Mahlab says El Sisi isn’t dissatisfied with Cabinet

Sunday, 16 August 2015

Mahlab says El Sisi isn’t dissatisfied with Cabinet

TL;DR

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Legislative overhang grows: The new anti-terror law and announcements regarding the next national megaprojects in the Mahlab government’s pipeline failed to materialize last week, as did election dates. We’ll be looking for news on those fronts and more this week. (We’re hoping the presidential decree issued Thursday formalizing the work and membership of the Higher Elections Committee, which has been operating since June, is a step in the right direction. See “Egypt Politics + Economics” for more.

Stop the scaremongering — now: There are no cases of viral meningitis, MERS, or Ebola among those who died during the current heat dome, Health Minister Adel Adawy said, picking up where we left off on Thursday. Most of the dead, he said, had been suffering from chronic diseases and old age.

The heat dome is also having an effect on our primate cousins: Giza Zoo’s last remaining male orangutan, Bongo, suffered from a heat stroke and, despite the best efforts of the Zoo’s vets, died on Thursday morning, according to Al Masry Al Youm. Efforts are underway to keep his female companion, Titi, safe.

More pain to come: The Egyptian Meteorological Authority reports that the heatwave coupled with high humidity will continue until Monday, with a one to three degree increase expected. Temperatures are expected to reach as high as 46 C in Upper Egypt. This comes as the Health Ministry reported 11 more deaths related to the heatwave on Thursday, and 302 cases of heatstroke on Friday, Al Ahram reports. Ahram Online reported five additional heatwave-related deaths on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths as of Friday to 92.

Today’s forecast high in Cairo: 42ºC (Accuweather) or 43ºC (TWN).

This publication is proudly sponsored by

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Diaa Rashwan filled-in on Al Qahera Al Youm for Amr Adeeb, who, according to Youm7, will be on vacation until Monday. The show began by documenting what it presented as a drumbeat of Ikhwani violence since the events at Rabaa two years ago.

Shortly after the segment’s end, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab called-in to respond to reports that his time at the helm of government was nearing its end:

“We are working hard and will continue to work hard over the coming period. If anyone believes that I should be removed [from my position], I respect their opinion. I am at the people’s service, until I am deemed unnecessary. That said, there are many obstacles that we need to face over the coming period, namely ridding ourselves of bureaucracy and improving the economy.”

Mahlab proceeded to deny claims that President Abdel Fatah El Sisi was dissatisfied with is performance: “I communicate with the president on a regular basis. He wants the government to work harder, because he believe that Egypt need us to. That, however, does not mean that he is dissatisfied with the government.”

Lamees El Hadidy, Magdy El Galad, and Khairy Ramadan were no-shows on Saturday. Filling in for them was none other than their unwaveringly loyal third-string substitute, Mohamed Abdelrahman. Saturday’s episode of Hona El Assema examined the dilapidated state of housing in the blue-collar neighborhood of Fagala, Cairo. Several disgruntled residents called-in to report the various challenges they face on a daily basis.

After a short commercial break, the program transitioned to a segment on skyrocketing death toll caused by this summer’s unprecedented heatwave. A guest physician, whose name has evaded this reviewer, provided viewers with simple advice on how to prevent the occurrence of heat stroke: “Drink a lot of water and try to avoid the sun as much as possible,” said the pedestrian physician. “Children and senior citizens should stay indoors during the daytime.”

** SHARE ENTERPRISE WITH A FRIEND **

Enterprise is available without charge — just visit our English or Arabic subscription page, depending on which edition you would like to receive. We give you just about everything you need to know about Egypt, in your inbox Sunday through Thursday before 7am CLT (8am for Arabic), and all we ask for is your name, email address and where you hang your hat during business hours.

SPEED ROUND
Presented in association with

Speed round is presented in association with

Juhayna chief’s assets frozen on alleged Ikhwan ties: The committee tasked with accounting for Ikhwan-related assets has frozen the assets of Juhayna Chairman and CEO Safwan Thabet; not included in the ban is Juhayna itself, a publicly traded company beyond the mandate of the committee. Thabet, following consultations with lawyers, said he will appeal the decision, labelling it as “odd” and “unjustified.” He has also called the Prime Minister’s office to inquire about the reasons behind the decision. Ahram Online reports that Thabet’s shares in Juhayna will similarly be frozen upon notification sent to the EGX, the head of the bourse Mohamed Omran to state-news agency MENA on Thursday.

