Business News North Africa February 2024
Business
EGYPT – UAE’s ADNEC acquires a 40.5% stake in Egyptian hotel management company ICON
Emirati investment and holding company ADNEC has acquired a 40.5% stake in Egyptian hotel management company ICON through a capital increase. The acquisition will give ADNEC partial ownership of many historical Egyptian hotels in Cairo, Alexandria, Aswan, and Luxor. The transaction’s value was not disclosed.
Jan. 13, 2024
EGYPT – Vietnamese filler masterbatch manufacturer EuroPlas launches a factory in Egypt
Vietnamese filler masterbatch manufacturer EuroPlas has inaugurated its first manufacturing unit in Sadat City, northern Egypt. The project required an investment of USD 30.0 mn and is expected to produce 300,000 tonnes of filler masterbatch per year.
Jan. 15, 2024
EGYPT – More than 14.9 million tourists visited Egypt in 2023
Egypt has attracted over 14.9 million tourists in 2023, breaking its historical record of 14.7 million visitors in 2010. The country witnessed a surge in tourist arrivals in the fourth quarter of 2023 in comparison with the same period of 2022, at 3.6 million tourists – an 8.0% annual increase.
Jan. 17, 2024
EGYPT – China’s Vanward begins the construction of a household appliances factory in Egypt
Chinese household appliances manufacturer Vanward has launched the construction of a factory in the Sokhna industrial zone, near the Suez Canal. The project has an investment budget of USD 12.0 mn and is set to cover an area of 26,000 square meters. The new factory is expected to generate 300 job opportunities.
Jan. 18, 2024
MOROCCO – MSA Safety launches a new production unit in Morocco
American company MSA Safety, specializing in safety products, has inaugurated a new factory near Casablanca. The new manufacturing unit will produce personal safety equipment to be exported to various markets in the EMEA region.
Jan. 18, 2024
MOROCCO – Chinese wind blade manufacturer Aeolon builds a production unit in Morocco
Chinese manufacturer Aeolon has launched the construction of a wind blade production unit in Nador, northeastern Morocco. The company is investing MAD 2.3 bn (EUR 211.9 mn) in the project, which is expected to generate over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs. The factory is set to become operational in January 2025.
Jan. 23, 2024
MOROCCO – Morocco welcomed 14.5 million tourists in 2023
Morocco has set a new record in annual tourist arrivals, which reached 14.5 million visitors in 2023. The figure represents a 34.0% increase in comparison with the previous year 2022 and a 12.0% growth compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jan. 25, 2024
TUNISIA – China’s Sichuan Road & Bridge wins a contract to build a 2-kilometer-long bridge in Tunisia
Chinese construction company Sichuan Road & Bridge has won a call for bids to build a 2,070-meter-long bridge in Bizerte, northern Tunisia. The contract is worth TND 610.0 mn (EUR 180.5 mn) and the project duration is set at 38 months.
Jan. 3, 2024
TUNISIA – South Korea’s Yura Corporation to expand its Tunisian wire harness factory
South Korean automotive wire harness manufacturer Yura Corporation has announced its plan to expand its factory in Kairouan, central Tunisia. The expansion would triple the production capacity of the factory and increase its workforce from 2,000 to 6,000 employees. The assembly unit has been operating since 2007.
Jan. 8, 2024
ALGERIA – American company Reasol partners up with Algeria’s Tafadis to produce white sugar
American company Reasol has signed a memorandum of understanding with Algerian sugar manufacturer Tafadis to launch a joint project in Algeria for the cultivation of sugar beet and the manufacturing of white sugar. The product will be marketed both locally and in international markets.
Jan. 25, 2024
ALGERIA – Algerian company launches a new factory to produce Samsung televisions
Algeria’s Minister of Industry has inaugurated a new factory operated by local household appliances manufacturer Sinova Home Appliances. The production unit will exclusively manufacture televisions for Samsung. The project required an investment of DZD 18.0 mn (EUR 123.5 mn) and has a production capacity of 500,000 televisions per year. It is set to create around 1,000 new jobs.
Jan. 31, 2024
ALGERIA – Sonatrach signs a 10-year LNG supply contract with the UK’s Grain LNG
Algeria’s national oil and gas company Sonatrach has signed a 10-year supply contract with British company Grain LNG. According to the agreement, Sonatrach will export 3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to the United Kingdom every year for the next decade.
