Egypt expects USD 21.5 bn from KSA during Salman’s visit

TL;DR

Egypt expecting up to USD 21.5 bn in aid from Saudi during Salman visit. (Speed Round)

Egypt PMI hits a 31-month low, Saudi and Emirati gauges advance. (Speed Round)

Egypt will become largest recipient of BP investments globally in 2020. (Speed Round)

Colliers says real estate market underserved, retail to drive growth. (Speed Round)

Electricity Ministry to sign MoU with Vestas for 2.2 GW wind farms. (Energy)

Henkel will invest EUR 50 mn in Egypt. (Manufacturing)

Health Ministry finally agrees to raise prices. (Health + Education)

EBRD lends EUR 1.78 mn to Europack in EGP-equivalent. (Banking + Finance)

By the Numbers

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

First casualty of the Panama Papers: Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson resigned (or maybe only stepped aside, the Financial Times suggests) after allegations surfaced that he had sought to hide wealth and dodge taxes, parliament announced, after thousands of Icelanders took to the streets in protest, Bloomberg reports. Carl Dolan, director of Transparency International’s EU division, said that if the situation in Iceland is replicated, then he expects “more heads to roll.”

Day two of Informa’s Cityscape Egypt Conference (formerly known as the Egypt Real Estate Summit) is today at the Kempinski Royal Maxim Palace New Cairo. The related Cityscape Egypt exhibition will take take place on 7-10 April (Thursday-Sunday) at the Cairo International Convention Centre. H/t Suzan L.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will be in Cairo tomorrow for a state visit, with expectation that new agreements will see the inflow of as much as USD 20 bn. More in Speed Round, below.

ON THE HORIZON

The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce are expecting a delegation of businessmen from Bavaria between 9-13 April, according to chamber CEO Rainer Herret.

Orascom Development Holding expects to announce its FY2015 results on 14 April after which it will hold an analyst call at 1:30 pm CLT, according to a statement. Participating: New CEO Khaled Bichara, CFO Eskandar Tooma, and Chief Hotels Officer Abdelhamid Abouyoussef.

Egypt has been officially invited to the 13th Organization of Islamic Cooperation summittaking place 10-15 April in Istanbul, Turkey.

The ITIDA market intelligence workshop series ‘Digital Transformation and New Models of Innovation,’ takes place on Sunday, 10 April at the ITIDA Main Hall, Cairo.

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SPEED ROUND

King Salman arrives in Cairo for a “rare” foreign visit tomorrow, investments expected: The visit sets aside years of “mutual frustration and disappointment over diverging priorities” between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Reuters says. The visit is expected to come with a number of investment and financing agreements. The support is unlikely to be without conditions, with Mustafa Alani, a security analyst with close ties to the kingdom’s Interior Ministry, saying “the Saudis are very keen not to allow Egypt to collapse, but at the same time the Saudis cannot pay forever. I think King Salman will try to explain these issues.” Two sources said Saudi Arabia will sign a USD 20 bn agreement to finance Egypt’s fuel needs for the next five years as well as USD 1.5 bn to develop Sinai, which is likely referring to the agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development we reported on over two weeks ago. The Saudi private sector is also set to follow suit and inject USD 4 bn in projects including the Suez Canal, energy, and agriculture. Abdallah bin Mahfouz, the deputy head of the Saudi-Egyptian Business Council, said 10% of that amount is already deposited in Egyptian banks and that further funding will increase this percentage to 25% within three months.

Al-Hayat, the respected London-based Saudi-focused newspaper, has a different breakdown. The outlet doesn’t provide an estimate on total Saudi investment and aid expected at the gathering, but doing the math, they’re predicting about USD 10 bn in assistance: An agreement to invest EGP 1.5 bn in a dry port in Ismailia, EGP 10 bn to be invested in Sinai, EGP 2 bn in unspecified other investments, new grants for Cairo’s Qasr El Aini Hospital and then USD 8 bn in additional investments through as many as 12 projects. Also in the pipeline, but with no price tag attached: King Salman South Sinai University.