Okay, now we can has gas? Israel reached an agreement with the leading partners developing its offshore natural gas fields, namely Noble Energy and Delek Group, on Thursday, a key step on the road to gas exports to Egypt through the existing pipeline. The agreement will be submitted to the cabinet for approval on Sunday, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said. The two sides reached an agreement about pricing and agreed on milestones for the development of Leviathan gas field, ending the delays that were holding up production. Liberal politicians are unhappy with the agreement, with some reportedly accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of caving to a monopoly.

The Petroleum Ministry is establishing a regulatory framework by which to liberalize natural gas trade in Egypt, said Oil Minister Sherif Ismail, adding that it is a cornerstone of energy policy reform. Speaking at the “On the Natural Gas Market and Regulation Reform” forum at the Euro-Egyptian High Level Roundtable, the minister reiterated the government’s policy of reforming energy markets, its priority to make them for efficient, and its commitment to boosting private-sector participation and bolstering investments, Al Ahram reports.

Daesh said in an audio broadcast on Thursday that its Egyptian affiliate had killed Croatian hostage Tomislav Salopek, Reuters reported. Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Ministry is yet to confirm the newsand Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed that local authorities are expanding efforts to locate Salopek’s captors. The UK’s Foreign &Commonwealth Office was the first to react internationally by updating its travel advice to Egypt to “advise against all but essential travel to the area west of the Nile Valley and Nile Delta regions, excluding the coastal areas between the Nile Delta and Marsa Matruh.”

… Meanwhile, the French geoscience firm CGG Ardiseis, at which Salopek was employed, announced on Thursday that it appeared two different groups were involved in his abduction and beheading, as reported by AP. The first was a criminal group who demanded a ransom from the company, to which the firm tried to respond to in vain after receiving their emailed demands. The company said that the kidnapper’s email “included no contact number and multiple responses to the address it came from went unanswered.”

The broader significance of Salopek’s murder lies in the fact that, as Chatham House’s Omar Ashourputs it, “It is not the first time that [Sinai Province] has targeted foreign civilians in Egypt, but it is the first time that an insurgent organization has kidnapped a Westerner from the capital, and then transferred and executed him in one of its strongholds.” Ashour also warns about Daesh’s Egyptian affiliates’ acquisition of sophisticated weapons and warns ominously that “Sinai’s security crisis is likely to endure, as long as continuity, not change, is the main feature of military’s policies in the peninsula.”

For those of us who had forgotten, it seems Salopek was actually the second foreign oil worker to be killed in Egypt by terrorists: Ansar Beit El-Maqdis claimed responsibility late last year for the killing of a veteran employee of Apache last summer, as we reported in December 2014.

Minor clashes took place on the second anniversary of the clearing of Rabaa square, Al Ahramreports. Ikhwan supporters blocked the coastal road in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate on Friday with burning tires, which security forces promptly reopened. Clashes with police in Giza led to the arrest of 25 demonstrators on Friday, and security forces also dispersed gathering Ikhwan members in Kerdasa, Nahia, Al Saf and Atfeeh. Police preemptively gathered in most of Cairo’s busiest squares and ensured they remained open throughout the weekend, said Gen. Alaa El Dijawy of Cairo traffic control. Overall, most of Cairo and the governorates remained calm.

Meanwhile, the government has denounced calls by HRW to open an international inquiry into the events of 14 August 2013, calling the move “ridiculous.” “This report is politicized and non-objective; it lacks the minimum standards of credibility and neutrality,” Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid Foreign said Saturday in a statement, Cairo Post reports.

Human rights lawyers in the UK may seek arrest warrants against top Egyptian officials, including President El-Sisi, for crimes against humanity, The Guardian reported on Thursday. The move follows an official invitation by UK Prime Minister David Cameron to President El-Sisi for bilateral talks last month. “We are pushing for accountability and pushing for prosecutions in the cases of a number of the individuals … and if they travel to the UK we’ll do our best to make sure they are arrested,” said Toby Cadman, a war crimes lawyer.

Morsi’s state-appointed lawyer has filed for an appeal against his death sentence and prison term, according to AFP and as reported by The Guardian and other media outlets. The appeal was submitted on his behalf as Morsi has refused his own legal representation or to engage with the appeal, as he rejects the legitimacy of the court.

