Egypt is a candidate for 5 to 7 billion dollars from the IMF, to support its economy from the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war

Newsletter

31 Mar 2022

For our top talks today, first, Egypt is a candidate for 5 to 7 billion dollars from the IMF, to support its economy from the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the rise in food prices globally. The Egyptian economy was hit, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted foreign investors to flee emerging markets. Russia and Ukraine were also major exporters of wheat to Egypt and were a major source of tourist influx. The International Monetary Fund announced last week that Egypt had requested support for the implementation of a comprehensive economic program to confront the challenges that arose as a result of the rapidly changing global environment and the repercussions associated with the war in Ukraine. (Bloomberg Asharq)

Second, Saudi Arabia has deposited 5 billion USD at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Afterwards, the Saudi deposit in the Central Bank of Egypt, which was announced today at 5 billion USD, will raise the volume of Saudi deposits in the Central Bank of Egypt to 10.3 billion USD. Noting that the deposit that was approved today has already been deposited, indicating that the term of the deposit is a full year and can be extended by agreement between the two parties. The Egyptian pound increased by an average of 3 piasters against the US dollar at the National Bank of Egypt, following the announcement of the Saudi deposit. The step reflects solid bilateral relations between the two major Arab countries and Saudi efforts to support Egypt. It is worth noting that trade exchange between Egypt and Saudi Arabia witnessed a growth in 2021, recording 8.02 billion USD. (Bloomberg Asharq)
In addition, Egypt’s reserve of coins is sufficient for a year and a half, Head of Public Treasury and Mint Authority Hossam Khedr said.
Total coins monthly production amounts to 45 million EGP. The number of coins in the market will be increased by 50% during the Holy Month of Ramadan which will facilitate purchases and sales of goods for citizens, he commented. Khedr revealed that public and private entities were supplied with enough coins to meet their needs depending on their business volumes which were estimated based on tax cards and commercial registers. (Arab Finance)
The value of mutual trade between Egypt and Qatar rose 76.4% year-on-year (YoY) to 44.8 million USD in 2021, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Egyptian exports to Qatar jumped to 4.5 million USD in 2021, from Just 395,000 USD the year before. Meanwhile, the North African country’s imports from the gulf country surged 61.1% YoY to 40.3 million USD in 2021. Qatari investments in Egypt grew 4.2% YoY to 121.8 million USD during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021/2022. On a similar note, Egypt and Qatar agreed upon a number of investments worth a total of 5 billion USD to be pumped into the North African country over the coming period. (Amwal Al Ghad)
The trade exchange between Egypt and Libya surged 60.5% year-on-year (YoY) to 1 billion USD in 2021, from 645.9 million USD in 2020, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Egyptian exports to Libya soared by 58.2% to 960.8 million USD in 2021, from 607.1 million USD the year before. Libyan exports to Egypt nearly doubled to 75.7 million USD in 2021, from 38.8 million USD in 2020. Moreover, Libya’s investments in the Egyptian market increased by 30.2% YoY to 8.2 million USD in 2021. (Amwal Al Ghad)
The Egyptian government is set to launch an electronic receipt system on April 1st to ensure the instant collection of taxes on goods and services.
Such step comes in the context of governmental endeavors to include unrecorded economic activities and have a more accurate estimation of taxes which will add to GDP and help realize economic and development objectives. The e-receipt system is based on a centralized electronic system, enabling the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) to monitor all transactions of exchanging goods and services among sellers and consumers in real time. (Arab Finance)
And for our EGX and companies talks, the two brokerage companies, Hermes Securities Brokerage and Al-Ahly Pharos Securities Brokerage, managed the execution of a large-volume transaction on Fawry shares, with 102.5 million shares, valued at 1.1 billion EGP, at the beginning of yesterday’s trading session,
where Hermes played the role of the seller, While Al-Ahly Pharos acted as the buyer for Al-Ahly Bank. Moreover, the National Bank of Egypt, the largest government bank in the country, bought this morning, Wednesday, 6% of the company’s shares, at a value of one billion EGP, through the “OPR” screen before the start of the trading session, according to sources, at a price of 10.25 EGP per share. By implementing today's deal, the National Bank of Egypt's stake in Fawry reached 12.25%, becoming the second largest shareholder after Banque Misr. (Amwal Al Ghad)
Egyptian intelligence provider Intella has secured 1 million USD seed funding round led by Saudi venture capital (VC) firm Hala Venture.
The funding round was supported by Egypt’s start-up accelerator Falak Startups and government VC company Egypt Ventures. Jordan’s Beyond Capital also participated in the funding, along with other investors. The funding will help Intella widen its capacity to reach more than 1.2 million points daily and up number of verified users to 500,000. (Arab Finance)
Banque du Caire (BDC) (BQDC) has officially joined the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
This move aims at encouraging sustainable banking practices and reinforcing the concept of environmental and social risks management. The bank takes into consideration all necessary requirements that are consistent with the initiative’s principles of responsible banking. BDC previously issued the sustainability reports for 2019 and 2020 within the framework of the Global Reporting Initiative. BDC, the 99.9%-owned by Egypt's second-largest state-owned bank Banque Misr, is the sixth-largest bank in Egypt in terms of total assets, acquiring a 3% market share in system-wide loans and deposits. The bank also has the third-biggest customer base, with over 3 million customers. (Arab Finance)
UAE’s AD Ports has signed two cooperation agreements with Egyptian Group for Multipurpose Terminal (EGMPT) and River Transport Authority (RTA).
The agreements allow for cooperation in development, management, and operation of ports and utilities in Egypt, in addition to collaboration in the maritime sector. AD Ports will engage in supervision of development of Ain Sokhna Port and the management of its operations. Furthermore, the Emirati company signed a preliminary agreement for cooperation in a set of projects including building, managing, and operating a river port in Minya. The company will also manage and operate storage facilities in Damietta and a transportation line in Greater Cairo. (CNBC Arabia)
Al Tawfeek Leasing Company (A.T.LEASE) (ATLC) is planning to issue securitized bonds worth 1.6 billion EGP by the end of the second quarter (Q2) of 2022.
The securitization issuance is expected to be offered in three tranches with different maturity dates of 13-month, 37-month, and 60-month. Misr Capital and Al Ahly Pharos will act as the bookrunner of the issuance, while Alieldean Weshahi and Partners (ALC) will serve as the legal counsel, the sources pointed out. (Al Mal)
Suez Canal Bank (CANA) targets to bring its total mortgage financing portfolio to a range between 450 million EGP and 500 million EGP in 2022, according to the bank’s commercial director Usama Elaidy.
The bank has provided up to 80 million EGP as mortgage financing for customers during the first quarter (Q1) of 2022. Cooperation with AGEC Developments marks the bank’s first agreement with a real estate development company to offer financings to customers. The bank is currently in talks with three companies to provide mortgage financing for customers, he said, noting that it has reached a final agreement with one of the banks, under which the deal will be valid for one year. (Amwal Al Ghad)