Jordan cancels summit on Washington’s pro-war stance

Newsletter

19 Oct 2023

Jordan cancels summit on Washington’s pro-war stance. Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said last Tuesday that Amman had canceled the planned four-way summit between the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, the US and the Palestinian Authority due to Washington’s stance on the war. “We decided not to hold the quadripartite summit in Amman because Washington will not be able to make a decision to stop the war,” Safadi was quoted as saying. Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas had earlier canceled his meeting with Biden. (Al Mal)

Aid remains stuck on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border
Despite growing pressure for the Rafah crossing to be opened to aid, a convoy of trucks remain stationary at the border. Israel has refused to ease off its total siege and has instead bombed the border crossing multiple times, making it harder for aid to enter the strip. Israel is preventing food, water, fuel and humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. The territory’s only desalination plant shut down on Monday, exacerbating the growing water shortage, and raising the risk of death via dehydration and the spread of waterborne diseases, the UN said. (Financial Times)
Joe Biden tells Israel ‘other team’ appears to be behind deadly hospital explosion.
Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the deadly explosion in a Gaza hospital appeared to have been caused by Palestinians, not the Israeli military, as outrage and mutual accusations fanned across the Middle East. Appearing with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, the US president sided with accounts that blamed the blast on a misfired rocket by Palestinian militants, rather than an Israeli air strike. “Based on what I have seen, it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden said. “But there’s a lot of people out there who are not sure, so we’ve got to overcome a lot of things.” (Financial Times)
The Finance Ministry is looking to take out two loans worth 500 million USD from Deutsche Bank and the Arab Banking Corporation (ABC)
to finance and refinance some of the projects included in this fiscal year’s budget. The newspaper did not specify the projects, saying only that they are compliant with ESG standards. (Al Mal)
The EGX30 surged to a record high for a second day in a row, as investors continue to hedge against a widely anticipated devaluation and soaring inflation.
The Egyptian Exchange’s (EGX) indices saw a bull trend on Tuesday, closing the trading session in the green zone for the third consecutive day. The benchmark EGX30 index gained 4.95% to end the session at 22,073.95 points. The small- and mid-cap EGX70 equal-weight index (EWI) went up 1.66% to 3,871.07 points. Meanwhile, the EGX100 index rose by 2.97% to the level of 5,949.99 points. (Asharq Business)
It is worth noting that the trading volume amounted to nearly 799.803 million shares exchanged through 131,197 transactions at a turnover of 5.256 billion EGP.
Market capitalization closed today’s trading session at 1.504 trillion EGP. Retail investors controlled 66.07% of total trading transactions, while institutional investors made up 33.92% of trading. Egyptian traders made up 87.76% of total trading transactions, while Arab and foreign (non-Arab) investors made up 7.69% and 4.55% respectively. Arab traders were net buyers with 166.161 million EGP, while Egyptian and foreign investors were net sellers with 82.22 million EGP and 83.941 million EGP, respectively. (Asharq Business)
CBE orders banks to set maximum limit on credit cards usage in foreign currency abroad.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued rules for banks to activate the maximum limit on the use of credit cards for transactions in foreign currencies abroad. Earlier this month, the bank directed the banks operating in Egypt to halt the use of EGP debit cards abroad for foreign currency withdrawal or payment transactions for an undetermined period. The CBE’s decision came on the back of the persisting shortage of foreign currency. (Al Mal)
Egypt to sell stake in Wataniya within maximum of 6 weeks: ElSaid.
The government could announce the winner of the stake in military-owned filling station operator Wataniya within a month to six weeks. The government is currently compiling a shortlist of the companies that submitted offers to purchase the stake El Saeed added. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is looking to sell at least 10%, and potentially as much as 100%, of Wataniya as part of the state’s privatization program. Shell and China’s North Petroleum recently joined Taqa Arabia, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and Saudi firm Petromin as the companies that have reportedly submitted offers for the Wataniya stake. Bids range between 250 million USD and 280 million USD. (Asharq Business)
Cheiron eyes drilling 160 million USD natural gas wells in Egypt in H1 2024.
Cheiron Petroleum Corporation has invested around 160 million USD to explore and produce natural gas in the West El Burullus Concession, south-east the Mediterranean. The firm is seeking to start production from the concession in the first half (H1) of 2024, with a production capacity of 150 million cubic feet of natural gas a day. It is planning to drill seven natural gas wells and other natural condensates. (Asharq Business)
Attijariwafa Bank seeks to further expand in Egypt.
Attijariwafa Bank is targeting to expand its business in the Egyptian market, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate and Investment Banking Division at Attijariwafa Bank Youssef Rouissi said. Rouissi pointed out that the Egyptian market has significant development prospects. He added that the bank is also targeting three other English-speaking markets in East Africa. It is worth noting that the bank’s capital share in the Egyptian market is nearly 1%. (Arab Finance)
China’s Hengtong inks 18 million USD deal to manufacture fiber-optic cables in Egypt.
The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE) has signed an agreement worth 18 million USD in investments with the Chinese power and fiber optic cable manufacturer Hengtong to expand the latter’s business in TEDA-Egypt zone. Under the deal, the firm targets to produce fiber-optic cables with a capacity of up to 2 million kilometers in the zone. The agreement will also contribute to the company’s fulfillment of its contractual obligations to manufacture fiber-optic cables, optical distribution networks (ODN), and optical ground wires (OPGW). (Arab Finance)