The Electricity Ministry will begin negotiations with four Chinese companies for power projects totaling USD 10 bn, including coal power plants, and water storage and pumping facilities for hydropower. The move follows preliminary negotiations which have taken place at the state level for the projects, said government sources speaking to Al Borsa. A delegation from the ministry will speak with Shanghai Electric, Sinohydro, State Grid, and Huawei.

Orascom Construction’s wholly-owned subsidiary, The Weitz Company, was selected to design and build a new student housing project at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, USA, according to a company press release. The agreement is worth USD 245 mn and is set to accommodate 3,402 students. The facility will also feature retail and office space as well as an eight-story parking garage with a top floor pool and amenity deck. “We expect additional sizeable contracts in the future to help drive Weitz’s consistent growth,” Osama Bishai, CEO of Orascom Construction, commented noting Weitz’s focus on larger contracts.

Fire at El Ataba call center: It took the combined effort of 25 fire trucks some 10 hours to contain the fire that engulfed the seventh and eighth floor of El Ataba telecommunications center in downtown Cairo on Thursday. An electrical fire had broken out early Thursday morning and threatened to engulf the entire building and beyond. According to Al Ahram, telephone and internet lines were not damaged, with fire affecting administrative offices only, but Telecom Egypt is currently estimating the losses caused. Mobinil said that there are some service disruptions to some customers of Link, its ISP arm, without specifying an exact number or location of those affected. Vodafone, meanwhile, said its relay stations in five neighbouring areas were impacted by the fire. No casualties were reported, however one police officer was treated for smoke inhalation. Telecom Egypt’s CEO Osama Yasin announced that all other telecoms centers across all governorates have been put on high alert and are in “a state emergency” mode, Al Mal reports. He added that safety regulations will be reviewed and upgraded to ensure there is no recurrence.

12% budget deficit for FY2014-15? The Finance Ministry has begun preparing the final accounts for the 2014/2015 budget; the nation’s final financial statements are due out around mid-September. According to government sources, final accounts are expected to reveal a budget deficit of 11.5-12% of GDP, despite initial government estimates of 10%. This discrepancy was attributed to the government failing to factor in delayed reforms, and to report the consequences of backtracking and failing to implement other taxes, Al Borsareports.

Giza readies for massive bout of air pollution: Giza Governor Khaled El Adly ordered the shutting down of charcoal furnaces across the governorate from 1 September until late November. He also shut down diesel-fired brick foundries from 5 pm – 7 am. Both orders are designed mitigate the effects of the usual fall “black cloud” of air pollution. He also ordered Environmental Affairs offices throughout Giza to conduct inspections of heavy polluting industries (such as brick factories) and begin procedures to prosecute violators of environmental codes. Governorate officials will also clamp down on open-air burning of trash near major traffic routes. (Read in Arabic)

Russia has gifted Egypt a Molniya P-32 missile corvette, said military spokesman Brig. Mohamed Sameer. The missile vessel had taken part in the opening ceremony for the New Suez Canal, Al Mal reports.

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Al Wafd President ElSayed ElBadawi to 3 years in prisonand a EGP 1000 bond for allegedly bouncing a check at Qatar National Bank (QNB) to plaintiff Waheed Hafez, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The court also ordered ElBadawi to pay EGP 10k to the plaintiff and EGP 50k in attorney fees; the ruling was handed down on 13 August. ElBadawi’s defense called for reconciliation, but Hafez demanded EGP 100k in compensation from ElBadawi. The court said ElBadawi has a history of writing NSF checks and that his actions caused the plaintiff financial damages.

Also headed to the pokey: Faraeen television anchor Tawfik Okasha, who was arrested Friday morning as the authorities moved to enforce verdicts issued against him in multiple court cases, the Interior Ministry announced in a statement published by Youm7. Okasha’s attorney and President of Faraeen television channel Khaled Soliman said that his client was arrested due to a six-month prison sentence issuedin a libel case involving his ex-wife; the case also included a EGP 10k fine. Okasha was sent to Tora Prison on Friday evening, Al Masry Al Youm reported. Okasha also faces to two weeks in prison and an EGP 100 fine for beating his wife, according to an MOI statement and as reported by Ahram Online, which in itself raises questions about the need for legislation on mandatory sentencing in Egypt with regard to domestic violence.

