Egypt pens 1.5 billion USD financing agreement with ITFC

Newsletter

24 Jan 2023

Egypt pens 1.5 billion USD financing agreement with ITFC. The annual work program aims to provide integrated financing solutions to Egypt. The agreement also includes financing imports of energy products and key commodities. In 2022, Egypt signed the same agreement worth the same amount with the ITFC. Egyptian Planning Minister Hala El-Said revealed that the financing cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the Saudi Arabia-based corporation amounts to 14.5 billion USD so far. (Zawya)

Egypt, Italy scale up cooperation to boost LNG exports to Europe
Egypt is reinforcing cooperation with Italy to facilitate the exporting process of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European markets, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla said. Italy’s Eni produces more than 50% of the Egyptian natural gas. On January 22nd, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi welcomed the Italian Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani in Cairo, where they probed possible means of bolstering joint trade and investment relations. (Asharq Business)
World Bank's active portfolio in Egypt hits 7 billion USD
The PM announced the approval of new 11% subsidized loans for industry and agriculture as well as a 40% y-o-y increase in the price the state will pay local farmers for wheat this season. Moreover, Madbouly said the imports backlog at ports had been all but cleared and gave some promising preliminary figures for last year’s exports. (Arab Finance)
Travco Group to boost hotel capacity in 2023 with 7 billion EGP in investments
To raise its hotel capacity amid expectations of an increase in tourist arrivals. The company is aiming to increase the number of rooms by 13% to 17k, Chairman Hamed El Chiaty reportedly said. Around 60% of the investment will be self-financed and the remainder will be funded via bank loans. Travco Group currently owns 58 hotels and resorts across the country as well as 22 Nile cruise ships, according to its website. It is the local agent for Germany's TUI Group. (Bloomberg Asharq)
Fitch Solutions forecast in a recent report that Egypt’s tourism revenues will rise to a record 13.6 billion USD this year
Up 18% from 2022, while the number of tourists visiting the country will jump 46% to 11.6 mn. Travco is already riding a rebound in the sector achieving a 40% growth in tourist arrivals last year, with significant improvement during the second half of 2022. The growth in tourist arrivals encouraged the company to raise its average hotel rates by 15- 20%. (Bloomberg Asharq)
The country needs to invest some 30 billion USD into tourism to grow the sector by 25-30% annually between now and 2028, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said
Egypt wants to attract as many as 30 mn tourists to the country by 2028, Issa said last week, more than double the number that visited the country in the year before the pandemic. The government wants to see the private sector build “at least” 290k new hotel rooms, improve the quality of services and entertainment for tourists, and put-on low-cost flights, noting that some 95% of investments in the sector are led by private players. Arrivals will be limited to 14-15 mn tourists annually unless more money is sent to upping hotel capacity, flights, and marketing. (Al Mal)
Nearly 300 mn people want to visit Egypt, including some 30 mn Chinese tourists, Issa added
Flights between Egypt and China resumed over the weekend after Beijing lifted yearslong covid restrictions, with EgyptAir expected to restart its flights to the country in March. The sector needs to look beyond hotel capacity to adding flights and improving services in order to increase the average spend per tourist, as well as boost arrival (Al Mal)
EFG Hermes’ buy-now-pay-later platform valU is studying a new 5 billion EGP securitization program which it hopes to start later this year
valU is looking to raise 4.5 billion EGP from securitized bond issuances this year. The company wants to issue 1.1 billion EGP worth of securitized bonds during 1Q 2023, to be followed by three more issuances of around 1.1 billion EGP before the end of the year. (Al Shorouk)
SODIC’s unit inks 2.75 billion EGP facility with AAIB to finance The Estates
Al Yosr for Projects and Real Estate Development, a subsidiary of Sixth of October Development and Investment Company (SODIC) (OCDI), has signed a medium-term facility worth 2.75 billion EGP with Arab African International Bank (AAIB) to partially finance “The Estates” project in West Cairo. The facility has been signed under the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) developer finance scheme. (Arab Finance)
Egypt’s education ministry partners with TMG Holding to launch applied technology School
The new applied technology school is the first specialized school in landscaping. This protocol comes in light of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi's directives to bolster the establishment of applied technology schools and raise community awareness of their importance. The ministry is working to establish a network of applied technology schools as a partnership between the public and private sectors with businessmen. (Hapi Journal)
CI Capital, Compass Capital to launch equity fund
CI Capital Holding for Financial Investments (CICH) is seeking to launch an equity fund in partnership with Compass Capital, with initial investments ranging from 2 billion EGP to 3 billion EGP. The fund is expected to be launched in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023. Moreover, the source added that the fund targets investing in EGX-listed companies. (Bloomberg Asharq)