In his first speech in the US as Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on developed countries to invest in renewable energy projects in the Middle East to help the region shift to a more environmentally friendly business model. Speaking at the UN climate summit on Tuesdayin New York, El-Sisi linked regional environmental and economic conditions.

Climate news and analysis site Responding to Climate Change summarizes the seven key issues where businesses, governments and nonprofits have pledged action at the UN Climate Summit: food security, forests, finance, short-lived pollutants, renewable energy, sustainable transport and cities.

The government plans to issue offer 2 million feddans to solar and wind energy investors. The lands will be offered in long-term leases and are hoped to be used to generate 35 gigawatts of electricity. Most of the lands are located in the Gulf of Suez, Northeast of the Nile Delta and Aswan. The government is taking several measures to increase the share of renewable energy to 20% of power produced by 2020.

A new draft law is set to encourage the use of alternative fuels to generate electricity, exempting components of renewable energy facilities from sales taxes and custom fees. However, to be exempt, each facility must be able to generate at least 500 kilowatts of electricity using renewable sources. The law also forces transportation companies to compensate renewable energy producers for unused energy.

In a long read, former petroleum minister Osama Kamal and former EGPC vice president Medhat Youssef sat down to speak with Daily News Egypt about the problems in Egypt’s petroleum industry. They stated that the petroleum sector faces many problems that have accumulated over the years, including an exacerbation of debts owed to foreign partners and poor technical conditions for many refiners as a result of outdated facilities and decreasing oil and gas production rates. A renewal of foreign companies injecting investments into the petroleum sector is linked to Egypt’s political situation, as well as the government’s orientation, said Osama Kamal former minister of petroleum. He commented on the fact that some foreign partners working in Egypt have sold their shares in oil fields affiliated with other companies, explaining that this is not considered an exit from investing in the petroleum sector. Youssef said that Egyptian refineries with simple technology include El Nasr, Cairo, and Assiut, which have suffered losses of up to USD 5-7 per barrel. These refineries do not achieve profits for fuel oil production in light of a decline in fuel oil prices when compared to those of crude oil, Youssef said. In a related context, Youssef said that Suez Oil Processing, Amreya, and Alexandria Petroleum Company are quickly becoming obsolete, and must be completely updated in terms of infrastructure in order to avoid long-term losses. Simple refineries are also suffering financially, although not to the same extent, as losses per barrel are equivalent to USD 3 – USD 5 according to Youssef. MIDOR is the only facility in Egypt that rivals global deep conversion plants, as the only refinery achieving large profits in Egypt. Youssef requested that the government purchase crude oil at global prices in order to sell production on the same global basis.

Al Ezz Dekheila Steel (IRAX) said on Wednesday that its about to reach an agreement with Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to resume supplying its plants with natural gas starting from second week of October. The firm said that this would lead to the resumption of regular plant operations. However, the full impact cannot be determined until 30 September 2014 after closing third-quarter financial results.

World Bank officials have agreed to grant a USD 1.5 billion concessional loan to the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities to fund low-income housing and sanitation infrastructure at the village level in the Delta and part of Sinai, Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Tuesday. The announcement came after Madbouly’s visit to the United States this week to meet with World Bank officials, a Tuesday statement from the ministry said. Madbouly stated that Egypt will obtain a concessional loan with the value of USD 500 million for the social housing program, over several years, with around USD 100-120 million annual installments. The World Bank will also participate in a project involving the establishment of sanitation networks for 760 contaminated villages in northern Egypt; the project is valued at USD 1bn and will be implemented over a period of three years.

As part of its commitment to the Egyptian market and efforts to promote its “Build Egypt 2030” campaign, Lafarge was one of this year’s sponsors for the Euromoney Egypt 2014 conference. Attended by a select group of government officials, company executives, and industry leaders, the two day event addressed a number of important economic issues. Lafarge participated in a session which focused on housing, construction, and real estate, where panelists discussed the importance of real estate financing, the use of technology to build green cities, and the importance of using environmentally friendly materials. Speakers in the session agreed that the action of the Egyptian government is encouraging the real estate sector growth, specifically in the social housing segment. Mansi highlighted great opportunities for the private sector to invest in building social houses to help the government meet the increasing demand. He noted that demand for social housing in Egypt is greater than demand for expensive luxury houses as the latter is currently in the surplus numbers and growing. In 2011, LaSalle estimated that the shortage of affordable housing in Egypt is approximately 1.5 million units.

The Dispute Settlement Committee has put forth solutions for 20 disputes between investors and government agencies concerning lands and tax breaks, according to Minister of Justice Mahfouz Saber. “The recommendations made by the committee will be presented to the cabinet in the coming session so that they may make a final decision regarding the settlements according to the law of investment guarantees and incentives,” said Saber.

Egypt’s Minister of Investment Ashraf Salman said the government will not impose restrictions on the Turkish and Qatari investments in Egypt. Salman added that Egypt targets local direct investments worth EGP 330 billion in FY14/15 and foreign direct investments of USD 10 billion, to achieve a growth rate of 3.5% compared with 2.1% in the previous year. The minister also indicated that the global companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi are concerned about the added-value tax, but the Egyptian officials are still studying this tax and its impact on the community.

The Director General of China Foreign Trade Centre Wang Zhiping said trade relations between Egypt and China are witnessing growth in the recent years, Al Ahram Gate reported. “China became the favorite destination for Egyptian important” said Zhiping. The statements came in a press conference on Tuesday held by the China Foreign Trade Centre in cooperation with the Chinese embassy to launch canton fair. The economic and trade relation between the two countries saw a noticeable growth in the last 3 years, and China became the number one trade partner for Egypt in 2012 with a USD 9.5 billion trade size, up from USD 8.8 billion in 2011, he added. In 2013, Trade rose to USD 10.2 billion, which represents 8% of the total Egyptian trade, Zhiping revealed. Trade between the two countries is expected to exceed what was achieved in 2013, due to the increase in trade in May till July 2014 according to Chinese customs data.

