(MENAFN- Daily News Egypt) The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that banks operating in the Egyptian market achieved net profits of approximately EGP 212 in the first 9 months of 2023 (9M 2023). According to the CBE's report released on Monday, banks' net revenue reached EGP 411 at the end of September 2023, while net activity revenue amounted to EGP 486. These leading banks include the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Commercial International Bank (CIB), Banque du Caire, QNB Al Ahly, Credit Agricole – Egypt, Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, and Housing and Development Bank. The report further reveals that the net revenue of the top ten banks during Q3 2023 reached EGP 315, with net activity revenue at EGP 369 and total expenses at EGP 209. Similarly, the five largest banks reported net revenue of EGP 265 and net activity revenue of EGP 308 at the end of September, while their total expenses amounted to EGP 178.

Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan resumed negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Monday in Cairo, with the ministers of water and irrigation from the three parties present. He noted that filling and operating the dam without an agreement is a violation of the Declaration of Principles signed in 2015. On 13 July, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met in Cairo to discuss the GERD issue and end the deadlock in the talks. The two leaders agreed to start urgent negotiations to finalize the agreement on the filling and operation of the dam. Ethiopia also reiterated its commitment not to harm Egypt’s and Sudan’s shares of water during the filling of the dam.

The current year has seen a remarkable surge in real estate prices in Egypt, especially in new cities. According to real estate developers, consultants, and marketers, prices have risen by more than 100%. The increase has affected not only the purchase prices but also the rental prices of real estate. North Coast leads the marketThe North Coast has been the most sought-after location in the current year, as it is one of the most attractive coastal tourist destinations with promising investment opportunities. Fekry attributed the increase in real estate prices this year to two reasons.

David A. Andelman CNNNext year, countries with more than half the world’s population will hold elections, as The Economist noted. As I’ve seen over the past two years chronicling the world’s elections, patterns, at times chilling, have emerged. In February, the world’s two most populous Muslim nations — Pakistan and Indonesia – have elections within a week of each other. Pakistan will hold its first general election since popular but divisive former Prime Minister Imran Khan was removed on corruption charges. Prime Minister Narendra Modi devoted his first term to cementing an unyielding Hindu nationalism.

International fashion brand ZARA has apologized and withdrawn its latest advertising campaign featuring models with missing limbs and white-wrapped statues, following intensive boycott campaigns around the world that believed the advertisement was distastefully mocking the victims of Gaza. ZARA in the crosshairs of public outrageIn one of the campaign images, a model appears carrying another model wrapped in white. Inditex, the company that owns the ZARA brand, said that the change came a regular procedures for updating content. Instead, its latest campaign sparked anger on social media with tens of thousands of angry comments, many of which carried Palestinian flags. The “#BoycottZara” or “Boycott ZARA” hashtag trended on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), as many activists around the world organized peaceful protests in front of and inside ZARA-brand stores.

Telecom Egypt is in talks with three local and foreign companies for the potential sale and lease-back of a portion of its tower portfolio, with bids ranging from $150m to $250m. Selling and leasing back towers has become a popular strategy for telecom companies worldwide, offering a cost-effective alternative to outright ownership. Adding to the positive financial outlook for Telecom Egypt, Naeem Securities Research recently raised the company’s fair share value. Telecom Egypt’s financial performance remains strong, despite a 3.7-fold increase in financing costs during the first nine months of 2023. This growth was driven primarily by a 22% rise in data services revenue, which now accounts for 74% of the company’s total revenue growth.

According to the report, these funds were directed to several priority sectors in support of the efforts undertaken by the state to implement major development projects, in implementation of the sustainable development goals. While the social housing sector and water and sanitation networks received financing worth $1.77 billion, from the Swedish International Fund, the French Development Agency, Germany, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, and the World Bank Group. In the health sector, the Ministry concluded development financing worth $136 million from the United States of America, Germany, and the European Union. Financing in the local development sectors amounted to $90 million, from the World Bank, the United States of America, Canada, and China, and trade and industry financing amounted to $53 million, from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Islamic Development Bank. For more details about the annual report of the Ministry of International Cooperation:https://moic.gov.eg/ar/page/annual-report-2023

This amendment enables closed investment fund companies to issue multiple batches of documents, streamlining the establishment and operational processes associated with investment funds. 223 introduces amendments with the objective of expanding the range of entities eligible to engage in investment fund activities. These entities are now able to participate in investment fund activities alongside banks, insurance companies, and investment banks. 224 implements amendments that simplify the requirements for conducting investment fund activities. It allows for the issuance of multiple batches of fund documents, eliminating the need to establish and license separate independent investment fund companies for each fund.

