The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced Saturday that the maturity of a Kuwaiti deposit of $2bn at the bank was extended until September 2023 instead of September 2022, and the maturity of the remaining $658.5m from an Emirati deposit of $1bn, was also extended to August 2027 instead of August 2022.

The report on the external situation of the Egyptian economy revealed that Kuwait had two deposits at the Central Bank of Egypt, worth $4bn, in two tranches. The first was extended until September 2023, while the second is supposed to be due in April 2023.

The UAE also has 5 medium and long-term deposits with a total value of $5.658bn, the value of the first deposit amounting to $1bn due to be paid in July 2026, the second with a value of $1bn also due in July 2023, and the third with a value of $2bn to be paid in 3 tranches. The first tranche is due in April 2023, the second tranche in April 2024, and the third in April 2025, while the value of the fourth deposit amounts to $1bn, due in 3 instalments due in May 2024, May 2025, and May 2026, while the value of the fifth deposit amounts to $1bn, of which $658.2m was due in August 2022 and has been extended to August 2027.

The Central Bank of Egypt revealed that the volume of external debt owed by Egypt decreased to $154.980bn at the end of the first quarter of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, compared to $155.708bn at the end of the last quarter of 2021/2022, a decrease of about $728m.

The central clarified that the volume of long-term external debt recorded $127.572bn at the end of September 2022, compared to $129.089bn at the end of June 2022, a decrease of $1.517bn, while the volume of short-term debt reached $27.408bn, compared to $26.619bn, an increase of $789m.

Company Name : Rowad Tourism (Al Rowad)
ISIN Code : EGS70281C018
Reuters Code : ROTO.CA
Content :
Release from the company regarding the disclosure of the judicial rulings issued against a member of the company's Board of Directors.

Release from the Company (250 KB)

ZAWYA-


The initiative will revive production in rice, cotton, dairy, fish sub-sectors

Kenya has signed an agreement for direct investments of $250 million (Sh31 billion) by UK-based United Green Group to boost food production in the country.

Under the agreement, the group will deliver agri-fintech services for rural communities, high-productivity climate-smart farming and state-of-the-art agro-industrial facilities over the next five years, Kenya News Agency reported.

“This is a landmark joint venture that will change the food security situation in the country significantly,” Kenya’s Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry said in a statement.

The initiative will revive production in rice, cotton, dairy and fish sub-sectors.

As part of the initiative, 100,000 hectares of primary farms around Lake Victoria will be integrated to create a smallholder farmer scheme to boost productivity and offer support for sustainable farming methods.

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data showed that the food import bill rose 18% to 183.93 billion shillings in nine months from 155.42 shillings a year earlier following a drop in local production due to an extended drought.

Ghana secured a staff-level agreement through the International Monetary Fund in December for a $3bln loan but must first ask bilateral lenders to provide financing assurances on existing debts before the IMF board can sign off on the programme

BEIJING/ACCRA - Ghana's finance ministry said on Friday after meetings it held in China that it expected to secure financing assurances "very soon".

Ghana secured a staff-level agreement through the International Monetary Fund in December for a $3 billion loan but must first ask bilateral lenders to provide financing assurances on existing debts before the IMF board can sign off on the programme.

"So far had very positive and encouraging meetings in China! Looking forward to securing external assurances very soon, even as we pass our outstanding domestic revenue bills back home. Great progress and all fronts," Ghana's finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta said on Twitter.

China's vice commerce minister met with Ghana's finance minister in Beijing on Thursday to discuss strengthening bilateral economic and trade cooperation, China's commerce ministry said on Friday.

China is Ghana's biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.9 billion of debt, according to Ghana's finance ministry.

Company Name : Arab Co. for Asset Management And Development
ISIN Code : EGS72AQ1C016
Reuters Code : ACAMD.CA
Content :
Release regarding the disclosure form according to the Article 29 of EGX Listing Rules

The Release (501 KB)

"Credit Suisse would not have survived Monday," Karin Keller-Sutter said, explaining the need to find a swift solution for Credit Suisse's woes

ZURICH - Switzerland's finance minister defended the shotgun merger between the country's two largest banks in an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung on Saturday, saying the use of emergency law was necessary to stabilise the situation.

