Saudi, Egyptian Private Sectors Linked to Revitalize Business

 The Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee had recently held its 17th session in Cairo, SPA
The Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee had recently held its 17th session in Cairo, SPA
TT

Saudi, Egyptian Private Sectors Linked to Revitalize Business

 The Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee had recently held its 17th session in Cairo, SPA
The Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee had recently held its 17th session in Cairo, SPA

Official information revealed a new directive issued by the Federation of Saudi Chambers called on the private sector to view an e-guide for members of the Egyptian Businessmen Association in a step to facilitate communication between the two parties.

Saudi Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi had confirmed that Saudi Arabia aims to be the first trading partner for Egypt during the next five years.

He noted that there are 6,200 Saudi companies in Egypt with investments exceeding $30 billion, in addition to the presence of 274 Egyptian brands and more than 574 companies in Saudi markets.

According to the information, the latest step comes within the framework of the continuous cooperation between the two countries to enhance trade relations and revitalize business between Egyptian companies and their Saudi counterparts.

Therefore, the Egyptian Businessmen Association, a “non-governmental and non-profit entity,” launched an e-directory that includes detailed data for its members.

The Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee in Cairo had recently held its 17th session, co-chaired by Al-Qasabi and Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Neveen Gamea in the presence of government officials representing various sectors in the two countries.

During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, Al-Qasabi conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HPrince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, commending deep-rooted relations between the two countries that are based on the bonds of religions, fraternity, dialogue, history and joint interests of both countries.

Minister Al-Qasabi said that the committee is an extension of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the importance of joint action to further enhance brotherly ties, boost cooperation, and move to a higher level, noting that the Saudi-Egyptian Joint Committee is one of the active committees between the two countries that has been held annually, except in 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He also expressed aspiration for these meetings to enhance trade between the two countries, where the total trade volume in 2020 amounted to $8 billion, down by 15% when compared to 2019 due to the repercussions of the pandemic on global economies, reiterating that what matters now is to enhance the post-pandemic bilateral cooperation to boost economic cooperation and benefit from opportunities generated from the pandemic, as well as protecting investments in the two countries.

Al-Qasabi also expressed appreciation to Gamea and members of the technical teams for their efforts and their keenness to discuss all that can enhance cooperation between the two countries in all fields in a bid to push forward this cooperation until reaching fruitful outcomes to serve joint interests.



British Assets Gain, Mid-cap Stocks Lead after Labour Election Win

A view of the Palace of Westminster which houses Britain's parliament, during the general election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Purchase Licensing Rights
A view of the Palace of Westminster which houses Britain's parliament, during the general election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

British Assets Gain, Mid-cap Stocks Lead after Labour Election Win

A view of the Palace of Westminster which houses Britain's parliament, during the general election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Purchase Licensing Rights
A view of the Palace of Westminster which houses Britain's parliament, during the general election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. REUTERS/Hannah McKay Purchase Licensing Rights

British domestic-focussed mid-cap stocks were the biggest gainers on Friday after the centre-left Labour Party surged to a comprehensive win in a parliamentary election with blue chip stocks, government bond prices and the pound higher.

Hopes that the incoming government will provide a period of economic stability after an often tumultuous 14 years of Conservative Party rule sent the FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC), up as much as 1.8% in early trading to its highest since April 2022.

The blue chip FTSE 100 index (.FTSE), was last up 0.2% and the yield on 10-year British government bonds or gilts, dropped 3 basis points to 4.17%, marginally better than other European markets, Reuters reported.

Labour won a massive majority in the 650-seat parliament while Rishi Sunak's Conservatives suffered the worst defeat in the party's long history as voters punished them for a cost of living crisis, failing public services, and a series of scandals.

"A landslide victory provides the sort of clarity and stability that equity markets need in an increasingly volatile world," said Ben Ritchie, head of developed market equities at abrdn.

"If the new government gets this right, businesses with significant exposure to the UK economy should be the likely winners - a shot in the arm in particular for companies in the FTSE 250 and FTSE Small Cap".

British home builders stood out, with an index tracking their shares up 2.3%.

"We think the formation of a Labour-majority government will have a positive impact on housebuilders and construction materials," said Aruna Karunathilake, portfolio manager at Fidelity.

"We expect Labour to reinstate housebuilding targets and perhaps also fund investment in local planning departments... That should alleviate builders’ concerns about planning bottlenecks impeding growth in the medium term."

Analysts at Goldman Sachs said that while Labour's manifesto policies imply relatively limited changes to fiscal policy they would modestly boost demand in the near term.

As a result, they raised their forecasts for British GDP growth by 0.1 percentage points in each of 2025 and 2026.