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Egypt Weekly Newsletter March 2014, 4Th Quarter

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Egypt Weekly Newsletter March 2014, 4Th Quarter EGYPT WEEKLY NEWSLETTER MARCH, 2014 (4th QUARTER) CONTENT 1. Political Overview………..........01 2. Economic Overview……..….…..03 3. Banking.…………………………..….04 4. IT & Telecom………………………..05 5. Energy……………………………….…05 6. Tourism…………………………..…..06 7. Investment…..………………………07 8. Laws & Regulations……..……...08 9. Internal Trade……………………...08 10. International Relations…..….09 Compiled by Thai Trade Center, Cairo POLITICAL OVERVIEW Egypt's El-Sisi bids military farewell, says he will run for presidency Source: Ahramonline, March 27, 2014 Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi resigned from the military on Wednesday and announced that he was determined to run in Egypt's upcoming presidential elections, slated to begin 30 March. "Today is the last time you’ll see me wearing this [military] uniform. I was honoured to wear it to defend the nation and today I am also leaving it behind to defend the nation,” said El-Sisi, stressing that he has been a member of the armed forces for over 45 years. The last few years in Egypt have proved "that no one could be president without the people’s will,” he said. "My determination to run in the election does not bar others from their right to run. I will be happy if whoever the people choose succeeds,” he said, adding that he hopes for "a nation for all without exclusion.” Any Egyptian who has not been convicted by the law, El-Sisi said, is unconditionally welcomed to be an active partner in the future of Egypt. He said that he does not intend to "have a traditional campaign but rather a comprehensive vision for the nation to rise,” and called on his supporters not "to spend a lot” for his campaign. The presidential hopeful also expressed his determination to fight for a "fearless Egypt." "Egypt is rich with its resources and people [and yet] it relies on donations and assistance. This is not acceptable. Egyptians deserve much better," he said. El-Sisi pointed out that Egypt faces serious economic, social, political and security-related challenges that existed before the 25 January 2011 revolution and have continued after the 30 June 2013 protests which led to the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi. Egyptians deserve to live with dignity, security and freedom, he said, in addition to having access to jobs, food, education, medicine and housing. "Production must start again in all state Egypt Weekly Newsletter 1 Thai Trade Center, Cairo March, 2014 (4th quarter) Sherif Yehya apparatuses. Our mission is to restore Egypt,” he said. Before breaking the widely anticipated news, El-Sisi met with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to reportedly submit his resignation and discuss his potential successor as defence minister. Chief of Staff Sedki Sobhi was promoted to the rank of colonel general by interim President Adly Mansour in the meeting preceding El-Sisi's address, a rank historically held by Egyptian defence ministers. El-Sisi's announcement came hours after Mansour arrived in Cairo from Kuwait, where he was attending the Arab League summit. The 59-year-old El-Sisi, who was appointed defence minister in August 2012 by then-president Mohamed Morsi, had to resign from the military in order to run in Egypt's upcoming presidential poll, as per Egyptian law which stipulates that military personnel are not allowed to enter politics. Speculation around his running intensified after SCAF issued a statement in January, empowering El-Sisi to run for president. The SCAF statement, broadcast on Egypt's state-run TV as a voice recording, said that based on El-Sisi's efforts during these "historic times," SCAF considered the army chief's bid for the presidency "an obligation." Last Saturday, Amr Moussa, renowned politician and head of the 50-Member Committee that drafted Egypt’s 2014 Constitution, revealed the main aspects of El-Sisi’s electoral platform. According to Moussa, El-Sisi is concerned with building the state on a modern basis and in line with the 2014 national charter. "The [electoral] platform will determine the framework of the candidate’s vision to build and establish prosperity for the people while respecting the freedoms and rights granted in the new constitution,” said Moussa, adding that the plan also includes a reformulating of "the development and investment map" in Egypt. Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters face death sentence: Will Egypt carry it out? Source: CNN, March 25, 2014 A court in Egypt has sentenced to death more than 500 supporters of the now- banned Muslim Brotherhood following violence that broke out in the southern city of Minya last August. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry puts the number of those sentenced at 529. A single policeman was killed. Only 147 of the defendants were reportedly in court Monday. Sixteen people were also acquitted at the hearing. Another 683 defendants -- including the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader Mohamed Badie -- appeared before the same judge Tuesday in relation to the unrest. Their case was adjourned until April 28. CNN spoke to its correspondent in Cairo, Ian Lee, independent Egyptian journalist Shahira Amin and Egyptian legal historian Khaled Fahmy about Monday's mass sentence. A police officer was murdered during the pro-Morsy riots in Minya last August. The violence followed a deadly crackdown by security forces on two Cairo sit-ins being held by supporters of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsy. Morsy, Egypt's first democratically elected president, had been toppled in a military coup in July 2013. Defense lawyer Khaled El-Komi told CNN the charges against the defendants appearing Tuesday include breaking into a police station, attempted murder, disturbing public peace and public order. Egypt Weekly Newsletter 2 Thai Trade Center, Cairo March, 2014 (4th quarter) Sherif Yehya ECONOMIC OVERVIEW Egypt shoots for 3.4% GDP growth during next fiscal year Source: Bloomberg, March 26, 2014 Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby announced that the interim government is aiming to grow gross domestic product by 3% to 3.4% during the next fiscal year, Reuters reported. Previously, Finance Minister Hany Kadry Dimian stated that he expected growth during the current fiscal year (FY 2013/2014) to range between 2% to 2.5%. During the first quarter of FY 2013/ 2014, GDP grew by just 1%. The Ministry of Finance attributed this “unsatisfactory economic activity” to political instability and insecurity. The ministry also stated that time-consuming public investment projects hindered growth. During the same period in FY 2012/2013, GDP grew 2.6%. In its mid-year report, the finance ministry predicted that the expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, which included two stimulus packages that amounted to 1.5% and 3% of GDP, are expected to increase the GDP growth rate to about 3.5% by June 2014. “In the second half of the year, public investment projects, the settlement of arrears, support to closed factories and wage increases are all expected to boost aggregate demand and spur economic activity,” the ministry reported. Dimian also announced that the budget deficit is expected to register 11% to 12% of GDP by the end of the current fiscal year. He added, however, that in FY 2014/2015 the deficit is expected to decline to only 10% and 10.5% of GDP. France to support €80m employment project Source: Al Mal, March 25, 2014 The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation signed a €80m agreement with the French Agency for Development Monday to offer long-term credit to small and micro Egyptian businesses. The agreement will support the Egyptian Social Development Fund, a state-owned agency founded in 1991, in its mission to encourage employment and improve living conditions in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, according to a statement from the French Embassy in Cairo. The European Union is expected to provide Egypt with a €15m grant to be used for the improvement of four informal settlements in Greater Cairo and Giza, where 1.2 million Egyptians reside. The four settlements are Ezbet Kheir Allah and Al-Zawya Al- Hamra in Cairo and Ard El-Lewa and Miet Uqba in Giza. Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ashraf El-Araby represented Egypt at the signing and Jean- Marc Gravellini, director of operations at the French Agency for Development and Nicolas Galey, the French ambassador to Egypt, represented the French side. Egyptian interim Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and the acting head of the state-owned Social Development Fund Hanaa Al-Helaly were also present. On the same day, the Arab Fund Economic Social Development (AFESD) signed a $50m loan agreement with the state-owned Social Development Fund (SFD) Hanaa Al-Helaly to finance small and micro enterprises. The French Agency for Development is a public development finance institution that has been working to fight poverty and foster economic growth in developing countries and the French Overseas Provinces for seventy years. Egypt Weekly Newsletter 3 Thai Trade Center, Cairo March, 2014 (4th quarter) Sherif Yehya Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development invests $412m Source: Egypt Daily News, March 24, 2014 Egypt’s interim government signed two agreements with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) on Monday to finance projects in the electricity sector, a statement from the cabinet said. A power station in Assiut, which is currently being upgraded to increase Egypt’s electric capacity by 650MW, will be funded by AFESD’s first $200m assistance package. In December 2013, the Upper Egypt Electricity Production Company (UEEPC) and Banque Misr signed an EGP 285m loan agreement to fund renovations and replacements in Assiut’s power station. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) allocated $220m in February to finance the Assiut station. The allocation came as a part of a nearly $705m initiative to fund projects focusing on infrastructure, human development and education in “Muslim communities”, the bank said.
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