Premiums surge 41.2% to LE5.36b in January

Premiums rose by 41.2 per cent to LE5.36 billion in January 2022, up from LE3.8 billion in the same month a year earlier, data from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) showed.

Nonlife premiums added 6.6 per cent to LE2.18 billion in January 2022, up from LE2.047 billion in January 2021. Life premiums jumped by 81.6 per cent to LE3.181 billion in January, compared to LE1.75 billion in the same month the previous year, according to FRA data.

Commercial premiums rose by 43.2 per cent to LE4.834 billion in January, up from LE3.376 billion in January 2021. Takaful premiums increased 25.1 per cent to LE530.3 million, up from LE423.8 million in the same month in 2021, FRA data showed.

Premiums jumped 25.6 per cent to LE49 billion in 2021, up from LE39 billion a year earlier, according to FRA data.

Paid claims jumped by 50.1 per cent to LE2.59 billionin January 2022, up from LE1.72 billion in the same month a year earlier. Life paid claims soared by 113.2per cent to LE1.88 billion in January, up from LE883.8 million in the same month in 2021, FRA data showed.

However, nonlife paid claims fell by 16 per cent to LE710.2 million in January, compared to LE845.2 million in the same month the previous year.

The insurers’ investments jumped by 22.1 per cent to LE131.5 billion in the fiscal year 2020/21, according to FRA data.

Report: Egypt might issue sovereign debt worth $73b

Egypt will likely replace Turkey as the largest sovereign issuer in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with issuance of $73 billion-equivalent in 2022, S&P Global Ratings said in a report on sovereign debt last week.

“For 2022, Egypt will replace Turkey as the largest EMEA EM sovereign issuer in the sample. We project issuance of $73 billion-equivalent for the sovereign, referencing early-March exchange rates. This is sharply up from $63 billion in issuance last year,” the report said.

The report, titled “Sovereign Debt 2022: EMEA Emerging Markets’ Heavy Borrowing Aims at Fiscal Shocks”, said the commercial borrowing of emerging market sovereigns in EMEA would likely stay well above pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

“Such debt should rise $253 billion in 2022, hitting $3.4 trillion-equivalent by year-end. S&P Global Ratings expects these markets to maintain high borrowing levels in 2022 to manage external risks, including rising inflation, rate hikes, and lingering Covid effects,” the report, a copy of which was made available to the Egyptian Mail.

The report said estimates pre-date the conflict in Ukraine, which is likely to increase gross commercial borrowing for most of the 54 emerging EMEA sovereigns included in this survey. This excludes the larger hydrocarbon exporters, which are benefiting from Brent oil prices of over $100.

“Our projections were finalized before the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, and do not reflect rising costs for defense, the intake of refugees, and spending on food and energy subsidies. Taken together these factors could push up net borrowing by as much as 1.6% of the GDP in Poland and Hungary; and by as much as half that in Egypt and Turkey,” the report added.