Egyptian Trade Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour has signed an initial framework agreement with representatives from the Chinese trade ministry for fifteen projects worth about $10 billion. Financing agreements for the projects will be signed between late June and September, the ministry said. The projects will focus mainly on the electricity and transport sectors, but will also include direct Chinese investment in other projects. The minister added that the Export-Import Bank of China will provide financing for six transport projects, including building a new railroad and developing several existing ones. [Reuters, 6/16/2015]
Iraq in talks with international banks to ease fiscal deficit
Iraq’s Minister of Finance Hoshyar Zebari met with representatives from several global banks, including JP Morgan, Citibank, and Deutsche Bank in a second day of negotiations in Istanbul focusing on covering Iraq’s 2015 budget deficit. A delegation including representatives from the Ministry of Finance and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s advisor for economic affairs answered questions from the banks’ representatives on Iraq’s economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already reached an agreement to loan Iraq $833 million to help support the country’s public financing. [Shafaq News, 6/16/2015]
Qatar’s secretive sovereign fund to restructure, say sources
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the world’s most aggressive sovereign wealth funds, will set asset allocation targets for the first time and restructure internal decision making, sources say, in response to a drop in oil prices that has narrowed available funds as competition for assets grows. Sources working in Qatar or for foreign institutions that work with the QIA said the review process is currently ongoing. The QIA is estimated to have $304 billion of assets. The review could see tens of billions of dollars flow into new geographies, however the funds are likely to flow into sectors where QIA has a strong track record, such as financial services, real estate, and consumer goods. [Reuters, 6/15/2015]
NOC Chairman says Libya’s oil production at 432,000 bpd
Libya is producing 432,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil, National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman Mustafa Sanallah said today. Around 350,000 bpd is exported, Sanallah told the National Oil Companies Congress. He added that Libya is aiming to increase output by 200,000 bpd, in large part by resuming exports from the field operated by Waha Oil Co. Sanallah said the NOC is close to a deal with local factions that would enable it to reopen the El Sharara and El Feel oilfields. An NOC spokesman also said efforts are underway to reopen the Zueitina, Zawiya, and Mellitah ports. Sanallah’s comments come as the NOC said over the weekend that Libya’s oil production is at 500,000 bpd. [Reuters, 6/16/2015]
Also of interest
Saudi bourse to attract $40 billion inflows after opening to foreigners | Saudi Gazette
Saudi Arabia and China drift apart on oil | WSJ
Foreign retailers bend to conform to Saudi religious rules | WSJ
Oil’s turnaround may support Gulf markets | Reuters
Saudi blue chips slip further; Egypt edges up after China deal | Reuters
UAE’s Gulf Finance Corp to raise up to 600 million dirhams in syndicated loans | Reuters
Egypt reduces dependence on foreign wheat | WSJ
Egypt hopes Suez Canal expansion will see cash flood in | CNN
French companies interested in Egypt, undeterred by attacks | Ahram Online
CAPMAS: Egypt’s trade deficit widens 11 percent in March | Cairo Post
US top court rejects Iraq bid to revive ‘oil-for-food’ lawsuit | Reuters
Central Bank of Libya says inflation approached 10 percent | Libya Monitor (subscription)
Germany’s Wintershall examining stake in Occidental’s Libyan oil assets | Reuters
Morocco’s January-May trade deficit drops by a quarter as oil price falls | Reuters