The Friday edition of Sawt Al-Umma newspaper was confiscated in the early morning hours of 14 August, according to Youm7. Editor-in-chief Abdel Halim Qandil, who was barred from traveling on 8 August, claimed in an interview with Al Bedayah that the issue had been pulled because of a front-page story involving a relative of the president’s. A leaked front page of the newspaper’s Friday edition on twitter includes flashy headlines, the most notable of which are: “The fall of the empire of [Ahmed] Al-Zend’s partner Mona Abdouda”, “Mubarak’s Gangs” and “Ashraf Al-Araby threatens Mahlab’s throne: 12 ministers expected to be sacked.”

The AKP’s failure to form a coalition government on Thursday has led to a contraction in the Turkish economy as the leading Istanbul Bourse declined 0.5%, while the Turkish Lire fell 1.5% in one day. The failure clearly signals investor skittishness in Turkey, which is also embroiled in a two front conflict with Kurdistan Workers Party and Daesh. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that his party will continue to seek a coalition government until an early election is announced, according to Al Ahram.

Where are the world’s major car manufacturers expanding to? Slovakia, apparently. Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (yes, India’s Tata Group bought JLR in 2008) is “carrying out a feasibility study for a factory in the western Slovak town of Nitra with the aim of reaching an annual output of up to 300,000 cars over the decade from 2018 when the plant could start production,” Reuters reported. Slovakia is reportedly offering up to the maximum subsidy possible under EU regulations with Volkswagen, Kia, and Peugeot Citroen already producing vehicles in the Eastern European country.

Bank of America released an infographic ranking the credit risk of sovereign debt, with Egypt ranked as the fifth riskiest sovereign debt behind Venezuela, Greece, Ukraine and Pakistan.

SPOTLIGHT on 2Q2015 corporate earnings

Thursday saw a flurry of earnings releases hit the streets, and we expect at least a handful in the week ahead. Among those beating the buzzer last week:

Leading snackfood maker Edita posted a 13% rise in revenues to EGP 515 mn and a stable bottom line as it continued to invest in new production capacity that will begin converting into new sales over the course of the year. The earnings release notes: “2015 is a platform year for Edita whereby new contracts and investments in increasing capacity will serve as a launch pad for the company going forward and ensure higher growth levels. The most notable of these developments include the signing of two contracts with Hostess Brands LLC relating to the extension of territory for the HTT brands to include 12 additional countries across the MENA region and the acquisition of know-how and technical assistance to 11 additional products from Hostess Brands LLC across the expanded region (not all products are cake based).”

Egypt Kuwait Holding’s (EKH) 2Q2015 attributable net income grew by 7.8% y-o-y recording USD 12.5 mn limiting the drop of the 1H2015 net income to 20.2% y-o-y to register USD 27.5 mn. “EKH managed to maintain a solid performance despite the headwinds facing some of our operations,” Chairman Moataz Al Alfi said, stressing on the quality of EKH’s diversified portfolio. Al Masry Al Youm singled out as particularly noteworthy EKH’s acquisition of another 18% of Natgas for EGP 113.5 mn, bringing its stake in the company to 75%. On the whole, excellent performances at Sprea Misr (manufacturing formica and other petrochemical products), Natgas and Natenergy outweighed a less-favorable contribution from fertilizers producer AlexFert, which used about 25% of its total capacity in the second quarter due to natural gas shortages. The full earnings release is here (pdf).

Oriental Weavers reported a 19% y-o-y increase in net attributable income for 2Q2015, recording EGP 115 mn, growing the 1H2015 figure by 9% y-o-y to EGP 261 mn. Volume growth was driven by a 36% y-o-y increase in local sales and supported by a 16% y-o-y growth in U.S. sales, which offset a dip in European demand. You can view the earnings release in full here.

OTMT was also out Thursday: “Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding reported second-quarter net profit of 353.95 million Egyptian pounds versus 351.68 million a year earlier,” Reutersreported. The earnings release has not yet been posted to the company’s website.

Real estate developer PHD reported a 65% increase in revenues in 2Q2015 compared with the same period last year, closing the quarter at EGP 729 mn, good for a 409% increase in the company’s bottom line to EGP 431 mn. Meanwhile, new sales (reservations) rose 29% to 1.2 bn, driven by strong pre-sales in PHD’s Golf Extension, Woodville (West Cairo) and Hacienda Bay (North Coast) developments. The company’s earnings release has not yet been posted to its website.

