El-Sisi directs to raise minimum wage for public sector employees

Newsletter

18 Sep 2023

El-Sisi directs to raise minimum wage for public sector employees. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directed the government to raise the minimum wage of the sixth category public sector employees at the state’s administrative apparatus and economic bodies to EGP 4,000 monthly, instead of EGP 3,500, the Egyptian presidency stated on September 16th. The president also ordered an increase in the exceptional cost of living allowance for pensioners and employees at the state’s administrative apparatus, economic bodies, public business sector companies, and the public sector to EGP 600 from EGP 300. (Al Mal)

The president also called for raising the tax exemption limit on annual income for employees by 25% to 45,000 EGP from 36,000 EGP.
The presidential directives also involved the inclusion of more financial categories granted to beneficiaries of Takaful and Karama program by 15% for pensioners, for a total of 5 million families. Also, the president ordered an increase in the technology allowances given to journalists who are members of the syndicate. The Agricultural Bank of Egypt was also directed to launch an initiative to lessen the burden on small bank defaulted farmers before January 1st, 2022. (Al Mal)
Egypt seeks to welcome 4.5 million Arab tourists in 2024.
Egypt aims to increase the number of visitors from Arab countries to 4.5 million tourists in 2024 from about 3.1 million tourists in 2022. Egypt received more than 7 million tourists during the first half (H1) of 2023, marking the highest number in the country’s history. The number of tourist arrivals to Egypt is expected to reach 15 million people by the end of 2023, with its tourism revenues likely to hit 15 billion USD. It looks forward to attracting 18 million tourists in 2024 and 30 million in 2028. (Asharq business)
The government is planning to add the EGX-listed Export Development Bank (Ebank) to its privatization program.
State financial institutions currently hold an 84% stake in Ebank. Ebank denied any knowledge of a potential sale to private investors last month. A recent change in the establishment laws governing Ebank and two other local lenders — bringing the three banks’ governance fully in line with the 2020 Banking Act and removing potential obstacles to restructuring them — had added to speculation that Ebank could be up for a sale. An early study was underway to explore the idea of the bank bringing on board new investors via a capital increase. (Asharq Business)
Egypt-born oil and gas driller ADES Holding is expected to sell its shares at 13.50 SAR in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi stock exchange.
The company is set to raise 1.2 billion USD by offering 30% of its share capital to the public, in what is projected to be the kingdom’s biggest listing of the year. The shares were significantly oversubscribed within the first hours of institutional book building. The final pricing will be announced on 20 September. Company shareholders PIF, ADES Investments Holdings and Zamil Group Investment will sell a combined 101.6 million existing shares, and ADES will also issue 237.1 million new shares. ADES intends to use the proceeds from the offering to reduce part of its indebtedness and fund its growth strategy, as well as for “general corporate purposes. (Bloomberg & Reuters)
The government is set to reopen its expat car import initiative for a three-month period under a draft law approved by the Madbouly cabinet at its weekly meeting.
The scheme allows expats to receive full rebates on customs fees, VAT, and other taxes within five years of purchasing a vehicle, provided they pay them upfront in FX. Some 167k Egyptian expats reportedly registered in the first round of the scheme, which raised around 900 million USD, a little over a third of the 2.5 billion USD originally targeted by the Finance Ministry. The scheme was initially set to remain open for three months from November 2022 but was extended through to May 2023 as part of the government’s efforts to maximize FX inflows. (Arab Finance)
Egypt amends rules of granting citizenship to foreigners.
Egypt’s cabinet approved a draft law amending some provisions of Prime Minister’s Resolution No. 3099 of 2019 regarding conditions of granting Egyptian citizenship to foreigners. The draft law stipulated the replacement of the clause requiring that foreigners shall purchase a property worth at least 300,000 USD, with the amount transferred from abroad as per the rules applied by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), in order to qualify for citizenship. Moreover, they shall not sell the property in a five-year period. As per the amendments, foreigners can pay fees of 10,000 USD to apply for citizenship in US dollars or Egyptian pounds. (Asharq Business)
MSMEDA, Tamweely pen 150 million EGP financing deal for projects in 4 governorates.
Egyptian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA) has signed a 150 million EGP financing agreement with the non-banking financial service provider Tamweely. The signed deal aims at financing existing and new projects in the governorates of Kafr El-Sheikh, Beni Suef, Minya, and Aswan. Nearly 6,000 people are expected to benefit from the financing. (Arab Finance)
Valu wraps up 922.3 million EGP securitized bond issuance.
Valu has concluded its sixth securitized bond issuance worth 922.3 million EGP via EFG Hermes’ Financial Group for Securitization. The issuance is part of a short-term program, supported by a receivables portfolio assigned to EFG Holding’s Financial Group for Securitization, that has been renewed. This transaction marks the company’s third issuance in 2023 and the sixth to be closed in partnership with EFG Hermes to date. The bond was offered in one tranche with a tenor of 12 months and a rating of Prime 1 (sf). (Al Mal)