{"id":617946,"date":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/03\/31\/this-evening-madbouly-greenlights-new-egp-120-bn-program-to-subsidize-loans-financing-for-industrial-and-agricultural-production\/"},"modified":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T00:00:00","slug":"this-evening-madbouly-greenlights-new-egp-120-bn-program-to-subsidize-loans-financing-for-industrial-and-agricultural-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/03\/31\/this-evening-madbouly-greenlights-new-egp-120-bn-program-to-subsidize-loans-financing-for-industrial-and-agricultural-production\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS EVENING: Madbouly greenlights new EGP 120 bn program to subsidize loans financing for industrial and agricultural production."},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, folks and happy Sunday.<\/strong> Welcome to the last full week of Ramadan which is still busy with news updates. <\/p>\n

So, when do we eat?<\/strong> Maghrib prayers are at 6:13 pm in the capital city, and you\u2019ll have until 4:16 am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly approved a new EGP 120 bn subsidized <\/strong>loan program <\/strong>for industry and agriculture<\/strong>, in a bid to boost private sector involvement in the economy, industry localization, and the competitiveness of made-in-Egypt products in foreign markets, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a <\/a>ministry statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n

ICYMI-<\/strong>Finance Ministry sources Enterprise spoke with previously told us that the government is looking at introducing fresh financing initiatives after allocations from the last program introduced <\/a>last year<\/a> ran out. <\/p>\n

The details:<\/strong> The new program will offer manufacturers financing at an interest rate of 15%, which is four percentage points higher than the 11% interest rate offered in the last initiative. EGP 105 bn of the package will go to financing working capitals, while the remainder EGP 15 bn will be allocated to buying machinery and equipment for production lines. <\/p>\n

We heard this before:<\/strong> After doling out some EGP 88 bn worth of financing over the past five years through various industrial financing packages, we expected the government to hike rates on new financing. Sources told us <\/a>last week<\/a> that the 15% was the proposed increased rate, and that it might increase up to 20%.<\/p>\n

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

Another round of truce talks is being held today in Cairo:<\/strong> An Israeli delegation is in town as ceasefire negotiations resumed today. Hamas told Reuters<\/a> that it will not be present at these talks as it waits to see if Israel presents a new offer on the conditions of a ceasefire. Israeli strikes have meanwhile killed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza today while Israeli forces continue to blockade two major hospitals in the south. <\/p>\n

On Easter Sunday: <\/strong>Pope Francis made a strong call<\/a> for a ceasefire in Gaza and the Ukraine from St Peter\u2019s Square in Rome. <\/p>\n

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