Where’s Omar Al-Bashir? KSA opens to foreign investors today. EFG Hermes Leasing launches. New Admin Capital will happen, gov’t says. EGAS owed EGP 12 bn heading into summer. TE to remain Vodafone shareholder. Civil service regs due this week.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

The Egyptian National Competitiveness Council conference ‘Beyond the EEDC 2015: From Concept to Implementation‘ begins at 5:15 pm local Cairo time with economist Lant Pritchett of Harvard’s Kennedy School as a confirmed speaker. The event will be attended by ministers Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Ashraf Salman, Ashraf El Arabi and Ghada Waly.

A high-level French trade and investment delegation kicks off today what media are portraying as a three-day visit to Egypt. The itinerary reportedly includes sit-downs with the primary economic ministers as well as a tour of the Suez Canal zone, as we noted yesterday.

Saudi Arabia opens today to qualified foreign investors with at least USD 5 bn in assets under management. We have more in today’s Spotlight, following the speed round.

To all our Sahel-going friends: The Wadi El Natroun-Alamein road is closed for repairs, Al Shorouk reports. Roadwork will be over before Eid, announced Medhat Koraytem, assistant Minister of Interior, adding that works on the Cairo-Alex Desert Highway are 99% complete.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

On Tuesday: A final verdict is due in Mohamed Morsi’s trial for his role in the 2011 Wadi Natroun prison break. Also tomorrow: The next session in a court case filed against the lifting of cotton subsidies.

Thursday looks set to be the first day of Ramadan. Fajr will be at about 3:08am CLT; iftar at about 6:59pm CLT. The Central Bank of Egypt has announced banking hours for the holy month: They will run 9:30am until 1:30pm for the public, with bank staff due in from 9am-2pm.

Also on Thursday: Morsi’s trial in the Qatar espionage case is set to resume.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Sunday evening’s talk show hosts didn’t have much to say. Amr Adeeb had one of those worthless episodes in which he and actress Ragaa El Gedawy take phone calls from the SHA’AB about topics such as love.

Youssef El Housseiny hosted in his studio Gen. Tarek El Mehdy, the former governor of Alexandria. But before bringing out the governor, El Housseiny began by taking a shot at Prime Minister Mahlab’s government. Apparently exasperated, he turned and asked “Should I kill myself?” to someone in his studio, off-screen.

El Houssieny’s onscreen (off-screen?) personality is a bit grating, which eventually forced this guest reviewer to at first start imagining what Gaber el-Karmouty would act like at a store. Would he hover over the items, touching everything and moving them around while mumbling to himself? Eventually this reviewer decided to watch a 6-minute video on squids giving birth titled ‘Born Like Stars’ instead, while El Housseiny ran in the background in another tab. To get the full effect, play El Houssieny’s Sunday night episode in one tab with the volume almost all the way down, along with Born Like Stars in another tab. As the underwater camera descends and the music begins to crescendo around the 1-minute mark, viewers may slowly start turning the video’s volume up, creating the auditory effect that one is leaving El-Hosseiny behind somewhere above the water, the sound of himself talking to himself slowly fading away, as one begins an underwater journey to watch something much more interesting.

Lamees El Hadidy started her program by inquiring as to the current status of Sudanese president Omar al Bashir, following news that the Pretoria High Court in South Africa will rule on whether he should be handed over to the ICC. After receiving some assurances from an official spokesperson of the Sudanese government as well as a segment with an Egyptian international legal expert, El Hadidy railed against the recent spate of car accident fatalities, rightly noting that we’ve grown accustomed to the numbers. CBC Egypt also aired this short video about car safety and traffic accident statistics, (Watch in Arabic, running time: 1:41).

El Hadidy closed out her program with footage filmed earlier of her visit and guided tour of Banque Misr’s headquarters by its Chairman Mohamed Mahmoud Eletreby. This was followed by a short interview with a biographer of Talaat Harb, the bank’s founder, as well as an interview with one of his descendants.