Real estate developer Amer Group saw its profits down 61% in first half of 2015 to EGP 17.2 mn from EGP 44.4 mn in the same period the year before, according to the company’s consolidated financial statements, Al Mal reported.

***
A MESSAGE FROM PHAROS HOLDING

China’s currency devaluation: Bad news for Egyptian steel manufacturers

The People’s Bank of China’s surprise move to devalue the country’s Yuan twice, in two consecutive days, last week served as an indicator of the size of China’s troubles in light of falling exports and a stalling manufacturing sector, as recent market data showed. The 1.9% drop in the Yuan is the steepest in 20 years and is considered a means of rejuvenating Chinese exports, which become more attractive as the currency devalues and prices decrease as a result.

Chinese steel producers, specifically, have been suffering from plummeting demand in the local market due to the slowing economy and its impact on the global steel industry — oversupplying the market with a relatively cheaper product. In Egypt, steel imports have been surging lately, even after the government’s three-year sliding-scale import tax. Egyptian manufacturers have urged the government to impose a 40% tax on steel imports as a protective measure, but no official announcements regarding the matter have been made. With China’s prices seen decreasing and projections for steel exports seeing them rise to record highs, Egypt’s steel industry may be witnessing some turbulence ahead. Click here to find out more about China’s impact on local steel market dynamics.
***

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

As we note above, international media coverage of Egypt this weekend and into Sunday morning was focused on the two-year anniversary of Rabaa as well as news that lawyers for former president Mohamed Morsi would appeal his death sentence. Also making news:

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Egyptian authorities to release freelance photographer Mahmoud Abou Zeid, aka Shawkan, after being detained for two years without charge. They claim that by this Monday’s hearing, he would have exceeded the two-year legal limit for pretrial detention. However, a separate article in DNE points out that a decree issued by former president Adly Mansour paved the way for making such pre-trial detentions potentially indefinite. Shawkan was covering the Rabaa protests when he was arrested on “baseless allegations” of attempted murder and possession of weapons, his supporters say. The call comes as claims that Monday’s hearing is for the renewal of his pretrial detention are circulating. Last month, Shawkan’s lawyer called for better prison conditions as it was revealed that Shawkan’s health was deteriorating. (Read)

WHAT YOU CLICKED ON LAST WEEK

The most-clicked links in Enterprise last week were:

Nouriel Roubini’s think tank is bullish in MENA real estate — and Cairo residential and retail space in particular (Economonitor)
The new EGP 100 bill isn’t that different from the old one (image, Youm7)
Future of Energy in Egypt (conference website)
Apparently, the Mirror thinks we all hide money in our shoes (Daily Mirror)
Is the New Silk Road China’s Marshal plan? (The Diplomat)

WORTH READING

John M. Owen IV, author of Confronting Political Islam: Six Lessons from the West’s Past, along with J. Judd Owen, write in Foreign Affairs magazine: ‘Enlightened Despots, Then and Now – The Truth About an Islamic Enlightenment.’ “Setting aside that the Enlightenment did not end violence and self-destruction in the West (see: World War I, fascism, World War II, and the Cold War), calls for enlightenment in the Islamic world typically fail to recognize a few vital facts, not least of which is that Islamic societies have been grappling for generations with the Enlightenment, both the West’s and their own. Indeed, the very turmoil and violence that are thrashing Muslim societies are in no small measure a reaction against the forces of enlightenment, rather than a sign that those forces await initiation.” The piece also delves into Egypt’s experience with Enlightenment ideals, from the country’s first exposure to them as imposed by Napoleon’s invasion up to the point of Nasser’s regime. (Read, paywall)

WORTH WATCHING

Thursday’s announcement that new episodes of the children’s program Sesame Street will now first air on HBO a full nine months before airing on PBS has already generated a wave of criticism. Home to such programming as The Wire, True Detective, and Game of Thrones, HBO as a choice to air Sesame Street has led to the Parents Television Council saying, “In order to watch original episodes of the most iconic children’s program in television history, parents are now forced to fork over about USD 180 per year and subscribe to the most … explicit, most graphically violent television network in America.” The agreement was struck to help shore up the program’s struggling finances.

