Author: Tamer Hafez

Leaving a currency’s value to change based on international forces was always a point of contention throughout the MENA region. On one hand, allowing central banks to manipulate a currency’s foreign exchange rate could be a buffer in the face of domestic and foreign economic crises. However, investors would have to deal with currency exchange risks and sometimes unfriendly monetary decisions. MENA countries long chose to peg their currencies to the dollar or a basket of currencie s comprising the greenback and euro. By 2016, Egypt, which had a “managed float,” announced it would no longer prop up its currency. The…

Being a major tourist destination, Egypt has long relied on international travelers as a source of foreign currency. That is vital for a country that is a net importer of basic and luxury goods. As a result of the pandemic, lost tourism revenues may reach 2 percent of Egypt’s GDP by the end of 2020, according to an IMF report in August. Egypt is not alone. The global tourism sector’s losses may top 1.5 percent of global GDP, at least $1.2 trillion by the end of 2020, according to a U.N. Conference on Trade and Development report in December. “With…

Since the pandemic became a global threat in March, almost every expert has agreed the economic crisis brought about by COVID-19 will be unprecedented. A UNCTAD report published in November warns that even the recent news of a vaccine that is 90 percent effective in late-stage clinical trials “will not halt the spread of economic damage, which will be felt long into the future.” However, the government and international institutions such as the World Bank and IMF are forecasting that Egypt’s GDP will grow this year. That has been in part thanks to fiscal and monetary policy decisions made throughout…

Hoping to become a regional energy hub by 2030, Egypt saw its plans affected by developments in the oil and gas sectors both domestically and internationally. COVID-19 hasn’t been kind, throwing a wrench into the world’s economic growth prospects as nations locked down their economies to curb the pandemic. At press time, almost all countries were suffering from new highs in COVID-19 infections (the United States, India and Brazil) or preparing for the second wave of infections (most of Europe and Egypt). Nonetheless, the pandemic didn’t significantly hurt Egypt’s oil and gas sector outlook. That has allowed the government to…

As 2020 comes to a close, MENA governments have something in common: the need to limit the debt they took on to keep economies and businesses afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. The region’s oil-producing and exporting countries added debt first, as prices crashed in March only to regain some lost ground as the global economy faces recession (See p. XX). Meanwhile, nations with more diverse economies, including Egypt, have slowly but surely suffered from weaker international economic activity, fewer tourists, and slumping remittances. History of debt When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the region in March, forcing governments to partially shut…

Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, the current administration has ambitious plans to build new cities. This year’s Cityscape real estate conference showcased options for both existing and potential homeowners. Living on less than 10 percent of Egypt’s land was never sustainable with a current population of 100 million, according to CAPMAS and growing by 2 million a year. “Given that the entire population lives on only 5 to 7 percent of the country’s land, it is essential that new land is developed to absorb increased demand for housing,” Darwish Hassanein, CEO of SECON, told Oxford Business Group (OBG).…

In 2011, Nissan had a brilliant idea. It created a tiny SUV, using the same platform as the Micra, Note and Cube. It was less practical than conventional SUVs, with a sloping roofline, limited rear seat space and a small trunk, creating the subcompact SUV class. The “gamble” paid off, and the first-generation Juke lasted until 2017, selling in Canada, the United States, Japan, Europe, New Zealand, Indonesia, Chile and Sri Lanka, as well as Egypt. It was so popular that Nissan shoehorned under the hood a twin-turbocharged 3,800-cubic-centimeter engine producing 545 horsepower, calling it the Juke-R. It was a…

The joint top-selling smartphone brand (Huawei), a video-sharing platform (TikTok) and a messaging app (WeChat) all have come under fire from the U.S. Administration, which accuses them of spying on users. That has “stoked concerns in the global online sector,” wrote Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, in September. “The situation seems to be heading down a dangerous path, that is an internet decoupling between the U.S. and China.” His analysis came days after U.S. President Donald Trump asserted that America seeks economic separation from the world’s second-largest economy. “We will make America into the manufacturing superpower of the world…

Just as Egypt attempts to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind it, Ethiopia is filling its Grand Renaissance Dam on the river that supplies 85 percent of the Nile’s water. Mohamed El Sebaei, spokesperson for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, told the media in September that Egypt depends on the Nile for 97 percent of its fresh water. To protect farmland and Egypt’s food supply, the government and the private sector need to adopt the latest techniques and technologies to both increase agricultural productivity and reduce water use. “Today, these challenges are global issues.” said Karim Lotfi Senhadji, CEO…

“Paris of the Middle East,” “Switzerland of the Middle East” and sometimes “The Pearl of the Middle East,” Lebanon is unlike any country in the region. Over the decades, it built a reputation as the place Arab elites and the middle class visited for its history, nightlife, fashion, scenery and cultural freedom, not to mention food. “From colony to couture, no other Middle Eastern city has proved to be a hub of art and fashion quite like Beirut,” wrote travel blogger Amani Sharif in Culture Trip in 2017. “War-torn and tired [from a civil war that lasted 15 years], the…