INVESTMENT WATCH- The IFC confirms it plans to invest another USD 1.5 bn in Egypt’s private sector this year. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) officially confirmed in a statement that it has allocated USD 1.5 bn in new funding for the private sector in FY2018-19. The local press had been noting the figure late last year, but this is the first we’ve heard coming from the IFC itself.

Egypt’s Vinavil to receive USD 15 mn multi-currency loan from IFC to help boost production: The statement came following the announcement by the IFC yesterday that it will be providing Vinavil Egypt Chemicals with a USD 15 mn (around EGP 266.6 mn) loan to help the company move forward with plans to double its output and grow into an exporter of specialty construction chemicals. The IFC will be disbursing the amount mostly in EGP — “a first for the organization”—  in order to address the company’s “need for flexible borrowing in both EGP and USD.” IFC MENA DIrector Mohannad Makhlouf said this “ensures the currency is more accessible to local companies, which can help boost crucial industries like manufacturing and construction,” which are vital to job creation.