Egypt’s business startups grew to 719 companies in August, up from 477 companies y-o-y. The data, published in a report by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) showed a growth of 242 companies and a total investments worth EGP 1.41 billion which created 5752 new jobs. Companies established in the industrial sector was 193, Service sector were 294, 102 in construction,  57 in telecommunication and information technology, 52 in agriculture, 20 in tourism, and 1 company in the finance sector, according to the report.

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) expects to receive EGP 6.9 billion in exchange for providing unified communications licenses. The Head of NTRA explained that, under a unified license, companies such as Mobinil, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Egypt will be able to provide landlines, internet services and international calling, while Telecom Egypt will be able to offer mobile services.

A prominent economist [who goes unnamed in the article] said he expects inflation rates to return to levels not seen since the 1970s. Many experts are fearful that increased government spending on development and mega projects, increased fuel prices and stable interest rates will enhance demand levels and put pressure on prices. Additionally, taxes on various products will also add to price pressures.

The Egyptian pound weakened to the lowest level in almost four months in the black market as companies taking advantage of an improving economy demand more dollars for imports. The currency retreated in unregulated trading to EGP 7.442 a dollar, according to the average of four money changers surveyed by Bloomberg today. That’s the lowest level since May and represents a 4.1% premium to buy dollars over the interbank rate, which is managed by the central bank. The pound’s official exchange rate is EGP 7.1501, unchanged against the dollar since 29 May.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt supports the US in its war against ISIS, adding that he would like the war on terror to encompass all militant groups in the region. However, El-Sisi told The Wall Street Journal that, while Egypt supported the US, it would not get involved militarily in the war against ISIS. Meanwhile, the Egyptian president met with former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright, former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and several members of Congress, as reported by Al Masry Al Youm. This statement was echoed in what appears to be part of a longer interview with Charlie Rose. CBS This Morning posted an excerpt of the interview where Charlie Rose specifically asks President Sisi if Egypt will contribute its own fighter jets to the ISIS offensive. Sisi asks in return if the United States needs Egypt’s help, to which Rose replies in the affirmative so that the war does not appear to be exclusively America versus Muslims. Sisi agrees with the sentiment, and replies that if symbolism is what is needed, Egypt’s endorsement and involvement in the coalition in ISIS is enough.

A newly launched travel campaign in the Big Apple has seen Egypt’s Pyramids take over the streets of New York City. From Times Square to buses and the subway, large advertisements declaring “The New Egypt,” and “Peace, Prosperity and Growth” feature prominently across the city. The campaign appears to coincide with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s visit to the United Nations to attend the 69th Session of the General Assembly.

Jordan’s central bank said on Tuesday it was confident of Arab Bank, its leading lender, and its ability to defend itself against what it said was an “unjust” verdict after a ruling by a U.S. jury on Monday. The ruling found the bank liable for giving material support to Hamas and said it must compensate victims of two dozen attacks attributed to the Islamic militant group in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Not even the specter of a spillover of Islamic extremism from Somalia can dampen the atmosphere in Kenya, where commercial oil production is expected to begin in 2016 and discovery after discovery has made this the hottest and fastest-paced hydrocarbon scene on the continent. When it comes to new oil and gas frontiers, today it’s all about Africa. And more specifically, it’s all about the eastern coast, with Kenya the clear darling–not just because it’s outpacing neighboring Uganda by leaps and bounds, but also because despite some political instability hiccups and the threat of militant al-Shabaab, it’s still one of the safest venues in the region.

China’s long-serving central banker Zhou Xiaochuan —the face of the Chinese economy to markets globally—may be swept out of office. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is considering replacing Mr. Zhou, say party officials, as part of a wider personnel reshuffle that also comes after internal battles over economic reforms. The discussions occur as Mr. Xi, now two years in office, tries to place more allies into top positions in the government, military and Communist Party, according to the officials with knowledge of the plans. The personnel shifts are expected around a major party conclave to be held next month, the officials said, while cautioning that no final decision about Mr. Zhou has been made. The top contender to succeed Mr. Zhou at the People’s Bank of China is Guo Shuqing, a former banker and top securities regulator who is currently governor of Shandong, a prosperous eastern province, the officials said. President Xi named Mr. Zhou to a third term in March 2013, despite Mr. Zhou having passed the retirement age of 65 for senior Chinese officials. Over the past few months, Mr. Zhou has continued to press for market reforms, including liberalizing interest rates. The Chinese leadership, meanwhile, has become concerned that reforms now will add another burden on an economy that is struggling to meet the government’s target of 7.5% annual growth. Removing Mr. Zhou “could suggest a subtle shift in the balance of power between reformist and reactionary forces, with the momentum for reforms being eroded by the loss of growth momentum in the economy,” said Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University China expert.

Two days ago, former Alaskan television news reporter quit her job live on television after revealing herself to be the owner of a medical marijuana store. In the space of 2 days the short video amassed over 10 million views. Running time: 34 seconds, profane language – viewer discretion advised: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYcSqIuqkz4

29-30 September 2014: Al-Mal / GTM 10th Money & Finance Conference, at which the ministers of finance, investment, transportation, communications, tourism, interior, supply and social solidarity are slated to give speeches.  Venue: Four Seasons Nile Plaza, Garden City.

2 October 2014: GB Auto (AUTO on the EGX) ORdinary General Meeting. Venue: Company headquarters in Abu Rawash at 8:30am.

21-22 October 2014: MENA Mining Show 2014, Dubai