On Sunday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the Israeli occupation forces had swept away the bodies of the dead and buried them in holes in Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip before withdrawing from there. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that the emergency department at Al-Shifa Medical Complex had turned into a bloodbath and needed rehabilitation after being severely damaged by Israeli occupation bombing. The channel indicated that the agreed-upon mechanism allowed Israel to view the names of those who would receive the Authority’s salaries in the Gaza Strip. In another context, the Palestinian Telecommunications Company announced the gradual return of telephone and Internet communications throughout the Gaza Strip. Thus, the number of wounded soldiers, according to official statistics, rises to more than 1,600.

What the Israeli military said happenedThe men were killed while waving a white flag in violation of IDF rules of engagement, an IDF official said on Saturday. The Israeli unit overheard a cry for help in Hebrew, at which time the brigade commander ordered his troops to stop shooting. The IDF is aware of a building marked “SOS” a few hundred feet from where the hostages were shot to death. What the IDF is doing to prevent similar tragediesIsraeli soldiers in Gaza are now being told to “exercise additional caution” when encountering people in civilian clothes following the hostages’ accidental killing, Jonathan Conricus, another IDF spokesman, told CNN. “The ground invasion is killing the hostages,” said Udi Goren, whose cousin was killed by Hamas, told CNN.

Egypt has moved to regularize foreigners and violators applying to the General Administration of Passports to obtain residency permits for tourism and other purposes, requiring them to submit a receipt indicating that they have transferred their residency fees to a designated bank account. This follows from an August order by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly obliging foreigners applying to the General Administration of Passports, Immigration and Nationality to submit a receipt indicating that they have transferred their equivalent of residency fees, late fines, or costs of issuing a residency card in dollars or the equivalent in foreign currencies, through certified banks or exchange companies. Foreigners residing in the country illegally must regularize their status and legalize their residency so long as they have an Egyptian host, in exchange for depositing administrative expenses equivalent to US$1,000 at an Egyptian bank. Egypt hosts about nine million migrants of different nationalities who enjoy all the basic rights of work, trade, transportation and ownership alongside native Egyptians, Egypt’s ambassador to Italy Bassam Rady said in July during a speech before the Italian Senate.

CAIRO – 17 December 2023: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received on Sunday the credentials of ambassadors of 20 countries, including Arab states, wishing them success in their duties. EuropeFurthermore, Sisi received credentials from the ambassadors of Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania, and Latvia in Europe and of Korea, Bangladesh, and Kyrgyzstan in Asia. AfricaRegarding the African continent, Sisi received credentials from the ambassadors of Senegal, Rwanda, and Tanzania, besides Algeria and Mauritania. Balkans, the AmericasFurthermore, ambassadors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, and Mexico presented their credentials to President Sisi. Sisi welcomed the new ambassadors, wishing them success in their duties, the Egyptian Presidency said in a statement.

The US dollar advanced in late trading on Friday, as traders might have overreacted to the possibility of the US Federal Reserve’s cut of interest rates. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.58% to 102.5523 in late trading. The manufacturing PMI remained in the contraction territory, declining to 48.2 from 49.4, while the services PMI improved to 51.3 from 50.8, according to S&P Global on Friday. “The drop-back in the eurozone composite PMI in December provides more evidence that the economy is in recession,” said Andrew Kenningham at Capital Economics. The US dollar bought 142.1810 Japanese yen, higher than the 141.9480 Japanese yen of the previous session.

Central Bank of EgyptNext Thursday, the MPC of CBE will hold its last meeting in 2023 to discuss the future of the Bank’s basic interest rates, which are the main indicators of the direction of the pound’s interest rates in the short term. After its meeting on 2 November, MPC stated that the future of key interest rates depends on expected inflation rates rather than current inflation rates. US Federal ReserveThe Federal Reserve, the US central bank, kept interest rates at levels between 5.25% and 5.5% for the third consecutive time last week. The MPC stressed that its future decisions will ensure that interest rates are set at sufficiently restrictive levels for as long as necessary. Monetary policymakers remained divided, as in their previous meeting in November, as three of them still favored raising interest rates.

This announcement comes as Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is named the new Emir of Kuwait, a pivotal moment in the nation's history. Sheikh Al-Sabah, the 17th Emir of Kuwait, entered political life through the gateway of security and military service. Born on September 27, 1940, in Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal, the seventh son of Kuwait’s ruler Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (the tenth Emir), grew up in the ruling family. On November 16, 2021, Al-Jaber Al-Sabah issued a decree delegating some constitutional competencies to Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on a temporary basis, as per Article 7 of the Constitution. Sheikh Meshal held several honorary positions, including the Honorary President of the Kuwaiti Pilots and Aviation Engineers Association (1973-2017).