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Saudi-Egyptian Committee Launches Website to Finance MSMEs

A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP file photo)
A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP file photo)
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Saudi-Egyptian Committee Launches Website to Finance MSMEs

A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP file photo)
A general view of Cairo, Egypt. (AFP file photo)

The Egyptian-Saudi Joint Committee for the Development of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) launched a website to showcase its efforts, as part of $200 million Saudi grant.

The grant is dedicated to supporting the state’s efforts to bridge the gap between financial institutions and MSMEs and enable their access to financing through intermediaries.

The launch coincided with the International Day of Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises that falls on June 27 and which was declared by the UN General Assembly to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development and the global economy.

The website also provides a clear structure for intermediaries who require funding and would want to benefit from the grant through applying to the committee.

The launch was attended by the Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat, and head of Saudi committee Hassan al-Attas, along with a number of officials from both countries.

Mashat praised the distinguished Egyptian-Saudi strategic relations, which are reflected in the development financing offered for several projects across various sectors.

The bilateral partnership includes the King Salman Program for the Development of the Sinai Peninsula, in addition to the grant offered for the development of MSMEs, which capitalize on the national and global sustainable development framework, said the minister.

She explained that the Saudi grant plays a vital role in bridging the financing gap between lenders and MSMEs in light of the paramount importance of these projects to the Egyptian economy, as it is a potential force that supports economic growth.

She noted that the grant has financed 2,180 micro, small, and medium projects so far through intermediary agencies in 27 governorates. The projects have contributed to creating more than 12,000 job opportunities.

The committee aims during the coming period to reach a larger number of beneficiaries.

For his part, Attas lauded the strategic relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He explained that the launch of the website will facilitate access to the Saudi development financing directed to the support of the MSMEs in Egypt.

Attas noted that the website will create a communication platform through which the beneficiaries can showcase their success stories resulting from financial support.

He further added that the total cooperation portfolio between the two countries has reached $30 billion, with over 6,000 Saudi companies working in the Egyptian market.

The Saudi grant has helped finance several projects in various major sectors, in line with the Ministry of International Cooperation’s development strategy along with its economic diplomacy principles, he added.

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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
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US Economy Grew at Solid 3% Rate Last Quarter, Government Says in Final Estimate

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

The American economy expanded at a healthy 3% annual pace from April through June, boosted by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday, leaving its previous estimate unchanged.
The Commerce Department reported that the nation's gross domestic product — the nation's total output of goods and services — picked up sharply in the second quarter from the tepid 1.6% annual rate in the first three months of the year, The Associated Press reported.
Consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, grew last quarter at a 2.8% pace, down slightly from the 2.9% rate the government had previously estimated. Business investment was also solid: It increased at a vigorous 8.3% annual pace last quarter, led by a 9.8% rise in investment in equipment.
The final GDP estimate for the April-June quarter included figures showing that inflation continues to ease, to just above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The central bank’s favored inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures index, or PCE — rose at a 2.5% annual rate last quarter, down from 3% in the first quarter of the year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core PCE inflation grew at a 2.8% pace, down from 3.7% from January through March.
The US economy, the world's biggest, displayed remarkable resilience in the face of the 11 interest rate hikes the Fed carried out in 2022 and 2023 to fight the worst bout of inflation in four decades. Since peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022, annual inflation as measured by the consumer price index has tumbled to 2.5%.
Despite the surge in borrowing rates, the economy kept growing and employers kept hiring. Still, the job market has shown signs of weakness in recent months. From June through August, America's employers added an average of just 116,000 jobs a month, the lowest three-month average since mid-2020, when the COVID pandemic had paralyzed the economy. The unemployment rate has ticked up from a half-century low 3.4% last year to 4.2%, still relatively low.
Last week, responding to the steady drop in inflation and growing evidence of a more sluggish job market, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point. The rate cut, the Fed’s first in more than four years, reflected its new focus on shoring up the job market now that inflation has largely been tamed.
Some other barometers of the economy still look healthy. Americans last month increased their spending at retailers, for example, suggesting that consumers are still able and willing to spend more despite the cumulative impact of three years of excess inflation and high borrowing rates. The nation’s industrial production rebounded. The pace of single-family-home construction rose sharply from the pace a year earlier.
And this month, consumer sentiment rose for a third straight month, according to preliminary figures from the University of Michigan. The brighter outlook was driven by “more favorable prices as perceived by consumers” for cars, appliances, furniture and other long-lasting goods.
A category within GDP that measures the economy’s underlying strength rose at a healthy 2.7% annual rate, though that was down from 2.9% in the first quarter. This category includes consumer spending and private investment but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending.
Though the Fed now believes inflation is largely defeated, many Americans remain upset with still-high prices for groceries, gas, rent and other necessities. Former President Donald Trump blames the Biden-Harris administration for sparking an inflationary surge. Vice President Kamala Harris, in turn, has charged that Trump’s promise to slap tariffs on all imports would raise prices for consumers even further.
On Thursday, the Commerce Department also issued revisions to previous GDP estimates. From 2018 through 2023, growth was mostly higher — an average annual rate of 2.3%, up from a previously reported 2.1% — largely because of upward revisions to consumer spending. The revisions showed that GDP grew 2.9% last year, up from the 2.5% previously reported.
Thursday’s report was the government’s third and final estimate of GDP growth for the April-June quarter. It will release its initial estimate of July-September GDP growth on Oct. 30.