Business Finance

Saudi PIF’s SRC inks 133mln real estate financing deal with Riyad Bank

The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), wholly owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has signed an agreement with Riyad Bank to acquire a SR500 million ($133.13 million) real estate financing portfolio, reports say. Fabrice Susini, CEO of SRC and Tareq Al-Sadhan, CEO of Riyad Bank signed the deal in the presence of of […]

Business Egypt Finance Headlines

Egypt: Hassan Abdallah appointed as acting governor of central bank

Egypt’s President Abdelfattah al-Sisi has named Hassan Abdallah as acting governor of the central bank of the country after the former chief resigned Wednesday. Abdallah until the appointment Thursday was Chairman of the Board of Members of the United Media Services Group (UMS). The 62-year old man replaces Tarek Amer who resigned Wednesday but was […]

Business Emerging Markets

Emirates suspends all Nigeria flights from September over blocked funds

The Dubai-based Emirates airline will suspend all flights to Nigeria from 1 September after the West African country has failed to repatriate millions of dollars of its funds. The airline said it took the “difficult decision” in order to limit further losses, citing circumstances “beyond our control”, in a statement on Thursday (18 August). Emirates […]

Asia Business Finance International

Tokyo urges Japanese private sector to invest — and beat China — in Africa

Japan, which lags behind other major economies when it comes to investment in Africa, has been increasingly concerned that the pandemic has weakened African economies and worsened their dependence on Chinese investment and aid. US investment in Africa is seven times larger than that of Japan, that of the UK and France is more than […]

Business Emerging Markets Europe Headlines International

UK to cut import taxes on 99% of goods imported from Africa

The United Kingdom is to cut import taxes on hundreds more products from some of the world’s poorest countries, which is a part of its wider push to use trade to “drive prosperity and help eradicate poverty”, as well as reduce dependency on aid. The Department for International Trade said Monday (15 August) the scheme […]

Business Emerging Markets Energy

Amid energy crisis, EU gives gas-rich Mozambique’s security big boost

The European Union is planning a five-fold increase in financial support to 2024 for the mission of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) in Mozambique, according to an internal EU document, as Islamist attacks threaten gas projects meant to reduce the EU’s reliance on Russian energy. The SADC mission — a bloc of 16 African […]

Egypt Finance Headlines

Egypt: Central bank governor resigns amidst economic crisis, declining currency

Egypt’s central bank governor, Tareq Amer, resigned on Wednesday amid the country’s ongoing economic crisis and the Egyptian President accepted his resignation, according to several press reports. Amer had been at the helm of the central bank since 2015, and was due to hold the position for another year. The resignation comes amidst a severe […]

Business Uncategorized

Saudi Arabia’s PIF acquires shares in Alphabet, Zoom Video and Microsoft

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought shares in Alphabet, Zoom Video and Microsoft as part of a wider pick of US stocks, bringing the sovereign wealth fund’s second-quarter investments to about $40.8 billion, Arab Finance reports. A filing from US Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that PIF acquired 213,000 class A shares in Alphabet; 4.7 […]

Business Egypt Finance Headlines

Egypt’s central bank gets around $5.2bn from local banks to address growing economic pressures

The Central Bank of Egypt, (CBE) collected around $5.2 billion (EGP 100 billion from local banks in the weekly open market operations (OMO) as the North African country turns to local, regional and international banks for loans to address growing economic pressures. The CBE data indicate that the funds were raised at a fixed rate […]

Finance Headlines Morocco

Moroccan government’s pressing social and economic priorities in 2023

The current Moroccan government has set four priorities for next year’s appropriation bill as it continues to navigate through turbulent waters to materialize its promises of reinforcing the basis of the social state, bolstering post-Covid economic recovery, attracting investors and curbing inequalities between regions. The government has been challenged by imported inflation which weighed on […]