussy, chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Egypt.

The awards add upstream interests to ExxonMobil’s long-standing downstream presence in Egypt, where it has been a leading marketer of fuels, lubricants, and specialties since 1902.

Dec 30, 2019

A delegation of former US Congressmen has expressed that the US is eager to pump more investment into Egypt in light of the latest legislative reforms Egypt ’s government has undertaken.

During a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, held Wednesday, the delegation praised Egypt ’s national mega projects, saying these projects are an opportunity that should be tapped for significant economic partnerships between the two countries.

The US delegation included Dana Rohrabacher, a former Republican congressman and the former chairman of congressional Friends of Egypt caucus, and Paul Behrend, a former congressman.

“A number of American companies intend to pump investments into construction and the plastics industry sector in Egypt, through building plastics material production plants, which will be eco-friendly and with low cost. The companies also plan to make partnerships with Egypt ’s public and private sectors," Rohrabacher said.

For her part, Nasr emphasised strong strategic and economic ties with the US, praising the role of Congressmen in reinforcing partnerships between Egypt and the US, especially in the economic field.

“Egypt is working on attracting investment for its national mega projects, which meet Egyptian needs and have an added value. Furthermore, they create new job opportunities, especially for women and young people," Nasr noted.

US investment in the Egyptian market currently stands at $22.8 billion.

Dec 12, 2019

Egypt is on track to carry out 11 drinking water and sewage stations in Ismailia governorate, at a cost of 823 million Egyptian pounds ($50.9 million), Minister of Housing announced on Thursday.

The stations – which aim to serve around half a million population – will be completed within September 2020, Assem El-Gazzar added.

The Housing Ministry is implementing a drinking water station in Mostakbal City, New Cairo, at a capacity of 68,000 cubic metres daily, El-Gazzar said.

Dec 15, 2019

Loans & GrantsEgypt & Germany signing six agreements involving various financial & technical cooperation fields valued Euro 300 million. They were signed by Egypt's Minister for Investments & International Cooperation including two agreements valued Euro 44.9 million belonging to the year 2017. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Military Production signed a letter of intent regarding mutual cooperation with DMG Morray Co. regarding the supply of smart machines & vocational training on the fourth industrial revolution technologies.

Nov 20, 2019




Loans & GrantsEgyptian petroleum minister Tarek El-Molla said an unprecedented increase in Egypt’s gas and petroleum production was seen during 2019.

Some 7.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 650,000 barrels of crude oil are produced daily, he said.

The highest rate of oil production was reported in August with 1.9 million barrels daily.

The total output of petroleum materials hit 84.2 million tons in 2019, up by seven percent from 2018.

More than 43,000 vehicles are now operating on natural gas, bringing the total number of gas-powered vehicles to 300,000.

Around 1.2 million housing units are supplied with natural gas to bring to 10.7 million the number of gas-run households.

Dec 31, 2019

The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) pumps about EGP2.4bn in Fayoum governorate since its inception in 1991, said Ashraf Darwish, manager of the Fayoum Branch at MSMEDA.

“We always support youth to start their businesses through facilitating lending conditions. We are keen on supporting entrepreneurship in the governorate,” Darwish said, adding that MSMEDA has a good experience in fighting illegal migration through supporting youth to have their businesses.

Huge crowds of youth and students participated in an event on Sunday where the Ministry of Migration’s efforts to fight illegal migration were highlighted. The event also shed light on three models of the Egyptian youth who got financed from MSMEDA and achieved a great success.

Minister of Migration and Egyptian Expats Nabila Makram said combating illegal migration campaigns in line with paying special attention to the youth and supporting them to start their businesses were of paramount importance.

Dec 30, 2019




Projects Awards The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Tarek Amer said deposits in Egypt’s banking system totalled around EGP 4 trillion, 44 percent of which was used in the domestic market.

He stated at a CBE press conference on Thursday that Egypt had succeeded in restoring confidence in its economy through improvements in the CBE policy and its performance, adding that with investment flows, foreign reserves increased and the banking system became more stable with the elimination of the black market.

Amer pointed out that the latest CBE international reserves that reached $45.118 billion were the highest to be recorded. They reflected the better financial position of Egypt.

He also said that Egypt had taken significant steps in the financial inclusion policy which qualified it to chair the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.

“We saved the economy from collapsing with the support of the political leadership,” according to Amer.

Regarding the new banks law, Amer explained it was part of an integrated programme President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi instructed the CBE to execute over the past three years.

He revealed the new law would enhance the CBE’s independence and improve governance basis in the CBE and Egypt’s banks. It would, in addition, maximise coherence and cooperation among the financial sector's supervising bodies.

