Category: Finance

Egyptian Exchange (EGX) indexes posted collective gains at the close of Tuesday’s trading session, backed by strong purchases by local and Arab institutions and investment funds, against sales by Egyptian and foreign investors.

The market capital gained about EGP 10.3 billion to hit EGP 690.7 billion at closing, after transactions that totaled EGP 1.8 billion.

The EGX 30 benchmark index jumped by 2.46 percent, registering 9,923.81 points.

The broader EGX 70 EWI index of the leading small and mid-cap enterprises (SMEs) increased by 1.64 percent, closing at 2,229.13 points.

The all-embracing EGX 100 index was up 1.66 percent, ending at 3,167.66 points.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Tareq el Mulla discussed with a Kuwaiti economic delegation the available investment opportunities in Egypt in the oil and gas sector.

This came in statements on Tuesday during a meeting of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Cooperation Council, the visiting Kuwaiti economic delegation, led by President of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Muhammad Jassim Al Saqer. The meeting was also attended by Mamdouh El Araby, on behalf of the council’s chairman, Ibrahim El Araby and Kuwaiti Ambassador in Cairo Ghanem Saqr Ghanem.

The minister said that the great development witnessed by industries; like petrochemicals and fertilizers, to maximize added value in Egypt through many ambitious projects to expand investments in this field, taking into consideration that Egypt is an important petrochemical hub.

The visit reflects the depth of ties between the two countries and the distinguished relations between the political leadership in both countries, Mulla said.

He underlined that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli were keen on meeting the delegation, a matter that reflects the State’s interest in developing and strengthening economic ties with Kuwait with the view to achieving integration and mutual benefit, particularly in the energy sector.

Egypt has extended partnership with Kuwait in the oil and gas domain, he said, citing joint cooperation represented in trade agreements withKuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and investment partnerships with Al Kharafi Group and Kuwait Energy plc company, a matter that creates an atmosphere for more successful investments and partnerships between the two sides, the minister said.

For his part, the KCCI chairman stressed the importance of the visit that reflects the two countries’ keenness on boosting cooperation and partnership.

He further underlined that the Kuwaiti delegation had meetings with the ministers to stand on the available investment opportunities in Egypt.

Egypt has made great strides in economic and investment reform amid the global challenges in the past two years, Al Saqer said, lauding Egypt’s experiment in developing its economy.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Egypt is opening its doors to local, Arab, and foreign investments, including the Kuwaiti investments, affirmed Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.

The minister, meanwhile, said that the political leadership is keen on stimulating private sector activity, especially that Egypt has an advanced infrastructure and ability to accommodate investment expansion in the various sectors.

Maait made the remarks during the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Economic Forum, which was held in the presence of Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir, Chairman of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Jassim al Saqr, and Vice President of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Mohamed Abdel Fattah el Masri, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

Talking about the positive indicators of Egypt’s economy, the minister said that the economy grew at a rate of 6.6% in the fiscal year 2021/2022, which is considered the highest growth rate since 2008.

The budget had a primary surplus of 1.3% last year, its fifth year of such surpluses, he added. The debt-to-GDP ratio would fall to 82.5%

The budget had a primary surplus of 1.3% last year, its fifth year of such surpluses, he added.

The minister also pointed out that the debt-to-GDP ratio decreased from 103% in June 2017 to 87.2% in June 2022.

Egypt has adopted proactive policies to be more resilient to external shocks, said the minister.

The minister further noted that Egypt’s Suez Canal revenue hit a record high of dlrs 7 billion in the financial year to June 30.

Egypt is earning about dlrs 500 million monthly from natural gas exports, and aims to raise that figure to dlrs 1 billion in the coming period, added the minister.

Regarding the efforts of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti economic cooperation council, the minister hailed the efforts exerted by the businessmen to promote economic cooperation between the two countries.

Kuwait is Egypt’s third top trade partner, affirmed the minister, adding that there are as many as 105 joint agreements between the two countries.

The volume of Kuwaiti investments in Egypt surpassed dlrs 15 billion, said the minister, adding that the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Kuwait hit about dlrs 5 billion.

The minister added that the document “State Ownership Policy” and “Golden License” are a strong start to empowering the private sector.

