Yousef Saba

Egyptian transport technology start-up Swvl will expand into two cities in Pakistan in the next two weeks and begin operations in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos before the end of the year, its chief executive told Reuters.

Egypt hopes to boost feeble foreign direct investment (FDI) by automating and simplifying customs and tax processes, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday, acknowledging that much still needed to be done.

Egypt intends to issue international bonds worth $3 billion to $7 billion in the 2019-2020 financial year, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday.

Economists and investment banks say Egypt’s economic reforms have been a huge success. Zeinab doesn’t think so.

Egypt’s central bank on Thursday cut the overnight deposit rate by 150 basis points to 14.25%, its first cut since February, after July inflation figures came in significantly below expectations.

Human rights activists on Thursday criticized a United Nations decision to hold a conference in Cairo on torture with an Egyptian state organization.

Egypt’s economic growth is expected to slow to 5.5% in the fiscal year that began this month, below the government’s target, and 5.8% the following year, a Reuters poll showed, as Cairo nears the end of an IMF-backed economic reform program.

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation plunged to 9.4% in June from 14.1% in May, official statistics agency CAPMAS said on Wednesday, a significantly bigger drop than analysts had expected and its lowest since March 2016.

Egypt’s central bank is likely to maintain interest rates at their current level on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed, as analysts foresaw a spike in inflation after a hike in fuel prices last week.

Egyptian football fans reacted with anger and sorrow on Sunday after the host team tumbled out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the second round following a lacklustre run marred by a controversy over alleged sexual harassment.

Egypt’s current account deficit nearly doubled to $3.75 billion in the third quarter of the 2018/19 fiscal year, largely due to a rise in non-oil imports and an oil trade deficit, central bank data showed on Thursday.

A U.S.-proposed $9 billion aid package could tempt Egypt with long-sought financing to transform its strife-torn Sinai peninsula, but analysts say political risks are likely to outweigh any potential financial benefit.

Egyptians voted on Saturday in a three-day referendum on constitutional changes that could allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stay in office until 2030 and boost the role of the powerful military.

Egypt has signed an agreement with Euroclear, Europe’s biggest settlement house for securities, to allow holders of its sovereign debt to clear transactions outside the country beginning in six months’ time, its finance minister said.

Egypt will remove subsidies on most energy products by June 15, it told the International Monetary Fund in a January letter released by the IMF on Saturday as part of a review of Cairo’s three-year, $12 billion loan program with the lender.

Egypt’s current account deficit widened to $2.1 billion in the last three months of 2018 from a deficit of $1.78 billion in the same period a year previously, according to Reuters calculations based on central bank data released on Monday.

Egypt’s central bank is likely to maintain interest rates at its meeting on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, although some analysts predicted a cut ahead of expected fuel price increases this summer.

The Egyptian pound strengthened on Sunday to its highest in over two years, boosted by an increase in foreign funds into the country.

A campaign calling on Egyptians to stop buying new cars to curb price rises has dented sales, but supporters say values must fall further before cash-strapped customers can return to the forecourts.

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation increased to 14.4 percent in February from 12.7 percent in January, the official statistics agency CAPMAS said on Sunday, confounding some analysts’ expectations of an imminent easing cycle.

Egypt’s economy is expected to grow 5.3 percent in the fiscal year that ends in June, according to forecasts economists polled by Reuters, the same view found in a survey three months ago.

Sudanese authorities are blocking access to popular social media platforms used to organize and broadcast nationwide anti-government protests triggered by an economic crisis, internet users say.

Egypt’s central bank is expected to keep key interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Thursday after inflation dropped back to within the bank’s target range in November, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

A proposed change to the way Egypt taxes bank profits could encourage lenders to boost credit to the private sector and push up yields on Treasury debt, raising its appeal among foreign investors, economic analysts say.

Egypt’s prime minister said on Thursday he was working on a government restructuring that envisages a smaller cabinet and fewer civil servants to cut red tape and lure foreign investment.