The CBE has received 956 million USD from the Chinese Development Bank

Newsletter

01 Nov 2023

The Egyptian Central Bank (CBE) has received 956 million USD from the Chinese Development Bank. The Chinese Development Bank has granted a loan worth 7 billion yuan (956.61 million dollars) to the Egyptian Central Bank, according to a press statement issued on Tuesday. The loan agreement was signed during the third session of the Belt and Road Initiative Forum held in Beijing earlier this month, as reported by the Chinese Development Bank. They noted that this step will effectively enhance the deep integration of the Belt and Road Initiative and Egypt’s “Vision 2030” initiative, injecting new financial momentum into economic, trade, and financial cooperation between China and Egypt (Asharq Business)

CBE: Egypt’s foreign trade reaches 85.662 billion USD in 9M 2023.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) released data indicating that Egypt's foreign trade volume with other nations during the period spanning from July 2022 to March 2023 amounted to approximately 85.662 billion USD. This figure is divided into 54.606 billion USD for imports and 31.056 billion USD for exports. As per the CBE's recent monthly report published on Thursday, Egypt's primary trading partners were comprised of 14 countries, collectively contributing to 61.7% of the total trade volume, which equated to around 52.881 billion USD. Among this sum, 32.302 billion USD represented imports, while 20.579 billion USD stood for exports. (Daily News)
Egypt has reduced natural gas supplies to fertilizer companies by approximately 30%.
Egypt reduced natural gas supplies to fertilizer companies by about 30%, starting last Friday, and officially notified the companies through letters. This reduction in natural gas quantities to fertilizer factories coincides with the Egyptian Cabinet's announcement last Sunday of a decline in Israeli gas exports to Egypt, from 800 million cubic feet per day since July to zero currently, following the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. (Asharq Business)
The higher the risk of escalation [in Gaza], the higher the risk of contagion to the rest of the world in terms of economics and finance,” according to Mohamed El Erian.
El Erian pointed to the already fragile global economy struggling with stagnating growth, high inflation, and the broader fragmentation of markets, adding that the war “amplifies all of the challenges.” European gas prices have risen some 40% since the war on Gaza broke out on 7 October. Last year Egypt and Israel inked a gas export agreement with the EU, under which Israel agreed to send more gas to Egypt’s LNG facilities before exporting it on tankers to European shores. The agreement came amid European efforts to phase out the continent’s reliance on Russian gas. However, in response to the news of Israel halting all gas exports to Egypt, the country’s gas imports were pushed to zero from a previous 800 mn cubic feet of gas per day. (CNBC & Euronews)
The World Bank sees oil prices soaring as high as USD 140-157 a barrel if the war escalates to cause “large disruptions,” which would shrink global oil supply by 6-8 mn bbl / day.
The Bank sees prices jumping to USD 109-121 a barrel in the case of a “medium disruption” and to USD 93-102 a barrel in the case of “small disruptions.” Prices have so far risen 6% since the start of the conflict in Gaza. The World Bank’s current forecast puts prices at USD 90 a barrel in 4Q 2023 and at USD 81 a barrel in 2024. (World Bank Press Release)
The EU and Egypt are in discussions about treating injured Palestinians across the border.
“The Turks offered to establish a field hospital if necessary. We’re not planning to move field hospitals to [north Sinai] but offering to provide technical support to strengthen a referral pathway from Gaza to Egypt,” it quotes one official as saying. The discussions come as the EU accelerates talks with Egypt over an economic support package aimed at preventing refugees from entering Europe. (Financial Times)
Egypt aims to establish 4 logistics zones in North Sinai.
Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly stated today that the aim of the comprehensive development plan in Sinai is to establish four logistics zones. He also mentioned that the state's goal is to develop the maritime port of Arish into an international port capable of handling a significant volume of trade. Furthermore, he indicated that the government aims to implement tourism development projects worth 2.5 billion Egyptian pounds in the coming period in Sinai. (Hapi Journal)
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ has inked final contracts with The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) to acquire stakes in the Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab), Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco), and Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC).
As per the contracts, ADQ acquired a 35%-stake in Elab, 30% of Ethydco, and 25% of EDC for 800 million USD. The amount is part of 1.9 billion USD privatization agreements the government said it agreed to in July. (Al Borsa & Enterprise)
Foreign sales drive the stock market to decline by 1.62% at mid-session yesterday.
The main stock index continued its decline during the mid-session on Tuesday, with the EGX30 index falling by 1.62% to reach a level of 23055.36 points. The EGX70 index dropped by -1.14% to reach a level of 4370.71 points, while the EGX100 index decreased by -1.35% to reach a level of 6573.32 points. The market witnessed trading values of 1.9 billion Egyptian pounds through the trading of 418 million shares in 58.4 thousand buying and selling transactions. The trading involved the shares of 198 listed companies. (Al Borsa News)
Accelerating the import approval procedures for the cars of Egyptians abroad.
Dr. Mohamed Maait, the Minister of Finance, discussed with Shihata Ghatory, the head of the Egyptian Customs Authority, the executive status of the initiative "Facilitating the Import of Cars for Egyptians Abroad," which was legislated for a period of 3 months, and the electronic application started receiving requests from interested parties since yesterday. The Minister directed to expedite the procedures for issuing "import approvals" for cars of Egyptians abroad, aiming to facilitate customs clearance while considering the continuous work of the permanent committee at the customs ports responsible for overcoming any obstacles in this regard. (Hapi Journal)
Tax amendments increase cigarette prices by 12% annually.
On Sunday, the House of Representatives approved changes to the value-added tax applied to cigarettes, leading to a minimum 12% hike in the official cigarette prices. These amendments extended the price brackets for taxed cigarettes by raising both the upper and lower boundaries of each category by 12% each year for a span of five years. As stated in the parliamentary plan and budget committee's report on the proposed legislation, the government retains the flexibility to potentially reduce this annual percentage increase based on an assessment of the real production costs' impact on the retail prices of cigarettes. (Daily News)
The initiative to exempt struggling farmers from paying interest and fines has started being implemented.
Mr. Al-Qosair, the Minister of Agriculture, announced the start of the implementation of an initiative to exempt struggling farmers from paying interest and fines for delayed payments owed to the General Authority for Reclamation and Agricultural Development. He added that more than 80,000 farmers will benefit from the initiative, with a total of about 500 million Egyptian pounds. (Al Borsa News)