"Credit Suisse would not have survived Monday," Karin Keller-Sutter said, explaining the need to find a swift solution for Credit Suisse's woes.

"Without a solution, payment transactions with CS in Switzerland would have been significantly disrupted, possibly even collapsed, and wages and bills could no longer have been paid," she said.

Last Sunday it was announced that UBS had agreed to buy its rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.23 billion) in stock and agreed to assume up to 5 billion francs ($5.4 billion) in losses in a merger engineered by Swiss authorities to prevent more market turmoil in global banking.

Emergency law was used to enable the banks to reach a speedy agreement. Shareholders, for example, who would normally get a say in such a takeover were largely bypassed, which has angered some of them.

Keller-Sutter said the Swiss government's executive Federal Council "only went as far as was absolutely necessary to achieve the goal of stabilisation".

The finance ministry said in a statement that lenders have been asked to identify stress points, including "concentration risks and adverse exposures"

NEW DELHI - India finance minister has asked state-run banks to assess various financial health parameters amid turbulence across the global banking sector.

After a meeting with chiefs of state-run banks in New Delhi on Saturday, the finance ministry said in a statement that lenders have been asked to identify stress points, including "concentration risks and adverse exposures".

Ahead of the meeting, the government had sought details of the bond portfolios of these banks.

Banks should safeguard themselves from any potential financial shock, the finance minister told bankers according to the statement.

"All the major financial parameters indicate stable and resilient public sector banks," the statement added.

Indian lenders are capable of enduring any potential contagion effects emanating from the U.S. banking turmoil, S&P Global Ratings said this week.

"Strong funding profiles, a high savings rate, and government support are among the factors that bolster the financial institutions we rate," the rating agency said.

Company Name : Al Fanar Contracting Construction Trade Import And Export Co
ISIN Code : EGS221U1C016
Reuters Code : FNAR.CA
Content :
Release from FRA stating the approval on publishing the disclosure form for the company in light of the decisions of the company's Board of Directors on 06/03/2023

Release from FRA (1,717 KB)

Company Name : El Badr Investment And Development BID
ISIN Code : EGS3A2Z1C015
Reuters Code : BIDI.CA
Content :
EGM minutes after certification
Assembly Date : 05/07/2022

EGM Minutes (1,787 KB)

While any changes to the Fed's liquidity offerings would apply to all eligible users, the adjustments could be designed to ensure that First Republic benefits from the changes

U.S. authorities are considering the expansion of an emergency lending facility that would offer banks more support, in an effort that could give First Republic Bank more time to shore up its balance sheet, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.

All deliberations are at an early stage and an expansion of the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program is one of the many considerations by officials to support the failing lender, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

While any changes to the Fed's liquidity offerings would apply to all eligible users, the adjustments could be designed to ensure that First Republic benefits from the changes, Bloomberg said.

First Republic and representatives for U.S. Treasury and Fed did not immediately for a comment. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) declined to comment.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden's economic team worked with regulators to set up measures to support the banking system, including setting up a new facility to give banks access to emergency funds and making it easier for banks to borrow from the Fed in emergencies.

TradeArabia-


The UN agency said the trade in green goods grew by four per cent in the second half of the year, reaching a record $1.9 trillion in 2022

Global trade slowed down in the second half of 2022, but demand for environmentally friendly goods stayed strong, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

As per its latest Global Trade Update, the UN agency said the trade in green goods (which use fewer resources and pollute less) grew by four per cent in the second half of the year, reaching a record $1.9 trillion in 2022.

The green goods that performed especially well in 2022 included electric and hybrid vehicles, non-plastic packaging and wind turbines, it added.

"This is good news for the planet, as these goods are key to protecting the environment and fighting climate change," remarked UNCTAD economist Alessandro Nicita, one of the report’s authors.

The findings come days after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its flagship report that greenhouse gas emissions needed to go down now, and be cut by almost half by 2030, if the goal of keeping temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is to be achieved.

Overall, global trade was worth a record $32 trillion in 2022, but deteriorating economic conditions contributed to a downward trend in the second half of the year, he added.

According to UNCTAD, the outlook for trade remains “uncertain”; the UN body cited geopolitical tensions, high commodity prices and record levels of public debt combined with high interest rates, as reasons for concern. UNCTAD’s forecast says global trade is set to stagnate in the first half of 2023.