Jan. 31, 2024
Politics
EGYPT – Egypt adopts new tax regulations for small businesses
The Egyptian Tax Authority has launched new tax regulations for businesses with an annual turnover not exceeding EGP 10.0 mn (EUR 298,377). Businesses with a turnover below EGP 250,000 (EUR 7,459) will be subject to a fixed annual tax of EGP 1,000 (EUR 29.8). Businesses with turnovers ranging from EGP 250,000 to EGP 500,000 (EUR 14,919) will pay an EGP 2,500 (EUR 74.6) tax, while those generating between EGP 500,000 and EGP 1.0 mn (EUR 29,838) of revenue will pay EGP 5,000 (EUR 149.2) per year. Finally, companies generating EGP 1.0 mn to EGP 2.0 mn (EUR 59,675), EGP 2.0 mn to EGP 3.0 mn (EUR 89,513), and EGP 3.0 mn to EGP 10.0 mn will incur taxes of 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0% respectively.
Jan. 23, 2024
TUNISIA – Tunisian President appoints three new ministers after several months of vacancy
Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed has appointed three new ministers for economy and planning; industry, mines, and energy; and employment and vocational training. These positions have been vacant since October 2023, May 2023, and February 2023, respectively. The president also created three new state secretary positions for small businesses, energy transition, and community companies.
Jan. 24, 2024
TUNISIA – Tunisia’s state of emergency gets renewed for 2024
Tunisian President Kaïs Saïed has extended the country’s state of emergency for an additional year, until the end of 2024. The state of emergency has been in place since 2015. It was established after a terrorist attack and has been routinely extended ever since. The state of emergency confers to the Minister of the Interior the ability to take exceptional measures, such as preventing meetings, imposing curfews, searching stores, and monitoring the media.
Jan. 30, 2024
ALGERIA – Algeria boycotts ships transiting through Morocco
Algerian authorities have banned commercial ships transiting through Morocco, notably through the Tangier Med Port, from docking in Algeria. To get around the ban, several shipping companies, including CMA-CGM and Maersk, announced that all the goods destined for Algeria would transit through Spanish ports, namely the ports of Algeciras, Valencia, or Barcelona.
Jan. 10, 2024
Economy
EGYPT – Egypt records a 33.7% annual inflation rate in December 2023
Egypt’s annual inflation rate has decreased from 34.6% in November 2023 to 33.7% in December. Fruits and vegetables are the most affected by inflation, with their prices increasing by 78.7% between December 2022 and 2023.
Jan. 10, 2024
EGYPT – Egyptian economy records 2.6% growth in Q1 of the 2023-2024 fiscal year
The Egyptian economy has recorded a 2.6% growth rate during the first quarter of the 2023-2024 fiscal year – July to September 2023. The figure represents a decline in comparison with the 4.4% growth recorded in the first quarter of the 2022-2023 fiscal year, as well as the 2.9% growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022-2023.
Jan. 16, 2024
EGYPT – Central Bank of Egypt increases key interest rates by 200 basis points
The Central Bank of Egypt has decided to raise the country’s key interest rates by 200 basis points. The lending rate increased to 22.25%, the main operation rate and the discount rate to 21.75%, and the deposit rate to 21.25%.
Feb. 1, 2024
MOROCCO – Morocco estimates GDP growth at 3.3% in Q4-2023
Morocco has recorded a 3.3% GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to preliminary estimations by the country’s High Commission for Planning. The figure represents an increase compared to the growth rates of 2.9%, 2.3%, and 2.8% recorded in the first, second, and third quarters of 2023, respectively.
Jan. 4, 2024
MOROCCO – Morocco’s annual inflation rate decreases to 3.4% in December 2023
Morocco’s annual inflation rate stood at 3.4% in December 2023, down from 3.6% in the previous month and from 8.3% in December 2022. Meanwhile, the average annual inflation rate over the entire year of 2023 stood at 6.1%. The figure is due to a 12.5% increase in the prices of food products and a 1.7% rise for non-food products.
Jan. 22, 2024
TUNISIA – Annual inflation rate in Tunisia declines to 8.1% in December 2023
Tunisia’s annual inflation rate has decreased from 8.3% in November 2023 to 8.1% in December. The figure is mainly attributed to a 12.3% increase in the prices of food products, notably coffee (35.0%), beef meat (26.6%), cooking oils (25.1%), condiments (20.7%), fresh vegetables (14.1%), and fresh fruits (12.5%). Meanwhile, the prices of other manufactured goods increased by 7.0% between December 2022 and 2023, and those of services by 6.1%.
Jan. 5, 2024
ALGERIA – Algeria’s annual inflation rate drops to 7.2% in December 2023
Algeria’s annual inflation rate has declined from 8.4% in November 2023 to 7.2% in December. The figure is mainly attributed to an increase in the prices of food products (8.9%), followed by hygiene products (8.1%), household items (6.5%), and clothing items (6.2%).
Jan. 29, 2024
Key Economic Indicators
