Portrait Profile

Moroccan Nizar Baraka, Finance Minister of the Year 2013

After he had been elected best Finance Minister for the MENA region for 2012 and Minister of Finance of the year 2012 by the «The Banker», a magazine of the Financial Times press group, Morocco’s former Minister of Economy and Finance, Nizar Baraka, earned another consecration in 2013, this time from the World Bank and […]

Business Features Finance

Libya to use its financial reserves before November

Finance Minister Alkilani Abdelkarim al-Jazi has warned that the blockage of oil ports should come to an end as soon as possible because the finances of the state have begun to feel the effects. Oil is Libya’s major revenue and the siege on ports and oilfields especially in the east have almost brought production to […]

Algeria Features Headlines

Algeria: Sahara desert agriculture a success

Algiers has shifted its attention to agriculture after warnings from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund of the necessity to diversify its oil based economy. Recent studies have claimed that its reserves are depleting. Agriculture is now the booming sector in the country and provides more employment than the oil industry after hefty […]

Egypt Features Headlines

Egypt: New government says no to taxation

Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Ahmed Galal, has declared that the government will increase its spending or at least maintain it without increasing taxes or imposing new ones. He claimed the government has “multiple resources” to support its budget. Morsi’s government tried to reduce public spending as requirements for a loan from the International Monetary […]

Business Finance

Egypt: President’s adviser blames IMF for delaying the loan

Essam al-Haddad, the closest aide to Mohamed Morsi, has lambasted the IMF for worsening Egypt’s situation. He claimed Egypt has satisfied all the required conditions but the IMF continues to delay the deal. He said the government in a bid to finalize the $4,8 billion loan deal has recently included a phased-out subsidies plan and […]

Columns Features Opinions

Arab Spring Costs Region $ 15 Bln in Lost Tourism

The popular uprisings and political turmoil rocking the region of North Africa and the Middle-East since 2011 have dealt a hard blow to the sector of tourism that suffered losses going up to $ 15 billion, according to Arab Tourism Organization (ATO). At a meeting held lately in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), ATO president Bandar Al-Fuhaid […]

Lifestyle Technology

Samsung factory to supply ME and Africa from Egypt

Technology giant, Samsung Electronics has announced that it will be establishing a factory in Egypt; making it the first of its kind by the company in the MENA region. The factory which will be located at the Kom Abu Radi Industrial Zone in Al Wasta City, Beni Suef will be covering 336,000m². The announcement was […]

Business Energy

Libya to remove oil and food subsidies

Oil minister Al Arusi has announced that they will be joining the campaign against the sensitive fuel market reforms and will also be scrubbing off oil subsidies, which take more than 10% of the budget, before the end of 2016. The decision to remove fuel subsidies on all types of fuel is blamed on smuggling […]

Business Emerging Markets

What growth for Egypt?

Planning minister al-Araby claimed that the economy will grow by 3.8% in 2013, while Finance minister Al-Mursi al Sayed Hegazy presented in parliament measures geared towards saving more than $5 billion as part of their annual budget prospects. Ministers are presenting prospects of their ministries for the 2013-2014 budget to the upper house of parliament […]