Al Borsa, meanwhile, says it has the inside track on USD 3.8 bn in new investments by 10 Saudi companies, including Dallah Albaraka, Sharbatly and others.

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Italy has issued Egypt its sternest warning over the Regeni case to date: “If there is not a change in tack (by the Egyptian authorities), the government is ready to react, adopting measures that are both immediate and proportionate,” Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told parliament, as per Reuters. Gentiloni did not elaborate on what those measures are but explained that, by a change in tack, he meant “not accepting twisted and convenient truths. It means finding out who was responsible for having probably put Giulio Regeni under surveillance before he disappeared.” Egypt’s Foreign Affairs refused to comment on Gentiloni’s remarks but said they further complicate the situation, especially as they were delivered one day before an Egyptian team was scheduled to arrive and brief the Italian side about developments in case, Al Ahram said. The story is getting significant play in the Wall Street Journal (paywall) this morning.

Business conditions in Egypt continue to worsen, hitting a 31-month low: The Emirates NBD Egypt PMI reading (pdf download) for March registered a 31-month low of 44.5 from 48.1 in February. Business conditions deteriorated for the sixth straight month on sharper declines in output, new orders, and employment with input sticks falling at “a survey-record pace amid muted client demand” and FX uncertainty. Emirates NBD senior economist Jean-Paul Pigat is not surprised by the survey results as “the survey took place at a time of elevated uncertainty that coincided with the devaluation of the EGP.” He believes that the stage could be set for broader recovery in 2H2016, given the move to “a more competitive exchange rate.” Bloomberg covered the PMI release.

…Meanwhile, Business conditions in Saudi Arabia and the UAE improved in March at the strongest pace in four months. The improvement in sentiment in the UAE came as a result of “sharper rises in output and new orders,” while in Saudi, “higher output was the main driver of the overall improvement in business conditions,” the survey said. Download the Saudi Arabia or UAE PMIs (pdf).

Egypt will become the largest destination for BP investments globally in 2020 as the company doubles its exposure to Egypt, BP’s Upstream Division CEO Bernard Looney told Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, according to Al Masry Al Youm. Some 40% of Egypt’s hydrocarbon production is generated by BP currently, Looney said, noting that the company’s total investment in Egypt is over USD 25 bn.

…In related news, EGAS announced it signed a “number of agreements with BP” to tie in production from the Atoll discovery and transport and process natural gas, Al Shorouk reported. A new drilling campaign will bring production to 200 mcf per day in 2018. According to a BP release from November 2015, the company signed a Heads of Agreement with the Oil Ministry to accelerate the development of Atoll. The Atoll field is estimated to hold 1.5 tcf of gas and 31 mn bbl of condensates, with production anticipated to begin in 2018.

Privately owned International School of Choueifat will only be released from ministerial supervision if it amends it regulations to collect tuition fees in EGP exclusively instead of USD, Al Mal reported yesterday, citing sources at the Education Ministry. The stipulations will also require the school to abide strictly to the 7% cap on annual increases to tuition fees. The school’s legal counsel said even though Choueifat calculates fees in USD, they are collected in EGP according the exchange rate set by the CBE, noting that over 50% of the school’s outlays are in USD given its reliance on imported classroom materials and foreign staff. He added that the government has frozen over EGP 100 mn in the school’s bank accounts and forced its staff to be paid in EGP in the past two months. Choueifat and American International School were both placed under ministerial supervision in the first week of March, we reported last month.

The Finance Ministry has responded to the Panama Papers scandal, with Deputy Minister for Tax Policy Amr Moneir discussing measures it plans to take to discourage tax evasion and fleeing to tax havens in an interview with Al Mal. The Finance Ministry plans to sign and enforce more agreements on the exchange of tax information and cut back on double taxation to curb tax avoidance, said Moneir. The ministry plans to seal loopholes used by multinationals by factoring revenues of parent companies of Egypt-based subsidiaries and adopting OECD  taxation guidelines.

