CAIRO – 10 January 2024: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is heading to the Jordanian city of Aqaba to attend the three-way summit between Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine. The summit, which is set to bring together President Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, will discuss the Israeli escalation in Gaza, the Egyptian Presidential spokesman said in a statement. The summit also aims to boost efforts aiming to achieve a ceasefire in the strip and save the people in Gaza from the ongoing humanitarian tragedy, the spokesman added. During the summit, President Sisi will highlight the ongoing Egyptian efforts to achieve ceasefire and ensure delivery of humanitarian aid. He will also underscore Egypt’s vision to achieve a comprehensive and fair solution to the Palestinian cause.

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) is streamlining the path for fintech startups in Egypt with the issuance of Decision No. This decision outlines clear regulations and procedures for establishing and licensing startups involved in non-banking financial activities, fostering growth in the sector and boosting the national economy. 5 of 2022, which regulates and promotes the use of financial technology in non-banking financial activities. It is also in accordance with the FRA’s Decision No. 58 of 2022, which specifies the conditions and procedures for the establishment, licensing, and approval of companies engaging in non-banking financial activities through financial technology.

Egypt - Beltone Investment Management, a subsidiary of Beltone Financial Holding, has received initial approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to establish a gold investment fund, sources told Daily News Egypt. They added that the fund will be traded on the Egyptian Exchange after its establishment and that Beltone aims to diversify its managed assets and launch various funds to attract more investors shortly. Mohamed Farid, the head of the FRA, said that the regulation issued by the authority mainly aims to support the state’s efforts to enhance financial and investment inclusion by diversifying investment options for all citizens. He pointed out that the regulation also aims to protect the rights of all participants by regulating the operations of the investment fund in metals and the relationship between the fund and the document holders. He stressed that investment funds in metals, especially gold, offer investment and saving opportunities that suit the needs of different segments of society and help them hedge against price fluctuations by participating in organized and secure investments.

Egypt’s plastic products accounted for 27% of the total exports of the chemical and fertilizers sector, with a value of $1.75bn, the Chemical and Fertilizers Export Council (CEC) revealed. The CEC announced the opening of the PLASTEX 2024 and the Egypt Plast 2024 exhibitions, under the patronage of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir, on Tuesday at the Egypt Expo and Convention Authority. The exhibitions, which will run until 12 January, will cover 30,000 sqm in three halls, showcasing intermediate and final products of plastics, petrochemical raw materials, and equipment. The CEC said that 118 companies are participating in the Egypt Plast exhibition, and 242 companies in the PLASTEX exhibition, along with 12 countries, including China, Turkey, Taiwan, India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Morocco, and Italy. The CEC added that, following the Ministry’s directives to promote the culture of participation in specialized exhibitions, it supports five small and micro Egyptian companies, and offers 15 training courses for the plastics industry on the sidelines of the exhibitions.

Sources close to the situation told DNE that initial negotiations are underway between the government and OIA to acquire the bank and that a delegation from the agency visited the bank earlier this week. The bank’s shares closed at a high point at the end of last Thursday’s trading, with a price level of EGP 24.98 per share, up by about 6%. The bank plans to achieve a net return from loans and similar income of about EGP 7.09bn this year, compared to EGP 5.42bn in 2023. The bank expects its customer deposits to grow by EGP 10.6bn this year, reaching EGP 102.6bn by the end of 2024, compared to EGP 92.1bn last year. The bank plans to pay EGP 652m of the value of the New Administrative Capital building this year, bringing the total amount paid for the construction of the building to EGP 1.8bn.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the Israeli aggression had killed 23,084 people and wounded 58,926 people since 7 October. The ministry said on Monday that the Israeli occupation forces had committed 17 massacres in the Gaza Strip, killing 249 people and injuring 510 people within 24 hours. The ministry added that hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip had lost their ability to treat the wounded in all departments, including intensive care. The Israeli army said that 19 soldiers had been injured during the past 24 hours in the ongoing battles in the Gaza Strip. This came while violent battles were taking place between the resistance and the occupation forces, especially in the central and southern Gaza Strip.

A senior Hezbollah commander and another member of the Shiite military group were killed on Monday in an Israeli drone attack targeting their car in the southern Lebanese village of Khirbet Selm, Hezbollah said in a statement. Wissam Hassan Tawil, a high-level commander from Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, was killed along with Adham Cherri, in the Israeli attack earlier in the morning, said the military group. Confrontations on the Lebanon-Israel border intensified on Monday, with Israel targeting several Lebanese villages include Marwahin and Aita al-Shaab. At the same time, Hezbollah announced that its fighters struck the Israeli Ya’ara Barracks. The confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have killed 209 on the Lebanese side, including 154 Hezbollah members and 35 civilians, according to Lebanese security sources.

