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CBE expected to keep interest rates on hold for eighth time in a row

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is expected to keep interest rates on hold during its seventh periodic meeting this year, on Thursday.

The MPC periodic meeting comes amid strong market expectations that it will keep Egypt’s interest rates unchanged for the eighth time in a row, despite the rise in the inflation rate in the recent period, and there are expectations of a further rise in the coming period.

The MPC decided to maintain interest rates, for the seventh consecutive time, at its meeting on 16 September. Overnight deposit and lending rates remain unchanged at 8.25% and 9.25% respectively, while main operation and discount rates remain at 8.75%. These are the levels reached in November 2019.

At the time the committee said that the basic interest rates at the Central Bank of Egypt are appropriate at present, and are consistent with achieving the target inflation rate of 7% (± 2 percentage points) on average during the fourth quarter of 2022 and price stability in the medium term.

Al-Sisi directs government to utilise Road of Rams reopening celebration to promote Egypt’s ancient civilisation

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi directed the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enany to utilize the planned reopening ceremony of the Road of Rams (ram-headed Sphinxes Avenue) in Luxor to internationally promote the country’s soft power and ancient civilization.

This came during a Saturday meeting to follow up on the ministry’s projects, according to a statement from the Egyptian Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Rady.

During the meeting, El-Enany presented the position of the tourism movement during the current period, and the measures taken by the government to promote Egyptian tourist destinations to utilize the unique and diverse elements that Egypt possesses, especially with the start of the winter tourism season.

Egypt is vitally important for expansion in emerging markets: Citibank

Citi sees Egypt as a very important and critical country among emerging markets, Rizwan Shaikh, Head of the EMEA Emerging Markets Corporate Banking at Citi has told Daily News Egypt.

Shaikh also said that, as a result, the bank is looking to invest to grow its business in the Egyptian market.

He noted that there is a lot of confidence in how Egypt’s government has managed economic, monetary, and fiscal policies through the novel coronavirus (ba-19) crisis. This confidence is reflected in the investor behavior, he added.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Abdel Kader, Citi Country Officer in Egypt, praised the role that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has played during the COVID-19 crisis. He said that the Egyptian Government and the CBE have been carefully undertaking all efforts to keep the momentum of growth going in the country.

How would natural gas price rise affect industrial sector, stock market?

Egypt has increased natural gas prices for the industrial sector to $5.75/MMBtu, except for companies that calculate gas costs based on a formula tied to selling prices.

Stock market experts believe that while the gap between the future values (FVs) and current market prices is not wide, because stocks had initially failed to reflect the profitability spike, the market will not take the news well and stocks will be under pressure.

Al Ahly Pharos Research said that the only scenario that would save the upside potential for the industrial sector, in general, is that the government would utilize a formula-based gas cost, even if applied with a time lag. Technically, the Fuel Pricing Committee should look into gas costs every quarter. Accordingly, this is not a far-fetched scenario.

أصول أكبر 1000 بنك فى العالم تقفز %16 منذ الوباء حتى نهاية الربع الماضى

استطاع أكبر 1000 بنك فى أنحاء العالم أن يواجهوا بقوة الضغوط الاقتصادية الناجمة عن فيروس كورونا منذ بداية العام الماضى وحتى الآن لدرجة كأنهم أضافوا 12.7 % إلى معامل كفاية رأس المال ليصل الإجمالى لهذه البنوك أكثر من 9.9 تريليون دولار مسجلا أعلى مستوى فى تاريخها كما زادت جملة أصولها بما يقرب من %16 لتتجاوز 148.6 تريليون دولار وكذلك الودائع بما يزيد عن %17 لتصل إلى 93.9 تريليون دولار.

ونشرت مجلة «ذا بانكر» البريطانية فى أحدث تقرير لها الصادر مؤخرا أن القطاع البنكى تميز بالمرونة أثناء الأزمة الصحية الحالية على عكس ما كان عليه أثناء الأزمة المالية العالمية 2007/ 2009 حيث تمكن أكبر 1000 بنك على مستوى العالم من زيادة المخصصات اللازمة لتغطية خسائر القروض (أو الاحتياطى المجنب لتغطية الديون المعدومة) بحوالى 25.8 % لترتفع إلى 1.7 تريليون دولار لتصبح أكبر من الزيادة فى دفاتر القروض مجتمعة والتى بلغت %11.4.

وزير النقل يجتمع بشركة «فان أورد» لتكريك 4 أحواض بميناء السخنة بإجمالي 55مليون متر مكعب

عقد وزير النقل، كامل الوزير، بحضور رئيس المنطقة الاقتصادية، يحيى زكي، اجتماعا مع وفد شركة فان أورد العالمية، المتخصصة في أعمال التكريك، التي ستقوم بتنفيذ أعمال التكريك لعدد 4 أحواض يتم إنشاؤها بإجمالي 55مليون متر مكعب، ضمن استكمال اعمال تطوير ميناء السخنة.

وأكد وزير النقل على ضرورة الالتزام بالجدول الزمني المحدد لإنهاء أعمال التكريك والالتزام بكافة إجراءات السلامة والأمان للأفراد والأرصفة أثناء أعمال التنفيذ.

