$27.3 billion to be invested in Egypt’s Zohr, North Alexandria, Nooros gas fields in 2018: Oil Minister
The investments mark a step forward in the development of major fields discovered in recent years
83 new exploration agreements worth $15.5 billion will be signed next year, and 230 wells worth $2 billion will be drilled, El Molla said.
The Zohr gas field will be producing 500 million cubic feet per day by the end of 2017, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said last month, according to Reuters.
Likewise the North Alexandria concession will begin producing 500-700 million cubic feet of gas per day by the end of next year, the oil minister said last month.
Egypt’s natural gas output is expected to increase to 6.2 billion cubic feet per day by the end of the current fiscal year, from 5.2 billion cubic feet per day last July, he was quoted as saying on Reuters.
Elsewhere, the minister announced that the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS), which is aimed at attracting further development investment, will be held 12-14 February 2018.
The Zohr field is the largest natural gas field in the Mediterranean. Its discovery in 2015 nearly doubled Egypt's reserves.
83 new exploration agreements worth $15.5 billion will be signed next year, and 230 wells worth $2 billion will be drilled, El Molla said.
The Zohr gas field will be producing 500 million cubic feet per day by the end of 2017, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said last month, according to Reuters.
Likewise the North Alexandria concession will begin producing 500-700 million cubic feet of gas per day by the end of next year, the oil minister said last month.
Egypt’s natural gas output is expected to increase to 6.2 billion cubic feet per day by the end of the current fiscal year, from 5.2 billion cubic feet per day last July, he was quoted as saying on Reuters.
Elsewhere, the minister announced that the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS), which is aimed at attracting further development investment, will be held 12-14 February 2018.
The Zohr field is the largest natural gas field in the Mediterranean. Its discovery in 2015 nearly doubled Egypt's reserves.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...o-be-invested-in-Egypt’s-Zohr,-North-Ale.aspx
UK, Egyptian companies to launch catheter production facility in Cairo at $4 million in investment
A new medical joint venture between an Egyptian and a British company to launch a state-of the-art-facility to produce catheters is set to start at an investment of $4 million, the British embassy in Cairo announced on Thursday.
The new facility, which involves the British company Kimal and the Egyptian Arab Medical Equipment Company (AMECO), is planned to be set up at an industrial complex in 6 October City.
The project should provide the Egyptian healthcare industry with innovative products and enhanced treatment equipment, as well as opportunities for export to 25 new countries, according to the embassy statement.
Egypt’s AMECO will be expected to introduce know-how from the UK to the Egyptian medical technology sector.
British ambassador to Cairo John Casson said in the statement that the new venture demonstrates the potential for British companies to help develop Egypt's economy.
"In the next five years, the $4 million in investment we are celebrating today will reach $20 million and provide Egypt with top-quality medical products, with new jobs for Egyptians and new exports to European countries," Casson said.
AMECO is a privately owned company that was founded as a family business in 1984.
The UK is Egypt’s top foreign investor, with $43 billion in investment in the fiscal 2016/17 and over 1,450 British businesses active in the country.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...an-companies-to-launch-catheter-producti.aspx
Egypt developing infrastructure to accommodate more renewable energy: Minister
Egypt's Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said on Wednesday that the country has been working on infrastructure development to pave the way for more investments into renewable energy.
Nasr, who spoke at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh amid the participation of economic leaders from over 60 countries, said that Egypt aims to increase reliance on renewable energy to 20 percent by 2022.
Earlier this year, state news agency MENA quoted an official from the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy as saying that fossil fuel is used to generate 90 percent of the country's electricity.
Nasr also said that Egypt seeks to attract $10 billion worth of direct investments in the current fiscal year 2017/18, adding that US, British and Saudi investors have already injected investments in the country during the past month.
Investments in human resources, education and health are a priority for the Egyptian investment ministry, Nasr said.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...loping-infrastructure-to-accommodate-mor.aspx
Two $87 mln loans granted for construction of world's largest solar power plant in Egypt's Benban
Egyptian renewable energy developer Infinity Solar Energy and international solar developer IB Vogt, GmbH, will each receive an $87 billion syndicated loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO), according to an EBRD statement issued on Monday.
The funds will be allocated for the construction and operation of two solar photovoltaic power plants planned for Upper Egypt's Benban village.
Upon completion, the facilities will comprise the largest solar installation in the world, with a planned total capacity of 1.8 GW.
