TL;DR

• Eni is open to selling stake in Zohr field; production will start in 30-36 months (Speed Round)
• Your next ‘new’ shareholder will probably be a local: Mideast fund managers are bullish on Mideast equities, Reuters says (Speed Round)
• Russia is offering us a line of credit for a nuke plant, but Electricity Ministry is weighing its options(Speed Round)
• TE’s CEO makes a quick tour to emphasize customer service (Speed Round)
• Bracing for the latest Quran flap after Oxford University announcement (What We’re Tracking Today)
• ** By the Numbers + Egyptians are overpaying for the sweet stuff **

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Election season opens today as the 12-day nomination period for this fall’s two-stage contest for seats in the House of Representatives gets underway. Ahram Online’s Gamal Essam El-Din has his customarily detailed roundup.

It may be one of the world’s worst performing bourses year-to-date, but the EGX topped the 93-exchange global league table yesterday, Bloomberg reports, citing Pharos Holding Head of Research Hany Genena as saying that in the wake of the Eni supergiant natural gas discovery, “downside risks to the valuation of Egyptian equities have materially subsided.”

Among the big names making an appearance at the second and final day of the Future of Energy conference include Naguib Sawiris, Arturo Herrero (Chief Strategy Officer, Jinko Solar), Tarek AbdelRahman (Co-CEO, Palm Hills Development), Sherife AbdelMessih (CEO, Future Energy Corporation) and Hisham El-Khazindar (Co-Founder & Managing Director, Qalaa Holdings). Also joining by phone: Chris Gadomsky, head of nuclear research for Bloomberg New Finance, one of the global authorities on Nuclear Power generation who happened to live in Egypt in the 1980s.

Somewhere, an editor at the WSJ is partaking of controlled substances: Fresh off this abomination of a story, the WSJ seizes on the “strongest three-day rally” since the 1990s to claim that it’s now a bull market for oil. Their logic: There are “doubts that the global glut of crude would be as long-lasting as many investors and traders had earlier believed.” In fairness, the piece goes on to talk about volatility being the hallmark of the market. If you have skin in the petroleum game, you probably want to give the piece a read. (Read: ‘Oil Prices Soar Amid Lower U.S. Output Estimates, OPEC Article‘)

Scientists at the University of Oxford claim that fragments of a copy of the Quran discovered at the library of the University of Birmingham could predate the Prophet Muhammad (paywall). Their findings are being widely rejected by Muslim scholars. Like it or lump it, this story has the potential to dominate the agenda today not just at your local water cooler here in Egypt, but across the world.

The background: On 22 July, researchers at Birmingham announced that “scientific tests prove a Qur’an manuscript in its collection is one of the oldest known and may have been written close to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. The announcement by the University of Birmingham thrilled Muslim scholars … ‘This manuscript could well have been written just after he died,’ David Thomas, a professor of Christianity and Islam at the University of Birmingham said of the fragment written in ink on goat or sheepskin,” AP reported at the time. Now, the Oxford scholars claim radiocarbon dating of the parchment (not the ink) of the fragment Quran placed the document between 568CE and 645CE with 95.4% accuracy. The Prophet Muhammad is thought to have lived between 570CE to 632CE and began receiving the revelations that would eventually be collated into the Quran from 610-632CE, the year of his death. The collection and transcription of the Quran began under orders from Caliph Abu Bakr, spurred on to complete a record of the text after the Battle of Yamamah. The findings from the carbon dating, if true, are not necessarily mutually exclusive to the history of the Quran’s origin, as it was clearly stated that fragments of the Quran were preserved on parchment and belonged to the private collections of early Muslims before the project to consolidate the Quran began. In addition, only the parchment itself has been carbon dated by researchers at Oxford, leaving open the possibility that the writing came afterward, the recycling of writing material at the time being reasonably commonplace.