We believe such criticism is unfounded, and that HBO’s influence could ultimately be positive, not only for Sesame Street, but for children everywhere. For a children’s show to be truly educational, it should fully inform its young viewers of what it actually means to grow up.

For a possible glimpse into the future of Sesame Street along these lines, watch “When I Get Sad, by the Letter N,” (running time: 36 seconds), from Wonder Showzen.

IMAGE OF THE YEAR

A pigeon, which was supposed to be released to mark the opening of a mosque in Turkey, struggles to break away from the intense gravity field surrounding Erdogan’s head. (View)

ENERGY

Dana Gas Egypt’s production slows down in 2Q2015, new wells being drilled
Dana Gas Press Release | 13 Aug 2015
Dana Gas announced recording a net income after tax of USD 7 mn in 2Q2015 with revenues registering USD 116 mn. In Egypt, Dana Gas expects production to grow given investment expansion after the company’s output dropped to 35,010 boepd this year from 42,950 boepd in 2Q2015. The company began drilling work on the Balsam-2 development well and Balsam-3 appraisal well and expects the works to take up to four months with results from both wells due in 3Q2015. The decline in the company’s output in Egypt was offset partly by increases in Kurdistan. (Read)

Egypt set to consume 14.2 mn tons of diesel this fiscal year, EGPC expects
Al Mal | 13 Aug 2015
EGPC is projecting that Egypt will consume 14.2 mn tons of diesel in FY 2015-16, up from 13.8 mn tons in FY 2014-15. Diesel consumption domestically is growing annually having grown from 11.6 mn tons in FY 2008-09. Around 50% of diesel demand domestically is supplied via local refineries, Al Mal says. (Read in Arabic)

TAQA Arabia, Orascom Construction, Cairo Solar among 15 companies receiving land for renewable energy projects
Al Mal | 13 Aug 2015
Fifteen renewable energy companies received land plots to establish 15 renewable energy projects with a total output of 720 MW. The projects are divided into 14 solar power projects rated at 50 MW each, save for one with an output of 20 MW, in addition to a wind farm with a 50 MW generation capacity, according to sources from the New and Renewable Energy Authority. Companies receiving land for projects included TAQA Arabia, Cairo Solar, and Orascom Construction. (Read in Arabic)

Giza Governorate denies spraying garbage with pesticides
Al Masry Al Youm | 15 August 2015
In a statement issued 15 August, the Giza Governorate denied reports that it is spraying garbage with pesticides, claiming the issue is still under close study. Giza Governor Khaled Zakaria said that the governorate takes no action deemed harmful to the environment and to its citizens. Zakaria pointed out that the pesticide spraying was a suggestion made by a district chiefs during an executive council meeting held last week. (Read in Arabic)

INFRASTRUCTURE

Housing Ministry mulling Orascom Construction subsidiary’s proposal for New Cairo treatment plant
Al Borsa | 15 August 2015
The Housing Ministry is evaluating proposal from Orasqualia to upgrade the New Cairo wastewater treatment plant from a secondary treatment facility to a tertiary treatment prior to announcing a framework for implementing the project, said ministry sources. The project’s status has been linked to the infrastructure for the new administrative capital. Orasqualia is a joint venture between Orascom Construction and Spain’sAqualia, which was awarded a contract to build the New Cairo Wastewater Treatment Plant (you can view its technical overview here) under Egypt’s first PPP agreement with NUCA, an agreement that won Global Water Intelligence’s “Water Deal of the Year”. The plant, which has a capacity to treat 250,000 m3 per day and serve 1 mn people, was completed by Orasqualia in 2013. (Read in Arabic)

Arab Contractors to deliver Cairo-Cape Town road by end-August
Amwal Al Ghad | 13 Aug 2015
Arab Contractors announced the company will deliver the final phase of the road connecting Cairo to Cape Town by the end of August. The Arab Contractors section cost USD 111 mn and was constructed over two phases. The company also said it is also engaged in a number of infrastructure projects in Ethiopia including an AfDB-financed USD 140 mn road. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS + COMMODITIES

Supply Ministry’s report shows progress
Al Borsa | 15 August 2015
The Supply Ministry claims it has happy clients: The ministry released a report claiming its efforts to improve efficiency in the baking sector is paying off, with a 91% drop in complaints about the bread supply and a 95% overall drop in complaints received, according to Minister Khaled Hanafi. The Ministry also claims to have integrated 50K bakeries and shop owners into the formal economy, creating 70K jobs. (Read in Arabic)

