North Africa’s Economy
Egypt: General Sisi attacks businesses, accuses them of plotting against him
Cairo, June 25, 2019 - Egyptian authorities raided 19 businesses Tuesday accused of funding a plot to overthrow the state, the interior ministry said. Footage broadcast on Egyptian television showed police officers raiding the firms in the capital Cairo and the cities...
Libya: Parliamentary speaker calls for the shutdown of national oil production
Libya's National Oil Company has warned that any bid to tamper with the sector could escalate unrest in the conflict-hit country, after the parliamentary speaker called for a halt to production. In a statement issued late Saturday, NOC said it "is concerned by recent...
Algeria: Businessman Hassen Arbaoui detained in corruption probe
Algiers, June 20, 2019 - Algerian authorities on Thursday detained a third automobile tycoon as part of an investigation into corruption, state television said. Hassen Arbaoui was "detained along with six other people", the state broadcaster said, adding that the...
Algeria: Sovac caught in a complex web of corruption
An Algerian public prosecutor has officially communicated the facts in the corruption case related to the SOVAC company, the exclusive representative of Volkswagen in Algeria, which resulted in the sending of little known yet one of the country's biggest fortunes,...
Algeria: Business tycoon Ali Heddad jailed six months over illegal passport possession
Algiers, June 17, 2019 - Algeria's top businessman Ali Haddad, a key supporter of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was jailed for six months on Monday for holding two passports, in the first conviction in a string of corruption probes. The business tycoon was...
Libya: NOC warns of possible collapse of oil production amid intensifying civil war
Tripoli, June 3, 2019 - The head of Libya's National Oil Company warned Monday against a "collapse in production" stemming from conflict in the North African country. Oil production "could collapse at any moment", said NOC chairman Mustafa Sanalla, even as he cited...
Libya’s power sector: collateral damage of the civil war
Tripoli, May 31, 2019 | By Nawas Al-Darraji: Precariously perched 50 metres up an electricity pylon providing power to Libya's capital, Mohamad Dahman attempts to fix damage caused by fighting -- but hastily descends when a rocket explodes nearby. "We're used to...
France’s Total to get Anadarko Africa’s assets: What are the challenges ahead?
The takeover of Anadarko by Occidental paves the way for France's Total to acquire Anadarko assets and projects in Africa. A MEA Risk analysis says from afar, this looks like a good deal as all the projects in these countries have tremendous upsides. But it also...
Algeria: Unemployment riots in oil-rich Adrar
Algiers, May 15, 2019 - At least 24 police officers have been wounded in clashes with protesters rallying against unemployment in central Algeria, state media reported Wednesday. Demonstrators in the central Tinerkouk area have been blocking access to an oil company...
Tunisia: Government faces domestic pressure as it negotiates free-trade deal with EU
Tunis, May 12, 2019 - Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said Sunday his government would not sign any free-trade agreement with the European Union that conflicts with the interests of the North African country's farmers. Tunisia and the EU are in the final phase...