Look for this to make a splash in the domestic press: Youm7 is already quoting Israeli news source Maariv on the story. Maariv, according to Youm7’s account, said that the discovery would lead to an uproar among Salafists and Islamic religious institutions around the world.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Lamis El Hadidy, host of Hona El Assema, devoted the lion’s share of her Monday night show to a discussion of Eni’s Zohr natural gas discovery in Egypt’s Mediterranean waters. El Hadidy began the segment by warning viewers to not be deceived by the “Ikhwani rumor machine”, which has persistently called into question the viability and size of the discovery. Subsequently, Petroleum and Natural Minister Resources Minister Sherif Ismail called-in to provide viewers with additional insight.

Ismail: “Drilling at the [Zohr] prospect began on 28 June 2015 and is ongoing… Once online, the field will produce upwards of 2.5 bn cubic feet per day, approximately 60% of the country’s current daily production…. This discovery will attract additional investment to the sector, increasing exploration and the likelihood of future discoveries…Development of the field will require an additional USD 3.5 bn investments. We predict that production at field will commence within the next 30 to 36 months.”

Shorty after ending her conversation with Ismail, El Hadidy kicked-off the second segment of her program, which focused squarely on the regulations governing parliamentary elections. Major General Rifaat Qamsan, the Prime Minister’s advisor on electoral matter, telephoned-in to provide viewers with information. “The campaign spending ceiling for the first round of parliamentary elections has been set at EGP 500,000, while a limit of EGP 200,000 has been prescribed in the case of a run-off,” said Qamsan, adding that dual citizens will be permitted to run for parliament.

Meanwhile, Youssef El Housseiny, host of El Sada El Mohtaramoon, made it a point to scare viewers into participating in the upcoming elections. His guest for the night was Ayman Abou El Ella, a prominent member of the liberal Free Egyptians party.

El Housseiny: “Why are these elections so dangerous?”

Ayman Abou El Ella: “The 2014 Constitution has given parliament more power than ever before. Parliament has the ability to pass a motion of no confidence in the president and can accuse the head of state of treason. Additionally, the president can not form his cabinet without the approval of parliament. Consequently, given the perilous time we live in, it is imperative that citizens choose their candidates carefully.”

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SPEED ROUND

Eni is open to selling a stake its new 30 tcf gas supergiant discovery in Egypt, CEO Claudio Descalzi said. Eni sold part of its major discovery in Mozambique to China’s CNPC in 2013 and has been looking to reduce its stake there further still. Per Reuters: “‘It’s an open door to give value and solidity to Eni’s balance sheet,’ Claudio Descalzi told Italy’s La Repubblica. ‘But it will not be a necessary outcome. There is much less to spend than in Mozambique and the new gas is aimed at the local domestic market with prices disconnected from those of oil.’” Possibly explaining why Eni might be looking to introduce a new investor into the gas development: Khaled Abdel Badie, the head of EGAS, told Reuters’ Arabic service that preliminary estimates of the cost to develop the gas field are projected to be USD 3.5 bn; with full completion of the field’s development, the total investment could top USD 7 bn. Anyway, steady your horses because it will be 30-36 months before the field comes into production, according to an advisor to the Oil Minister. Undeterred, Abdel Badie stated to Al Borsa that he is holding meetings with Eni to exploreconnecting the gas to the grid in two years time, adding that Eni’s discovery coupled with BP’s discovery off the Alexandria coast and new fields under development will allow Egypt to achieve a balance between production and consumption by 2018.

… A number of media outlets noted the impact that the Zohr discovery will likely have on Israeli gas exports from the Leviathan field, with Bloomberg reporting that “shares of the natural-gas exploring units of Delek Group Ltd. plunged the most in 14 years in high volume,” and that “Meitav analyst Eran Yunger warned the Egypt find was liable to make Israel’s Leviathan ‘unnecessary.’ ‘The drops in the shares emphasize the heavy price paid to bureaucracy and disorderly decision-making,’ Idan Azoulay, a money manager at Epsilon Investment House Ltd. in Tel Aviv, said by e-mail. “ Eric Knecht and Ari Rabinovitch get in on the action with ‘Egypt’s Zohr gas re-writes Israel’s happy ending,’ for Reuters, while Gal Luft, Senior Adviser to the United States Energy Security Council, writes in the Journal of Energy Security: “The discovery of Zohr reaffirms two realities. First, that the East Mediterranean is the new frontier in oil and gas production and we can expect much more product to come online with further exploration and hence more competition to the incumbents. Second, and this lesson is for Delek, Noble and the Israeli government, is that the energy world is not sitting idly by.”

