Egypt secured immediate Philippine market access for five agricultural exports

Five Egyptian agricultural exports are getting immediate access to the Philippine market under an agreement signed between the two sides, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Grapes, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and carrots are covered by the agreement, which was signed on the sidelines of the tenth round of Egypt-Philippines political consultations. Work is also underway to complete market-access procedures for Egyptian potato exports.

The signing sat inside a wider business push: Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also attended a meeting where the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce signed an MoU with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry to enhance business cooperation frameworks. In a separate meeting with the Philippines’ trade and industry minister, Abdelatty pitched stronger trade and investment ties, with both sides discussing ways to raise bilateral trade and investment flows.

Abdelatty also pushed for a stronger institutional relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), telling Bloomberg that Egypt wants deeper economic, trade, and investment ties with Southeast Asia. He also met the FMs of Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, and Laos, where Egypt said it wants to upgrade its relationship with the bloc to “sectoral dialogue partner” status.

The same trip doubled as a broader economic-diplomacy round: Abdelatty told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Egypt wants to hold the second Joint Economic Commission and host the second Egypt-US Economic Forum in Cairo. He also discussed new investment openings with the Dutch FM in ports, infrastructure, digitization, AI, green hydrogen, migration, and water management. Meanwhile, talks with Brazil’s FM focused on leveraging Brazil as a gateway to wider Latin America and Mercosur-facing cooperation.

Schools and solar

EFG Hermes plans to invest over USD 150 mn in Saudi Arabia’s private education sector over the next two years, according to reports citing Group co-CEO Karim Moussa. The bank’s USD 300 mn Saudi Education Fund has deployed USD 125 mn across six Saudi schools. Moussa said the group will expand its Hayah International Academy brand in the Kingdom this year, is weighing two more school acquisitions, and plans to enter the nursery business within two years, citing strong ongoing demand for private education.

Separately, Ignis — a unit of EFG Holding’s renewable energy platform, Vortex Energy — is expanding into Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria within the next few years, with a focus on supplying power to data centers, an EFG Hermes spokesperson tells us. Moussa, who also runs Vortex, expects a surge in renewables demand over the coming 10 years, fueled by data center expansion. He pointed to BloombergNEF forecasts showing solar becoming the top global electricity source by 2032 — followed by wind in 2034 — as annual clean energy investment hits USD 3.1 tn by 2030. Vortex has put roughly EUR 300 mn into Ignis since acquiring it in 2021.

The two moves sit together under a fast-growing platform: EFG Holding’s total assets under management have reached USD 6.5 bn across its education, energy, and direct investment arms.

Abu Qir’s next expansion

Mostakbal Misr is looking into setting up a 1 mn sqm logistics zone inside Abu Qir Port for dry bulk handling and storage, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says are familiar with the matter. The proposed zone would handle strategic commodities, including grains and corn, supporting the authority’s food-security and supply-chain plans.

The study comes as Abu Qir scales up: The port has started initial operations at its new container terminal, operated by Hutchison Ports. Hutchison signed a USD 730 mn agreement with the Egyptian Navy in 2020 to build and operate the Abu Qir container terminal, with capacity of up to 2 mn TEUs and a 60-hectare yard once complete.

More under our radar:

• A Quantum leap into Egypt’s oil sector: US energy investment firm Quantum Capital Group is eyeing long-term oil, gas, and refining investments in Egypt, encouraged by newly introduced incentives and a broader wave of foreign capital returning as the government cleared over USD 5.5 bn in overdue payments. (Statement)
• Al Ahly Sabbour banks on Summer: Al Ahly Sabbour lined up a EGP 4.4 bn, six-year syndicated loan with CIB and Suez Canal Bank to fund its 434-feddan Summer project in Ras El Hekma. (Statement, pdf)
• Elsewedy Electric is targeting a new Fayoum plant: The cabinet is moving ahead with contracting procedures with Elsewedy Electric to build a plant producing electrical wiring harnesses and components on 22.6 feddans in Fayoum. No investment value, capacity, or timeline was disclosed. (Statement)