Egypt: resilient tourists wanted
Just under a year ago, Vladimir Putin quipped about the resilience of his people noting that Russian tourists continued to head for Egypt even as revolutionary turmoil gripped the country and other foreign nationals fled.
Putin understands how to talk his people up. However, do the numbers bear him out? And how is Egyptian tourism faring? Continue reading »
Egypt: downgraded
Standard & Poor’s decision on Tuesday to cut Egypt’s credit ratings a notch has come as no surprise to analysts observing the country’s opaque and turbulent political transition.
S&P cut Egypt’s foreign-currency rating to BB-minus from BB. The local-currency rating was cut by two notches, to BB-minus from BB-plus. All the ratings have a negative outlook. Continue reading »
Egypt: still suffering
The political turmoil in Egypt since the start of the year has taken a heavy toll on company earnings as first half results reveal. Compared to the mayhem, loss of life and physical destruction in Libya and Syria, Egyptians consider that they have suffered considerably less in their revolutionary transformation. While 850 people were killed and many others were injured, the state has survived and economic assets have emerged intact.
Even so tourism, investment and consumer confidence have been hit badly. That is largely the story being told, and in particular by one company’s H1 figures: Orascom Development. Continue reading »
A simple idea to help save Egypt
A group of Egyptian expatriates who met online are behind a new initiative to support the economy of their home country, damaged by the political turmoil following the revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak, the former president.
The idea behind the T6T scheme is simple according to Ahmed al-Daly, a software developer in Canada and one of the people who devised it. Continue reading »
Egyptian construction: short of orders
Under Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s construction companies did well from a stream of public sector contracts.
With the former president under investigation and his regime in tatters, one of the country’s most dynamic industries is in the doldrums, its future blighted by the political and economic instability. Continue reading »
Egypt turns to IMF to close funding gap
Egypt has turned to the International Monetary Fund to help see it through a gap in financing that has loomed larger and larger since the revolution that toppled the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak.
But Samir Radwan, finance minister (pictured), said the hoped-for $10bn-$12bn package from the IMF and other lenders would provide only temporary relief. “I need support for six months to a year, but after that I need investment,” he commented after the IMF said on Thursday it would send a team to Cairo soon to examine the request. Continue reading »
Egypt: retail after Mubarak
The heady excitement on Cairo’s streets which followed the ouster last month of Hosni Mubarak, the former president, has been replaced by gloom, at least if you are an Egyptian shopkeeper having to cope with a dramatic drop in business.
As tourists fled and local and foreign investors took fright at the political uncertainty which followed the fall of the Mubarak regime, the economy has taken a hit. Continue reading »
Egypt: suspended trading hits brokers
After more than five weeks, it’s still unclear when Egypt’s stock exchange (pictured) will reopen. Trading was suspended on January 27, two days after the start of the protests which brought down the regime of Hosni Mubarak. Several reopening dates were set by officials, then missed.
The main reason, analysts speculate, is that the government expects the market to plummet as soon as it reopens. In the meantime, there’s frustration. Continue reading »
Patience runs out in Egypt market
The latest delay to the reopening of Cairo’s stock exchange has tipped the impatience that some market players were feeling with the authorities into downright anger.
“They are just looking for excuses,” said one broker from a major firm. “They have no real reason for this. They are just afraid to take a hit. It is like someone who faces an exam, but he is not prepared and his book has been burnt, so he is avoiding it because he doesn’t want to fail.” Continue reading »
Tunisian markets: riot-free?
Tunisia has for so long been presented as an oasis of stability in a turbulent region that some might find it hard to imagine there is enough pent up anger in its small population of ten million people to fuel weeks of rioting over unemployment which began mid-December.
One need only compare Tunisia with its neighbours to understand the country’s claim to stability; to the east is unpredictable Libya under its mercurial leader Muammar Gaddafi; to the west, Algeria with its opaque regime and recent past of deadly civil strife.
But with the recent protests, should investors be concerned now that growing instability will spread to the markets? Continue reading »
Egypt’s elections: a missed opportunity
Egypt has just held another of its noisy elections. There are widespread allegations of fraud, violence and intimidation in favour of the ruling National Democratic Party. The Muslim Brotherhood, the banned group considered the largest opposition force in the country, has pulled out from the run-offs after independents it backed failed to win a single seat in the first round.
Is this a prelude to instability that could scare business? Probably not. Yet it is a reminder that Egypt lacks inclusive politics, at a time when there’s uncertainty over who will succeed the 82-year-old president, Hosni Mubarak – the biggest issue raising concerns about the country as an investment destination. Continue reading »
Egypt eyes the century bond club
Mexico successfully launched a century bond last month, proving in the year of its 200th anniversary that investors are confident the country will still be there in another hundred. Egypt, with 7,000 years of history behind it, and public finances whose management is much improved, has good reason to think it can match the feat.
Youssef Boutros Ghali, the finance minister, said this week that Egypt did not need the extra money, but that he was considering offers from international investment banks to help issue $500m of 100-year notes. Continue reading »
Algeria tightens grip on Orascom, sending shares tumbling
Algeria seems determined to prolong the agony of Egyptian mobile group Orascom Telecom. The authorities have already imposed tax bills on Orascom’s highly-profitable Algerian unit, Djezzy, while making clear they intend to nationalise it.
Now the government has hardened its position even further, saying it will not buy Djezzy until the company has paid all fines and liabilities imposed by the state. That may jeopardise the deal between Orascom’s owner Naquib Sawiris (pictured) and Russian group Vimpelcom, which is set to create the world’s fifth largest telecoms group by customers. Unsurprisingly, Orascom’s stocks are tumbling. Continue reading »
Egypt ambivalent over cotton surge
2009 saw Egypt’s smallest cotton crop on record, as the global downturn decimated demand for luxury fabrics and many farmers turned to rice and wheat instead. But, one month into the cotton export season, 2010 is proving a whole lot better.
With global cotton prices touching all-time highs, the association of Egyptian cotton exporters, Alcotexa, said this week that it has contracts to sell 73,000 tonnes of cotton worth $254m. That compares to only 8,000 tonnes worth $17m at the same point last year. But some exporters are frustrated that the government hasn’t helped them increase trade even more. Continue reading »
Egypt’s politics don’t faze Electrolux
Egypt offers investors low costs and a growing consumer market, but the attractions are tinged by concerns over political instability. So it’s a modest victory for the country’s government that the world’s second-largest white goods manufacturer has decided the opportunities outweigh the risks. Sweden’s Electrolux is paying up to $480m for a leading Egyptian white goods manufacturer, Olympic Group. Continue reading »
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