Ah, the wonder that is third-party lawsuits: Shell and Apache face a court challenge to their ongoing shale gas drilling program in the Western Desert. The case was filed by lawyer Ibrahim El Salamony, a well-known vexatious litigant who sought fame in 2012 when he filed a case to block websites of a salacious nature in Egypt. (Yes, we mean those websites. Any synonym we may use would likely cause us to fail to be delivered to your inboxes this morning.) El Salamony claims drilling for shale gas carries health and environmentalrisks.

Mideast funds more positive on stocks as valuations improve -Reuters survey: 20% of MENA fund managers surveyed expect to raise their equity allocations to the Middle East, with 7% expected to reduce them, according to a Reuters survey, up from last month’s survey results of 13% expecting to increase and 20% expecting to cut. Egypt came in second after the UAE on the list, with 33.3% of fund managers responding that they expect to increase their equity allocations in the country, with 6.7% saying the planned to decrease allocations. “First of all, Egypt is an oil consumer and a net beneficiary of low oil prices,” the newswire quoted one fund manager as saying. “In terms of valuations it looks more attractive. “Growth prospects of Egypt’s economy are much stronger than those of the Gulf economies,” he added. “Going forward, if I take a one-year view Egypt is likely to offer better returns.” (Read or view a graphic of the survey results here).

Russia offered Egypt a 33-year credit line to finance the building of the Daba’a power station project, sources told Al Mal. The proposition also includes an 11-year grace period, but details about the proportion of foreign funding remain unclear. Another source said finalizing the agreement is likely to be delayed until after the parliamentary elections to allow for the contract’s revision and approval. The most important points now under discussion with Moscow as well as representatives fromWorleyParsons, which the source says will be the project consultant, are purely technical and concern nuclear safety. Elsewhere, Al Mal adds that the Electricity Ministry claims it is in advanced discussions with multiple companies from more than one nation to build the first nuclear plant at Daba’a. Speaking of WorleyParsons: Our guess is that they’re not so much “project consultant” as project manager for the nuclear program, havingproven themselves most recently in Egypt with their work on the Egyptian Refining Company, Egypt’s largest ongoing private-sector megaproject.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that Egypt and the kingdom have agreed to cooperate in a number of fields, including the civilian use of nuclear technology, according to state news agency MENA as reported by Al Masry Al Youm and Ahram Online. The president of King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy, Hashim Abdullah Yamani, will reportedly work with Egyptian officials to draft an agreement.

Cabinet ordered the Electricity Ministry to conduct a study exploring opening the power plants now being built by Siemens to private-sector investment. Sources in the ministry stated that the letters have already been sent out to regional and local companies, and that ministry has already received offers to invest in the EUR 7 bn project. The EEHC has already received a EUR 900 mn loan from the Finance Ministry and is anticipating receiving another loan from HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and the KfW Development Bank in November to cover 85% of the funding.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s meeting with President of Singapore Tony Tan could bode well for Singaporean investors looking to for a piece of the action in the Suez Canal Axis. Tan’s enthusiastic praise for its construction was followed by an extensive discussion on investment opportunities,focusing on port infrastructure and industrial zones. El-Sisi rolled out the welcome mat, saying there’s a lot for Egypt to learn from Singapore’s development experience, especially in the fields of logistics, port infrastructure development, desalination plants and water treatment facilities. The meetingfollowed one with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and a roundtable lunch organized by the Singapore Trade Ministry, International Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation.