Colliers International released its latest analysis on the Cairo real estate market on Tuesday, according to Zawya. The real estate landscape is becoming more “mature”, says Colliers, with consumers calling for more mixed-use developments that put retail at the center at specific price points. “Developers that recognise these factors can expect quicker sales and higher price points,” said Ian Albert, Regional Director at Colliers International. While 52% of Cairo residents can afford residential units priced between USD 26,000 and USD 35,000 (EGP 228k and EGP 307k), there are no new private-sector residential developments at these prices, meaning more affordable units should translate to faster sales due to the undersupplied nature of the market. As for the hospitality segment, Colliers believes there is strong demand for new offerings from international brands looking to enter the three-star hotel arena, especially those familiar to visitors from the GCC. “These 3 star hotels will be able to undercut existing 4 star hotels on price and drive higher volumes and occupancy. Lower costs, both investment and operating, make 3 star hotels a more attractive investment option, able to benefit from up turns as well as being more resilient to downturns.”

The cabinet’s Information and Decision and Support Center (IDSC) has denied reports that government plans to raise energy prices or lift energy subsidies for the poor. In a statement obviously meant to assuage public anger over news of a July increase in electricity prices, the IDSC clarified that low income residents will not see their price tier of power increase. As for fuel subsidies, the IDSC stated that the government’s 2014 five-year plan to reprice fuel under the subsidies reduction plan will not affect low income citizens. The pacification report also went on to deny reports of supply shortages after consulting with the Supply Minister, Al Borsa reports.

The CBE sold USD 120 mn in its regular auction yesterday, keeping the FX rate fixed at EGP 8.78 per USD 1. Reuters says the sale prioritised covering “multinational companies’ needs to clear payment backlogs for the import of staples and pharmaceutical goods.” Three black market traders said the exchange rate weakened to EGP 10.10 per USD 1 on the parallel market, while Al Masry Al Youm is registering a rate of EGP 10.12 to USD 1 on the back of increased demand for LCs.

The seven subcommittees formed to review the national program have recommended that full House grant the program a vote of confidence on Tuesday night, Al Mary Al Youm reports. These committees have also raised a number of recommendations to the plan. On the national security pillar, the subcommittee called for restricting the activities of human rights organizations, and further measures to tighten control of the media. Economic related criticisms included a lack of a set timeline on projects and a lack of clarification on sources of funding.

“Goldman Sachs is crushing the competition,” declares Business Insider in a blaring headline atop a piece noting that global M&A activity is down 20% by volume in 1Q2016 — and noting that GS has worked on eight of the top 10 transactions of the past quarter. BI quotes Goldman’s co-head of M&A in the Americas as saying, “While volumes are lower, the complexion of the M&A market is not dissimilar to 2015 in that its mostly driven by strategic buyers. A lot of the drivers for a healthy M&A market persist — corporates face a relatively low-growth macro backdrop and they’re using M&A to grow their top line. And while we remain in a fairly low cost of capital environment, it’s still an attractive time to be buying growth.”

Ain’t nobody gonna be reading your Whatsapp messages: The region’s favourite messaging platform has introduced end-to-end encryption — meaning it couldn’t even provide your messages to law enforcement or intelligence even if they wanted to. Which they really, really don’t, according to a deep dive into the company, its two founders, and its alliance with cryptographer and shipwright Moxie Marlinspike.

MOVES- Moustafa El Chiati was appointed chief executive officer for EFG Hermes’ UAE operations. El Chiati, a 13-year banking veteran, has a transactional track record that includes the Egyptian IPOs of Arabian Food Industries Company (Domty) and Edita Food Industries (Edita), Egypt’s first successful tradable rights issue, the sale of a leading private hospital to Abraaj Group, the acquisition of Olympic Group by Sweden’s Elextrolux AB, and several bond issuances, among other transactions.

THE MACRO PICTURE

On the global front, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has jumped on the doom and gloom podium, warning of the growing risks facing the global economy in a speech in Frankfurt yesterday. Lagarde said the outlook for growth has tumbled in recent months. In an interview with Bloomberg TV she called it the “new mediocre.”

But wait, there’s more: Global investments banks are still in trouble despite how many workers they quell. Analysts cut profit estimates for Goldman Sachs Group by 94 cents per share in the last four weeks. And news of the Panama Papers and all the damage they’re set to cause could not have broken at a worse time, after they revealed HSBC was among the most active in “registering shell companies that move money around the world on behalf of rich and politically connected clients,” Bloomberg reports.

