Egypt’s first gold investment fund has raised 152.8 million Egyptian pounds ($4.98 million) during its two-week initial subscription period.
The az-Gold fund, which offers investment certificates in 24-carat gold for 10 pounds, closed ahead of schedule, according to Azimut Egypt and Evolve Investment Holding, the fund managers.
The fund, which was launched in May, was oversubscribed 15 times, with the number of investors exceeding 7,000.
Investment certificates in the fund are redeemable at any point in time, either as cash or grams of gold.
The fund, which will work with commodity traders and Egycash, its gold custodian, had initially aimed to start with a minimum investment of 5 million pounds ($161,824).
Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority said at the time of the launch that the fund would promote financial inclusion by diversifying the investment options available to Egyptians.
The government eased restrictions in May on travellers bringing gold into Egypt in an effort to increase bullion supplies in the local market and bring down prices, which have been on a sharp rise since March last year, Nagy Farag, an adviser in the Supply Ministry, told The National.
The surge in bullion rates was caused by Egyptians looking for more secure means of saving money as the value of the local currency dropped by more than 50 per cent against the dollar over the past year.
The increase was first triggered by a shortage of US dollars in Egyptian markets, which seriously limited the country’s ability to import components needed for essential industries.
The drop in the value of the pound also made many hoard gold rather than sell it, which further decreased supplies in the market and drove up prices.
Despite hopes that gold prices will drop in light of more supply, they have remained largely the same as before the launch of the fund.
On Tuesday, 24-carat gold cost about 2,674 pounds a gram while 21-carat gold was selling for 2,340 pounds a gram.
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Match info
Deccan Gladiators 87-8
Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16
Maratha Arabians 89-2
Chadwick Walton 51 not out
Arabians won the final by eight wickets
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
