North Africa/Middle East

The question of who owns the European unit of Sam Bankman-Fried’s former crypto enterprise appeared to be settled: Dubai-based Backpack Exchange said that it had purchased FTX EU after months of wrangling, Bloomberg News reported. Backpack, a crypto trading platform founded by one-time employees of Bankman-Fried’s FTX and Alameda Research businesses, said the $32.7 million acquisition would expand its derivatives offerings in the region. But according to the US-based FTX estate, the ownership situation is less clear.

Egyptian inflation slowed to its lowest level in two years, easing the path for the North African nation’s first interest-rate cut since 2020, Bloomberg News reported. Annual consumer prices in urban areas rose 24.1% in December versus 25.5% the month before, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said Thursday, marking a second consecutive month of slowing. It was its lowest since December 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The monthly inflation rate eased to 0.2% from 0.5% in November.

Saudi Arabia, one of the largest bond issuers in emerging markets last year, has started 2025 with a funding spree as the country fuels its vast economic transformation plan, Bloomberg News reported. The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund signed a $7 billion Islamic loan with a group of 20 international and regional banks, it said Monday. The announcement came hours after the finance ministry began a dollar-bond sale and days after it raised $2.5 billion from three foreign banks.

The Moroccan Confederation of SMEs (CMTPME) announced on Sunday that more than 40,000 businesses in Morocco declared bankruptcy in 2024, as the unemployment rate rose from 16.2% in 2014 to 21.3% in 2024, marking a record high not seen in the past decade, AL24News.com reported.

Saudi Cable Co. (SCC) issued a clarification regarding the ruling of Turkey's appeal court to overturn the bankruptcy (liquidation) decision previously issued against Elimsan, its subsidiary in Turkey, Argaam.com reported. In a statement to Tadawul, the company said its board decided on Oct. 11, 2021, to take the necessary actions to protect Elimsan Salt Cihazlari ve Elektromekanik San ve Tic A.S. by applying the debt protection law (financial restructuring). Elimsan is 94% owned by Mas Kablo, a subsidiary, which is 100% owned by Saudi Cable. On Feb.

Egypt plans to offer stakes in at least 10 state-held companies next year, including four affiliated with the military, pressing forward with an International Monetary Fund-backed drive to reduce the government’s role in the economy, Bloomberg News reported. The firms, which include AlexBank and Banque du Caire, will either be offered to strategic investors or on the local stock market, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Wednesday in a televised press conference.

Tunisia’s government is looking to the central bank to help repay its external debt for a second straight year, as the economy languishes after a potential International Monetary Fund bailout stalled, Bloomberg News reported. The state needs to borrow as much as 7 billion dinars ($2.2 billion) from the regulator in 2025, Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri told parliament on Monday, proposing an addendum to next year’s budget that lawmakers subsequently approved.