The Most Highlighted News
The Egyptian government announced 11 BN USD sovereign wealth fund SWF, a financial mechanism that allows countries to make investment returns by locking in an amount of money within a long-term fund will be used to finance the state budget deficit, which stood at around 9.8% in 2017/2018. Egypt plan is to establish a 200 BN EGP (11 BN USD) fund. 
  • The money is raised from state assets such as cash, properties and other financial resources.
  • Egypt is targeting a deficit of 8.4% for the current fiscal year 2018/2019.
  • Egypt announced plans to sell stakes in 23 state companies to raise 80 BN EGP through minority share offerings on the Cairo stock market.
  • The companies will include Banque Du Caire, one of the country largest banks, and two major oil companies; Middle East Oil Refining (MIDOR) and Engineering for Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI).
The Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr , met in Washington with Ferid Belhaj , the World Bank vice president for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to discuss supporting investments in education, healthcare, and social security.
  • The two parties discussed pumping 1 BN USD to support the developmental projects in Sinai.
  • Ferid approved financing education reforms with 500 MM USD, and healthcare with 530 MM USD, while the total portfolio of Egypt now stands at 8 BN USD.
The Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy has completed preparations for the opening of the latest and largest wind farm power plant in Jabal al-Zeit at a cost of 12 BN EGP .
  • The plant is located along the Western side of the coastal road of Hurghada, in District 3 of Jabal el-Zeit, and is claimed to be the largest and most sophisticated farm to generate electricity from wind power worldwide with a total capacity of 580 megawatts and with a production rate of 2 megawatts per turbine.
  • The 100-square-kilometer farm includes 290 wind turbines from the latest worldwide. The first project includes 120 turbines, the second includes 110 turbines, while the third includes 60 turbines.
  • The plant contains a system of monitoring migrating birds through the radar to stop turbines when they pass and re-operate after they leave, a system used for the first ever time in the world. 
UK-based Lightsource Biritish Petroleum (BP ), Europe biggest solar energy development company, is entering a joint venture with construction and Egyptian engineering group Hassan Allam Holding to develop, operate and fund utility scale solar projects in Egypt. It is worthy to mention that Egypt aims to meet 20% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2022.
Egypt is ranked first among African cities in terms of attractiveness to investment , as it is ranked 64 th globally surpassing South Africa Johannesburg and Morocco Tangier.
  • Cairo and Johannesburg remain the most vital gates for businesses to expand in African markets.
  • Meanwhile, Alexandria ranked 2nd among Egyptian cities and 23rd among African cities, with Sharm El-Sheikh ranking 3rd locally and 38th on the continental level, while Port Said was 4th in Egypt and 39th in Africa.
The Egyptian mobile market lost 1.45 million subscribers in April 2018 to reach 97.6 million compared to 99.1 million in March 2018. The three major mobile operators: Vodafone, Orange, and Etisalat have all lost a number of their subscribers.
  • Vodafone was the company with the biggest loss in its customer base, with 968,500 customers leaving the company in April, dropping its subscribers from 43.2 million in March to 42.2 million in April, a decline of 2.2%.
  • Orange came in second place in terms of customers lost, going down from 32.6 million in March to 32.1 million in April, so the company lost 578,500 customers, equivalent to 1.7%.
  • Etisalat customer base decreased from 20.6 million in March to 20.3 million in April, losing 297,600 customers, equivalent to 1.4%, to be the mobile operator that lost the least number of customers.
The payment of monthly salaries in the private sector declined by 2.5% to 44.34 BN SAR per month in Q1-2018 compared to 45.46 BN SAR in Q1-2017. This happened as a result of a decrease of about 604,000 in the number of Saudi and foreign workers , which dropped to 9.71 million in 2018 from 10.31 million in 2017.
  • The average salary of foreign employees in the private sector rose by 5.2% during 2018. The average monthly wage of foreign workers was 3,899 SAR in Q1-2018 compared to 3,707 SAR in Q1-2017.
  • On the other hand, the average salary of Saudi employees in the private sector decreased by 5.3% to reach 7,197 SAR in Q1-2018 compared to 7,603 SAR in Q1-2017.
  • Regarding the Saudi construction sector, it has been the worst hit due to the migration of expat workers during Q1-2018. Between Q4-2017 and Q1-2018, about 221,000 foreign workers left the labor market. All sectors saw a drop in the number of foreign workers, with construction losing the biggest number, at about 126,000 foreigners, with 18,000 Saudis leaving the sector in Q1-2018. 
The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has launched an electronic service to provide temporary work during this Hajj season via the Ajeer portal , which is for companies offering Hajj services and those who wish to work during the Hajj season, as well as documenting the contractual relationship between them. The move aim is to provide an electronic market that shows the supply and demand for jobs during the Hajj season as the portal brings together owners of companies and individuals seeking temporary jobs.
Personal wealth in Saudi Arabia is projected to accelerate at a Compound Annual Growth Rate ( CAGR ) of 5% and expected to reach 1.1 TR USD in investible assets by 2022. Between 2016 and 2017:
  • Personal wealth in Saudi Arabia has grown at 3%.
  • Private wealth was driven primarily by the positive development of offshore assets.