** READ ENTERPRISE IN ARABIC **

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SPEED ROUND

Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir is due to return to Khartoum today despite a widely reported court order that he be prevented from leaving South Africa, according to Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali Sadek, who called to Lamees El Hadidy’s Hona Al Asema, as noted above. Al-Bashir is in South Africa to attend an African Union summit. Bloomberg reports that Al-Bashir left South Africa yesterday despite a court-issued a travel ban on the Sudanese leader pending a judge’s decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant; Bloomberg cited statements made by Sudanese Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman. As South Africa is a signatory of the International Criminal Court, it was obliged to arrest Al-Bashir pursuant to an ICC warrant for alleged human rights abuses. According to Al Mal, Al-Bashir and his delegation were unfazed by the travel ban, as the president had diplomatic immunity. The New York Timeshas more on the subject.

Also from South Africa: Al-Ahram carries the government’s official line on Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab’s participation at the African Union summit, where the PM’s focus in closed-door meetings was migration and illegal immigration.

Government agencies have yet to claim fuel smart cards, concerns about implementation: The delay in the rollout of the fuel smart card system was requested by senior security officials, an executive at the Oil Ministry told Amwal Al Ghad. Some sections of the government are yet to issue their vehicles the cards, the story claims, and there are concerns about the program’s rollout as consumption of fuel during the four days preceding the implementation date shot up by 25%. State-owned Al-Ahram, meanwhile, tells us that“citizens welcomed the postponement” of the fuel ration cards. The decision came at the ‘recommendation’ of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, as we reported yesterday.

EFG Hermes launches leasing subsidiary, looks at East African opportunities: With EGP 100 mn in capital committed, EFG Hermes Leasing “would provide leasing services to large corporates and small and medium enterprises across Egypt” and is set to begin operations immediately, Reuters reported. The company aims to acquire an EGP 500 mn portfolio before the end of the current fiscal year, reports Al Borsa. The vast majority of the portfolio will comprise financial leases. In a separate story, Reuters has EFG Hermes CEO Karim Awad commending on the leasing launch and noting that the firm is interested in expansion to Sub-Saharan Africa in general and East Africa in particular. The Awad story also notes EFG has inked facilities with Bank Audi and QNB to back its leasing activities and puts an EGP 900 mn target size on its portfolio. The story includes color commentary on the Egyptian and Saudi markets, including the latter’s opening today. Awad also appeared yesterday on Al-Arabiya (run time: 6:32). The firm’s statement on the launch is here, while EFG Hermes Leasing’s’ website is here.

Yes, Virginia, there is a New Administrative Capital: Despite speculation that negotiations between the parties had reached an impasse, Planning Minister Dr. Ashraf Al Araby insists that Egypt will execute the The Capital Cairo project with its Emirati partners. Al Araby also noted that the Mahlab government is studying the possibility of extending the MOUs of large-scale projects signed at the EEDC for 90 days to provide additional time for final contracts to be penned and signed, according to a report in the domestic press. In related news yesterday, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with Housing Minister Moustafa Madbouly and the leadership of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority. El Sisi encouraged both parties to fast-track the development of low-income and social housing nationwide, according to a readout of the meeting released by Ittihadiya that features prominently in media today, with pickups in Al-Ahram and Al-Mal, among others. Infrastructure for the New Administrative Capital also featured on the meeting agenda.

EGP 12 bn unpaid dues owed to EGAS: EGAS has yet to collect EGP 12 bn in payments owed to it for natural gas deliveries, dealing another blow to the beleaguered energy sector just as it enters its summer high season. In an interview with Al Borsa, EGAS chairman, Khaled Abdel Badei stated that a whopping 75% of these dues are owed by public sector companies, such as the National Cement Company, which has yet to pay over EGP 1 bn for gas received. If ever there was an argument for privatization it would be this.

Egypt received a cargo of Australian LNG on board The Woodside Rogers tanker on Thursday.The tanker docked at the Ain Sokhna terminal, where an FSRU is located. Egypt and Jordan “constitute an attractive niche market for LNG suppliers, and they will increasingly become a destination for spot cargoes as the market becomes larger and more flexible,” the director of global gas at the Rapidan Group said.