MANUFACTURING

EGP 570 mn Misr Cement Qena revenues in 1H15
Al Borsa | 12 Aug 2015
Misr Cement Qena posted a net profit of EGP 147.3 mn in 1H15, compared to EGP 173.8 mn in the same period last year, declining 26.5%. Misr Cement Qena made EGP 568.9 mn in revenues in 1H15, compared to EGP 559 mn the year before, with a growth rate of 1%. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

No temporary housing available for Imbaba residents in Giza, Governor says
Al Masry Al Youm | 13 Aug 2015
The Giza Governorate announced that it has no temporary housing to offer victims of the collapsed homes in Imbaba, Giza Governor Khaled Zakaria said in a statement on 13 August. Zakaria added that the flats in Matar Imbaba, which the residents requested, are reserved for North Imbaba residents only as part of renovation efforts supported by the European Union. Last week, victims of collapsed homes in Imbaba rejected the governorate’s offer to accept temporary apartments in 6 October City, citing unaffordable transportation costs and saying that the location is far-removed from their places of work. (Read in Arabic)

NUCA sells 13 feddans in Sheikh Zayed for EGP 2 bn
Al Borsa | 15 August 2015
NUCA has sold 10 land plots to 10 developers totaling 13 feddan in Sheikh Zayed City for EGP 2 bn, for commercial and services developments, said Gamal Talaat the head of the Sheikh Zayed City Authority. Leading developers in the project include Univest Holdings, which bought a 3.9 feddan piece of land for a mall and El Horeya Real Estate Investments which bought a 1.1-feddan parcel of land. (Read in Arabic)

AUTOMOTIVE + TRANSPORTATION

Alamein Road to be reopened 1 September
Youm7 | 15 August 2015
The Alamein Road will re-open on 1 September following the completion of renovations. The work was completed under the national highway development program, said Atef Fayad, head of the West Delta Road and Bridges Authority. Work on the road, which runs from the Desert Road at Wadi Al Natroun and ends at Al Alamein, employed three major construction companies. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING + FINANCE

Slow roll-out of POS society slowing development of “cashless economy”
Al Mal | 12 Aug 2015
Despite state and Central Bank efforts to transform Egypt into a less cash-reliant economy that operates through electronic payment, lack of Point of Sale (POS) devices and the fact that only six banks can process electronic fund transfers have hindered the process immensely. the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that a mere 2,392 POS devices were added last year, bringing the total to around 50k, meanwhile, experts believe Egypt has the capacity for 200-300k POS devices. Most POS devices in service are clustered in the Greater Cairo Area. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Lafarge’s Ecocem inks two agreements with Environmental Affairs Authority
Zawya | 12 Aug 2015
Ecocem Industrial Ecology Egypt has signed two cooperation protocols with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Authority (EEAA) that will allow the company to continue producing refuse-derived fuels. One will see the company contract to collect agricultural waste in Sharqeya for Lafarge’s Sokhna cement plant. The second agreement will see Ecocem and OTMT construct processing facilities in the same governorate. (Read)

Masria Market looking to partner with Seoudi
Al Mal | 12 Aug 2015
The Masria Market company is looking to partner with United Grocers, which is now under state trusteeship on suspicion that the beneficial owners were members of the banner Muslim Brotherhood. Masria Market wants to take advantage of Seoudi’s skills as it looks to open new venues in Sheikh Zayed and Six October, according to Masria Market Chairman Ayman Salem, who highlighted Seoudi’s wealth of industry experience. (Read in Arabic)

First engineering academy opens in Egypt
Al Mal | 13 Aug 2015
A group of Egyptian and Arab entrepreneurs opened what they’re billing as the first pure-play engineering academy in Egypt on 13 August. The goal: to become one of the top 100 engineering academies in the world by 2020. (Read in Arabic).