According to the Local Online Services Index ( LOSI ), Riyadh came in the 30 th place in the United Nations e-Government Survey on the assessment of municipal portals in 40 cities , which studied 7 cities in Africa, 6 in the Americas, 13 in Asia, 12 in Europe, and 2 in Oceania, with the top three leaders among them being Moscow, Cape Town and Tallinn.
The Federal Tax Authority ( FTA ) has issued guidelines about application of 5% on the sale and purchase of used product such as cars and furniture and also the application of VAT on loans and other processing charges for banking services.
  • The consumers will have to pay VAT on the purchase of full price if the product was first bought before January 1, 2018.
  • But if the product was bought this year, then the seller can claim VAT only on the profit margin and not on the entire value of the pre-owned product.
UAE and China have witnessed signing 13 agreements and Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen strategic partnerships and bilateral cooperation across various sectors.
  • T hey will enhance cooperation in the nuclear technology, boosting regional and international cooperation mechanisms on the nuclear non-proliferation area, related export control arrangements, and to participate in efforts to combat smuggling of nuclear materials.
UAE is ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa ( MENA ) region in terms of innovation, which was reflected in its value-added tax ( VAT ) legislation.
  • UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) set up an e-Services portal on its website, which assisted businesses to register for VAT in three easy steps.
  • UAE will soon make use of game-changing technologies like block chain, artificial intelligence, data analytics, Internet of Things, and robotics to lead the VAT innovation landscape.
Dubai FDI , the investment development agency of Dubai Economy Department ( DED ), has revealed its ‘ Aftercare’ initiative , a quality-focused program aimed at attracting more foreign direct investments ( FDI ) into the emirate.
  • The initiative aim is to create stronger and improved engagement with investors, while also creating a better understanding of their current and future needs and helping ease the investment process.
  • Dubai FDI stated that 20% of FDI investments on local projects are from re-investments, which reflects investors trust in the emirate as an ideal business environment to multiply growth.
Almost all key areas in Sharjah and Ajman recorded y-o-y declines in average sales and rents across apartments and villas in H1-2018.
  • This is a result of more stock entering the Sharjah market, making it more competitive.
  • The dip in rents could also be attributed to more affordable stock coming to the market in Dubai, making renters migrate from neighboring emirates.
  • Landlords are also seen increasingly open to negotiate with renters and drop rents rather than keep units empty.
Consumer inflation in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE increased to 3.6% compared to H1-2017 driven by the increase in the Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) to 111.9%, up from 108% in H1-2017. On the other hand, a comparison of monthly price data reveals an increase of 3.3% in consumer prices in June 2018 compared to June 2017. 
The government of Qatar is raising a multi-billion-dollar loan for the purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets worth 4 BN USD, will be backed by export credit agencies.
  • Qatar entered into a 5 BN QAR (6.62 BN USD) contract with British defense group BAE systems, Europe biggest defense contractor, for the purchase of 24 Typhoon combat aircraft.

Qatar Insurance reported a 24% y-o-y decline in its net profits during H1-2018. The firm logged a net profit of 384 MM QAR in H1-2018, compared to 505 MM QAR in H1-2017. Written premiums rose 5% to 6.6 BN QAR in H1-2018, compared to 6.2 BN QAR in H1-2017. Net returns of the company subscriptions jumped 26% , reaching 330 MM QAR in H1-2018, compared to 263 MM QAR in H1-2017.
Ahli Bank reported a 2.9% y-o-y increase in its net profit in Q2-2018 amounting to 177.15 MM QAR (48.9 MM USD) compared to 172.19 MM QAR (47.5 MM USD) in Q2-2017. In H1-2018, Ahli Bank profits grew 3.2% to 353.24 MM QAR (97.58 MM USD) compared to 342.21 MM QAR (94.53 MM USD) in H1-2017. In H1-2018:
  • Earnings per share (EPS) amounted to 1.68 QAR compared to 1.63 QAR in H1-2017.
  • The bank loans and advances went up 5.1% y-o-y to 28.26 BN QAR.
  • Total customer deposits increased 2.1% y-o-y to 22.56 BN QAR.
  • It is worth noting that the bank profits leveled up 3.6% to 176.09 MM QAR in Q1-2018 compared to 170.02 MM QAR in Q1-2017.

Qatar central bank sold 800 MM QAR (220 MM USD) of Treasury bills in its monthly auction, with yields dropping from the previous sale.
  • It sold 400 MM QAR of three-month bills at 2.26%, 200 MM QAR of six-month at 2.56% and 200 MM QAR of nine-month at 2.79%.
  • In early June 2018, it had sold 700 MM QAR of three-month bills at 2.38%, 300 MM QAR of six-month at 2.63% and 200 MM QAR of nine-month at 2.83%.
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