Egypt to Manufacture 75,000 Vehicles Annually in SCZone

The Egyptian Prime Minister attends the signing of a quadrilateral MoU to establish a car manufacturing complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Egyptian Prime Minister attends the signing of a quadrilateral MoU to establish a car manufacturing complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Egypt to Manufacture 75,000 Vehicles Annually in SCZone

The Egyptian Prime Minister attends the signing of a quadrilateral MoU to establish a car manufacturing complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Egyptian Prime Minister attends the signing of a quadrilateral MoU to establish a car manufacturing complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt unveiled Tuesday a national strategy for the automotive industry in the country.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the National Strategy for the Development of the Automotive Industry, which was launched from East of Port Said in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone).

Madbouly also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the localization of the automotive industry in the East Port Said Industrial Zone, with a capacity to manufacture 75,000 vehicles annually as a first stage, and the establishment of the joint manufacturing complex EPAZ.

The MoU was signed between the General Authority for the SCZone, the Egyptian Sovereign Fund, East Port Said Development Company and the Egyptian International Motors Company.

President of the SCZone Yehia Zaki, Executive Director of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt Ayman Soliman, Chairman of the East Port Said Development Board Karim Sami Saad, and Chairman of the Egyptian International Auto Group Khaled Noseir signed the MoU.

It stipulated conducting feasibility studies for this project and studying all its financial and technical aspects to establish a joint industrial complex to manufacture auto parts and accessories in the industrial zone East of Port Said.

The MoU also underscored the importance of enhancing the competitiveness of this industrial complex in line with the national strategy to meet the needs of the local and regional markets, as well as maximizing competition locally and internationally in this sector.

The PM indicated during his meeting with renowned car manufacturers on Tuesday to the facilitations, incentives and factors the SCZone provide for investors in this sector.

He underlined the integration of industrial zones and its affiliated ports that facilitate exporting cars from Egypt to African countries, as well as the investment advantages and features it enjoys compared to other global economic zones.

Madbouly referred to its geographical location that connects the Red and Mediterranean Seas through the Suez Canal, the world’s most important navigational corridor.



Bank of America Forecasts Three US Rate Cuts this Year

A customer uses an ATM at a Bank of America branch in Boston, Massachusetts, US, October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
A customer uses an ATM at a Bank of America branch in Boston, Massachusetts, US, October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
TT

Bank of America Forecasts Three US Rate Cuts this Year

A customer uses an ATM at a Bank of America branch in Boston, Massachusetts, US, October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
A customer uses an ATM at a Bank of America branch in Boston, Massachusetts, US, October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Bank of America, the most conservative among Wall Street's brokerages on the size of the Federal Reserve's expected interest rate cuts this year, has raised its forecast to match most of its peers after the recent nonfarm payrolls data.

BofA Global Research said on Sunday that it now expects the central bank to lower rates by 25 basis points (bps) in each of the three remaining policy meetings this year, compared with its previous forecast of two 25-bps cuts in September and December, according to Reuters.

The change was after data on Friday showed US employment rose less than expected in August, but a drop in the jobless rate to 4.2% suggested the labor market was not falling off the cliff to warrant a half-point rate cut this month.

BofA economists concurred, saying the hurdle for a 50-bps cut in September is high “because despite evidence of a cool labor market, layoffs remain low.”

Their latest forecast is the same as that of eight other brokerages, including Morgan Stanley and UBS Global Research, though it was not immediately clear if these brokerages would, or have already, altered their forecasts.

The jobs data had little effect on investors' bets on the size of a cut at the Fed's meeting next week. Interest rate futures signal a 70% chance of a 25 bps cut, nearly the same as last week.

Barclays and Goldman Sachs retained their call of three 25-bps cuts this year, saying the jobs data did not warrant a 50-bps cut.

Before the latest jobs data, UBS Global Wealth Management, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Wells Fargo Investment Institute had expected a 50 bps cut in September.