Egypt unveiled a long-awaited economic program on Sunday that aims to reduce the budget deficit, protect the poor, and increase foreign aid and investment.
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the government would target 5-6 percent economic growth and a budget deficit below 10 percent by the end of fiscal year 2017/18. The plan also calls for the adoption of a value-added tax and the sale of stakes in government companies. Ismail said the government would also push ahead with reforms to Egypt’s subsidies program, but did not provide specific details. “It is up to us to take several hard decisions that have long been delayed, (but) any economic steps will be accompanied by the requisite social protections,” Ismail said. “The status quo is indefensible and we cannot go back to previous conditions. We all have to live up to the expectations of all Egyptians,” he said. Egypt’s parliament has 30 days to vote on whether to approve the government’s policy agenda. No date has been set for the vote. [Reuters, Bloomberg, Ahram Online, Aswat Mariya, 3/27/2016]
Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer said Saturday that Egypt attracted foreign investment worth $500 million in treasury bills after devaluing the pound. Amer also said that the CBE pumped $22 billion into the banking system to clear goods piled at ports. “There is no currency crisis, there is merely a crisis in managing the foreign exchange market, and we will roll out an alternative plan for managing the market in the next three months,” Amer said. Regarding the devaluation of the pound, he said, “The decision wasn’t a devaluation, it was correcting the situation and we had planned for it in advance.” Amer said he expects at least $5 billion in portfolio investments within the next four months. Foreign direct investment from China alone could reach $30 billion in the next two years, he added. Amer also announced that Egypt will pay back $1.8 billion owed to Qatar and the Paris Club nations in July. [Reuters, Bloomberg, 3/26/2016]
Jordan will receive a $100 million loan to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and its own citizens, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Sunday. Kim’s announcement followed the introduction of a $100 million in financing for Lebanon to ensure universal school enrollment for Lebanese and Syrian refugee children by 2017. Kim said the aid for Jordan and Lebanon comes from a special fund normally reserved for the poorest countries. “We are taking money from that fund and giving it to a middle income country because Jordan has taken such extraordinary measures [in hosting refugees].” Kim did not say how soon the 100,000 jobs could be created and how many of them would go to refugees. [AP, Petra, 3/27/2016]
Banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend legal action against small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling to repay debt for up to three months to prevent a surge in defaults that may jeopardize the economy. The initiative, through which businesses will work with lenders to restructure their loans, is intended to give more space to SMEs to maneuver. “What we have put on the table is a mini insolvency law,” said Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation Abdul Aziz al-Ghurair. The plan will be open to companies that have borrowed 50 million dirhams or more from a number of banks and are showing signs of financial stress. The federation will coordinate requests from companies with the lending banks to produce an agreement ensuring that no lender will take preemptive action for a period up to 90 days. The lenders will then agree how to manage or restructure the borrower’s debt. [Reuters, 3/28/2016]
Turkey will seek an investment of over $1 billion from US companies during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official trip to the United States, the head of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Omer Cihad Vardan said. Erdogan will arrive on March 29 for a four-day visit. He is expected to meet with CEOs from the 25 largest US companies at a gathering organized by DEIK, the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (IPSAT), and the US-Turkey Business Council. “We expect an investment promise of over $1 billion from that roundtable meeting,” DEİK Chairman Vardan said. ISPAT President Arda Ermut said potential US investors would meet Erdogan. “The energy, informatics, food, finance, and health sectors will be on the agenda,” he added. [Anadolu Agency, Daily Sabah, 3/27/2016]
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Egypt launches program to increase growth, bring in aid, investment
Egypt unveiled a long-awaited economic program on Sunday that aims to reduce the budget deficit, protect the poor, and increase foreign aid and investment. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the government would target 5-6 percent economic growth and a budget deficit below 10 percent by the end of fiscal year 2017/18. The plan also calls for the adoption of a value-added tax and the sale of stakes in government companies. Ismail said the government would also push ahead with reforms to Egypt’s subsidies program, but did not provide specific details. “It is up to us to take several hard decisions that have long been delayed, (but) any economic steps will be accompanied by the requisite social protections,” Ismail said. “The status quo is indefensible and we cannot go back to previous conditions. We all have to live up to the expectations of all Egyptians,” he said. Egypt’s parliament has 30 days to vote on whether to approve the government’s policy agenda. No date has been set for the vote. [Reuters, Bloomberg, Ahram Online, Aswat Mariya, 3/27/2016]
Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer said Saturday that Egypt attracted foreign investment worth $500 million in treasury bills after devaluing the pound. Amer also said that the CBE pumped $22 billion into the banking system to clear goods piled at ports. “There is no currency crisis, there is merely a crisis in managing the foreign exchange market, and we will roll out an alternative plan for managing the market in the next three months,” Amer said. Regarding the devaluation of the pound, he said, “The decision wasn’t a devaluation, it was correcting the situation and we had planned for it in advance.” Amer said he expects at least $5 billion in portfolio investments within the next four months. Foreign direct investment from China alone could reach $30 billion in the next two years, he added. Amer also announced that Egypt will pay back $1.8 billion owed to Qatar and the Paris Club nations in July. [Reuters, Bloomberg, 3/26/2016]
Jordan will receive a $100 million loan to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and its own citizens, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Sunday. Kim’s announcement followed the introduction of a $100 million in financing for Lebanon to ensure universal school enrollment for Lebanese and Syrian refugee children by 2017. Kim said the aid for Jordan and Lebanon comes from a special fund normally reserved for the poorest countries. “We are taking money from that fund and giving it to a middle income country because Jordan has taken such extraordinary measures [in hosting refugees].” Kim did not say how soon the 100,000 jobs could be created and how many of them would go to refugees. [AP, Petra, 3/27/2016]
Banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend legal action against small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling to repay debt for up to three months to prevent a surge in defaults that may jeopardize the economy. The initiative, through which businesses will work with lenders to restructure their loans, is intended to give more space to SMEs to maneuver. “What we have put on the table is a mini insolvency law,” said Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation Abdul Aziz al-Ghurair. The plan will be open to companies that have borrowed 50 million dirhams or more from a number of banks and are showing signs of financial stress. The federation will coordinate requests from companies with the lending banks to produce an agreement ensuring that no lender will take preemptive action for a period up to 90 days. The lenders will then agree how to manage or restructure the borrower’s debt. [Reuters, 3/28/2016]
Turkey will seek an investment of over $1 billion from US companies during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official trip to the United States, the head of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Omer Cihad Vardan said. Erdogan will arrive on March 29 for a four-day visit. He is expected to meet with CEOs from the 25 largest US companies at a gathering organized by DEIK, the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (IPSAT), and the US-Turkey Business Council. “We expect an investment promise of over $1 billion from that roundtable meeting,” DEİK Chairman Vardan said. ISPAT President Arda Ermut said potential US investors would meet Erdogan. “The energy, informatics, food, finance, and health sectors will be on the agenda,” he added. [Anadolu Agency, Daily Sabah, 3/27/2016]
Saudi Butanol plant starts operations | Reuters
Oil recovery hits Saudi devaluation bet | Bloomberg
Oman to increase air traffic fees in state revenue push | Reuters
Egyptian pound weakens to record against dollar on black market | Reuters
Egypt’s Banque Misr in talks for EUR 300 million syndicated loan | Reuters
Egypt’s Sawiris says CI Capital acquisition stalled by security | Reuters
Egypt to offer shares of AAIB and Banque du Caire on bourse | Reuters
Egypt’s EGAS completes tender for two LNG cargoes for April delivery | Reuters
Libya central bank issues letters of credit for wheat imports | Libya Monitor
Morocco’s Samir seeks supplier of 8 million barrels of crude oil | Reuters
Moroccan refiner Samir appeals court decision on liquidation | Reuters
World Bank says social, economic inclusion key to stability in Iraq | World Bank
Jordan seeks to buy Gazprom’s LNG at preferential prices | Reuters
