Financial Regulatory Authority makes life and disability ins. mandatory for all customer finance loans

Consumer finance players must bundle life ins. under new FRA rules

The Financial Regulatory Authority is making life and disability ins. a mandatory requirement for all consumer finance loans. Under a new decree, lenders must provide coverage for borrowers up to age 65 — with the option to extend to older clients subject to insurer approval — while making sure the insured amount matches the outstanding loan balance, according to a statement from the authority. Firms have six months to comply.

Why it matters: Consumer finance players, already battling high interest rates and inflation, must now bake ins. premiums into their cost structure. While it protects the lender’s balance sheet from defaults due to death or disability, it adds friction to the instant credit model that has driven the sector’s growth. For life insurers, this is a mandated expansion of their addressable market.

Sokhna is getting a USD 2 mn fertilizer plant

Local fertilizer player Grass Egypt will set up a USD 2 mn plant in the Sokhna Industrial Zone. The 15k sqm facility will produce fertilizers, soil conditioners, and agricultural pesticides with an annual capacity of 5k-7k tons, aiming to slash our import bill for these products. Production is expected to start in early 2027.