Egypt Announces Expected Turkish Investments in Several Sectors

 Handmade traditional souvenir clothes are displayed for sale in a popular tourist area in old Cairo, Egypt May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
 Handmade traditional souvenir clothes are displayed for sale in a popular tourist area in old Cairo, Egypt May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Egypt Announces Expected Turkish Investments in Several Sectors

 Handmade traditional souvenir clothes are displayed for sale in a popular tourist area in old Cairo, Egypt May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
 Handmade traditional souvenir clothes are displayed for sale in a popular tourist area in old Cairo, Egypt May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egyptian Trade Minister Ahmed Samir said on Friday that the Turkish KOC Holding group intends to expand its activities in the Egyptian market in the coming period in the sectors of vehicles, medical products and new energy.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, published by the Egyptian Presidency of the Council of Ministers on its Facebook page, said that Samir, who is currently visiting Türkiye, met with representatives of the group to discuss its future vision to increase investments in the Egyptian market.

The statement quoted the minister as saying that the group seeks to expand in the Egyptian market through the establishment of a factory for auto-feeding industries, and another for pharmaceuticals, in addition to cooperation with the Suez Canal Economic Zone in the field of new and renewable energy and wind energy.

The group also aims to cooperate in the field of yacht marinas as well as oven manufacturing with the Arab Organization for Industrialization, according to the statement.

Representatives of the Turkish Holding Group pointed to the importance of benefiting from Egypt’s position as a commercial and investment hub in Africa, as well as taking advantage of the preferential free trade agreements that Cairo has signed with the countries of the continent.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s sovereign dollar bonds rose on Friday, after an unexpected decision to raise interest rates on Thursday evening.

Longer-dated maturities gained the most, with the 2048 rising by up to 1.4 cents, according to Tradeweb data. Bonds maturing 2040 and beyond gained one cent or more, but the shorter-dated maturities up until 2031 rose between 0.5-0.9 cents.

Egypt’s central bank raised overnight interest rates by 100 basis points on Thursday in a surprise move, saying it sought to contain inflationary pressures and anchor inflation expectations, Reuters reported.



Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
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Gold Jumps, on Track for Best Week in Over a Year on Safe-haven Demand

FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Gold bullions are displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Gold prices rose over 1% to hit a two-week peak on Friday, heading for the best weekly performance in more than a year, buoyed by safe-haven demand as Russia-Ukraine tensions intensified.

Spot gold jumped 1.3% to $2,703.05 per ounce as of 1245 GMT, hitting its highest since Nov. 8. US gold futures gained 1.1% to $2,705.30.

Bullion rose despite the US dollar hitting a 13-month high, while bitcoin hit a record peak and neared the $100,000 level.

"With both gold and USD (US dollar) rising, it seems that safe-haven demand is lifting both assets," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Ukraine's military said its drones struck four oil refineries, radar stations and other military installations in Russia, Reuters reported.

Gold has gained over 5% so far this week, its best weekly performance since October 2023. Prices have gained around $173 after slipping to a two-month low last week.

"We understand that the price setback has been used by 'Western world' investors under-allocated to gold to build exposure considering the geopolitical risks that are still around. So we continue to expect gold to rise further over the coming months," Staunovo said.

Bullion tends to shine during geopolitical tensions, economic risks, and a low interest rate environment. Markets are pricing in a 59.4% chance of a 25-basis-points cut at the Fed's December meeting, per the CME Fedwatch tool.

However, "if Fed skips or pauses its rate cut in December, that will be negative for gold prices and we could see some pullback," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.

The Chicago Federal Reserve president reiterated his support for further US interest rate cuts on Thursday.

On Friday, spot silver rose 1.8% to $31.34 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $960.13 and palladium fell 0.6% to $1,023.55. All three metals were on track for a weekly rise.