United Bank Participates in a banking alliance to finance the Beshay Steel Group, at an amount of EGP 2.9 billion

24/12/2019

The United Bank
Participates in a banking alliance to finance Beshay Steel Group, at an amount of EGP 2.9 billion

Nevine Kashmiry: Deputy Managing Director, Business Sectors
•    Joint financing aims to increase iron production to keep space with the overall growth of the Egyptian state 2030
•    31% decline in iron exports until August 2019
•    The Egyptian state’s plan to save the national iron and steel industry
•    Imports hinder national development and industry in iron production
•    The iron and steel industry provides more than 30,000 jobs with a huge investment
•    Egypt is one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East

Cairo: December 24th, 2019
The United Bank signed yesterday a medium-term joint financing contract worth 2.9 billion Egyptian pounds, under the leadership of Banque Misr as the main organizer and guarantor of coverage, the marketer and the financing agent in participation as a major organizer in a banking alliance to finance the strategic limit of the inventory needed to operate the production lines of the Egyptian Company for Sponge Iron and Steel, Bishay Steel Group.
The alliance included "Banque du Caire" and "National Bank of Egypt" as the main organizers and guarantors of coverage and marketers of finance, as well as "HSBC Bank" and "The United Bank" and "Egyptian Bank for Export Development" as the main organizers.
In the presence of a group of leaders from the banks participating in the finance. Attended from The United Bank: Nevine Kashmiry - Deputy Managing Director for Business Sectors, Albert Nassan - Head of Joint Loans Finance, the Joint Loans Work Team at the bank and representatives of Beshay Steel Group and a group of media professionals.

Commenting on the signing of the joint financing led by Banque Misr, Nevine Kashmiry - Deputy Managing Director of Business Sectors confirmed that The United Bank places among its priorities encouraging and contributing strongly to joint alliances directed to finance major industrial projects such as iron and steel and the petroleum and petrochemical sector. As well as national projects entrusted with agricultural reclamation and urban development, which has a positive impact on the advancement of economic activity in the country and encouraging local and external investors to increase their investment.
Kashmiry stressed that joint financing is not only a bank financing, but is considered one of the important pillars in participating in the success of the industry in one of the main economic fields in Egypt, such as iron and steel production activity, especially in light of the state’s tendency to increase the support provided to that national industry by imposing dumping fees prescribed on iron imports and Steel as well as reducing the price of gas needed for the production process.
Egypt's iron production
Nevine Kashmiry explained that Egypt leads the Arab countries in producing steel. Where the Egyptian production reaches 3.7 million tons, followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The iron and steel industry contributes to the growth of a number of sectors, including: the real estate, industrial and productive sectors.
Egyptian exports of iron decreased until August 2019
Kashmiry indicated that the total Egyptian iron exports decreased during the first eight months of the current year 2019. It reached 8.4 billion pounds, compared to the same period last year 2018, which amounted to 12.7 billion pounds, or 31%.
The Egyptian state’s plan to save the national iron and steel industry
Nevine Kashmiry explained that the Egyptian government has responded strongly and applied a policy of reducing imports, especially on the iron and steel industry, as one of the labor-intensive national industries. It provides about 30,000 jobs. The Ministry of Trade and Industry imposed progressive preventive duties on imports of some iron and steel products for a period of 3 years, at 25% on rebar and 16% on iron ore.

Kashmiry added that through the Egyptian government comprehensive development plan and implementation of economic reform programs intended to increase economic growth rates to 5.6% by 2020-2021, making Egypt one of the fastest growing economies in the Middle East region.

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