Egypt Hikes Domestic Fuel Prices

Cars are seen at a petrol station in downtown Cairo, Egypt June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Cars are seen at a petrol station in downtown Cairo, Egypt June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Egypt Hikes Domestic Fuel Prices

Cars are seen at a petrol station in downtown Cairo, Egypt June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
Cars are seen at a petrol station in downtown Cairo, Egypt June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egypt introduced its latest round of fuel subsidy cuts on Friday, raising domestic prices by between 16 percent and 30 percent.

The price of widely used 92 octane grade petrol rose by 18.5 percent to 8 pounds ($0.4825) a liter, while lower quality 80 octane rose by 22.7 percent to 6.75 pounds ($0.4071) a liter, the petroleum ministry said in a statement.

Higher grade 95 octane fuel rose by 16.1 percent to 9 Egyptian pounds ($0.5428) a liter, and diesel rose by 22.7 percent to 6.75 pounds per liter. The price of cooking gas cylinders rose by 30 percent to 65 pounds for domestic use and 130 pounds for commercial use.

Scaling back fuel subsidies was a key plank of a three-year $12 billion economic reform package signed with the IMF in November 2016. Energy subsidies had eaten up as much as 20 percent of the government's budget in recent years.

The reforms also included a sharp devaluation of the Egyptian pound and led to rapid inflation that later cooled.



Saudi PIF Completes $7 bln Inaugural Murabaha Credit Facility

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
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Saudi PIF Completes $7 bln Inaugural Murabaha Credit Facility

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) logo

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed on Monday a $7 billion inaugural murabaha credit facility.
In a statement, PIF said the credit facility is supported by a syndicate of 20 international and regional financial institutions.
PIF head of the Global Capital Finance Division and head of Investment Strategy and Economic Insights Division Fahad AlSaif said: “This inaugural murabaha credit facility demonstrates the flexibility and depth of PIF’s financing strategy and use of diversified funding sources, as we continue to drive transformative investments, globally and in Saudi Arabia”, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
This financing complements PIF’s successful sukuk issuances over the past two years, the statement added. It also underpins PIF’s strong financial position, as well as its best-practice approach to debt financing.
PIF is rated Aa3 by Moody’s with stable outlook and A+ by Fitch with stable outlook. PIF has four main sources of funding: capital injections from government, government asset transfers, retained earnings from investments, and loans and debt instruments.