First Independent Mena Newspaper
Egypt-based investment company, Egypt Kuwait Holding Co SAE (EKH), will invest $500 million over the coming five years, CEO Sherif El-Zayat has revealed. El-Zayat said the company will invest $100 million a year and has made available $100 million to seize any acquisition opportunities during the upcoming period. In this vein, the firm already decided […]
The Moroccan government has approved the setting up of a National Financial Intelligence Authority to better combat money-laundering, terror financing and weapons proliferation. The establishment of this new entity comes following the recommendations issued by the Middle-East & North Africa Financial Action Task Force which has called for upgrading the country’s financial intelligence unit […]
The recent measures by the Tunisian President to dismiss the Prime Minister and disband parliament have been described as a “power grab” that may delay the financing deal with the IMF. Tunisia has struggled with endemic unemployment and an economic slow-down worsened by the Covid-19 crisis and pinned hope on a $4 billion loan package […]
Morocco expects to add 650 million dollars to its foreign exchange reserves as part of $1.2 billion that will be offered to the country under the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights. The sum is to be unlocked by the IMF this August 23 after a historic approval by the IMF Board of Governors to allocate Special […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has rubber-stamped the loan of $25 million for Egypt-based United Metals Company (UMC). The funding is aimed at backing the company’s working capital needs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan will enhance the Company’s financial resilience to withstand the potential negative implications of the COVID-19 pandemic through […]
Morocco ranked second in the Arab world in terms of credit portfolio granted by microcredit associations by the end of 2020, according to the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF). The outstanding total of these credits amounted to $760 million at the end of the past year, the AMF said in its annual report on financial stability […]
The Moroccan government has laid out the priorities for the upcoming fiscal year predicting the economy to grow 3.2%. In a document outlining the breadlines of the upcoming budget, the government stressed the need to continue the large-scale reforms launched by Morocco in the wake of the pandemic, notably social reforms, public sector institutions upgrade […]
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Friday that it has provided an additional $2.5 million to WHO and UNICEF to partner with Morocco to enhance the country’s capacity of vaccine service delivery points, provide crucial cold chain, and logistics support. The USAID financial contribution will also fund initiatives destined to help local […]
The International Finance Corporation, IFC, a member of the World Bank, will invest $100 million in the first private sector green bond in Egypt, to help fund climate-smart projects, alleviate greenhouse gas emissions, and support Egypt’s shift to a greener economy, the institution said in a statement. The bond, the first by the private sector, […]
The African Development Bank, through its Financial Sector Development’s Trade Finance operations, has launched a Transaction Guarantee instrument designed to provide up to 100% cover for non-payment risk to regional and international banks, for trade transactions initiated by local banks in Africa. The guarantee will cover an array of trade finance instruments, including confirmed letters […]