Egypt seeks to facilitate expatriate remittances in three Arab countries through "InstaPay" in 2024 | Zilla Capital

Newsletter

13 Nov 2023

Egypt seeks to facilitate expatriate remittances in three Arab countries through “InstaPay” in 2024

Egypt seeks to facilitate expatriate remittances in three Arab countries through “InstaPay” in 2024. The Central Bank of Egypt is in advanced negotiations with the central banks of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan to enable financial transfers to customers’ accounts in Egypt using the mobile application “InstaPay” starting from next year. Currently, the “InstaPay” application allows bank customers in Egypt to have direct access to all their local accounts, transfer funds instantly between them, and pay bills. The application has gained widespread popularity, especially since its services are free until the end of this year. The number of “InstaPay” users jumped by 76% on a quarterly basis in the second quarter of this year, reaching over 3.8 million clients. (Asharq Business)

The CBE-run digital payment platform is expected to roll out the services in 1H 2024.
The CBE is still studying whether remittances transferred via InstaPay will be credited to Egyptian accounts in local or foreign currency. The plan is the latest in a string of measures taken by the government to drum up hard currency in response to the ongoing FX crunch, which has triggered three devaluations of the EGP since March 2022 and caused the EGP to halve in value against the USD. It first came to light back in September that the central bank was looking into allowing InstaPay transfers from the three Arab countries, in addition to members of the Brics bloc.
Egypt is considering barter trade with Russia, Turkey, and African countries.
Egypt is considering implementing barter trade with Russia, Turkey, and some African countries. This move is an attempt to alleviate pressure on foreign currency. Barter trade involves the exchange of goods, services, or assets other than money between two parties. It was attributed to Egypt's inclination towards the barter system to its ongoing search for "alternatives to hard currency, which is currently in short supply, whether through barter or by conducting trade transactions in local currency with other countries. (Asharq Business)
Egypt, Arab Women Investors Union ink cooperation protocol to promote investments.
Egyptian Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait signed a cooperation protocol with the Founder and President of the Arab Women Investors Union Hoda Galal Yassa, Ministry of Finance stated on November 11th. The signing aims to open new horizons for communication with investors and motivate them to expand their activities in Egypt. Maait said that the government is looking forward to a wider role for the union in the near future in organizing conferences and seminars to lure investors from Arab and African countries for more investments in sectors of national and development priority. (Hapi Journal)
The Egyptian Administrative Capital aims to achieve an annual profit of 23 billion EGP.
The Egyptian Administrative Capital for Urban Development Company expects its profits to increase by around 15% to 20% this year compared to the previous year, according to the Chairman of the Board and Managing Director, Khaled Abbas. He announced a net profit of approximately 10 billion pounds during the first half of 2023. Based on the disclosed target by Abbas during the Seventh Real Estate Development Conference held on Sunday in Cairo, the company's profits for the current year are expected to range between 22.7 and 23.7 billion EGP, up from 19.8 billion in 2022. (Asharq Business)
The Suez Canal Bank is included in the "Fortune" list of the top 500 Arab companies for the year 2023.
Suez Canal Bank has joined the "Fortune Arab 500" list for the year 2023, which includes the largest 500 companies in the Arab region from the Middle East and North Africa. This recognition comes after the bank achieved strong financial results in 2022, signaling its established position and reflecting ongoing efforts to provide top-notch products and services through innovative technological approaches. (Al Mal)
TAQA Arabia launches 1st CNG station in Tanzania.
TAQA Arabia has launched Tanzania’s first integrated compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station and conversion center under the brand name “Master Gas”. The project was executed by TAQA Dalbit, a joint venture between TAQA Arabia and JCG Oil and Gas that invests, develops, and operates filling stations and conversion centers to convert and fill vehicles with CNG. The CNG station is set to serve up to 800 vehicles a day, and it is the first of a series of 12 stations that will be implemented by TAQA Dalbit over the coming years with investments of over 10 million USD. (Hapi Journal)
"Euroclear" stipulates the exemption of bond and certificate interests from taxes for integration with its systems.
Euroclear, the settlement and safekeeping institution for debt instruments, has made it a requirement to exempt Treasury bills and bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance from taxes to facilitate integration with its systems, allowing direct debt settlement. This information comes from sources close to the stock exchange. For years, Egypt has been working towards integration with Euroclear, which globally facilitates debt clearance, aiming to attract foreign investors to government debt. (Al Borsa News)
The sale of historic hotels by The Sovereign Fund may be completed before the end of the year.
The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is set to complete the sale of its stake in a group of state-owned historic hotels by the end of the year, according to the fund's CEO Ayman Soliman. He made this statement last week in New York, without disclosing the identity of the buyer. Soliman mentioned that the buyer aims to improve the status of these valuable assets in Egypt, to eventually list them on the stock exchange. (Arab Finance)
MSMEDA, ERADA partner to fund 3,000 micro-projects with EGP 100m.
The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) and ERADA Microfinance have entered into an agreement to fund micro-projects totaling EGP 100 million across different regions in Egypt. The agreement was formally executed by Nevine Badr El-Din, who leads the Central Microfinance Sector at MSMEDA, and Amr Abo El-Azm, the Founding Partner, Deputy Chairperson, and CEO of ERADA. This signing event took place in the presence of Marian Ghaly, the Chairperson of ERADA, and Basil Rahmi, the CEO of MSMEDA. (Daily News)
Riyadh Group Egypt launches the "Peerage" project with investments of 3 billion Egyptian pounds.
Riyadh Egypt Real Estate Development Company has announced the launch of its new residential project in New Cairo, "Peerage," with an investment of approximately 3 billion Egyptian pounds, including 700 million pounds allocated for the first phase. This new project by Riyadh Egypt is part of the company's expansion plan in the real estate market. Since its establishment in 2017, the company has executed 46 projects in New Cairo and Shorouk, delivering over 300 residential units in the span of six years. (Hapi Journal)
"Zojaj" signs a memorandum of understanding to explore the opportunity for acquisition or merger with Arabian Saudi Glass.
The National Glass Industries Company "Zojaj" has announced the signing of a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Arabian Glass Company Limited. Zojaj stated that the memorandum of understanding includes studying the opportunity for an acquisition or merger with the Saudi Arabian Glass Company Limited. The company clarified that the duration of the memorandum is 12 months, emphasizing that there are no related parties involved. (Hapi Journal