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Government sells 9.5% of state-controlled Telecom Egypt

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Government sells 9.5% of state-controlled Telecom Egypt

The sale comes as part of the country’s privatisation drive as it must meet a series of foreign debt obligations.

The Egyptian finance ministry has announced the selling of a 9.5 percent stake in state-controlled Telecom Egypt for 3.75 billion Egyptian pounds ($122.4m) in a move aimed at pushing forward the government’s privatisation programme.

The ministry said on Sunday that 162.2 million shares were sold at 23.11 Egyptian pounds ($0.75) each in a subscription that was 3.11 times oversubscribed. Another 0.5 percent of the shares are now being offered to Telecom Egypt employees until May 25.

The two-part sale will reduce the government’s stake in Telecom Egypt to 70 percent from the previous 80 percent, with the other 20 percent floating on the Egyptian Exchange. Two local investment banks, CI Capital and Ahly Pharos, were managing the sale, according to market sources.

The ministry statement did not say what portion of the shares were sold to local buyers as opposed to non-Egyptians. Egypt has been looking to raise foreign currency through its asset sales.

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Al Mal newspaper said on Thursday that Moon Capital, based in New York City, was among the bidders.

In February, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly disclosed a list of more than 30 state-owned companies to sell to investors within the year, state-run Ahram media reported, adding that these include the National Company for Producing and Bottling Water (Safi) and Wataniya Petroleum Company.

Madbouly promised on April 29 to press ahead with the sales programme and sell assets worth $2bn by the end of June. Telecom Egypt is the second sale of state assets since then.

The sale comes as Egypt desperately needs privatisation proceeds to meet a series of foreign debt obligations over the coming few months.

Sunday’s announcement comes after Egypt promised the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it would roll back the state’s involvement in the economy and allow private companies a much greater role as part of a $3bn financial support package signed in December. It also agreed to move to a flexible exchange rate and slow down public investment in national projects.

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The package covers a period of 46 months and will give the Egyptian government immediate access to about $347m to help the debt-ridden nation bolster its balance of payments and budget.

The IMF stipulation that Egypt slow down public investments and privatise state assets came after the state poured billions of dollars into massive construction projects, such as the New Administrative Capital and New Alamein City, and into weapon purchases from countries like Germany and Italy. Meanwhile, Egypt’s external debt has quadrupled in the past decade.

Egypt’s economy has been hit hard by higher oil and food prices following the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, with the Egyptian pound weakening by more than 13 percent to a new low above 32 to the United States dollar in January this year compared to March 2022.

About a third of Egypt’s 104 million people live in poverty, according to government figures, and many Egyptians depend on the government to keep basic goods affordable through state subsidies and other similar schemes.

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Asia shares rise, dollar underpinned by elevated bond yields

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Asia shares rise, dollar underpinned by elevated bond yields
Asian stocks edged up on Tuesday, though moves were subdued in a holiday-curtailed week, while the greenback held near a two-year high helped by elevated U.S. Treasury yields as investors prepared for fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025.
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US military carries out airstrike in Syria, killing 2 ISIS operatives

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US military carries out airstrike in Syria, killing 2 ISIS operatives

The U.S. military conducted an airstrike on Monday in Syria, where they killed a pair of ISIS operatives and destroyed a truckload of weapons, according to U.S. Central Command.

A precision airstrike in the Dayr az Zawr Province, which was formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians, killed two ISIS operatives and wounded another, CENTCOM said.

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The U.S. military conducted an airstrike on Monday in Syria, where they killed a pair of ISIS operatives and destroyed a truckload of weapons. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

The operatives were driving a truckload of weapons, which was destroyed, when they were targeted in the strike.

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BIDEN ADMIN LIFTS $10M BOUNTY ON THE HEAD OF LEADER OF ISLAMIST GROUP NOW IN CHARGE OF SYRIA

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CENTCOM forces conducted a precision airstrike in the Dayr az Zawr Province in Syria. (AP Photo)

“This airstrike is part of CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment, along with partners in the region, to disrupt and degrade efforts by terrorists to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against civilians and military personnel from the U.S., our allies, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

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Ciolacu's new government sworn in, tasked with bringing stability

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Ciolacu's new government sworn in, tasked with bringing stability

Romania’s new government headed by Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu of the leftist Social Democratic Party took the oath on Monday. The new pro-Europe government has been tasked with providing stability and maintaining the country’s pro-European trajectory.

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Ciolacu’s new government received 240 votes in favour, seven more than the required 233 votes for motions to pass.

Eight ministries will be under the Social Democratic Party’s (PSD) control, six will be overseen by the National Liberal Party (PNL) while the remaining two cabinet posts will be taken up by the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania.

Romania’s new cabinet members took the oath on Monday before incumbent President Klaus Iohannis.

Iohannis said he spoke with all the new cabinet members, wishing them success and urged them to work in unity for the people of Romania.

Iohannis also said all the ministers he had spoken with had expressed interest in the continuation of Romania’s pro-European trajectory.

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On 1 December, Ciolacu’s PSD secured approximately 22% of the votes in an election cycle clouded with controversy.

The parliamentary race came sandwiched between the first and second round of the country’s presidential race, which saw the right-wing make considerable gains in Romania’s political landscape.

Far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians finished in second in the parliamentary race, winning just over 18% of the votes.

Iohannis’ decision to nominate Ciolacu to form a government is widely seen by critics as a tactical push to shut out the far-right.

The country has been thrown into political instability since and Ciolacu understands the task ahead, will be difficult.

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“It will not be an easy mandate for the future government,” Ciolacu said in a statement Monday. “We are aware that we are in the midst of a deep political crisis. It is also a crisis of trust, and this coalition aims to regain the trust of citizens, the trust of the people.”

The parliamentary election came on the heels of a presidential vote in which the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu won the first round, in which Ciolacu came third. Georgescu’s surprise success plunged Romania into turmoil as allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference emerged.

Days before the 8 December presidential runoff, Romania’s Constitutional Court made the unprecedented move to annul the presidential race.

President Iohannis, who announced he would stay in his post until a successor is elected, hopes the new government can end a protracted political crisis in the European Union and NATO country.

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