Egypt was one of the first countries in the Middle East and North Africa to issue green bonds worth 750 million dollars in September 2020, he further said.

The revenue of the bonds was directed to financing green projects and achieving sustainable development in the fields of clean transport and renewable energy, he added.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi affirmed that the industrial sector tops the government’s priorities.

President Sisi, meanwhile, affirmed that efforts are underway to facilitate and streamline investment procedures.

He also asserted that all barriers facing investors will be removed within one month or two from now.

In his speech during the inauguration of a number of national projects affiliated to the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) on Tuesday 27/9/2022, President Sisi affirmed that the State is serious in addressing the problems which hinder investment.

Every project that is carried out represents an additional revenues to the company which implemented it along with the citizen as well, added the president.

The government stands fully ready to encourage businessmen to expand in setting up technical schools in order to have qualified labor with skills deemed relevant to the job market, he added.

President Sisi also pointed out to the role of the research centers in resolving problems related to industry.

The private sector’s contributions to the economic activity stand at 75%, he added.

The State is also keen on providing production supplies, he made it clear.

President Sisi said that he directed the governor of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to resolve any problem facing the investors.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis had an adverse impact on the whole world, including Egypt, he went on to say.

“But we are seeking to reduce the impact of this shock as much as possible”, he affirmed.

President Sisi also saluted the GAFI and businessmen for their great efforts, saying “We are keen on supporting the industrial sector.”

More work is need to be done from the various sides, he added.

President Sisi said “we attach great importance to support industry in Egypt and remove all hurdles facing it.”

He also underlined that two models were presented today on investment facilitation measures in Egypt through granting the “golden license”.

The license helps facilitate procedures to carry out investment projects in the country instead of obtaining 26 approvals that took a long time by the investors to reach the real practical procedure, after which they launch their projects, the president elaborated.

He added that the investors demanded applying the “one-stop shop” system, which is one authority in a location that offers a multitude of services to clients, saving them considerable time, not exceeding 20 days or less if possible.

This service has already been implemented in some areas to help investors and industrialists, who seek to start their own business without wasting too much time in the course of finalizing administrative procedures, the president said.

“The two models are good, but not enough if we are targeting to achieve 100 billion dollars of exports, which is not a high figure for a country with a population estimated at 104 million people,” the president further noted.

Directing his speech to businessmen in Egypt, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi affirmed that the State is cooperating with the businessmen in Egypt and is exerting assiduous efforts to remove all obstacles facing them.

In this regard, President Sisi said that the economic conference, which will kick off next month, represents a perfect opportunity for investors and businessmen to shed light on the obstacles facing them.

The wages of Egyptian labor is relatively low if compared to other countries, President Sisi said, adding that this represents a comparative advantage for investors.

President Sisi asserted the State’s readiness to cooperate in training highly-skilled workers.

Sisi stressed the importance of linking existing research and development centers in Egypt with businessmen and industrialists to benefit from their experience in finding solutions to problems or points that need development.

Sisi made it clear that the private sector’s contribution to the Egyptian economy is not less than 75 percent.

He further stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis had a shocking impact on the entire world and on Egypt.

The Egyptian government is trying to mitigate the impact of these shocks, he added.

Within two months, many obstacles will be removed, Sisi pledged.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) said that Egypt is the first investment destination for Arab sovereign funds in 2022, foremost among which are the Saudi and Emirati investments.

The announcement came in an infographic report published by the IDSC, which shows Egypt’s success to become a key regional investment destination in the recent period.

The center revealed that the inflow of foreign direct investments (FDIs) into Egypt, through investment funds, reached USD 3.3 billion in 2022.

Those foreign investments were distributed in different sectors, such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, tourism, industry, financial services and digital transformation, the center added.

It noted the volume of FDIs in Egypt from July 2021 to March 2022 hit USD 7.3 billion, marking an increase of 53.5%, compared to a year earlier.

The center stated Egypt is one of the most important markets for investing in renewable energy, noting that investments in this sector stood at USD 4.4 billion.

The center also pointed out that Egypt is moving ahead with its endeavors to turn into a regional hub for green energy, in cooperation with major international companies.

