Month: November 2020

Egypt, South Sudan leaders discuss bilateral cooperation, GERD dispute

South Sudan is Egypt’s water future, says water resources expert

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has met with his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir to discuss boosting relations between the two countries. The meeting came on Saturday during President Al-Sisi’s first visit to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, since the country’s independence in 2011.

The two heads of state also discussed the latest developments regarding the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). South Sudan is one of the 11 Nile Basin countries.

Both leaders agreed on the need to reach a legally binding agreement on the Ethiopian dam’s filling and operation, as well as supporting cooperation between Nile Basin countries to achieve development and avoid harming any party.

Government to disburse irregular labourers’ aid early December

The disbursement of the finance comes in a bid to support this segment of Egyptian society, particularly as it has been badly hit by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Egyptian Cabinet announced, on Wednesday, that the payment of exceptional aid to irregular labourers will be conducted nationwide at the beginning of December, through post offices and branches of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE).

Under the directives of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, the financial aid will amount to EGP 500 per person, and will be disbursed to irregular workers who are registered on the Ministry of Manpower’s database.

The disbursement of the finance comes in a bid to support this segment of Egyptian society, particularly as it has been badly hit by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Zed Sports acquires majority stake in FC Masr

Zed Sports has acquired a majority stake in the Masr Football Company, which owns FC Masr.

The acquisition comes as part of Zed’s endeavour to acquire a professional football team that competes at local and international championships.

The deal includes the acquisition of the Egyptian club, which was established in 1999, bringing the number of Zed teams for young footballers to 10 that have been formed in record time. This constitutes a better opportunity to promote and develop new sporting talents to the highest quality.

Onsi Naguib Sawiris, Chairperson of Zed Sports, revealed that the company has invested EGP 1.5bn in launching Zed FC. These investments will go towards developing more than 45 feddan to establish a complete and comprehensive sports system.

President Al-Sisi warns of increasing COVID-19 infections in Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi warned, on Tuesday, of the increasing number of infections with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) nationwide.

He also called on Egyptians to adhere to the government-implemented precautionary measures which aim to prevent infection.

Also present at the Tuesday meeting were: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly; Minister of Health Hala Zayed; Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar; and Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, among other officials.

“The pandemic still continues, and our concern must continue, as well as our precautionary measures to protect ourselves from the risk of contracting the virus,” Al-Sisi said in a recorded speech to Egyptians.https://dailynewsegypt.com/2020/11/25/president-al-sisi-warns-of-increasing-covid-19-infections-in-egypt/

Ethiopia Prime Minister rejects international ‘intervention’ in Tigray crisis

Country’s authorities say they have killed over 10,000 fighters from Tigray forces over past three weeks

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on the international community not to intervene in the current crisis in his country, due to the Tigray issue being an internal matter.

In a statement early on Wednesday, Ahmed called for “adherence to the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs” of countries.

“A fundamental element of the international legal order is the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of sovereign states, which is enshrined in Article 2 (7) of the Charter of the United Nations,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed’s statements came just a few hours before the end of the 72 hour period given to rebels to surrender by the Federal Government of Ethiopia.

The latter has faced a serious challenge since the start of the armed conflict with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on 4 November.

Egypt’s canals ready for rainy season: Water Resources Minister

Minister Abdel Aaty stresses need for preventing violations affecting canals

Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aaty held a meeting, on Wednesday, with executive leaders of the Egyptian Public Authority for Drainage Projects (EPADP).

During the meeting, Abdel Aaty reviewed the state of Egypt’s canals, its lifting stations, and the extent of their readiness to deal with the rainy season and floods.

The minister emphasised the need to continue around-the-clock work to ensure the performance and efficiency of workflow in the authority’s departments. He also made note of the need for follow-up to confirm the purification of canals Nationwide.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation has undertaken various preparations and put in place measures, in coordination with the concerned authorities, to counter the dangers posed by the rainy season that some governorates are experiencing.

HSBC expects Egypt to build on growth momentum during 2021

Egyptian economy expected to grow by 2.5% in 2021, following 2.4% growth in 2020

HSBC’s Global Economic Outlook virtual roadshow came to Egypt, last week, with 100 of the bank’s clients attending the online event.

The event was attended by: Simon Williams, Chief Economist for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA); Dominic Bunning, Senior FX Strategist; and James Pomeroyl, HSBC Global Economist Director, among others.

The trio gave their views on the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on the global economy, and explored various factors influencing macroeconomic trends, fiscal policy, as well as oil and foreign exchange markets. They also addressed the challenges and opportunities awaiting Egypt and the wider region in 2021.

The event was held at a critical time for the global economy, with countries around the world heading into the end of the year with increasing COVID-19 cases. However, the increasing global consumer confidence, which had shown signs of strengthening, has also started to wane.

Advance Toward $50 Oil Could Be Tricky for OPEC+

(Bloomberg) — With OPEC+ just days from meeting, those countries who favor ratcheting up oil production may be finding some support for their arguments from surging prices.

Headline futures contracts jumped 30% this month with Brent at one point on Wednesday hitting $48.75 a barrel, the highest since March. Critically though, a much more fundamental shift has taken place in the forward curve, which offers clues about traders’ perspectives on supply and demand — both now and in future. Large parts of the curve are now trading in a structure known as backwardation, suggesting a clamor for barrels. Just a week ago, they were in contango and pointing to surplus.

Over 50% tech startups expect their revenues to reach pre-Covid-19 levels in six months: Survey

Edtech, fintech, and health-tech startups reported a faster recovery, owing to strong demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic

A little over half of all technology startups in India expect their revenues to reach pre-Covid-19 levels within the next six months, driven by increased digital adoption and investor interest in backing early-stage startups, according to a survey.

Recovering revenues and higher funding has also extended runways for tech startups, with 43% respondents in a survey conducted by industry lobby group Nasscom reporting that they now had cash to sustain their businesses for over six months.

This is an improvement from when just 8% of startups had said that they had a runway of over six months in Nasscom’s first Startup-pulse Survey conducted in March-April, just after the first lockdown was imposed by the government.

Google Pay to remove payments on web app, will start charging transfer fee

Google Pay is set to kill the peer-to-peer payments facility on its web app in January and is going to add a fee for instant money transfers, the media reported.

Google Pay offered the ability to manage payments as well as send money from both a mobile app or from pay.google.com.

Now, Google has released a notice on the web app that notifies users that the site will no longer work from January next year.