Pitching projects for the UEIDC: Opportunities in agriculture, services, ecotourism, and infrastructure worth EGP 50 bn or more are up for grabs in Aswan as part of the Upper Egypt Investment & Development Conference slated to take place in Hurghada on 11-12 September. Satouhy Moustafa, head of the Aswan Investors Association, spoke of a proposal for a fertilizer plant, agricultural land in Kom Ombo and Lake Nasser, granite quarries and mining opportunities. Meanwhile, the head of the Sohag Investors Associationannounced that opportunities there could attract EGP 9 bn in investments in agriculture, tourism, education and industry. Among these is an EGP 2 bn cement factory, a EGP 1.5 bn steel plant, and a EGP 500 mn ceramic plant. The Beni Suef joined the fray, saying extending the infrastructure grid into the industrial zone there could to attract EGP 10 bn worth of investments. 617 feddans have been allocated to medium sized industries with 12 separate industry zones, according to Mohsen El Gebaly, head of the Beni Suef Investors Association.

Acting Prosecutor General Ali Omran issued a gag order on Sunday on any and all media coverage of the Agriculture Ministry “bribery incident”. In a letter to Essam El Ameer, head of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union, he stated that this gag order will be in effect until the prosecution concludes its investigation into the matter. We will not be covering this story until further notice. Our past coverage include a spotlight on the issue.

Amid much gnashing of teeth and demands that talks with the government be aborted, the saga that is the Civil Service Act continues to unfold: The Center for Trade Union and Worker Services (CTUWS) has accepted Planning Minister Ashraf Al Araby’s proposal for a meeting with workers representatives to negotiate changes to the law in an effort to stave off a “mn man march” planned for 12 September.

Egypt redoubles efforts to dig seawater fishery-filled buffer zone adjacent to Gaza border -Sources: According to military officials speaking to AP on condition of anonymity, the military began digging last week to create 18 fish farms along the 14 km border with Gaza to grow fish and shrimp. The result would be to make any new underground tunnels vulnerable to collapse and flooding. “On Sunday, diggers and bulldozers operated in several locations along the border. Pairs of 15-inch black steel pipes were scattered in the construction area … Hamas-appointed Rafah mayor Subhi Radwan said if the Egyptians filled the wells with sea water, it would damage the aquifer feeding Gaza, a charge Egyptian military officials dismissed,” the AP reported. (Read)

A photo-essay on SciDev (one reminiscent to similar pieces on Minya’s stone quarry workers, also published by SciDev, as well as The Guardian and the WSJ) examines the role of child labor in the production of aluminum cookware in Egypt. “The silver-colored dust floating in the air can destroy eye tissue, while inhalation of the dust particles can lead to lung nodular fibrosis, according to a study published by the Egyptian Ministry for Environmental Affairs … Despite these hazards, no health or environmental official in Mit Ghamr is speaking out yet against child labor in these workshops. In fact, child labor seems to be tolerated at an institutional level. Inspectors from Mit Ghamr’s departments of environmental affairs and occupational health and safety are convinced that it is fair for parents to send their children to work.” (Read Egypt’s aluminum industry thrives on child labor).

Could it be? We won’t take credit for this, but TE’s CEO and managing director Osama Yassin conducted aninspection tour of a number of telecom centers, the latest being October-1 and Ramses, in order to “improve operations and (wait for it…) customer service. His inspection led to management reshuffles at some of the centers. We won’t hold our breath (and run a genuine risk of auto-asphyxiation). Interestingly enough,Yassin took to Al Mal to quash rumors that he himself is about to fall victim to a management reshuffle; saying that it would be “ludicrous to appoint a CEO for two and a half months and then replace him.” Meanwhile, we still think this guy probably provides better customer service than does the ADSL monopoly. (Not that Link is any better, judging from our recent experience, but…)

#FreeViceStaff -Turkey arrests two British journalists working for VICE, charges them with working for Daesh: British journalists Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury working for VICE, along with their translator, were arrested while filming violent clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants on Thursday. The three were detained over the weekend without charge, until a Turkish court formally ruled that they were working with Daesh, according to the BBC. There are no further details on this developing story, however the aforementioned hashtag has appeared on Twitter. Both Amnesty Internationaland the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called for the release of the journalists, as noted by VICE.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

President of Egypt begins state visit -Straits Times: Singapore’s The Straits Times has a feature on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to Singapore, highlighting his tour of the Harmony Centre and meeting with leaders from the Religious Rehabilitation Group. The Harmony Centre was founded by Singapore’s PM in 2006 to focus on interfaith dialogue, while the Religious Rehabilitation Group works on counseling detained Jemaah Islamiyah members. “This visit to Harmony Centre was on the request of the Egyptian delegation led by the Egyptian President to learn more about our interfaith and interreligious work,” the Harmony Centre said in a statement.

