CAIRO – 12 March 2024: The Ministry of Health and Population indicated Tuesday in a press statement that 30 hospitals had been constructed and developed in 2023 and that the target for 2024 was 20 dispersed among 11 governorates. The budget allocated is LE10.9 billion as 2,747 beds will be added, including 459 in ICUs, 527 dialysis devices, 441 incubators, and 96 operation theaters. The new hospitals being introduced are Ain Al Sokhna Emergency Hospital, Kom Ombo Hospital and Al Sebaeya Hospital in Aswan; Al Dakhla Hospital in the New Valley; Tanta General Hospital and Central Santa Hospital in Gharbia; Central Badr Hospital in Beheira; Obour Hospital in Qalyoubiyah; Saqetla Central Hospital and General Girga Hospital in Sohag; Deshna Hospital, Abou Tesht Hospital and New Qena Hospital in Qena; Central Bani Mazar Hospital in Menya; Tor Specialized Hospital and Central Nueiba Hospital in South Sinai; and, East Qantara Hospital and Al Tal El Kebir Hospital in Ismailiyah. As for the establishments being developed, they are Al Adwa Central Hospital in Menya, and Manfalout Central Hospital and Central Dayrout Hospital in Asyut.

The Egyptian state spared no effort to stop the war on the people of Gaza from the first moment, and continued to provide humanitarian aid in various ways. After the Zionist occupation army obstructed the entry of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing, Egypt began air dropping the aid on Gaza in order to reach them faster and better. Egypt also received the wounded and injured, and provided them with treatment in addition to urgently performing required surgical operations to them. Hilal added in a special statement to Youm7 that the Egyptian state spared no effort to help our Palestinian brothers in various ways. He pointed out that there are ongoing attempts to reach a humanitarian truce in Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan, and to stop the brutal war against the people of Palestine.

The overnight lending rate at the CBE reached 28.25%, imposing significant burdens on borrowing companies with high debt levels. The higher the interest rates, the greater the impact, especially for those with debts in foreign currency. She advised the borrowing companies to work on providing liquidity, which may take some time, to try to overcome the negative impact of the interest rate hike. Qalaa Holdings, one of the largest borrowers on the Egyptian Exchange, faces a significant impact from the rise in interest rates. He expected that interest rates would drop gradually in the medium term.

The annual core inflation rate reached 35.1% in February 2024, compared to 29% in January 2024. The monthly inflation rate for the whole country surged to 11% in February 2024, compared to 1.7% in January 2024. CAPMAS said that the general Consumer Price Index for the whole country was 219.4 points in February 2024, indicating an annual inflation rate of 36%, compared to 31.2% in January 2024. The committee said in its statement that it was necessary to speed up the monetary tightening process to reduce inflation and ensure a decline in monthly inflation rates, stressing the importance of controlling inflation expectations. External factors arising from global inflationary pressures have continued to build up along with successive shocks to the global economy.

CAIRO – 11 March 2024: Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church begins Great Lent, Monday, March 11, for a period of 55 days. The Church placed Great Lent among the first-class fasts during which it is forbidden to eat seafood, and only vegetarian foods are limited. Holy Week concludes with the Holy Saturday and finally celebrating Easter on Monday. Dar Al-Iftaa sighted the Ramadan crescent moon, which means that, Sunday, is the last day of Shaaban month, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and UAE, also announced Monday the starting date of the holy month.

They explored the solar power plants funded by the European Union in Sharm El-Sheikh. These solar power stations were implemented in collaboration with the Industrial Modernization Center, a key partner of the UNDP Egypt “Egypt PV” project. The project also supported the installation of a 1 MW solar power station on the rooftop of the Sharm Convention Center before COP27. The Autoclave has a capacity of 400 liters and can treat the medical waste generated by the city of Sharm El-Sheikh. This significant achievement is credited to the “Green Sharm” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP.

Monday 11 March 2024 12:08 PMRetal Developments has announced the full acquisition of Center Point Development, which owns the Harmony business complex in the New Administrative Capital (NAC). Saeed Hassan, the chairperson of Retal Developments, said: “This acquisition is part of our expansion plan to increase and diversify our business. Center Point is one of the active players in the Egyptian real estate market, which boosts the presence of Retal Developments in this promising sector.”Hassan added that Retal Developments has a land bank in the Egyptian real estate market worth more than EGP 3bn, with various residential and tourism projects, such as Retal View Resort in Ain Sokhna and Retal View Resort in North Coast. He stated: “Harmony Business Complex is a commercial administrative project that we are currently offering for sale. We will soon hold a press conference to announce our plans and vision for the Harmony Mall.”The Harmony Business Complex is located in the Downtown area of the NAC on a land area of 2,704 sqm.

