Latest news with #TomaszJanowski
Zawya
05-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Egypt's MNT-Halan sells $50mln in local corporate bonds
Egyptian microfinance lending and payments company MNT-Halan sold 2.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($49.4 million) in corporate bonds to finance further growth of its Egyptian loan book, it said in a statement on Monday. The bonds were sold to institutional lenders, the company added. MNT-Halan, Egypt's first unicorn, or privately held venture capital company worth more than $1 billion, expanded outside Egypt last year with the purchase of Turkish micro-leasing company Tam Finans. The company says it has disbursed more than $11 billion in loans both inside and outside of Egypt. ($1 = 50.6300 Egyptian pounds) (Reporting by Patrick Werr Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Zawya
17-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Morocco's Akdital to open two hospitals in Saudi Arabia worth $200mln
Moroccan clinic operator Akdital said on Thursday it has signed a deal to set up two hospitals in Ryadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for a total investment of $200 million. The deal was signed with Saudi real estate develoers Wataniyah Business Real Estate and Namaya, in line with Saudi Arabia's 2030 health strategy, the company said in a statement. The investment in the hospitals, which are due for completion by 2027, marks the first overseas expansion for the Casablanca-listed Akdital, which operates 36 hospitals across Morocco. (Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Zawya
07-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Egypt's net foreign assets climb in February
CAIRO: Egypt's net foreign assets climbed by $1.48 billion in February, their second increase this year after having fallen in each of the last three months of last year, central bank data showed. Net foreign assets climbed to the equivalent of $10.18 billion from $8.70 billion at the end of January, according to Reuters calculations based on official central bank currency exchange rates. The increase appeared related to an increase in Egyptian treasury bill purchases by foreign investors, one banker said. Foreign assets were boosted in January following the sale of $2 billion in international bonds on January 29 in Egypt's first dollar-denominated international bond sale in four years. They are expected to rise again in March following the approval by the International Monetary Fund of its fourth review of an $8 billion financial support package signed in March 2024. Last month's approval unlocked $1.2 billion in addition to making another $1.3 billion available under the IMF's resilience and sustainability facility. Egypt had been using foreign assets, which include those assets at both the central bank and commercial banks, to help to prop up its currency since as long ago as September 2021. Net foreign assets turned negative in February 2022 and only returned to positive territory in May last year. Foreign assets increased in February at both the central bank and commercial banks, while foreign liabilities rose at the central bank but fell at commercial banks. (Reporting by Patrick Werr Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Zawya
27-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Israel regulator says banks should help ease financial burden of those harmed by war
JERUSALEM: Israel's banking regulator on Wednesday asked commercial banks to allocate up to 3 billion shekels ($841 million) through 2026 to fund relief for retail customers and to improve interest terms offered to clients hurt by the 16-month old war. The Bank of Israel's latest proposal calls for banks to put aside 1.5 billion shekels a year in 2025 and 2026 to finance various relief measures for retail customers, saying the amount balances the need to allocate resources for substantial relief to those impacted by the war with a desire to maintain resiliency and stability in the banking system. Since the attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023 that triggered the war and bringing economic hardships to many families - mainly in border towns near Gaza and Lebanon - banks have adopted a number of central bank initiatives to ease loan and other conditions to those impacted. It said the plan to help reservists, evacuees from conflict zones and families of war casualties comes in view of "current geopolitical uncertainty, the challenges it poses to economic activity, and the high profitability of banks" and could be updated if the situation changes. "The Bank of Israel calls on the banking system to rise to the challenges of the current times and adopt the proposed program principles," it added. In addition to setting aside funds, the central bank asks banks to reduce interest rates on negative bank balances, providing benefits on accounts with positive balances and automatically transfer funds from checking accounts to yield- bearing accounts. At the same time, the regulator has allowed banks to issue quarterly dividends of 40% of net profit. Banks would be required to publish the extent of the actual relief provided in financial reports, which would be audited by the central bank. Israel's banks have come under heavy criticism from the public and some lawmakers for making large profits due to higher mortgage and loan rates since 2022 while cost of living pressures burden consumers. Banks will begin to report fourth-quarter results on Thursday. A survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Tuesday showed some 20% of Israelis who were forced to evacuate their homes after the October 7, 2023 attack have lost their jobs. Tens of thousands of Israelis were since evacuated from towns near the Gaza and Lebanese borders. The survey showed that around a third of Israeli households have reported a fall in their incomes since the start of the war, while 72% of evacuees received some kind of relief on their housing payments. ($1 = 3.5664 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Zawya
21-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
JPMorgan analysts see no special Aramco dividend this year
Saudi Aramco is forecast to have no performance-linked dividend this year after a more balanced 2024 cash cycle following earlier bumper results that backed the special payout, JPMorgan said in a research note on Friday. "The past 18M (18 months) has delivered elevated performance-linked divs funded by premium FY22/23 financials and we remind this cycle ends with YE24 (year-end 2024). For 2025, we forecast no special distributions following a more balanced 2024 cash cycle," the note said. Aramco, which reports its 2024 results on March 4, has said it expects to declare total dividends of $124.3 billion for 2024, of which $43.1 billion would be performance-linked dividends. The Saudi government, which directly holds nearly 81.5% of Aramco, relies on the company's payouts, which also include royalties and taxes. Its sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF)holds another 16% of Aramco and also benefits from its dividends as PIF spends tens of billions of dollars to try to steer the economy away from oil. The government last year sold a chunk of its longtime cash cow to raise $12.35 billion from the second Aramco share offering after its record 2019 debut. (Reporting by Yousef Saba Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