Amer added the new law aimed at protecting Egypt’s banking system against financial crises, helping stumbling banks, and organising the supervision of payment services and financial technology.

He said that lending averages were weak in Egypt compared to other countries that made progress in this regard, clarifying that Egypt targeted increasing lending averages in the coming period.

“Unfortunately, Egypt’s economy is deprived of receiving funds in reasonable prices and in a suitable pace. To overcome this, we try to achieve competitiveness and increase funding rates, especially in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).

The cabinet approved the new banks law during its meeting on Wednesday.

Oct 07, 2019

Projects in Pre-Tendering PhaseNestle Water Co. SAE announcing it will pump L.E. 1 billion fresh investments in the next stage to finance its extensions apart from L.E. 1 billion finance for the same purpose pumped in the past few years. That was revealed by Dr. Rasem Dabbas, Executive Director of the company and was highly appreciated by high ranking executive officials in Kalioubiya Governorate.

Oct 28, 2019

Contract signed with the USTDA - US Trade & Development Agency on a US AID backed $ 690,000 grant in favor of the Holding Co. for Petrochemicals to draw a detailed feasibility study for a project to produce polyesital material. That was reported in the media indicating the project is unique in terms of providing for the use of the polyesital material in producing vehicles parts and components, among other inputs to the electronic & electric appliances industry. Annual design capacity of the project is 50,000 tons mainly depending on Damietta based emithanex project It is so far unique for Egypt & Africa. Total project costs are initially estimated at $ 400 million. Project will be best located on a piece of land allocated to the Holding Co. for Petrochemicals at Damietta Port.

Dec 11, 2019

An investment agreement signed between a Russian company & the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal Authority to implement a $ 300 million project for the processing & bottling of edible oils for export to Africa. The project will be most probably located at the Egyptian Russian Industrial Zone part of the Suez Canal Industrial Zone.

Oct 27, 2019

Results for the first international auction recently announced regarding the exploration & exploitation of oil & gas resources along the Red Sea Coasts of Egypt. That was reported in the media indicating the first batch of winners of fat contracts for the project. That included world giant Chevron of the US, Shell of Holland & an alliance of Shell & Mubadla of the UAE. All three contracts cover an area of 10,000 Km2 and a minimum committed investments by the parties concerned estimated, initially, at $ 326. Support of both the US & the EU to Egypt in that historic deal is beyond doubt and the coming days and months will reveal further developments to document and strengthen our view. The above could not be seen or separated from a strong smart blessing from Egypt's Gulf main allies.

Dec 30, 2019




Projects in Pre-Tendering PhasePotable Water & Sanitary Drainage Co. in Luxor signing a protocol with the AOI to start works on the design & implementation of a compact potable water station in Markaz Al Tod south of Luxor, valued L.E. 102 million. It will have a daily discharge capacity of 10,000 M3 . Design works on the station is for completion in 6 months time.

Dec 05, 2019

Al Futaim Group of the UAE launching new extensions of Cairo Festival City Mall, identified as Festival Avenue in New Cairo to go under L.E. 2 billion new investments on 22,000 M2 area. That was announced by Mr. Omar Al Futaim, Vice President of the Group while laying the ground stone of the new extensions. The group has been heavily investing in the home trade sector for several years.

Dec 16, 2019

Transfers of Egyptian expatriates abroad during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2019/ 2020 increased by 13.6 % (equal to $ 803.6 million) to reach $ 6.7 billion up from $ 5.9 billion in the comparison quarter of the previous year. That was announced by the Central Bank indicating that transfers during the month of September only of the present year marked another record by marking another record ($ 2.3 billion) up by $ 0.5 billion above its level in the previous month)

Dec 18, 2019

Master Group for Real Estate Development launching L.E. 3.5 million tourist project in Sukhna on 27.5 feddans land including 750 touristic housing units and a 120 room's hotel. That was announced by Mr. Mohamed Lashin, Chairman of the company's board of directors indicating the tempo increased particularly after works have already started at the new administrative capital & Al Galala City. The company further owns two residential housing projects on 54 and 63 feddans lands involving L.E. 10.5 billion pounds investments.

Nov 13, 2019

UAE investments in Egypt now put at $ 7.2 billion and divided on 1165 companies & investors. That was reported in the media indicating that Egypt now intends to increase its investments in the petroleum sector hand in hand with ENI of Italy & Mubadala Co. of the UAE. That was announced by Egypt's Minister of Investment & International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr, indicating that both parties intend to involve heavily in the development of Shorouk El Behariya gas concession, in the Mediterranean, almost at the same area of Zohor gas Field.

Dec 19, 2019

Documents

Economy - AmCham...Tahoun explained that the target project’s incineration capacity will reach 600 tonnes of waste per day, adding that the project will be financed by a Saudi investor