The sobering reality of Egypt’s growing ‘bad press’ problem: Farid Y. Farid writes for Quartz on the “defensive comment”[s] made by Egyptian officials in response to the Al Jazeera retrial verdict. Farid writes: “I was shocked yesterday by the verdict because I thought bad press was always a regime’s worst nightmare to keeping the veneer of stability going. I was proved wrong once again.” (Read)

Egypt row over Facebook muezzin call -BBC: An imam in the Nile Delta town of Kafr al-Dawar has been suspended pending investigation after worshippers at the Sayed Ghazi mosque lodged complaints for his altered call to prayer, the BBC reports. Rather than calling out “praying is better than sleeping,” they allege, Moghazi has been chanting “praying is better than spending time on Facebook,” only to face allegations of heresy, to which Moghazi countered by saying some of his critics are supporters of the Ikhwan.

WORTH READING

Last March, Cairo’s sewage system turned 100. It started off as an attempt to mitigate the periodical cholera attacks as well as a sign that public health was now becoming the government’s responsibility. The process involved a very accurate mapping of Cairo. In commemoration of the sewage system’s centenary, Shehab Fakhry visited the sites of the (now abandoned) old pumping stations and presents his notes in Jadaliyaa on how this project panned out socioeconomically during that period under the British occupation of Egypt. (Read in Arabic)

WORTH WATCHING

The Miseducation of Nadia El Guindy, another re-edit from Omar Adel, from Nadia El Guindy’s 1992 film Mohemma Fi Tel Aviv. (Watch in Arabic, running time: 40 seconds)

“This is Tarek.” from Omar Adel. Take it from a native: No resident of Nasr City has ever experienced this or any level of happiness while in Nasr City. (Watch in Arabic, running time: 1:14)

ENERGY

Shell in talks with Oil Ministry to adjust gas purchase price agreements
Al Mal | 31 Aug 2015
Shell began talks with the Oil Ministry to amend the price of gas produced from its concessions, a source told Al Mal. The flexibility in the government’s approach in responding to price adjustment requests is aimed at encouraging increased production and E&P investment domestically. The source added that the government has already completed a review of repricing for three IOCs (BG, BP, and RWE) ranging between USD 1-3 per mmBtu. (Read in Arabic)

Fuel subsidy bill set to drop as international oil prices sustain plunge, EGPC source says
Al Mal | 30 Aug 2015
Fuel subsidy bills are set to drop below budgeted as international oil prices remain low, a source at EGPC said. The source expects the subsidy bill for FY 2015-16 to come at EGP 55 bn – below the EGP 61 bn projected in the state’s budget. Monthly fuel import costs are expected to drop from approximately USD 1 bn a month to about USD 700 mn, the source added. (Read in Arabic)

Orascom’s O Capital enters into alliance with Norwegian REC to build solar power plants
Youm7 | 31 Aug 2015
Orascom’s O Capital for Energy signed a cooperation agreement with Norway’s Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) on 31 August to build solar power plants in Egypt and the Arab world. Chairman of O Capital Tamer El Mahdi said that REC is top 10 most established companies in solar energy production and that the alliance gives Orascom a leading role in the Egyptian solar energy market. (Read in Arabic or in Daily News Egypt)

Haisung closes in on water pump contract for Al Shabab power plant
Al Mal | 31 Aug 2015
South Korean industrial engineering firm Haisung‘s bid appears to be the frontrunner in an invitation for bidders bid to supply water pump systems to the Al Shabab power plant in Ismailia, according to sources within the Electricity Ministry. If successful, the company would have beat out Hyundai, Swiss-based firm Sulzer, and the Indian branch of Italian Termomeccanica. The bids will be sent to the project’s financier, the European Investment Bank, for input and evaluation. (Read in Arabic)