Growth in the Eurozone remains “sluggish” according to Markit Economics’ PMI data for Europe released yesterday. The composite index rose to 53.1 in March, up from 53.0 in February and below the flash estimate of 53.7. In the UK, the services index rose to 53.7 in March, with Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit Economics in London, saying it was “insufficient to prevent the PMI surveys from collectively indicating a slowdown.” As for the United States, the business services PMI rose to 51.3 in March while the composite figure hit 51.3.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

“Egypt’s looming instability demands that the United States take steps now to safeguard itself from reliance on a country we cannot rescue, not least from its own leaders’ worst impulses,” Tamara Cofman Wittes writes for Brookings, explaining why she was among the signatories on a letter to President Obama “urging him to publicly and privately object to” President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s “crackdown on human rights and civil society organizations.

The ongoing trial of former President Hosni Mubarak, scheduled for Thursday, got extensive coverage in The Economist’s weekly podcast, The Week Ahead. Host Anne McElvoy and guest Christopher Lockwood use the trial to segue and discuss the “cracking down” on journalists in Egypt. “The press is getting steadily more coward,” Lockwood says. (run time 13:23)

News of Egypt’s Ambassador to New Zealand Tarek Al Wasimy announcing imams will be sent from Egypt to “take control” of NZ mosques has caused a stir among Muslim groups in the country, reports The Guardian. Hundreds of imams were sent around the world every year and their increasing numbers in New Zealand were not a reflection of a rise in radicalisation, said Hazim Arafeh, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand.

And it wouldn’t be a newsday without a stab at Egypt’s human rights record. The UK parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday criticised the British Foreign Office (FCO) for not listing Egypt as a Human Rights Priority Country. “The failure to include Egypt and Bahrain amongst the list of ‘Human Rights Priority Countries’ contributes to the perception that the FCO has become more hesitant in promoting and defending international human rights openly and robustly, notwithstanding the importance of private diplomacy,” it said.
WORTH READING

Imaging waking up and finding that you can’t get into email, that you’re locked out of your bank’s online portal, and that your ATM or credit card don’t work. Now imagine you’d taken just 5 minutes to think about whether you’re vulnerable to attack. Read “Lock down your Mac, iPhone, and online accounts if you expect trouble ahead” — even if you don’t expect trouble ahead. It’s not the final word on how to secure your online life, but it’s a start. We’ll have more on this front this weekend.

IMAGE OF THE DAY

The punch-to-the-gut Photos From an Abandoned Resort Town Show How Terrorism Destroyed Tourism in Egypt. That resort town is none other that Sharm El Sheikh. “Simply put, Sharm el-Sheikh has become a ghost town.”

DIPLOMACY + FOREIGN TRADE

International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr announced the signing of two MoUs worth KWD 110 mn (c USD 364 mn) with Kuwait’s Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development for agriculture and electricity projects. The first MoU, for KWD 50 mn (c USD 166 mn), will cover financing a water and agricultural development project. The second, for KWD 60 mn (c USD 199 mn), will finance the 1,800 MW power station project in Damanhour.

…Nasr also met with South Korean Ambassador to Egypt Chung Kwang-kyun to discuss developments since President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit between 2-4 March, Ahram reported. Egypt signed MoUs worth a total of USD 3 bn during the visit, and is expecting a delegation from the Export Import Bank of Korea within days to discuss projects. The MoUs allocate USD 700 mn for development projects and USD 2.3 bn that will come through export credit loans.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with a delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on Tuesday in a meeting also attended by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The meeting covered international terrorism efforts, the Libya situation, and other “political solutions to the various crises in the region.” El Sisi also expressed condolences over the death of Italian student Giulio Regeni, saying that “Egypt is resolved to continue its full cooperation and transparency with Italy to reveal the circumstances surrounding the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice,” and adding that he believes Egypt’s longstanding relationship with Italy will weather this individual storm.

