Egypt, Qatar to Develop New Strategy for Investment Cooperation

Chairman of the Egyptian Investment Authority Hossam Heiba meets with Tariq Al-Ansari, Qatar's ambassador to Cairo. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Chairman of the Egyptian Investment Authority Hossam Heiba meets with Tariq Al-Ansari, Qatar's ambassador to Cairo. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt, Qatar to Develop New Strategy for Investment Cooperation

Chairman of the Egyptian Investment Authority Hossam Heiba meets with Tariq Al-Ansari, Qatar's ambassador to Cairo. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Chairman of the Egyptian Investment Authority Hossam Heiba meets with Tariq Al-Ansari, Qatar's ambassador to Cairo. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt and Qatar discussed developing a new strategy and work mechanism to increase economic and investment cooperation between the two countries.

CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) Hossam Heiba met with Qatari Ambassador Tariq Ali al-Ansari in Cairo to explore avenues for increasing economic cooperation.

After the meeting, GAFI issued a statement, a copy of which was received by Asharq Al-Awsat, saying they focused on establishing cooperation mechanisms that would facilitate seamless economic integration.

The mechanisms may involve implementing mutually beneficial projects in Egypt or the infusion of joint investments into emerging markets, particularly the African market, especially after activating the African Free Trade Area Agreement and Egypt's accession to the BRICS Plus group.

Heiba asserted the importance of continuous communication with Qatari companies investing in Egypt, stressing the need to engage with them, encouraging them to inject new investments and overcome any challenges they may encounter.

Additionally, efforts were made to connect with major Qatari companies interested in investing in Egypt, presenting them with attractive opportunities in various sectors such as real estate, entrepreneurship, logistics, and distribution centers.

During the meeting, Heiba reviewed investment developments in Egypt and the new investment guarantees and incentives provided to investors.

The official also explained the facilities provided to investors, including facilitating land ownership, expanding the issuance of the golden license, and enhancing governance, transparency, and competitive neutrality in the Egyptian market.

He highlighted the integrated and competitive package of incentives and facilities for each economic sector, which contributed to achieving a qualitative shift in the rate of establishing companies.

The Qatari ambassador praised Egypt's economic reforms and measures, expressing the confidence of Qatari investors in the Egyptian economy.

Ansari announced plans for the coordination between representatives of the Egyptian government to hold the Qatar-Egypt Investment Forum regularly after its success in 2023.

Cairo hosted the Qatar-Egypt Investment Forum last November, during which Egyptian and Qatari companies signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding in real estate, food industries, and cars.



TotalEnergies Q3 Income Hits Three-year Low

(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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TotalEnergies Q3 Income Hits Three-year Low

(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

French oil major TotalEnergies reported third-quarter adjusted net income at a three-year low of $4.1 billion on Thursday, slightly missing expectations as refining margins and upstream outages dragged down earnings.
Adjusted net income was down 37% from a year earlier and 12.7% lower from the previous quarter's $4.7 billion. The result just missed analyst expectations of $4.2 billion, Reuters reported.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 23.6% year on year to $10 billion.
Earlier this month, TotalEnergies warned its financial results would take a hit as its margin for converting crude oil into refined fuels tumbled 65%.
Global refining margins have dropped sharply in recent months in the face of weaker economies and the start-up of several new refineries in Asia and Africa, while oil prices fell 17% in the quarter - the largest quarterly decline in a year - on worries about the global oil demand outlook.
TotalEnergies shares were down 1.5% in early trading. RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said Total reported "weaker cash generation relative to expectations", and that while "divisional estimates were broadly in line with consensus ... estimates have been falling following the recent trading update."
The company confirmed $2 billion in share buybacks for the fourth quarter and decided a third interim dividend of 0.79 euros per share for 2024.
In addition to a 83% drop in quarterly refining and chemicals division profits year-on-year, Total's integrated LNG division also made 21% less than the third quarter last year, with the company citing low gas market volatility as a hamper on trading profits. Integrated power, which includes renewables, was down 4% from a year ago.
TotalEnergies took a $1.1 billion impairment related to the August bankruptcy filing of US subsidiary SunPower, and its exit of several South African offshore blocks.
Quarterly hydrocarbon production of 2.4 million barrels of oil-equivalent per day was at the low end of guidance given at half year due to security-related disruptions in Libya and an outage at the Ichthys LNG plant in Australia.