On Monday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will offer a treasury bill tender, worth $800m, for 364 days, due on 5 January 2021.The proceeds of this tender are directed to pay off a previous tender entitlement, which was offered on 8 January 2019, at a value of $845.1m.
Orange is considering London Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris as potential venues for the share sale, which could take place as soon as the first half of this year.Orange stated that it will put all its Middle East and Africa activities into a separate entity to provide ‘various options for growth.’ An IPO is one potential scenario and the ultimate decision will depend on factors including which option will best accelerate the company’s growth, said Orange.
Saudi Aramco shares opened at their lowest point since the state-run oil company’s market debut on December 11.The world’s most highly valued company fell 1.7% Sunday and as much as 1.2% Monday and has now seen its market value fall by around $200 billion since its peak.
Egypt’s ailing stock market could find a much-needed jolt of liquidity from two state-owned enterprises (Banque du Caire and E-Finance) set to go public in 2020, reported Bloomberg.
Hasnain Malik, Head of Equity Strategy at Tellimer, said, “The long-awaited initial public offering of one of the biggest banks in the country, Banque du Caire, in particular could draw funds from outside the region.”
The west African CFA franc, which is used by eight countries, will be ditched in 2020 and replaced by the eco, which will have far looser ties to France. The central African CFA franc is unchanged, but many expect the six countries using it to implement similar reforms.
The pound euro exchange rate is currently trading around €1.176, little changed from the day’s opening levels, after December’s flash Eurozone core inflation figure hit a 6-month high of 1.3 percent. But with the European Central Bank (ECB) unlikely to pursue monetary tightening this year, the report failed to boost the single currency.
Safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen jumped to their highest in months on Friday after U.S. air strikes on Baghdad airport killed a senior Iranian military official, stoking tensions in the Middle East.
Gold futures jumped after reports of rocket attacks on a US military base in Iraq, hitting fresh six-year highs. Gold for delivery in February touched $1,613.30 an ounce, up $39 an ounce from the settlement price at the end of regular trading on Tuesday History suggests that gains driven by geopolitical tensions alone may be short-lived.
The International Monetary Fund has extended a 280-million-dollar loan to oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, despite protests by rights monitors who cited sweeping misrule and corruption in the central African country.
About $40.4 million of the total will be disbursed immediately and the remainder over a three-year period, the Washington-based lender said.
Lebanon’s former economy minister said that the country needs around $20 billion-$25 billion bailout including International Monetary Fund support to emerge from its financial crisis, reported Reuters.
Economists expect 2020 to register Lebanon's first economic contraction in 20 years, with some saying GDP will contract by two per cent.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that Ethiopia will receive $3 billion from the World Bank to help strengthen reforms in its traditionally state-controlled economy.
Abiy did not give more details on the World Bank funding. He said on his Twitter account that unnamed development partners have pledged more than $3 billion in addition to the World Bank and IMF funding.
Government-backed funds such as the $1bn fund of funds launched by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the Bahrain government's $100m Al Waha Fund of Funds and the $250m earmarked for Mena technology investments by Abu Dhabi strategic investment firm Mubadala, could also begin to make investments
Dubai unveiled a 2020 budget on Sunday projecting record spend of $18.1 billion, up 17 percent on this year, as it seeks to boost its economy.The Gulf city state expects revenues too to rise sharply next year as it hosts Expo 2020, the global six-month trade fair set to open on October 20.
But it still foresees a deficit for the fourth year in a row of $700 million.
Saudi Arabia on Monday announced a 1.02 trillion riyal ($272.00 billion) budget for 2020, a slight fall in spending that reversed three years of expenditure hikes aimed at spurring growth.
Revenues in 2020 are forecast at 833 billion riyals, widening the budget deficit to 187 billion riyals, or 6.4% of gross domestic product (GDP), as compared with a projected deficit of 131 billion riyals in 2019, according to the budget document.
Oman’s government expects to increase spending this year by 2% to 13.2 billion rials ($34.38 billion), but its fiscal deficit will remain high at 8% of gross domestic product (GDP), its state news agency said.
The government expects a deficit of 2.5 billion rials in 2020, slightly lower than the 2.8 billion rials projected in the 2019 budget.Revenues are estimated at 10.7 billion rials, assuming an average oil price of $58 per barrel this year.
Sudan has passed its 2020 budget that includes an overall deficit of about 73 billion Sudanese pounds ($1.62 billion), Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi said.
The budget has expected revenues of 568.3 billion Sudanese pounds ($12.63 billion) and also includes increased spending for healthcare and education.
INFOMINEO RESOURCES
A highlight of some of our resources to expand your knowledge on Africa and the Middle East.
This infographic provides a country profile of Ethiopia, listing its main country indicators, major industries, resources, imports & exports with mention of the country's key trading partners.
Infomineo presents as a final product to the client: the names of the identified banks, the areas for pooling, description of the project coverage, and the data sources.
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