{"id":546445,"date":"2022-05-17T04:00:52","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T04:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/05\/17\/this-morning-the-latest-from-greentech-new-green-susdev-bond-sales-coming-next-year\/"},"modified":"2022-05-17T04:00:52","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T04:00:52","slug":"this-morning-the-latest-from-greentech-new-green-susdev-bond-sales-coming-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/05\/17\/this-morning-the-latest-from-greentech-new-green-susdev-bond-sales-coming-next-year\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: The latest from GreenTech; New green, susdev bond sales coming next year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. It is hump day, and your reward is another flood of news<\/strong>, so let\u2019s jump right in:<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY here at home: The Madbouly government used a visit by a group of US <\/strong>green tech companies to continue beating the drum about its openness to private investment. <\/strong>It was Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly\u2019s first meeting with the domestic and international business community since his landmark speech on Sunday.<\/p>\n

As you\u2019d expect at a green tech event, Madbouly emphasized our future as a regional <\/strong>hub for green energy<\/strong> and drew a line under his government\u2019s interest in seeing growth in exports of both technologies and services. Attracting private investment in EVs, green hydrogen and carbon capture<\/strong> are at the top of his cabinet\u2019s agenda, he said. Egypt has in recent weeks signed MoUs with international players covering some USD 10 bn worth of investment<\/a> in green hydrogen and green ammonia.<\/p>\n

The PM was on message yesterday: <\/strong>Madbouly drew a line under his government\u2019s push<\/a> to make it easier for the private sector to invest and do business in Egypt through new incentives, the sale of state assets, and regulatory reforms. Speaking with business leaders yesterday, he highlighted priority areas including energy, technology and tourism<\/strong>, among others.<\/p>\n

Sentiment among those present yesterday (Egyptian and American alike) was positive.<\/strong> Many we spoke with emphasized that the greening of Egypt will help solve many of the country\u2019s economic and environmental challenges. The US green tech trade mission<\/a> was organized by our friends at AmCham and the US Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

The US delegation seemed receptive to the message: <\/strong>Among those the bulls on green tech here was US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Climate Officer Jake Levine, who said the DFC has made its first equity investment in Egypt with a USD 25 mn ticket for a USD 250 mn fund that invests in local SMEs.<\/p>\n

Egyptian startups are impressing on the global stage:<\/strong> Levine name dropped our friends at<\/a>Shift EV<\/a> as well as Breadfast and ECOnsult as examples of companies that support the green economy outside of pure energy investments.<\/p>\n

** The meetings continue today for their third and final day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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THE ENDORSEMENT- Comida by Ken returns to Cairo today<\/strong> for its second season built around a six-course seasonal menu. Dates start today and run through June right here in the People\u2019s Democratic Republic of Maadi. The Dubai-born concept is a great way to plan a night out with friends, and they\u2019re open to group bookings for 8-12 seats. Check them out on IG<\/a> or get more information on the interwebs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s day five of the PSA world squash championships<\/strong> at SODIC\u2019s Club S Allegria and at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. The championship, which is sponsored by CIB, has USD 550k at stake for each of the men\u2019s and women\u2019s categories, making this the biggest purse on record<\/a> for a squash tourney.<\/p>\n

The quick highlight reel so far:<\/strong> Women\u2019s world No. 1 and top seed Nouran Gohar kicked off the championship on Friday by beating France\u2019s Enora Villard, and continued to dominate on Sunday as she downed compatriot Farida Mohamed. World No. 2 and defending champion Nour El Sherbini \u201crecovered from an uncomfortable start\u201d<\/a> to beat wildcard Kenzy Ayman yesterday. Over in the men\u2019s category, New Zealand\u2019s Paul Coll (who is currently the world No. 1) beat India\u2019s Mahesh Mangaonkar in Friday\u2019s opening match, while defending champion Ali Farag also came out on top against Mexico\u2019s Leonel Cardenas on Saturday. You can keep pace with the full results on the PSA website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> WATCH THIS SPACE- The Madbouly government could issue <\/strong>green and <\/strong>sustainable development bonds worth around USD 500 mn apiece next fiscal year<\/strong>,<\/strong> Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk told CNBC Arabia<\/a> in a televised interview yesterday. The Finance Ministry in January signaled<\/a> that it is looking to take to the green bond market for a second time with another USD 750 mn issuance, matching the 2020 issuance<\/a> that saw Egypt debut sovereign green bonds in the MENA region.<\/p>\n

SOUND SMART- What are these \u201csusdev bonds\u201d of which you speak? <\/strong>Cabinet last week approved a plan<\/a> by the Finance Ministry to broaden its green financing framework to include sustainable development bonds, allowing the state to raise money for a wider array of social and environmental projects including the Decent Life initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Goldman Sachs is allowing its senior bankers to take as <\/strong>much time off as they need<\/strong> through a flexible vacation scheme coming into effect this month, the Financial Times<\/a> reports. Employees at all levels will be required to spend at least three weeks away from work annually starting next year, including at least one full week of consecutive days off. Goldman\u2019s work environment came under the microscope last year when a group of employees said<\/a> they were working in \u201cinhumane\u201d conditions and clocking in extremely long hours.<\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sweden + Finland Nato membership may not raise tensions as much as we <\/strong>thought:<\/strong> Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he would have \u201cno problems\u201d if the military alliance expanded to include the two Scandinavian countries, and that they would pose \u201cno direct threat\u201d to Russia, the Financial Times<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

But\u2026<\/strong> Any attempt to station Nato weaponry and military forces in either of the two countries would \u201cprovoke a response,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Moscow\u2019s war in Ukraine might be turning into a military \/ strategic debacle, but it seems to be coming out <\/strong>on top in its energy stand-off with the EU:<\/strong><\/p>\n