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Sunday, 29 January 2023

EgyptAir not for sale + small-scale solar projects get a break

AVIATION + PRIVATIZATION-

EgyptAir isn’t up for sale: The government has no plans to sell the national flag carrier, the cabinet said in a statement in response to rumors circulating on social media and some media outlets last week.

ENERGY-

More solar producers exempted from integration fees: The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera) will exempt solar projects producing up to 10 MW of power from paying integration fees, raising the ceiling from 500 KW, Al Mal reported.

BACKGROUND- Integration fees? Last year Egyptera introduced integration fees on solar plants producing more than 500 KW of power to help cover the costs of connecting them to the national grid.

AND- Egypt to help develop Jordanian natgas infrastructure: The state-owned Jordanian Egyptian Fajr Natural Gas Company signed an agreement last week with the Aqaba Development Company (ADC) to build and operate a linking point and a station for the transport and supply of natural gas to the Quweira industrial zone in Jordan, ADC and the Egyptian Oil Ministry said in separate statements last week.

FINANCE –

The Central Bank of Egypt offered three-year treasury bonds with variable interest rates for the first time on Tuesday, according to data published on the central bank’s website. The bonds will pay out interest quarterly at a rate 4.25% higher than the central bank’s corridor rate. The Finance Ministry agreed to double the size of the auction to more than EGP 2 bn after it was almost 6x oversubscribed.

TRADE-

New Saudi visas are causing headaches for truckers: Truckers carrying goods into Saudi Arabia have faced disruption in recent days after Saudi authorities changed visa rules, Al Mal reports. Visas now only allow holders to enter once in a three-month period, forcing drivers to wait for weeks before being able to re-enter the country and preventing them traveling on to Jordan and other countries in the Gulf. Egyptian officials are planning to discuss restoring the original visa rules with Saudi authorities next week, the newspaper reports, citing government sources.

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