The president also met with elected Secretary General of the Arab League  Ahmed Aboul Gheit to congratulate the former foreign minister on assuming his new post, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Aboul Gheit said his tenure would focus on enhancing joint Arab action, preserving the unity and sovereignty of Arab states, and pushing forward with the Israel-Palestine solution. The president said Egypt looks forward to the continuation of the Arab League’s efforts to promote “economic cooperation among Arab countries.”

A German delegation made up of representatives of 33 companies visiting Egypt was taken on a tour of the Suez Canal Development Axis and 6th of October City to explore potential investment opportunities, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The visit will be followed by another headed by German Economic Minister Sigmar Gabriel on 17 April.

ENERGY

Electricity Ministry will sign an MoU with Vestas to build multiple wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.2 GW
Al Borsa is reporting that the Electricity Ministry is looking to sign an MoU with Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas to build wind farms with a combined capacity of 2.2 GW under the EPC-plus-finance system. Minister Mohamed Shaker promised the Vestas delegation that the MoU would be signed within four weeks. The project is planned for both the East and West Nile areas, requiring 1,600 sqkm and 12 months to conduct wind speed and topographical studies. (Read in Arabic)

EGAS halts gas supply to fertiliser plants due to late LNG delivery
The Egyptian Natural Gas holding company (EGAS) has halted gas shipments to several plants for use as fertiliser last week due to the late delivery of an LNG shipment from the Norwegian Hoegh Gasification ship to Ain Sokhna due to bad weather, DNE quotes an EGAS official as saying. The plants are: MOPCO, Al-Masriya 1 and 2, Helwan, Alexandria, and APEC. The shipment was set to arrive last week but is now expected to have made its arrival yesterday, with the official anticipating gas supplies to resume to the factories tomorrow. (Read)

Emirates NBD approves EGP 2 bn loan for EEHC to build two power plants
Emirates NBD Egypt signed off on a EGP 2 bn loan for Egyptian Electricity Holding Co. (EEHC) to finance a power plant project in the new capital with a capacity of 4,800 MW and another power plant in Kafr Sheik with the same capacity as part of the Siemens power plant projects, Al Borsa reported on Monday. The loan will be repaid over 15 years with a three-year grace period. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS + COMMODITIES

Strategic reserves of infant formula enough for a month
The current strategic reserves for infant formula could last four months, but three months of reserves are allocated for war and emergencies and are untouchable, an industry insider says. Effectively, Egypt only has one month of supply, and importing new supplies could take up to three months, or 60 days if the process is sped up, he added. The company is expecting a new order by tomorrow following approval from the cabinet, but if the order is not approved, Egypt could face a shortage of infant formula. (Read in Arabic)

MANUFACTURING

Henkel will invest EUR 50 mn in Egypt
Henkel is looking to invest an additional EUR 50 mn into building a second factory in Sixth of October that runs parallel with its existing factory in Port Said, Egyptian Ambassador to Germany Badr Abdelatty told Al Masry Al Youm. Additionally, a Siemens VP will visit Egypt soon to discuss expanding the company’s activities beyond energy projects, he added. (Read in Arabic)

Egyptian Financial and Industrial company looking to lend subsidiary EGP 290 mn to reschedule debts
The Egyptian Financial and Industrial Company (EFIC) is looking to borrow EGP 190 mn from three banks, including the Bank of Alexandria, NBE, and the National Bank of Kuwait, to help its subsidiary the Suez Company for Fertilizer Production reschedule its debts, said EFIC Chairman Aly El Sayad. EFIC is looking to lend the Suez Company EGP 290 mn, of which EGP 50 mn will be directed to completing its current projects. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH + EDUCATION

** We have two stories today on the compounds one ingests or injects takes to treat health problems. Notably, one of them suggests the Ministry of Health may have authorized price increases. The words used tend to block our delivery to your inboxes, so we’re running them on the website only.

