Nasr wraps IMF / World Bank spring meetings with talks on World Bank loan disbursement: Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr discussed the release of the third, USD 1 bn tranche of a World Bank loan with bank vice president Hartwig Schafer, according to a ministry statement. The two also discussed adding investment zones to a USD 500 mn World Bank program to fund development in Upper Egypt and a potential USD 150 mn loan to support labor-intensive industries. Also in Washington, met with Egyptian American Enterprise Fund chairman Jim Harmon, according to a ministry statement.

Nasr will be in New York today for meetings with institutional investors and officials from the United Nations Development Program, Al Mal reports.

Renaissance Capital’s second Egypt Investor Conference gets underway in Cape Townthis morning. The event will see senior management from leading Egyptian companies meet South Africa-based investors, who have mandates to invest in non-South African opportunities across the continent. Issuers due to attend are in industries including consumer, manufacturing, banking, real estate, energy, cement and transportation.

Our friend Ahmed Badr, the CEO for MENA at Renaissance Capital will kick things off this morning, while RenCap’s global chief economist, Charles Robertson, will talk macro trends. The EM specialist has made Egypt one of its top markets. Government policy, consumer sentiment, and both credit quality and demand in the banking system will be in the spotlight, RenCap notes.

RenCap analysts were busy in the run-up to the conference:

They initiated coverage of SODIC with an “Outperform” rating and a target price of EGP18.5 per share, writing that the developer “is well positioned to navigate a possible slowdown in Egyptian real estate demand, supported by a diverse product offering, its strong brand — built on the back of consistent delivery and established communities — and its robust balance sheet. On our estimates, the current share price discounts SODIC’s West Cairo projects … which we view as unjustified.”

The also initiated coverage of GB Auto, with an “Outperform” rating and a target price of EGP 3.30 per share, calling it the “most comprehensive automotive player in MENA.” RenCap says, “We like its vertical integration in an underpenetrated market, and believe upcoming legal changes” — read: the automotive directive — “will benefit local assemblers such as GB Auto. Its strong product offering targets the largest consumer segment and in our view provides strong potential for revenue growth; its higher-margin and fast-growing finance, tyres and after-sales businesses also imply a diversified and solid revenue stream.” The company is trading at a substantial 27% discount to its global peers, RenCap suggests.

Also now covered: Pharmaceutical player EIPICO, the nation’s largest pharmaco by volume, with an “Underperform” rating and a target price of EGP 86 per share.

Finally, they see share buybacks as a likely near-term option for Elsewedy Electric, where they increased their target price 25% to EGP125 per share, saying the company has three options to grow in the longer term: through M&A, sector diversification or sale to a global player.

Renaissance Capital, already the second-largest foreign broker in Egypt by turnover and a top-two trader on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, recently launched electronic access to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which it says has “volumes which make it a strategically attractive factor for both long-only funds and high-frequency trading customers.”

We’re off tomorrow: Tuesday, 25 April is a national holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day. Next Monday, 1 May, will also be off as the country observes Labor Day.