In the second half of the year, however, “positive factors” including a weaker US dollar - the main currency used in trade - stabilized shipping costs and fewer supply chain disruptions, could give trade a boost.

Despite global economic uncertainties, UNCTAD said that growth in green goods is here to stay, fueled by momentum on climate action. UNCTAD’s latest Technology and Innovation Report released last week characterized this moment as the “beginning of a green technological revolution”.

The report predicted that the market for electric cars, solar and wind energy, green hydrogen and other more environmentally friendly technologies would quadruple in value by 2030 to reach $2.1 trillion.

UNCTAD believes that international trade patterns will more and more closely reflect the green economic transition that’s underway.

UNCTAD also warned that developed countries were seizing most of the economic opportunities related to green technologies, while developing countries were falling behind.

“Missing this green technological wave because of insufficient policy attention or a lack of investment targeted at building skills and capacities would have long-lasting negative consequences,” the UN body’s Technology and Innovation report maintained.

Among its recommendations, the UNCTAD report urged the international community to support emerging green industries in developing economies through global trade rules and technology transfers – so that developing countries could “catch up economically, while helping to protect the planet.

Company Name : Prime Holding
ISIN Code : EGS691A1C011
Reuters Code : PRMH.CA
Content :
Release from the company concerning the financial results for the fiscal period ending 31/12/2022.

Release from the Company in Arabic (1,415 KB)
Release from the Company in English (1,175 KB)

Times of Oman-



The data showed an increase in the prices of the main commodity groups in February 2023

Muscat: The inflation rate of consumer prices in the Sultanate of Oman during February 2023 was 1.93 per cent, according to the data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The data showed an increase in the prices of the main commodity groups in February 2023 compared to the same month of 2022, such as the food and non-alcoholic beverages group by 5.08 per cent, the furniture, fixtures, household equipment and routine home maintenance group by 3.83 per cent, the restaurants and hotels group by 3.79 per cent, and the culture and entertainment group. by 2.08 per cent and the miscellaneous goods and services group by 1.61 per cent.

The NCSI data further said that the health group increased by 1.23 per cent, the clothing and footwear group by 1.02 per cent, the transportation group by 0.77 per cent, the education group by 0.05 per cent, and the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group by 0.03 per cent. While the communication group showed a decrease of 0.15 per cent the tobacco group showed a decrease of 0.02 per cent.

According to the data of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group, the oil and fats price index increased by 19.57 per cent, the prices of fish and seafood increased by 12 per cent, the prices of milk, cheese and eggs increased by 10.11 per cent, the prices of non-alcoholic beverages increased by 5.23 per cent, the prices of bread and cereals increased by 5.04 per cent, and the index increased. The prices of meat increased by 4.29 per cent, the prices of other foodstuffs by 4.25 per cent, the prices of sugar, jam, honey and sweets by 3.22 per cent, and the prices of fruits by 2.74 per cent, while the vegetable group showed a decrease of 4.95 per cent.

As for the governorates, the Governorate of Al Buraimi witnessed the highest rate of inflation at 2.93 per cent, followed by the Governorate of Al Dhahirah at 2.21 per cent, then the Governorate of Muscat at 2.12 per cent, then the Governorate of Al Dakhiliyah at 2.04 per cent, followed by the Governorate of Dhofar at 2.03 per cent. Eastern Province has the lowest inflation rate, at 1.65 and 1.37 per cent, respectively.

Company Name : Prime Holding
ISIN Code : EGS691A1C011
Reuters Code : PRMH.CA
Content :
Decisions of the Board of Directors' meeting held on 22/03/2023 and the company's financial indicators for the year ending 31/12/2022.

The BoD Decisions (1,289 KB)
The Corporate Governance Report (3,676 KB)
The BoD & the ESG Report (4,112 KB)

"Our impression is that they will lead to an additional tightening of credit standards in the euro area," the European Central Bank's vice president Luis de Guindos said

FRANKFURT - The "impression" of the European Central Bank is that recent turmoil in the banking sector may result in lower growth and inflation rates, the European Central Bank's vice president Luis de Guindos said.

"Our impression is that they will lead to an additional tightening of credit standards in the euro area. And perhaps this will feed through to the economy in terms of lower growth and lower inflation," he told Business Post in an interview posted on the ECB's website.