VenturesNow

Egyptian loan package size is appropriate, says IMF

Published

2 months ago

October 24, 2024

Egypt has a $8 billion loan program, which the IMF said Thursday was “still appropriate” in size. The IMF says it will prioritise evaluating the effectiveness of Egypt’s social protection programs.

On Sunday, Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, issued a warning, saying that if international organisations failed to consider the unique regional difficulties Egypt was facing, his nation may have to reassess its extended loan program.

Egypt’s March IMF-signed support package calls for it to cut fuel, electricity, and other commodity subsidies and let its currency fluctuate freely, actions that have infuriated the populace.

The Fund said Thursday that it was collaborating with Egyptian authorities to increase the social protection program’s outreach and ensure that it was adequate.

“This will be one of the priority issues that the managing director will raise and will discuss – how effective the social protection programs are,” Jihad Azour, the IMF director for the Middle East and Central Asia Department, said in a briefing.

Azour emphasised how crucial it is for Egypt to keep its currency’s exchange rate flexible, which is another IMF loan criterion.

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery exports first fuel to Cameroon

Published

15 hours ago

December 12, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Dangote Refinery in Nigeria said on Wednesday that it had exported its first petrol to Cameroon, marking a significant milestone that may help stabilise gasoline costs throughout the region and open the door for regional energy integration.

When fully operational, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s 650,000-barrel refinery in Lagos is intended to alter the trade of refined products in the Atlantic basin and compete with refineries in Europe.

According to a statement by Neptune Oil, an energy company based in Cameroon, both businesses were looking into new projects to create a dependable supply chain that would assist in stabilising fuel costs and opportunities throughout the area.

According to Neptune Oil, there were no middlemen involved in the petrol delivery deal.

It is anticipated that the refinery’s operations will spur growth in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, increasing investments in cement manufacture, plastic and rubber production, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, and oil refining.

VenturesNow

Egypt’s November inflation drops to 25.5%, near 2-year low

Published

2 days ago

December 11, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to figures released Tuesday by statistics agency CAPMAS, Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rate fell more than anticipated to 25.5% in November, the lowest level since December 2022.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caused international investors to pull billions of dollars out of Egyptian treasury markets, inflation started to rise sharply in early 2022.

In September 2023, headline inflation reached a record high of 38.0%. It dropped to 26.5% by October 2024.

In a Reuters survey last month, 15 economists’ consensus prediction was for annual inflation to gradually decline to 26.4%.

According to CAPMAS statistics, headline inflation decreased from 1.1% in October to 0.5% in November every month.

Compared to October, when they fell 1.1%, food costs fell 2.8% over the month, making them 23.3% more than they were a year ago.

An increase in the money supply has been a major contributor to inflation. According to central bank data, Egypt’s M2 money supply increased by 29.54% in October compared to the same month last year.