CAIRO – 10 March 2024: Egyptian First Lady Enissar El Sisi extended her Ramadan Greetings. Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam announced that Monday, 11 March 2024, is the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan of the Hijri year 1445. Dar Al-Iftaa sighted the Ramadan crescent moon, which means that Today, on Sunday, is the last day of Shaaban month, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and UAE, also announced Monday the starting date of the holy month. It's noteworthy that Ramadan typically begins approximately 10 to 14 days earlier each Gregorian calendar year compared to the previous year.

Mohamed Maait, the Minister of Finance, welcomed Moody’s global credit rating agency’s decision to upgrade its outlook on the future of the Egyptian economy from negative to positive. He said that this paves the way for enhancing Egypt’s credit rating shortly from this institution, which is one of the most influential globally in this field. Moody’s also expects that transferring part of the UAE deposits in Egypt to foreign direct investment, amounting to $11bn will improve the situation of the banking sector in Egypt. In the meantime, the foreign currency shortage will ease and improve due to the anticipated inflows of foreign currency in the Egyptian economy, whether through remittances, direct investments, or indirect investments in financial portfolios. Moody’s also observed that negative risks have significantly diminished, as large investments in the Ras El Hekma project will bolster Egypt’s foreign exchange reserves to cover the external financing gap until the fiscal year ending in June 2026.

Some banks reacted quickly to CBE’s decision by increasing the interest rates on variable-return certificates and some loan products linked to CBE’s basic interest rates, which automatically adjust after any CBE decision. The banks also revised the interest rates on some of their existing certificates with fixed or variable returns. NBE also increased the interest rate on the “Ahli Daily” current account to 20% as the maximum return. Banque Misr also increased the interest rate on the current account for pensioners with a monthly return of 6% to reach 22%. The minimum amount to buy this certificate is EGP 3,000 and the interest rate is 24.25%.

They said that the total investment for the expected project, which is a mixed-use development, is about $5bn. The winning consortium will invest in the project by joining the capital of Nilus Housing and Hotel Services. The official newspaper reported that Nilus Housing and Hotel Services have obtained the golden license to establish, operate, and manage the project, including building permits. The companies are obliged to execute the project according to the set timeline. Established in the United Arab Emirates in 1989, ASGC Group provides comprehensive general contracting solutions for key sectors, such as residential, commercial, healthcare, industrial, hospitality, entertainment, infrastructure, oil, and gas, according to its website.

Sunday 10 March 2024 12:30 PMMinister of Finance Mohamed Maait stated that the Central Bank’s recent measures, such as raising interest rates and liberalizing the exchange rate, are necessary steps to correct Egypt’s economic path. He said that fiscal and monetary policies are fully coordinated to control and reduce inflation rates to the target levels. The Finance Minister explained that the recent exchange rate adjustment is a shift to a flexible exchange rate system that depends on the supply and demand of foreign currency. He confirmed that the Ministry of Finance aims to reduce public debt to 90% of GDP by 2025. Maait emphasized that the state gives priority to investment in the industrial, agricultural, and telecommunications sectors, as well as increasing exports.

Each year, Ramadan gives us the opportunity to reflect and get closer to God. However, in order to prepare for it, we must change some of our daily habits to ensure staying healthy and to avoid disruptions during Ramadan, we have the guide you need. Try to limit your caffeine intake before Ramadan starts. Drink more waterBelieve us, you don't want to start Ramadan feeling dehydrated all the time. Get enough sleepAlthough we usually feel tired due to the lack of caffeine and food during Ramadan, adjusting your sleep patterns before it starts will help you avoid feeling too exhausted while you are fasting.

The limits for Visa Gold and MasterCard Titanium cards were increased to become the equivalent of LE 3,500 for cash withdrawals instead of LE 2,000, and LE 37,500 instead of LE 15,000 for purchases. The limits for Visa Platinum, MasterCard Platinum, MasterCard UEFA Champions League cards were also raised to LE100,000 on international purchases and LE 7,500 on cash withdrawals. Banque Misr adjusted the international spending limits on both the Golden and Islamic Gold cards to be LE10,000 for purchases instead of LE6,000 and LE3,000 for cash withdrawals. EgyBank updated the limits for purchases and international cash withdrawals to become $200 for purchases and $25 for cash withdrawals for the Classic card. The Titanium card is at $1,500 for purchases and $25 for cash withdrawals, while the Platinum card is $2,000 for purchases, $25 for cash withdrawals, $2,500 for purchases, and $25 for withdrawals for World cards.

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait stated that the Central Bank’s recent measures, such as raising interest rates and liberalizing the exchange rate, are necessary steps to correct Egypt’s economic path. He said that fiscal and monetary policies are fully coordinated to control and reduce inflation rates to the target levels. The Finance Minister explained that the recent exchange rate adjustment is a shift to a flexible exchange rate system that depends on the supply and demand of foreign currency. He confirmed that the Ministry of Finance aims to reduce public debt to 90% of GDP by 2025. The Finance Minister assured that there will be no price hikes during this period.