In this regard, the center explained that Egypt signed 15 memorandums of understanding with global companies to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia, citing a memorandum of understanding with India’s ReNew Power with total investments of USD 8 billion and another with Norway’s Scatec with total investments of USD 5 billion.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir conferred with Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Minister Xiana Méndez Bértolo on means to develop economic and cooperation ties between Egypt and Spain in addition to the latest developments in the global economic crisis and a number of issues and files of mutual interest.

This came in presence of Spanish Ambassador to Egypt Alvaro Iranzo Gutierrez and Head of Commercial Representation office Yehia el Wathiq Billah.

In a statement quoted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry Tuesday, Samir said that Spain is a main economic partner for Egypt in the different domains at the different levels.

The Spanish secretary of state is currently on a visit to Egypt leading a high-profile delegation including representatives of 30 major companies.

Samir said the visit of the Spanish minister reflects the keenness of both countries on boosting joint economic cooperation at the different levels.

Samir pointed out to the importance of the Spain-Egypt Multilateral Partnership forum hosted in Cairo to expand frameworks of cooperation in the all the fields of trade, industry and investment.

The forum reflects Spanish keenness on boosting investment partnership with Egypt and pushing forward bilateral ties between both countries to distinguished levels for the interest of the peoples, he said.

He pointed out to the keenness of the ministry to benefit from the major Spanish industrial expertise and the developed technology to develop national industry to benefit from the natural resources and mining in Egypt.

The meeting reviewed the importance of boosting cooperation between Egypt and Spain in the field of car industries, he said.

Meanwhile, Bértolo asserted the keenness of Spain to boost relations of economic cooperation with Egypt.

She also lauded the efforts of the Egyptian government to support Spanish companies investing in the Egyptian market.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Eyeing decentralization of services, Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir said on Sunday 25/9/2022 that work is underway to automate all procedures to further encourage investors to start industrial projects in Egypt.

Speaking during a meeting with board members of the Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations (EFIA), Samir said his Ministry is seeking to ease all challenges and meet demands of the businesspeople.

A follow-up committee is working to guarantee all problems facing investors are solved, he noted.

The political leadership in Egypt is particularly concerned with supporting the industrial sector with the aim to turn Egypt into an industrial hub in the region, Samir said.

All ministries and bodies concerned are acting to make things easier for investors, he assured.

The minister urged the EFIA to sort all insolvent factories across Egypt for his Ministry to be able to study their cases and determine the best way to help restart production.

He made it clear that new investor-friendly laws are in the pipeline, including one to ease licensing of industrial facilities.

The Trade and Industry Ministry is also working to tighten control over factories to guarantee production is up to Egyptian and international standards, Samir said.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Egypt is taking steady steps towards turning into a regional hub for energy and trade, affirmed the Cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC).

Egypt has successfully managed to promote its production and export capabilities, added the IDSC report, which included also infographics to shed light on Egypt’s quest to benefit from its potential resources of natural gas.

The IDSC also pointed out to the various international agreements signed to explore gas and develop ports and liquefaction stations.

The natural gas indicators recorded significant achievements, said the report, noting that the gas growth rate stood at 4 percent during 2021/2022 , down from 11 percent during 2015/2016.

The natural gas production went up to hit 69.2 billion cubic meters in 2021/2022 against 41.6 billion cubic meters in 2015/2016, added the report.

The report, meanwhile, pointed out to the launch of a national plan to rationalize electricity consumption, which will save natural gas to redirect it for exporting and increase Egypt’s sources of foreign currency.

The report further said that Egypt’s exports of natural and liquefied gas jumped by 13-fold to hit dlrs 8 billion during 2021/2022 against dlrs 0.6 billion during 2013/2014.

Egypt was ranked 19th globally in terms of gas production in 2015, noted the reported, adding that this was changed following the discovery of the mega Zohr gas field in offshore Egypt.

Egypt achieved natural gas self-sufficiency in September 2018 and resumed exports, added the report.

Regarding the foreign investments in the petroleum and gas sectors, 108 new petroleum agreements have been signed to explore gas at total investments worth about dlrs 22 billion, according to the report.

The current production from Zohr gas field jumped to 2.7 billion cubic meters per day, noted the report.

Source: State Information Service Egypt