It’s insightful to look back at the past and see the actions that led you to where you are now. Why do we keep on revisiting the past and feel bad for the decisions we made? But to move on and enjoy life, here are things to keep in mind when remembering the past and questioning your decisions. So instead of embracing the change and moving forward, we hold on to the past because it is familiar. Second, we are not ok with the idea of letting go of the past because it is how we feel jealous.

CAIRO – 8 January 2024: Egypt’s General Authority of Meteorology appealed to citizens to be careful of the temperatures during the coming days, as the country is witnessing very cold weather at night and early in the morning. The country is also expected to witness rain of varying intensity during the coming days. The weather forecast map issued by the General Meteorological Authority indicated that light rain is expected on Tuesday, January 9, to fall on areas of the northwestern coasts at intermittent intervals. The Meteorological Authority added that On Wednesday, January 10, and Thursday, January 11, rain of varying intensity is expected to fall on areas of the northern coasts and Lower Egypt, which may extend lightly to areas of Greater Cairo at intermittent intervals.

Royal Developments aims to achieve EGP 2.5bn in sales from its projects in 2024, according to CEO Karim Shaalan. He told Daily News Egypt that the company achieved sales of EGP 2bn in 2023. Shaalan expects a significant increase in demand for real estate and a recovery in the real estate market in 2024. He explained that real estate prices increased by more than 60% in 2023 due to the rise in raw material prices. These sales represent 30% of the total units in the project, with sales of EGP 1.8bn.

The project considers macroeconomic trends, as well as trends at the level of the economic and social sectors that support the renaissance of the Egyptian state. In terms of electricity, it is targeted in 2024-2030 to implement electrical interconnection projects between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, so that Egypt will become an active player in establishing a joint Arab market for electricity, in addition to electrical interconnection projects with Sudan and electrical interconnection projects with Italy and Greece. While regarding tourism agenda in (2024-2030), it is targeted to increase tourism revenue growth rates by no less than 20 percent annually to achieve a targeted revenue of $45 billion by 2030. The third strategic direction, among the most prominent strategic directions of the Egyptian economy, deals with the implementation of strategies, plans and programs that support the performance of the economic sectors leading the renaissance of the Egyptian state. The document's sixth strategic direction addresses Egypt's pioneering role in the global economy by activating and maximizing the economic role of the Suez Canal, enhancing Egypt's role in transit trade, and continuing to conclude effective international strategic partnerships.

The urban development and real estate investment sector in Egypt is one of the important sectors that contributed to the economic growth in Egypt in the past nine years, at a rate of more than 60%, according to Mohamed Rashid, a member of the Real Estate Development Chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries. These projects have created an urban and economic development shift, which has resulted in significant economic growth rates. Rashid noted that the government has taken measures to attract foreign investment in the urban development and real estate investment sectors, such as offering tax incentives and facilities to foreign investors. Rashid explained that the government has plans to further develop the urban development sector in Egypt. Rashid concluded: “These plans will aim to improve the investment environment, enhance economic growth in the urban development sector, and increase foreign investments in the sector, as Egypt has several factors that make it an attractive destination for foreign investments in the urban development and investment sector.”

Key player: Mohamed Salah. There will again be expectation on Salah’s shoulders as Egypt look to him to return them to winning ways, particularly after the disappointment of losing on penalties to Senegal in the last final in Cameroon. The Liverpool forward has won two African Footballer of the Year awards and become a global icon after a career which has also included spells at Basel, Chelsea, Fiorentina and AS Roma. Salah, Liverpool's leading Premier League goalscorer, made his international debut in 2011 and has since won 93 caps for his country, with the possibility to reach 100 if Egypt do well in the Ivory Coast. FIFA world ranking Dec 2023: 33How they qualified: Top placed team in Group D, ahead of Guinea, Malawi and Ethiopia.

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) is planning to launch a new company that will specialize in trading financial derivatives, such as futures and options contracts. EGX is also reaching out to brokerage firms to apply for a licence from the Authority to conduct derivatives trading activities. Financial derivatives are financial contracts that derive their value from underlying assets, such as stocks, currencies, precious metals, or commodities. The first phase of launching the derivatives trading will include offering futures contracts on the main and seventy indices, followed by highly liquid stocks. Al-Sheikh stated that the market is waiting for the licensing of brokerage firms as trading members and banks as settlement members, after which the derivatives trading will commence.

The Ministry of State for Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates’ Affairs issued a warning on Sunday to all Egyptian students studying in Sudan to stay away from the areas affected by the ongoing military conflict. The ministry stated that it had noticed that many Egyptian students who had been evacuated from Sudan after the outbreak of the war had gone back to Sudan to complete their academic papers, and some had even resumed their studies at their universities. The ministry added that it had received several requests from residents to help their relatives return safely, as the fighting had escalated in the regions where the universities were situated. “Therefore, the Ministry of Emigration urges all students studying in Sudan not to return to these areas and to protect their lives.”