Egypt's current economic situation can be summed up in the stories of three young men from different backgrounds. The three lost their jobs over the past few months in incidents that show how the country is in dire need of further investment and (...)
Siham's mother has been suffering from diabetes for years. Her high blood sugar led to the amputation of one leg, and now she is at risk of losing her life if she does not take her daily dose of insulin. Siham, desperate to get her mother's (...)
Siham's mother has been suffering from diabetes for years. Her high blood sugar led to the amputation of one leg, and now she is at risk of losing her life if she does not take her daily dose of insulin. Siham, desperate to get her mother's (...)
Only a few months ago, local sugar companies were worrying about the accumulation of stocks in their plants and the losses that they could face as a result of the local market being inundated with imported sugar.
Today, many people might wonder (...)
On Monday, Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker said that power tariffs would increase by 25 to 40 per cent according to different consumption brackets. The increases come as part of government plans to phase out electricity subsidies by 2019. They (...)
The day following the devaluation of the Egyptian pound in February, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced the launch of three-year pound-denominated investment certificates. The certificates offered a 15 per cent yield, to be paid for in hard (...)
Egypt is the biggest wheat importer in the world, with a recent study by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) saying that wheat is particularly important for the country given the role it plays in feeding Egypt's burgeoning population. (...)
Egypt's three state-owned banks are preparing to launch advertising campaigns in countries that have a large number of expatriates to promote the sale of new US dollar-denominated certificates to Egyptians living abroad.
The National Bank of Egypt (...)
In a move aiming at energising the economy, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has called on banks to increase their financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) nationwide.
The announcement followed a speech in which President Abdel-Fattah (...)
Swiss Attorney-General Michael Lauber ended a visit to Egypt this week, one week after the final ruling in the trial of ousted former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa. The three were charged with embezzling funds totalling LE125 (...)
At the southern end of Qasr Al-Aini Street in Cairo, the famous hospital of the same name is still there in all its former glory, at least in appearance. The massive gates speak of past prestige, but the tell-tale look of resignation on the faces of (...)
On 27 November Tarek Amer became the new governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, succeeding Hisham Ramez. Ramez's departure was welcomed by many businessmen, bankers and Forex company owners who claimed that he failed to deal with the dollar shortage (...)
Some 12,000 workers at the Egyptian Iron and Steel Company this week resumed a strike demanding that they receive their annual bonus for 2013-2014, in addition to a delayed three-month bonus on profits from the year before.
The workers launched the (...)
Two weeks ago, president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi approved the country's first microfinance law, which, prepared by the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), will allow companies and NGOs to finance projects that do not meet the requirements (...)
Executives from around 70 major US companies were in Cairo this week for a three-day visit. The delegation, which met with President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, was organised by the US-Egypt Business Council and hosted in (...)
After dozens of farmers threatened to burn their cotton crop this year due to low selling prices, the government decided last week to increase the subsidy the farmers receive by LE200, pushing the price of each quintal of cotton up to LE1,800.
The (...)
The government decided last week to raise the prices of subsidised fertilisers by up to 40 per cent, with prices of urea fertilisers from state-owned companies increasing to LE2,000 per ton from LE1,450 as a result and nitrates increasing to LE1,900 (...)
With Eid Al-Adha only two days away, the streets of Egypt's cities have turned into makeshift yards for sheep with families scrambling to find a reasonably priced animal to sacrifice.
Religious tradition, in commemoration of the Prophet Ibrahim, (...)
Egypt is considering tapping the international bond market with an issue of $2.5 billion to return deposits made by Qatar in the country's Central Bank (CBE) following the 2011 ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak, according to Minster of (...)
Around 18 million families, more than 65 million Egyptians, are eligible for subsidised food commodities. Under the new distribution system, ration-card holders can buy some 20 different commodities at subsidised prices, but there are problems with (...)
“Chicken and meat are not as important as cooking oil and rice, as far as some Egyptians are concerned,” said Samir, a doorman and the father of three children in Cairo's Ain Shams district. “They should ration cooking oil, rice and sugar over time, (...)
The number of Egyptians living beneath the poverty line increased in 2012–2013 to 26.3 per cent, compared to 25 per cent in 2010–2011, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).
Poverty rates have been (...)
On a flight to Mumbai a few weeks ago, I got into a political discussion with the man sitting next to me. As the conversation developed, I began to see why India, the second-largest country in the world after China, is still grappling with the (...)
As part of a broad government strategy to cut fuel subsidies that account for around a quarter of state spending, Egypt slashed subsidies on natural gas supplies to several industries this week, increasing prices by 30 to 75 per cent. The price of (...)
The stock market is awaiting a decision by investment bank EFG Hermes shareholders next Sunday regarding a tender offer to buy 20 per cent of the bank.
The offer is being submitted by a consortium of Egypt investment funds indirectly owned by (...)