- In a meeting with Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mahmoud Mohieldin and newly-appoint acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Hassan Abdallah, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said that the main priorities of the government currently are to guarantee the stability of the economy and reduce the negative impact of the global economic crisis.
- Madbouly asserted that the government is working to strengthen efforts to implement the necessary economic and structural reforms.
- Six Egyptian companies have been included in the?Qualified Industrial Zones?(QIZ) agreement with the U.S., a step that shall enable the North African country to?unlock $5 billion in exports.
- This brings the total number of companies under the agreement to 1,146 as of August 1st, 2022, a statement by the Egyptian ministry of trade and industry read.
- Egypt is planning to maximize the potential of the QIZ agreement with the U.S. to boost its exports.
- Kenya is facing the risk of another fuel crisis that could paralyze transport services and inflict more pain on households and businesses weighed down by a high cost of living.
- The latest fears come amid the government’s failure to compensate oil marketing companies for three consecutive cycles under the state-funded fuel subsidy programme.
- President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi issued a presidential decree on Thursday appointing the Chairman of the Board of Members of the United Media Services Group (UMS) Hassan Abdallah as the acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
- In a meeting with Abdallah, President El-Sisi stressed the need to develop monetary policies to keep pace with global economic changes, according to a presidential statement.
- El-Sisi also directed diversifying the sources of foreign currency, highlighting the need to work on providing an appropriate climate for investment.
- On 9 August 2022, Kenya went to the polls and incumbent Deputy President William Ruto emerged victorious against long-serving opposition leader, 77-year-old Raila Odinga.
- The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept the current key interest rates unchanged in its meeting on Thursday.
- Accordingly, the CBE’s overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation remain unchanged at 11.25 percent, 12.25 percent, and 11.75 percent, respectively.
- The discount rate was also kept unchanged at 11.75 percent.
- The Egyptian Ministry of Finance has supported special funds and accounts across the governorates with a sum of EGP 506.5 million in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2022/2023, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait stated in a statement on August 18th.
- The support has helped in disbursing monthly salaries for employees as of July.
- The ministry aims at ensuring job security and social stability for employees working for special funds and accounts amid the current global economic challenges.
- The major oil exporting countries in the Middle East are expected to receive an additional $1.3 trillion from oil by 2026, thanks to high oil prices and the global oil market turmoil after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- The Gulf states in particular are set for “additional cumulative oil revenues of $1.3tn through 2026,” Jihad Azour, IMF director for the Middle East and North Africa, told the?Financial Times?this week.