Egypt has approved feed-in tariffs for renewable energy production, allowing the government to guarantee a certain price for energy produced in order to encourage investment in the renewable energy sector.
The bank provided a breakdown of the amount allocated, which includes EBRD Loans of $58 million for each of the two projects, of which $44 million will be from the bank's own account and $14 million from the Green Climate Fund.
The FMO will provide the remaining $29 million loans.
The Egyptian solar energy project falls under the EBRD’s $500 million framework for renewable energy in the country, which was adopted earlier this year.
Egypt has been receiving funding from the EBRD since 2012, with the bank investing a total of invested €2.7 billion in 51 projects in the country in various fields and sectors.
"The expansion of renewable is crucial not only for the environment, but also for the wider economy. It will create jobs, increase energy security and reduce the burden on the economy. The introduction of a regulatory framework that private investors can rely on will ensure that all this happens at sustainable cost and affordable prices," said the head of Power and Energy Utilities for the EBRD, Harry Boyd-Carpenter.
From his side, Infinity Solar CEO Mohamed Mansour expressed delight at collaborating with EBRD and its partners, describing the cooperation as a "big step in achieving Egypt's capacity goals for the market."
Egypt has been working to upgrade its power plant capacity and renewable energy projects in order to meet rising power demand and resources, and aims to transition 22 percent of the country's energy consumption to renewable sources by 2020.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...oans-granted-for-construction-of-worlds-.aspx
Saudis set $500 billion plan to develop border region with Jordan, Egypt
Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday a $500 billion plan to create a business and industrial zone extending across its borders into Jordan and Egypt, the biggest project yet in a series of efforts to free the kingdom of its dependence on oil exports.
The 26,500 square km (10,230 square mile) zone, known as NEOM, will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said.
Adjacent to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba and near maritime trade routes that use the Suez Canal, the zone will power itself solely with wind power and solar energy, said the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's top sovereign fund.
"NEOM is situated on one of the world’s most prominent economic arteries ... Its strategic location will also facilitate the zone’s rapid emergence as a global hub that connects Asia, Europe and Africa."
The Saudi government, the PIF, and local and international investors are expected to put more than half a trillion dollars into the zone in coming years, Prince Mohammed said.
There was no immediate comment on the plan from Jordan and Egypt, both of which are close allies of Saudi Arabia.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...--billion-plan-to-develop-border-region-.aspx
Bahrain, Kuwait, and UAE to lift ban on Egypt's agriculture exports: Agriculture Ministry
Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to lift a ban on imports of Egyptian agricultural products, Egypt's agriculture ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
The decision came after a productive series of meetings between officials from the three Gulf countries and an Egyptian delegation over the past few weeks, according to Minister of Agriculture Abdel-Moneim El-Banna.
A number of Gulf countries banned Egyptian agricultural imports over the past year, citing concerns of harmful pesticide residue in produce.
In exchange for increased Egyptian inspection of produce destined for the Gulf, the countries have agreed to allow the import of certain products, including organic ones, given proper testing.
Importantly, the officials agreed to sustained communication between the Egyptian agriculture ministry's plant quarantine office and its counterparts in the three countries in order to better monitor for import violations.
Last March, Egypt’s trade and industry ministry revealed a plan to nearly double the nation's exports by the year 2020, from the current $19 billion to $34 billion.
The strategy includes implementing new export plans and policies, as well as targeting new markets for cement, agricultural products, ready-made clothes, construction materials, chemical products, and engineering and electronic goods.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...uwait,-and-UAE-to-lift-ban-on-Egypts-agr.aspx
Green fund approves $31.4 mln UNDP project to protect Egypt's Delta from climate change
The project will be centred around constructing dikes to protect low-lying areas from flooding from the Mediterranean Sea as sea levels rise
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved on Sunday a $31.4 million United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project to protect Egypt's Nile Delta from rising sea levels due to climate change, the UNDP said in a press statement.
The project titled “Enhancing Climate Change Adaptation in the North Coast of Egypt” will be implemented by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation over seven years.
The GCF is a global fund that offers support to developing countries to deal with the challenge of climate change.
The approval for the project came during the GCF's 18th board meeting in Cairo from Saturday to Monday.
Egypt's irrigation ministry will contribute EGP 140 million to the project, which is centred around the construction of dikes to prevent flooding of homes and farmland due to rising sea levels and extreme weather due to climate change.
