Breaking Down the UAE’s Big $35 Billion Investment in Egypt

The United Arab Emirates recently unveiled a stunning $35 billion investment in Egypt, snapping up development rights in an area on the Mediterranean coast. The announcement has since paved the way for Egypt to float its currency, easing a currency crisis that's been going on for years now and paving the way for an even bigger bailout from the IMF. But why exactly is the UAE pumping roughly 7% of its GDP into Egypt? What does the deal say about politics in the Middle East region? And what does it mean for the flow of petrodollars — the vast amount of money generated by the Gulf's oil income — in the global financial system? On this episode, we speak to Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist at Bloomberg Economics and a co-author of a new Bloomberg News Big Take about the UAE's huge investment. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Key insights from the pod:
What we know about the UAE’s $35 billion deal with Egypt — 5:14
A concise history of Egypt’s economy — 7:30
The role of Abu Dhabi’s ADQ in the investment — 10:55
What Abu Dhabi gets from the deal — 12:49
Geopolitical motivations — 17:00
Energy considerations — 19:15
Can the mega city plan work? — 22:29
Egypt’s domestic reception of the deal — 24:04
Reforming the Egyptian economy — 26:06
Petrodollars and regional Mideast investment — 29:55
Army dominance in the Egyptian economy — 32:14
Will this time be different in Egypt? — 35:24