Category: Uncategorized

Daouda Coulibaly-Managing Director-Société Ivoirienne de Banque

A good start: Bonds

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Outline In November 2016 the executive board of the IMF approved a three-year, $12bn loan under an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) aimed at boosting the economy. According to a September 2017 IMF staff report on the aims of the development programme, the loan instalments are contingent on the government acting to tighten Egypt’s fiscal position, improve the business environment and liberalise the economy. Crucial goals of the EFF include the liberalisation of the exchange rate; elimination of the parallel market; stabilisation of the Egyptian pound; and containing inflation through monetary tightening, which largely affected the issuance of domestic bonds in 2017. Tapping the international

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Framework finalised: Promulgation of natural gas law supports sector development

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  The Natural Gas Regulatory Act, or Law No. 196 of 2017, which was approved by the House of Representatives in the summer of 2017, is the culmination of a long legislative effort by the government. The drafting of the law began shortly after the election of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in 2014, and the completion of this process followed thereafter in October 2015. By that time, the proposed legislation had become the centre of international attention due to the Italian company Eni’s discovery of new Egyptian gas reserves estimated at 30trn cu feet. (alleghenycreperie.com) The exploitation of the newly discovered Zohr field is

Mohammed El Etreby-Chairman-Banque Misr

Turning the tide: Hopes are high that the country can become a gas exporter again

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  New discoveries have brought confidence that natural gas imports, currently the primary fuel source for Egypt’s power plants, will decline significantly once the fields start producing. The government will no doubt be looking to this new production to supply the ever-increasing demand, leading to energy self-sufficiency and, eventually, surplus. Production & Consumption With production starting from the BP-operated North Alexandria Field in March 2017, Egypt’s natural gas output rose to 5.1bn standard cu feet per day (scfd) that year, up from 4.4bn scfd in 2016. The Ministry of Petroleum has stated that it aims to increase this to 5.35bn scfd in 2017/18 and 5.9bn

Brahim Djamel Kassali-President-Algerian Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (UAR)

Law of the land: Efforts to reform the legislative framework underpin property rights, ownership and taxes

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  The Egyptian property market is constantly undergoing reform. While mortgages are difficult to obtain and disputes can be complex, the system as a whole is remarkably effective. People regularly buy and sell real estate, and a functioning market exists despite the lack of a best-practices system of recording. 5000 Years The concept of property ownership goes back centuries, and usufruct – the legal right for people to enjoy the advantages of property that does not belong to them – and a sense of ownership

Sheikh Ahmad Duaij Jaber Al Sabah-Chairman-Commercial Bank of Kuwait

The right track: Authorities are investing in developing the rail network

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  While the trucking industry, Egypt’s main form of freight transport, is being constrained by the reduction in fuel subsidies and the higher cost of imported fuel as a result of local currency depreciation, rail is primed for development. Egypt has a long history of rail transport. The country developed a rail network in the 19th century under colonial rule, and has one of the most extensive networks in the Middle East and Africa. The national network has approximately 5000 km of track, a third of which is double track, and a rolling stock operation comprising 597 passenger trains, 224 freight trains, 3738 passenger coaches

Éric N’guessan-Managing Partner-EY Côte d’Ivoire

Supplying demand: Boosting exports depends on developing local infrastructure

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  A central component of Egypt’s plan to strengthen its agribusiness sector is the development of its supply chain infrastructure. The World Bank’s “Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2017” (EBA) report listed Egypt as one of the countries with the greatest room for improvement when it comes to commercial agriculture – particularly with regard to developing systems for effective storage and transportation of commodities. International Interest In February 2017 Tarek Kabil, minister of trade and industry, detailed plans for US-based Cargill to make a $150m investment in Egypt’s transportation and storage sector for agriculture, including $10m for grain-storage facilities in Daqahliyah Port that would increase

Nhon Luc Ly-CEO-AIA Myanmar; Son Nguyen-Country President-Chubb Life Insurance Myanmar; Daw Zarchi Tin-CEO

Going fourth: Mobile companies begin offering 4G mobile data

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  The launch of 4G mobile networks in September 2017 represented a turning point for the Egyptian telecoms sector, ushering in a new period of investment, international partnerships and technological innovation. New Deals The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) started issuing long-awaited 4G licences in 2016, with Telecom Egypt (TE) the first to acquire one for LE7.08bn ($466.4m) in August. Following initial hesitation over spectrum offers and foreign-exchange conditions, the country’s other operators – Vodafone Egypt, Etisalat Misr and Orange Egypt – followed suit in October. Orange paid $484m for its licence, Vodafone $335m and Etisalat $535.5m, with the sums varying due to spectrum allocations.

Pham Hong Hai-CEO-HSBC Vietnam

New measures: The government moves to accelerate fiscal reforms and broaden its revenue base

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  Oman’s oil output fell by 3.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the first 10 months of 2017, with production averaging 970,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 1m bpd in the same period of 2016. However, an improvement in average prices saw oil earnings rise by 32%, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Bolstered by a 10.7% increase in gas revenues to October 2017, the higher hydrocarbons earnings helped narrow the budget deficit to OR3.2bn ($8.3bn) by the end of October 2017, down from OR4.8bn ($12.5bn) in the same period the previous year. The year-end deficit was expected to reach OR3bn ($7.8bn), according

Chaim Zach-Managing Director and CEO-Agric International Technology and Trade; Kabiru Rabiu-Group Executive Director-BUA Group; and Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed-Managing Director

Sensible synergies: New holding company moves to consolidate sector management and find new efficiencies

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  A major holding company formed to manage state assets in transport and logistics has seen a raft of new activity in the period running up to 2018, as it moves to integrate operations among its subsidiaries and speed Oman towards becoming a top-10 logistics hub by 2040. Overseeing operations from shipping and ports to the postal service and supply chain management, Asyad is a rebranding of state-run conglomerate Oman Global Logistics Group that occurred in June 2017. Its formation represents the transport portion of

Xi Jinping-President of China

Meeting expectations: Promoting the sultanate as a destination for conferences and exhibitions

Posted OBG AdminPosted in Uncategorized

  In recent years Oman’s tourism officials have focused their attention on the strong growth potential and revenue stream that comes with turning the country into a leading regional destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE). Relatively speaking, the sultanate is a new player in the sector, but with the opening of the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) in October 2016, those in the industry are hoping this is set to change. In its first eight months, the OCEC hosted 55 conferences; by its first anniversary that number had risen to 101, accounting for over 750,000 visitors. The OCEC won bids for 11