Oman considers importing LNG in response to surging demand
Bloomberg | 30 Aug 2015
Oman may begin importing LNG to meet surging energy demand. “Oman currently exports liquefied gas under long-term contracts to Spain and several Asian countries including Japan and South Korea. It’s now studying options to import LNG as well, to help generate power and for other uses,” sources told Bloomberg. Oman’s potential LNG imports would supplement the country’s gas supply coming via a pipeline from Qatar. (Read)

INFRASTRUCTURE

FCC Aqualia-led consortium awarded EUR 2.4 bn Abu Rawash water treatment tender
Aqualia Press Release | 28 Aug 2015
A consortium led by FCC Aqualia was awarded the EUR 2.4 bn B.O.T. contract to design, construct, and operate the Abu Rawash water treatment plant. Besides Aqualia, the consortium also comprises Orascom Construction Industries, Veolia, and ICAT. Once fully operational, the plant will have the capacity to treat 1.6 mn cubic meters serving 5.5 mn people “making it one of the largest treatment plants worldwide,” according to Aqualia. (Read)

Suez Canal Authority signs water desalination MoU with Singapore’s Hyflux
Ahram Online, SIS | 30 Aug 2015
The Suez Canal Authority signed an MoU with Singapore’s Hyflux during President El Sisi’s tour of the company. The MoU involves initial agreements on water desalination and electricity generation. Ahram Online describes Hyflux as “a leading provider of integrated water management and environmental solutions.” (Read and from SIS)

BASIC MATERIALS + COMMODITIES

Eastern Company considers building solar power plants
Al Borsa | 30 Aug 2015
Eastern Company is considering building two solar power plants at an estimated total cost of EGP 24 mn, Al Borsa reported. The two plants will each have a production capacity of 1 MW and will be used to power the lighting systems at the company’s production plant complex. Eastern Company is now awaiting offers to construct the solar power plants. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH + EDUCATION

Pharmacists Syndicate completes final draft law of new code of professional conduct
Al Mal | 31 Aug 2015
The Pharmacists Syndicate has completed a final draft law of a new code of ethics and professional conduct for its members. (Read in Arabic)

Education ministries look to Chinese funding for projects
Al Mal | 31 Aug 2 015
The ministries of education and higher education are seeking Chinese grants for four projects at a total cost of USD 29.8 mn during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to China on 3 September. The Ministry of Education presented two projects, the first, building 250 solar power arrays with a capacity of 20 kW each on top of schools, saving 500 MW of power. The second involves implementing a USD 6 mn ‘learning management system’ in 250 schools (and no, we’re not sure what that means.) (Read in Arabic)

** Further reading in Health + Education: ‘Egypt’s Besieged Universities,’ by Emily Crane Linn for FP. “And it’s not just social scientists under scrutiny … [engineering graduate Mohammed] Ezz Elarab knew of a student who was arrested for attempting to build a bomb because he had been seen working with a variety of electronic components, chemicals and copper wires — all for his university-approved final project. ‘So now the majority of the professors at universities, who are supposed to be encouraging creativity, are afraid that creative projects will just get everyone in trouble,’ Ezz Elarab said.” (Read)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

Administrative capital project details to be announced within weeks, Alabbar still in the game -Madbouly
Amwal Al Ghad | 30 Aug 2015
The implementation details of the new administrative capital’s development project (the Capital Cairo) will be announced by President El Sisi within weeks, Housing Minister Moustafa Madbouly said. Although the basis for the negotiations have changed, Mohamed Alabbar’s Capital City Partners have not withdrawn from the project, Madbouly said. He added that the Capital Cairo is a national project and is not contingent on the involvement of any single company. (Read in Arabic)

Arabia Group, Housing Ministry to announce Sun City details at Cityscape Egypt
Al Mal | 31 Aug 2015
The details of a USD 4.6 bn real estate project to be built in 6 October City called Sun City, through a partnership between the Arabia Group for Development & Urban Progress and the Ministry of Housing, is set to be announced at the Cityscape Egypt conference between 16-19 September at the Cairo International Convention Centre. The project was originally pitched at the EEDC in Sharm El Sheikh, and was proposed to stretch over an area of 557 feddans. Arabia Group will also present two other projects at Cityscape, including the third phase of Galleria Moon Valley, and an administrative building in New Cairo. (Read in Arabic)