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Cairo International Airport website hacked
Al Masry Al Youm | 14 Aug 2015
Authorities shut down the Cairo International Airport website on 14 August after repeated hacking attempts. According to Cairo Airport Company President Ahmed Genina, hackers redirected the Cairo International Airport website to an Ikhwan website. Website development company AVIT and authorities are working on finding a solution and preventing another attack. (Read in Arabic)

Suez Canal extension will take time to affect Egypt’s credit rating, Moody’s says
Daily News Egypt | 13 Aug 2015
The extension of the Suez Canal will support Egypt’s credit quality through increased current account receipts, but this is constrained by the speed of global trade growth, Moody’s said. The ratings agency says it is unlikely that this trade acceleration will materialize quickly. Moody’s therefore expects limited credit-positive effects for Egypt in FY 2015 / 16. (Read)

Elections won’t be called for officially on Sunday, Supreme Elections Committee says
Al Masry Al Youm | 13 Aug 2015
The supreme elections committee has not yet opened for candidates to submit papers to run for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The committee has also confirmed to Al Masry Al Youm that it will not be calling for elections after its meeting on Thursday. According to the committee’s spokesperson, Sunday’s is just a routine meeting. (Read in Arabic)

Presidential decree appoints Ayman Abbas as head of Higher Elections Committee
Amwal Al Ghad | 13 Aug 2015
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued a 13 August decree that appoints head of the Cairo Court of Appeals judge Ayman Abbas as the head of the High Elections Committee (HEC). The committee includes Court of Cessation members Mustafa Shafik and Adel AlShorbagy, Deputy Chairman of the State Council Mohamed Qshta, Deputy Chairman of the HEC Magdi El Agaty, Chairman of Alexandria Court of Cessation Serry El Gamal, and Chairman of Tanta Court of Cessation Sabry Youssef. The committee has been working unofficiallysince 15 July. (Read in Arabic)

NATIONAL SECURITY

Egyptian military plane crashes due to technical fault near Libyan border, four dead: The crash near Marsa Matrouh on the Libyan border was due to technical fault and took place while the plane was on a mission to attack Islamist militants on Thursday, according to a military statement as reported by Reuters. The statement did not clarify if all onboard were military personnel. The mission was part of a joint operation that led to the destruction of four vehicles belonging to militants, according to the military spokesperson.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Jay Z, Timbaland to testify in trial over copyright infringement of Baligh Hamdy composition “Khosara, Khosara” from 1960 Egyptian film Fata ahlami: As we mentioned in April of this year, a trial date has been set for 13 October for what has become “one of the longest-running active lawsuits in America,” as reported by Billboard. Hamdy’s estate originally filed the lawsuit in California federal court in 2007 for the unauthorized use of the song in a Timbaland-produced Jay Z track whose name we won’t mention to prevent emails from bouncing all over the place.

President El-Sisi has agreed to sponsor a National Education Conference, which will host proceedings for Teacher Day celebrations and International Literacy Day, reports SIS. He has ordered the Education Minister to head up an organizing committee for the conference. The Minister also called for PR and advertising companies to aid in promoting the conference. This is welcome news, as we hope this conference will have a similar reinvigorating effect on our education system as the EEDC had on investment.

It’s the state of Egyptian broadcast journalism in a nutshell: A self-proclaimed freelance journalist named Ahmed Abdeen posted a collage on his Facebook page of a random guy on the street that an Egyptian State TV program titled “Beitna El Kabeer” has interviewed at least six times on different occasions as part of a survey it takes of peoples’ opinions on a range of matters matters. Another post by Abdeen shows state media similarly using the same individual on four different instances. This is not unlike The Onion’s penchant for using the same stock photos of five to six people over and over again for its “man on the street” section American Voices, or for a more Egyptian example, this guy from the play Al Motazawegoon [The Married Couples], (Watch in Arabic, running time: 17 seconds)

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Thursday, 13 August): 7.7301 (unchanged since Sunday, 05 July)
USD parallel market (Thursday, 13 August): 7.86 (+0.01 from Monday, 10 August, Reuters)

EGX30 (Thursday): 7,879.82 (-0.41%)
Turnover: EGP 482.7 mn (3% below the 90-day average)
EGX 30 year-to-date: -11.7%

WTI: USD 42.50 (+0.64%)
Brent: USD 59.19 (-0.89%)

TASI: 8,683.7 (-0.3%)
ADX: 4,730.3 (-0.7%)
DFM: 3,985.4 (-0.9%)
KSE Weighted Index: 418.1 (-0.5%)
QE: 11,858.0 (+0.7%)
MSM: 6,318.6 (flat)