2022 World Cup is finally here, it is QATAR
2022 World Cup is finally here, it is QATAR. Qatar, home to about 2.9 million people, expects to receive some 1.7 million fans during the four-week competition. Official estimates (pdf) suggest that at its peak Qatar will have about half a million visitors in the country at once, increasing its total population by almost another 20%. To absorb the legions of fans, Qatar has constructed spectator villages with rooms made out of shipping containers, floating hotels, designated camping areas and is encouraging locals to host fans through home-sharing apps like Airbnb. (Zilla Capital)
- Qatar will for the first time be joining the competition
As the host country of the World Cup, Qatar gains automatic qualification to the tournament, marking the country’s first time competing. This is only the second time in history a country will be participating in the contest without ever having qualified. The first country to do so was Italy in the second ever World Cup in 1934. (Zilla Capital)
- SCZone signs framework agreement to issue green bonds
The The General Authority of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and a framework agreement for the recycling of industrial waste and issuance of green bonds. The framework agreement was signed between SCZone and Libra Capital to boost corporate awareness, especially for companies operating in the zone, of the preservation of the environment. (Al Mal)
- Launching the first Egyptian fund to invest in projects that issue carbon certificates
Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development witnessed; The launch of the first Egyptian fund to invest in projects that issue carbon certificates, EgyCOP, during the “Solutions Day” activities. EgyCOP is the first of its kind in the Egyptian market, noting that it is a vivid example of the vision of the COP presidency for this year “Together for Implementation” because it represents a tangible step forward towards cooperation in implementing innovative solutions that can Help our world fight climate change. (Hapi Journal)
- Egypt launches 1 billion EGP fund to invest in projects cutting carbon emissions
The Egyptian government launched the EgyCOP fund for investment in projects issuing carbon certificates with an authorized capital of 1 billion EGP during the Solutions Day in the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27). The new fund will finance Egyptian companies’ projects that reduce carbon emissions through the issuance of globally-accredited certificates from Switzerland’s The Gold Standards Foundation. (Al Mal)
- Egyptian expats transfer 2.34% YoY less remittances in 8 months
The value of remittances transferred by Egyptian expatriates declined by 2.34% year-on-year (YoY) during the period from January 2022 until the end of August. Remittances by Egyptians working abroad decreased to around 20.9 billion USD in January-August from 21.4 billion USD a year earlier. In August alone, remittances shrank to around 2.2 billion USD from about 2.4 billion USD in July. It is worth noting that remittances from Egyptians living abroad rose by 22.6 million USD in the period from January to July 2022 to 18.72 billion USD, versus 18.69 billion USD in the same period of 2021. (Al Mal)
- Banque Du Caire shelves IPO plan until March-end
The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approved postponing the deadline for the initial public offering (IPO) of Banque du Caire (BDC) (BQDC) to March 31st. It is worth noting that the bank’s net interest income grew to 5.9 billion EGP in the first half (H1) of 2022 from 5 billion EGP in H1 2021. BDC, 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 three million customers. (Hapi Journal)
- MENA’s Modus launches 75 million USD Africa VC fund
MENA-based venture capital (VC) platform Modus has launched Modus Africa VC fund with 75 million USD capital to be focused on sustainable development goals (SDGs). The fund will focus on investing in African AI and blockchain startups. The funding round is set to close in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 and will invest in 45 startups at the “Seed+” state. (WAYA)
- Egypt inks 119 billion USD green energy MoUs, framework agreements during COP27
Egyptian state-owned entities signed a set of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and framework agreements worth 119 billion USD on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) to execute wind power and green hydrogen projects in Egypt. A group of MoUs was signed with international and local companies and consortia to conduct feasibility studies to execute wind power projects with a capacity of 28,000 megawatts (MWs) and expected investments of up to 34 billion USD. The project is expected to create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs and cut up to 65 million tons of carbon emissions annually. (Al Mal)
- Egypt’s International Cooperation Ministry pens 9 agreements with Germany
The Ministry of International Cooperation signed nine development cooperation agreements with Germany with a value of 160 million EUR in a group of fields, including technical and vocational education and infrastructure. The agreements include an €80-million grant to fund three projects supporting the competitiveness of the private sector, management of solid waste, and technical and vocational education. It is worth noting that German investments in Egypt amounted to around 2.8 billion EUR at the end of April 2022. (Arab Finance)
- Egypt’s NWFE program attracts concessional grants, financings
The Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) program has garnered concessional grants and financings after the signing of a myriad of agreements on the sidelines of the Financing Day at COP27, Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, said. It is worth noting that Egyptian state-owned entities signed a set of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and framework agreements worth 119 billion USD on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) to execute wind power and green hydrogen projects in Egypt. (Arab Finance)
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