** Further reading in Real Estate & Housing: Conference and seminar provider IQPC, and organizer of the Egypt Construction Forum & Awards taking place 24-25 November at the Fairmont Heliopolis, released a whitepaper ahead of the event titled ‘Contractors’ Challenges in Egypt.’ Among the challenges identified are building material shortages (exacerbated by supplies going toward unlicensed housing, as well as decreased supply of inputs such as cement due to lower production on the back of decreased gas supply),skilled workforce availability, sustainable building practices, and funding. (Read Contractors’ Challenges in Egypt, pdf by IQPC)

TELECOMS + ICT

Mobinil mulls capital increase, welcomes joining national telecom infrastructure entity
Al Borsa | 30 Aug 2015
Mobinil is mulling a capital increase, Mobinil’s CEO, Yves Gauthier, told Al Borsa. The decision will be made by Orange, Mobinil’s parent company, in November and if approved, will be implemented by the start of 2016. Gauthier added that Mobinil welcomed joining the national telecoms infrastructure entity and is looking for alternatives to accelerate the replacement of copper wires with fiber-optic cables. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING + FINANCE

Bank Audi in talks with foreign financiers to secure foreign currency liquidity
Amwal Al Ghad | 31 Aug 2015
Bank Audi-Egypt is engaged in talks with European financial institutions to secure foreign currency liquidity, sources told Amwal Al Ghad. The bank is reportedly in talks with the European Investment Bank and the EBRD to secure the funding in the form or loans of letters of credit. The foreign currency would be used to supply local demand. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

** Further reading in “VAT for the layman:” For those of us who are not accountants or tax experts, Al Borsa does an okay job explaining what a VAT (value-added tax) actually is and how it may be applied across the value chain. The article’s true value rests in its analysis of what to expect when it is applied: Government can expect to secure EGP 32 bn this fiscal year. The finance ministry estimates that VAT would increase inflation by 2-3.5% on top of a current rate of 11%; reduction in investments due to projected declining returns; rise in unemployment as managers move to cut costs; a negative projection on the stock market, especially in the service sector. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?

NATIONAL SECURITY

Egypt orders Russian-made Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters: Egypt’s military has ordered Russian-made Kamov Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopters, a military source said. “The Ka-52 multirole attack helicopter was designed for destroying enemy armor, personnel and helicopters under any weather conditions at day and night. The Alligator features a coaxial rotor system which allows for superior maneuverability. The machine is capable of flying backwards at speeds of 130 kmh and sideways at speeds of 100 kmh as well as performing aerobatic maneuvers,” according to Sputnik. Delivery of the helicopters has not begun yet, sources said. (Read)

Four policemen injured in Beni Suef terrorist attack: One police officer and three enlisted men were injured after their patrol was shot at on the Beni Suef-Fayoum Agricultural Road on Monday. The gunmen fled upon return fire from the police. All four are currently being treated at the University Hospital. (Read in Arabic)

76 Ikhwan arrested across seven governorates: The Interior Ministry arrested 76 mid-level Ikhwan leaders reportedly in possession of explosives and firearms in a sweeping raid spanning Cairo, Giza, Manoufia, Fayoum, Suez and Ismailia. (Read in Arabic)

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Sales of domestically assembled cars dropped 18.3% y-o-y in the first seven months of 2015, falling to 41.5k cars from 50.8k in the same period last year. Meanwhile, sales of completely built-up vehicles jumped up 22.7% y-o-y to 71k cars from 57.9k cars, Al Mal reported.

Four mn SIM cards disconnected, says CIT Minister Khaled Negm. The SIM cards had no registered owners, violating the NTRA decision to limit SIM card sales to authorized branches that make a full record of customer information, Al Mal reported.

Tourism Minister opens hotel in Marsa Alam: Tourism Minister Khaled Ramy inaugurated a new grand tourist village located in Port Ghalib, Marsa Alam on Monday following an inspection tour of Marsa Alam airport. The new tourist village will feature 300 rooms. (Read in Arabic)