"The project aims to protect the densely populated low-lying lands in the Nile Delta, the home of 25 percent of the Egyptian population, which have been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change induced Sea-Level Rise (SLR)," read the UNDP press statement.
The irrigation ministry said that the project is the biggest grant Egypt has obtained from the GCF to help adapt to climate change, according to Al-Ahram Arabic.
"The project will also support the development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZM) for the North Coast of Egypt that links the plan for shore protection from SLR with the national development plan of the coastal zones," the UNDP added.
Some scientists have predicted that Egypt will suffer environmental calamities as a result of climate change, with the Nile Delta particularly at risk from flooding by the Mediterranean Sea.
According to the UNDP, rising sea levels will have a critical impact on Egypt’s infrastructure and development along the low-lying coastal areas, eventually having an impact on Egypt’s entire economy.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsCon...-approves--mln-UNDP-project-to-protect-E.aspx
Egypt’s major IT players in recruitment drive
Egypt’s IT sector is seeing an increase in staffing, amid a surge in hiring by multinationals that are expanding operations in the country. Following a meeting in July with automotive component and technology company Valeo Service, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) announced that the France-based company plans to generate 500 new jobs
Egypt’s IT sector is seeing an increase in staffing, amid a surge in hiring by multinationals that are expanding operations in the country.
Following a meeting in July with automotive component and technology company Valeo Service, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) announced that the France-based company plans to generate 500 new jobs over the next two years at its base in Cairo’s Smart Village. The company’s Cairo office is its largest software research and development hub worldwide.
The ministry’s announcement was made just weeks after the press reported that US computing company Dell EMC planned to expand its operations in Egypt by 25% before the end of 2017, in a move that will create 250 new jobs. The company operates a “centre of excellence” in Cairo, offering a range of technology services, while working closely with local universities to nurture talent.
Valeo and Dell are part of a broader wave of multinationals that are expanding their IT operations in the Arab world’s most populous country. In September Orange Business Services (OBS), the business services arm of telecoms company Orange, announced plans to create more than 170 new business process outsourcing jobs at its Egypt site, increasing its total workforce to around 2000 before the end of 2017.
The company expects to take on approximately 450 additional staff in 2018, to help serve customers in Europe.
ICT drives economic growth
Egypt’s ICT sector is already a major employer. The industry provides direct employment for some 500,000 workers, and this number is rising.
Excluding telecoms, the sector represents the single biggest driver of growth in Egypt’s economy. The industry expanded by 12.5% in FY 2016/17, which ended on June 30, contributing LE64bn ($3.6bn) to GDP and generating $1.87bn in export revenues, according to the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).
Investment should also benefit from a recovering economy, which is expected to grow by 3.5% this year and 4.5% in 2018, according to the IMF.
Harnessing competitive advantages
Egypt’s large pool of skilled graduates coupled with low operating costs are major factors contributing to the growing interest from tech investors, and they have enabled the sector to buck broader trends during the worst of Egypt’s economic crisis.
A total of 220,000 Egyptians graduate with business-process-related degrees every year, and a further 50,000 graduate with degrees in ICT-focused subjects, according to ITIDA. Costs per full-time employee in multilingual contact centres can be just 20% of those in Western Europe and are kept down by low overheads and competitive wages.
In addition to this, the sector benefits from its location between Europe, Asia and Africa, to serve a range of global markets, particularly businesses that have adopted the “follow the sun” approach, where work is passed around the globe from one office to another to maximise working hours. Egypt is also linked in to more than 10 global internet backbone networks, which improve bandwidth capacity and international connectivity.
Help from the top
As well as utilising these competitive advantages, successive governments have been supportive of tech investors, making available a range of incentives, including subsidised telecoms rates, training subsidies, and help with due diligence and identifying suitable office space.
Ratified in June, the new Investment Law includes a chapter on investment in technological zones, which will provide dedicated support to businesses working on design and development of electronics, data centres, outsourcing activities, software development and technological education.
Businesses located in the hubs are eligible for tax and Customs duty exemptions on the tools, supplies and machinery that they require for their operations. Technology investors will also be covered by other guarantees and incentives featured in the legislation – which is aimed at bringing about a more robust legal environment for foreign businesses – including guaranteeing equitable treatment of foreign and local investors and the right to export the investment project’s products without needing to sign up with the Exporters Registry.
https://dailynewsegypt.com/2017/10/02/egypts-major-players-recruitment-drive/
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