Egypt unveiled a long-awaited economic program on Sunday that aims to reduce the budget deficit, protect the poor, and increase foreign aid and investment. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said the government would target 5-6 percent economic growth and a budget deficit below 10 percent by the end of fiscal year 2017/18. The plan also calls for the adoption of a value-added tax and the sale of stakes in government companies. Ismail said the government would also push ahead with reforms to Egypt’s subsidies program, but did not provide specific details. “It is up to us to take several hard decisions that have long been delayed, (but) any economic steps will be accompanied by the requisite social protections,” Ismail said. “The status quo is indefensible and we cannot go back to previous conditions. We all have to live up to the expectations of all Egyptians,” he said. Egypt’s parliament has 30 days to vote on whether to approve the government’s policy agenda. No date has been set for the vote. [Reuters, Bloomberg, Ahram Online, Aswat Mariya, 3/27/2016]
Egypt attracts foreign investment after pound devaluation
Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer said Saturday that Egypt attracted foreign investment worth $500 million in treasury bills after devaluing the pound. Amer also said that the CBE pumped $22 billion into the banking system to clear goods piled at ports. “There is no currency crisis, there is merely a crisis in managing the foreign exchange market, and we will roll out an alternative plan for managing the market in the next three months,” Amer said. Regarding the devaluation of the pound, he said, “The decision wasn’t a devaluation, it was correcting the situation and we had planned for it in advance.” Amer said he expects at least $5 billion in portfolio investments within the next four months. Foreign direct investment from China alone could reach $30 billion in the next two years, he added. Amer also announced that Egypt will pay back $1.8 billion owed to Qatar and the Paris Club nations in July. [Reuters, Bloomberg, 3/26/2016]
World Bank to extend $100 million loan to Jordan
Jordan will receive a $100 million loan to help create 100,000 jobs for Syrian refugees and its own citizens, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Sunday. Kim’s announcement followed the introduction of a $100 million in financing for Lebanon to ensure universal school enrollment for Lebanese and Syrian refugee children by 2017. Kim said the aid for Jordan and Lebanon comes from a special fund normally reserved for the poorest countries. “We are taking money from that fund and giving it to a middle income country because Jordan has taken such extraordinary measures [in hosting refugees].” Kim did not say how soon the 100,000 jobs could be created and how many of them would go to refugees. [AP, Petra, 3/27/2016]
UAE banks agree “mini insolvency law” to help struggling SMEs
Banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend legal action against small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggling to repay debt for up to three months to prevent a surge in defaults that may jeopardize the economy. The initiative, through which businesses will work with lenders to restructure their loans, is intended to give more space to SMEs to maneuver. “What we have put on the table is a mini insolvency law,” said Chairman of the UAE Banks Federation Abdul Aziz al-Ghurair. The plan will be open to companies that have borrowed 50 million dirhams or more from a number of banks and are showing signs of financial stress. The federation will coordinate requests from companies with the lending banks to produce an agreement ensuring that no lender will take preemptive action for a period up to 90 days. The lenders will then agree how to manage or restructure the borrower’s debt. [Reuters, 3/28/2016]
Turkey eyes over $1 billion investment promise from US companies
Turkey will seek an investment of over $1 billion from US companies during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official trip to the United States, the head of Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Omer Cihad Vardan said. Erdogan will arrive on March 29 for a four-day visit. He is expected to meet with CEOs from the 25 largest US companies at a gathering organized by DEIK, the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (IPSAT), and the US-Turkey Business Council. “We expect an investment promise of over $1 billion from that roundtable meeting,” DEİK Chairman Vardan said. ISPAT President Arda Ermut said potential US investors would meet Erdogan. “The energy, informatics, food, finance, and health sectors will be on the agenda,” he added. [Anadolu Agency, Daily Sabah, 3/27/2016]
Also of interest
Saudi Butanol plant starts operations | Reuters
Oil recovery hits Saudi devaluation bet | Bloomberg
Oman to increase air traffic fees in state revenue push | Reuters
Egyptian pound weakens to record against dollar on black market | Reuters
Egypt’s Banque Misr in talks for EUR 300 million syndicated loan | Reuters
Egypt’s Sawiris says CI Capital acquisition stalled by security | Reuters
Egypt to offer shares of AAIB and Banque du Caire on bourse | Reuters
Egypt’s EGAS completes tender for two LNG cargoes for April delivery | Reuters
Libya central bank issues letters of credit for wheat imports | Libya Monitor
Morocco’s Samir seeks supplier of 8 million barrels of crude oil | Reuters
Moroccan refiner Samir appeals court decision on liquidation | Reuters
World Bank says social, economic inclusion key to stability in Iraq | World Bank
Jordan seeks to buy Gazprom’s LNG at preferential prices | Reuters