Egypt Financial Services

OUTLINE: In November 2016 the executive board of the IMF approved a three-year, $12bn loan under an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) aimed at boosting the economy. According to a September 2017 IMF staff report on the aims of the development programme, the loan instalments are contingent on the...

With nine operators in the Egyptian insurance sector offering takaful (Islamic insurance), sharia-compliant coverage is already a well-established component of the industry. Many market observers, however, feel that compared to its success in the Gulf, the Egyptian takaful story is one of unrealised potential.

The Egyptian insurance industry, one of the oldest in the region, has shown a welcome degree of resilience in recent years. Despite its long history, however, the market remains at a relatively nascent stage of growth compared to those in advanced economies, characterised by a low penetration rate and modest insurance density. While this means...

The recent history of bancassurance in Egypt has at times been a troubled one. While the concept was enthusiastically adopted in the period of sustained economic growth leading up to 2008, the pace of the industry’s expansion exposed a number of weaknesses. Chief among these were a lack of adequately trained staff and an increasing amount of...

The prospect of a new commodities exchange in Egypt is one of the more significant developments to emerge in 2016. While the possibility of creating a new market has been floated for years, the current proposal, if developed as planned, will be a regional first. It would also correct the currently dysfunctional system that governs trade in...

OUTLINE: In 2015 and 2016 the government was adamant about supporting the value of the Egyptian pound in the face of ongoing currency depreciation pressure, through its successive increases of the Treasury rate. As of October 2016 Treasury bond offerings show the five-year bonds standing at 13.4%...