وتفقد الوزير أعمال إنشاء عدد 4 أحواض وأرصفة جديدة بطول 12 كيلومترا وعمق 18 متراً، وإنشاء ساحات تداول بمساحة (5.6 مليون متر مربع) ومناطق تجارية ولوجستية بمساحة (5.3 كم2) تخدمها شبكة من خطوط السكك الحديدية بطول (33 كم) متصلة بالقطار الكهربائي السريع السخنة/ مرسى مطروح.

لتستخدم في نقل البضائع، خصوصا الحاويات على هذا الخط إلى كافة أنحاء الجمهورية وإلى ميناء الإسكندرية على البحر المتوسط بالإضافة إلى الطريق الشرياني بطول 14 كم تقريباً ليربط بين الأرصفة والميناء ككل بما يساهم في عدم وجود أي تكدسات مستقبلاً داخل الميناء، وتوفير شبكات نقل متعدد الوسائط وخاصة مع مواكبة المخطط العام للطرق والسكك الحديدية بالميناء للتوسعات المستقبلية الجاري تنفيذها بالإضافة الى إنشاء حاجز أمواج بطول 1050 متر.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – Egypt reports net profit rise of 83% in H1 2021

Bank continues expansion plans, emphasizes brand, and finalizes measures to raise capital: El Sewerky

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank – Egypt (ADCB-Egypt) has delivered robust results during the first half (H1) of 2021, with net profit increasing by a staggering 83% to reach EGP 358m compared to H1 of 2020.

This positive performance reflects the bank’s successful business management and its efficiently executed growth strategies at this critical stage despite the pandemic effects.

It also proves the Egyptian economy’s resilience, as the country was one of the few emerging markets that maintained growth at a quick pace in spite of the immense impact of the pandemic.

Furthermore, ADCB-Egypt recorded a 22% growth in total assets to reach EGP 41.9bn as of the end of June 2021, up from 34.3bn recorded as of the end of December 2020.

Total loans and credit facilities also had a notable growth of 20% defined as EGP 19.8bn in H1 of 2021, a significant development from EGP 16.6bn recorded in December 2020. Customer deposits also rose by 20% to around EGP 34.9bn as of June 2021, relative to the EGP 29.1bn at the end of December 2020.

Egypt injects EGP 2.8bn into over 87k small, micro projects in H1 2021

Minister Nevin Gamea urges citizens to benefit from MSMEDA services to finance their new projects

Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) have injected EGP 2.8bn into 87,700 small and micro-projects in the first half (H1) of 2021, creating about 146,500 job opportunities, according to Nevine Gamea, Minister of Trade and Industry, and MSMEDA Executive Director.

She said that people in the age group of 30-40 years received up to 36% of that funding, and 43% of beneficiaries were in Upper Egypt.

Gamea stressed that the agency is constantly working in coordination with the various concerned authorities in the country to implement the directives of the political leadership by providing all aspects of support to the small enterprise sector to encourage citizens to engage in self-employment. This contributes to reducing imports, supports the national economy, and provides thousands of job opportunities.

Gamea called on citizens to benefit from the various services provided by MSMEDA to finance their new projects or expand their existing enterprises. They can also benefit from new facilities and advantages provided by the Enterprise Development Law, with regard to the procedures and steps for establishing a project, and to assist in the marketing of products, by allocating a percentage of government purchases for these projects and the simplified tax treatment, in addition to a large and diverse number of non-financial services provided by the agency, including training courses that qualify them to start these projects.

Ongoing cooperation portfolio bet. Egypt, China hits $1.8B

The ongoing portfolio of cooperation with China amounts to $1.8 billion, according to the Ministry of International Cooperation.

The Ministry clarified in a statement, Thursday that the cooperation is directed to the implementation of several development projects across various sectors such as health, agriculture, education, technical education, electricity, and many more.

Over the span of four years, 1,110 training programs were carried out with China, benefiting more than 4,000 governmental officials, in addition to 25 training programs in high-priority fields, benefiting 300 governmental cadres in the fields of health, agriculture, population, and water resources, it added.

This came during The Ministry’s announcement that 35 virtual training programs have been organized with the Chinese side, with the participation of 210 governmental cadres across sectors of transportation, maritime transport, health, education, space science, environment, industry, solidarity, agriculture, and electricity. This comes within the framework of the international partnerships the Minister of International Cooperation Rania A. Al-Mashat, holds with multilateral and bilateral development partners to bolster Egypt’s regional and global economic cooperation, and to enhance the investments in human capital.

Minister Al-Mashat stated that the Ministry of International Cooperation is keen on enhancing the exchange of expertise, knowledge and technical assistance, within the framework of its international partnerships with multilateral and bilateral development partners, supporting Egypt’s vision in building human capacity. Al-Mashat noted that virtual discussions were held with the Chinese side about the status of scholarships in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Egypt’s central bank issues LE 11B in T-bills Sunday

CAIRO – 15 August 2021: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, is set to issue LE 11 billion in treasury bills (T-bills) on Sunday, August 15

The T-bills were offered in two installments, with the first valued at LE 6 billion with a 91-day term, and the second worth LE 5 billion with a 273-day term.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance announced the possibility of reducing the accepted quantities of bills and bonds bids on the public treasury, issued in local currency until the end of the current fiscal year.

For the current fiscal year, the budget deficit is estimated to record 6.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), planned by the ministry to be financed through treasury bills and bonds and through international and Arab loans.