Egypt, Turkey to probe using local currencies in trade exchange

Newsletter

08 Oct 2023

Egypt, Turkey to probe using local currencies in trade exchange. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will discuss with its Turkish counterpart next week the possibility of using their local currencies in trade exchange. The two sides preliminary agreed to exchange trade partly in local currencies, representing up to 30% of the total bilateral trade. On August 1st, both countries agreed to increase trade exchange between them to hit 15 billion USD within the next five years, up from 10 billion USD currently. The volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Turkey hit 7 billion USD for the first time in 2022. (Asharq Business)

Egypt to unveil initiative to cut commodities’ high prices in week.
The Egyptian government, in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), several ministries, and officials, will launch an initiative to mitigate the impact of high prices of basic commodities. Madbouly noted that the government would provide several commodities to the markets, which would contribute to easing high prices, especially of food commodities. He added that, in collaboration with the CBE, the government would secure the needed dollar component and develop solutions to trim the prices of basic commodities. (Al Mal)
Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD) is in the early stages of appointing an international financial advisor to offer part of its stake for sale on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).
Earlier in September, Abbas, reportedly, announced that the ACUD is planning to offer a 5% to 10% stake of its shares on the EGX) during the first or second quarter of 2024. He also expected that several agreements with Gulf investors for the development of projects at the New Administrative Capital would be announced before the end of this year. Additionally, Abbas revealed that ACUD is about to sign an agreement with an Emirati company for the development of an industrial zone on a 1,000-feddan area. (Asharq Business)
Egypt’s auto sales decline 65.5% YoY in 8 months.
Egypt’s auto sales fell 65.5% year on year (YoY) in the first eight months of 2023 to 51,167 vehicles from 148,461 vehicles. The Nissan brand topped the market in terms of sales with 7,800 vehicles, or a market share of 15.3%. Chevrolet came in second place with 6,500 vehicles, representing 12.7% of total sales, followed by Toyota with 4,800 vehicles and a market share of 9.5%. (Al Mal)
Egypt will operate its first green hydrogen facility in 2026.
Trial stages at the unidentified facility are set to begin in mid-2025. Egypt aims to produce up to 1.5 mn tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030 through 19 GW of generated energy from solar and wind projects. The country aims to raise production to 5.8 mn tons by 2040 from 72 GW of generated renewable energy. This would allow the export of 3.8 mn tons, which would account for 5% of the global green hydrogen market. (Youm7)
Egypt to resume exporting LNG in October: El-Molla.
Egypt will resume exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) in October. “We are still arranging and preparing for that, quantities are not yet defined,” the minister said. It is worth mentioning that the North African country’s LNG terminals on the Mediterranean have a shipping capacity of 12 million metric tons per year, which is the country’s target for 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian deep tech startup Intella has secured 3.4 million USD in a pre-series A funding round.
The seed round was led by Saudi VC Hala Ventures and Aramco-owned Wa’ed Ventures, with participation from Sanabil 500 and Insead’s angel investors network. The funding is intended to support Intella’s cross-border expansion into Saudi Arabia and accelerate its development of AI. The startup recently announced plans to relocate its headquarters from Cairo to Riyadh. The tighter restriction went into effect at the beginning of the month. This limit includes the amount you withdraw plus any additional fees that HSBC or the ATM imposes on the withdrawal. The transactions include withdrawals using debit and credit cards, as well as cash advances using credit cards at ATMs. (Al Mal)
Egypt, C2X cooperate to establish green hydrogen project in SCZone.
The first phase of the project will be carried out with investments of up to 3 billion EGP. The project will be also for ship bunkering supplies to achieve zero carbon emissions. SCZone’s Chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dein added that the project’s first phase will see the production of 300,000 tons annually of green methanol and will reach 1 million tons annually with the completion of the final stages. C2X is an independent company backed by A.P. Moller Holding, the controlling shareholder of the A.P. Moller – Maersk. (Arab Finance)
EGAS-led consortium to develop Gaza Marine offshore field within 2 years.
An Egyptian alliance led by Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) inked an agreement with the Palestinian government to develop the offshore natural gas field Gaza Marine. The Gaza Marine development project will be completed within two years. The Gaza Marine field, located about 30 kilometers from the Gaza coast between the giant Leviathan and Zohr gas fields, contains more than one trillion cubic feet of natural gas. (Asharq Business)
Beltone’s Cash for Microfinance to maximize capital base to 500 million EGP.
Cash for Microfinance, a wholly owned subsidiary of Beltone Financial Holding, aims to maximize its capital base to 500 million EGP. This comes as part of the company’s expansions plans and strategic objectives. The company plans to submit an application to the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) for a small and medium-sized enterprises finance license, which will enable customers to get funding for up to 5 million EGP per project. (Arab Finance)