Health Ministry finally agrees to raise prices on medication
The Health Ministry has finally acquiesced to raising the prices of medication sold in Egypt, said the deputy head of the Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber Osama Rostom. Speaking at the division’s general assembly, Rostom announced that medication sold by manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies will see a rise, as long as all parties comply with directive 499, whereby producers must provide discounts and commissions to pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies on 400 items. The industry has been clamoring for a price raise on medications that have remained steady for years under the Health Ministry’s directive. (Read in Arabic)

Cabinet to form ad hoc committee to support pharmaceutical investments, exports
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail will form an ad hoc committee to support Egyptian pharmaceutical investments and bolster exports to neighboring countries, the Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber (PIC) announced on Monday, Al Borsa reports. Ismail met with Health Minister Ahmed Rady, Industry and Trade Minister Tarek Kabil, and PIC President Ahmed El Maghrabi to discuss the pharmaceutical industry’s pricing mechanisms and investment opportunities abroad in order to address the ongoing shortages, said PIC deputy head Osama Rostom. The chamber suggested that medications be registered with the Central Administration of Pharmaceutical Affairs to trade in the domestic market and be exported at different prices. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

Real estate investors have harsh words for the gov’t at Cityscape Egypt conference
Real estate investors and developers at the Cityscape Egypt conference have identified multiple problems facing the industry, which all boil down to the government. The government’s tendering system (or lack thereof) has received very poor marks. Government monopoly on issuing land tenders is the primary reason behind rising land prices, said Hussein Sabbour, head of the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association, while SODIC’s managing director Magued Sherif called on the government to completely rethink its land auction system, which has largely failed. Hassan Hussein, head of mortgage finance company Al Oula, appears to take the view in favor of more government regulation, calling for it to form a regulatory authority to manage the sector. (Read in Arabic)

TOURISM

Amer Group Holding prepares to inaugurate new hotel in Sharm El Sheikh
Amer Group Holding expects to inaugurate a new hotel in Sharm El Sheikh within the current fiscal year and renovate its hotels in the North Coast, Marsa Matrouh, and Ain Al Sokhna, said CFO Riad Refaat. The company has completed finishing jobs on the first phase of Porto Sharm El Sheikh and will begin construction on the second phase with the fiscal year, he added. (Read in Arabic)

Amadeus Egypt looking to increase growth rate to 10% in 2016 -GM
Airline technology solutions provider Amadeus Egypt is to looking to boost its growth rate  to 10% from 7% during 2016, said company General Manager Khaled Gad. Amadeus Egypt operates distribution channels for 46 tourism companies and tour operators, said Gad. The company is looking to increase training programs for its human resources, he added, encouraging the rest of the sector to do the same in light of the recession. (Read)

AUTOMOTIVE + TRANSPORTATION

Truck sales down, microbus sales grow in February
The usual suspects of the FX crunch and import restrictions are being blamed for a 45.4% y-o-y drop in truck sales in February to 2,762 trucks, down from 5,060 in February 2015, according to data from the auto industry’s information council (AMIC). Pickup sales fell 53%, while light trucks saw a 43% drop and medium trucks 36%. But it wasn’t all bad, with heavy trucks seeing a 20% growth in sales to 188 vehicles, while minivan sales grew 4%. Chevrolet saw the highest number of trucks sold, followed by Nissan and Toyota, Al Mal reports. And if you find that you’re spending more time annoyed at Cairo traffic, you can probably blame that on a 14% rise in microbus sales, according to AMIC data, Al Mal reports.

Transport minister invites Britain to participate in feasibility studies on Six October monorail project
Transportation Minister Galal Saeed requested that the UK participate in the feasibility studies on the Sixth of October Monorail project in a meeting with British Ambassador to Egypt John Casson on Monday, Al Borsa reports. During the meeting, Saeed urged British investors to invest in Egypt’s transport projects due to the “promising” nature of the sector. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING + FINANCE

EBRD lends EUR 1.78 mn to Europack in EGP-equivalent
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided its first direct financing to a small enterprise by lending the EGP equivalent of EUR 1.78 mn to Europack. Europack is a private manufacturer of tin packaging solutions for industrial goods. “The EBRD investment will help Europack to expand its production by purchasing plastic packaging and general tin can production lines… As part of the project the company will introduce new packaging for environmentally dangerous goods (such as chemicals) that will reach the necessary standards to acquire United Nations certifications,” the EBRD said. (Read)

