Egypt’s Sovereign Wealth Fund CEO Resigns

A farmer carries a box of mangoes in Ismailia, Egypt (Reuters)
A farmer carries a box of mangoes in Ismailia, Egypt (Reuters)
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Egypt’s Sovereign Wealth Fund CEO Resigns

A farmer carries a box of mangoes in Ismailia, Egypt (Reuters)
A farmer carries a box of mangoes in Ismailia, Egypt (Reuters)

The head of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE), Ayman Soliman, has resigned, informed Egyptian sources revealed on Thursday.
They said Soliman resigned last June, around the time of the July ministerial shuffle, with his final working day set for the end of August.
A bill was already sent to the Egyptian House of Representatives to discuss transferring the Fund’s affiliation to the Prime Minister's Office.
In February 2019, Egypt formed the sovereign wealth fund to take control of some of the government's most promising assets in industries such as power and real estate, to bring in private investors to develop them.
Soliman was appointed as head of the fund in 2019 for an initial three-year term that was subsequently extended.
His resignation had been anticipated, with one government source saying the country's political leadership wanted to introduce fresh faces into key positions as part of a broader reshuffle, according to Reuters.
As of July, the Fund oversees approximately $12 billion in assets. It has attained the 48th position in the top 100 largest sovereign funds by total assets.
TSFE currently runs and operates five sub-funds: Infrastructure and Utilities Sub-Fund, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals Sub-Fund, Tourism, Real Estate and Antiquities Sub-Fund, Financial Services and Fintech Sub-Fund, and Asset Management and Restructuring Sub-Fund.

Separately, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) announced on Thursday that Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 6.5% in the second quarter (Q2) of 2024, nearly a 0.2% decrease compared to Q1.
In May, government data showed that during Q1 of 2024, the labor force was estimated to consist of 31.397 million individuals, reflecting a 1.0% increase from the previous quarter's 31.101 million individuals. Of this total, 13.758 million individuals were part of the urban labor force, while 17.639 million individuals were part of the rural labor force.

 



Gold Set for Weekly Drop; Traders Await US Inflation Data

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
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Gold Set for Weekly Drop; Traders Await US Inflation Data

Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Gold bars from the vault of a bank are seen in this illustration picture taken in Zurich November 20, 2014. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

Gold prices rose on Friday, but were set for a weekly decline after the Federal Reserve signalled a slowdown in rate cuts next year, while focus shifted to a key US inflation print due later in the day.
Spot gold was up 0.5% at $2,606.19 per ounce, as of 0821 GMT, but has lost about 1.5% so far this week.
US gold futures was 0.5% higher at $2,620.60, Reuters said.
Gold is consolidating as "investors await Trump to resume office next year and the Fed will also go meeting by meeting, considering the data development and seeing what is part of Trump's trade policy," said Soni Kumari, a commodity strategist at ANZ.
Investors now await the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, for further clues on the US economic outlook.
The Fed cut rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, but the cautious note struck in its economic projections and expected slowdown of rate cuts pushed gold to its lowest level since Nov. 18.
Data showed on Thursday that the US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, while jobless claims also slipped more than anticipated, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will take a cautious approach to policy easing.
A slightly more hawkish set of the Fed's regional bank presidents will become voters on its rate-setting panel in 2025, raising the chance that any further rate cuts next year could spur more dissents like the one seen from the head of the Cleveland Fed.
Higher rates dull the appeal of the non-yielding asset.
According to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao, spot gold may retest support at $2,582 per ounce.
Spot silver gained 0.1% to $29.06 per ounce but was headed for its worst week since April.
Platinum dropped 0.2% at $921.50 and palladium rose 0.5% to $910.63. Both the metals were poised for weekly losses.