Qatar National Bank will increase interest rates on three-, five-year CDs by up to 275 bps
The Qatar National Bank will raise interest rates on three- and five-year certificates of deposit by 225-275 bps as of next April. The decision comes after the three major government banks raised interest rates to 12.5% earlier this year. Three-year CDs with a monthly return went up to 12.25% from 9.50%, while the quarterly and semi-annual return CDs went up to 12.5% from 10%. Five-year CDs with a monthly return went up to 12.5% from 10%, while the quarterly and semi-annual return CDs went up to 12.75% from 10.5%. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Emirates Auction launches Egyptian subsidiary
UAE-based Emirates Auction has launched its first Egyptian subsidiary Misr Auction, which will initially focus on managing real estate auctions, and later expand its service portfolio to include cars and collectibles. “We have chosen Egypt to be our first expansion stop after an in-depth study of the region’s promising markets, which showed the need of the Egyptian market to have public and electronic auctions that match the highest levels of professionalism, quality and reliability,” said Emirates Auction Managing Director Abdullah Al Mannaei. (Read)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Prime Minister orders measures against illegal land use
Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has ordered a special committee to begin immediately tallying and mapping out state land that has been acquired illegally or is being developed in a way other than originally intended, according to the prime minister’s spokesperson Hussam El Qawish. The Ismail also ordered a meeting to expedite the drafting of a Unified Land Act to criminalize said acts. (Read in Arabic)

Nadeem Center faces shutdown again
Officials are once again trying to shut down the Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence. A joint task force from the Health Ministry and the police tried to shutter the center on Tuesday, Magda Ali, one of the founders of Al-Nadeem, told Mada Masr. The center said on its Facebook page that the task force did not have a warrant to officially close the center, with Ali telling Mada that the center is still open. It remains to be seen how the events will unfold in the coming days.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) told the EGX it is delaying sending in its financials for FY2015 because they will include Beltone Financial’s results for the first time as well. OTMT expects it will be able disclose its results in two weeks.

EgyptAir will resume flights to Brussels on Saturday, 9 April following instruction from Belgian authorities to partially resume incoming and outbound flights last Sunday, Amwal Al Ghad reports.

Sudanese authorities have released Egyptian students detained in the country on charges of leaking high school exams, said Immigration Minister Nabila Makram, Al Shorouk reports.

CALENDAR

07 April 2016: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman visits Cairo.

07-10 April 2016 (Thursday-Sunday): Cityscape Egypt Conference, Cairo International Convention Centre, Cairo

10 April 2016 (Sunday): ITIDA Market Intelligence Workshop Series: Digital Transformation and New Models of Innovation, ITIDA Main Hall, Cairo.

10-15 April 2016 (Sunday-Friday): 13th Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit, Istanbul, Turkey.

13-16 April 2016 (Wednesday-Saturday): Cafex, Cairo.

17 April 2016: German economic delegation visits Cairo.

31 March-22 April (Thursday-Friday): The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), various locations, Cairo.

25 April 2016 (Monday): Sinai Liberation Day (national holiday)

26-28 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, The Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

01 May (Sunday): Easter Holiday / Labour Day (national holiday)

02 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim (national holiday)

02-03 May (Monday-Tuesday): The Middle East Investment Summit 2016, Ritz-Carlton DIFC, Dubai.

10 May (Tuesday): Business News Foundation’s Third Annual Energy Conference: Energy and Sustainable Development, InterContinental Hotel Citystars Cairo. Register here.

16-17 May (Monday-Tuesday): Egyptian-Bahraini committee meets, Cairo.

25-26 May (Wednesday-Thursday): The Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference and Expo MENASOL 2016, Hyatt Regency, Dubai.

02-03 June (Thursday-Friday): The first annual EBRD Research Symposium on The Economics of the Middle East and North Africa, EBRD headquarters, London, UK.

06 October (Thursday): Armed Forces Day (national holiday)

27 November 2016 (Sunday): 2016 Cairo ICT Conference Group

04-06 December 2016 (Sunday-Tuesday): Solar-Tec Conference, Cairo International Convention Centre, Cairo