This summer, Egypt faces “three interlocking energy crises: an electricity crisis, a gas crisis and a fiscal crisis,” Manar Energy’s Robin Mills writes for The National. “The gas problem is the combination of fast-growing demand, spurred by subsidies, with underinvestment …The electricity crisis is also driven by rampant demand …The fiscal crisis is mostly driven by the state’s enormous subsidy burden.” Mills believes “petrol prices, about half that of US levels, will need to go up again” and despite although a backlash is expected “the woeful performance of the state energy sector does not leave much choice.”

Telecom Egypt to remain as a Vodafone Egypt shareholder: The CIT Ministry has decided that Telecom Egypt will maintain its 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt. Additionally, the divestment committee that was previously formed to formulate a strategy for TE’s exit from Vodafone Egypt has been dissolved. Under a previous agreement, TE was required to divest its stake in Vodafone Egypt as a condition of obtaining a unified communication’s license that would have allowed it to operate its own mobile network. (Read in Arabic)

‘Amlak’ SWF confirmed at EGP 5bn: EGP 5 bn has been allocated for the Amlak sovereign wealth fund in FY2015/16’s budget, Planning Minister Ashraf El Araby said. Amlak will also have EGP 5 bn in assets. He added that the legal framework for Amlak will be completed in four months.

Competition heats up for cement tenders: Competition is stiff for the 10 licenses to build and operate new cement plants that the Mahlab government plans to issue, Al-Shorouk notes. Twenty companies, including eight foreign outfits, have submitted bids. The story then goes on to recap the results of the 2007 bid round, where license winners included National Cement Company, the Sinai Cement Company, El Sewedy Group, Wadi El Nile, and ASEC Cement.

An Egyptian government committee has decided to confiscate the funds and assets of three hospitals that are reportedly run by the Muslim Brotherhood. They are: Elrahma Hospital in Heliopolis, and El Nada and El Zahraa Hospitals in Fayoum. Members of the hospitals’ of boards of directors have resigned; the Health Ministry will now be responsible for managing the hospitals. (Read in Arabic)

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Washington DC believe that their visit to the American capital failed, reports Al Masry Al Youm. The delegation initially travelled to DC in order to convince the Obama administration to pressure the Egyptian government into cancelling the death sentences that were handed to Brotherhood members in recent months. The delegation failed to meet with White House officials and instead convened with congressmen and academics. (Read in Arabic)

23 defendants were sentenced on Saturday to 14-year jail terms for their roles in the lynch-mob murder of four members of a Shia family in Giza, including Shia leader Hassan Shehata, as reported by Ahram Online. The attack that took place in June 2013. “As Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood announced a call for jihad in Syria at a solidarity conference on 15 June 2013, less than three weeks before he was ousted in July and eight days before the Zawyat Abu Musalam incident, an Islamist backer of the president denounced Shia Muslims as ‘unclean.’”

Ваше здоровье: The domestic press’ love affair with Russia continues: A long recitation of the mutual admiration and highest professional regard the Egyptian and Russian navies hold for one another following the conclusion of their first-ever joint naval exercises is front-page news in Al-Ahram digital edition this morning.

Egypt beat out Tanzania 3-0 in the 2017 Afcon qualifiers on Sunday evening. Egypt will need to secure first place to ensure it qualifies. (Watch the goal highlights in Arabic, running time: 3:54)

BP released its annual statistical review on Wednesday. The review’s downloads page allows readers the option of downloading the entire report or simply subsections by sector or country. Each region also comes with its own one-page factsheet, such as this for the Middle East, which notes that at a consumption rate of 4.4%, the Middle East’s rate of energy consumption outstripped all other regions in the world.

CORRECTION: We misstated in Sunday’s edition the total cost of a tourist tram to be inaugurated in Alexandria on Tuesday. It is EGP 250,000. H/t Haitham El-Sh.

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A MESSAGE FROM PHAROS HOLDING

CBE Maintains Neutrality on Policy Rates, In-line with Market Expectations

During the Monetary Policy Committee’s mid-2015 meeting last Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt announced its decision to leave its policy rates unchanged, as a result also maintaining the EGP-USD exchange rate that was set last January, contrary to Pharos Research’s initial expectations.

Arguments advocating for stable policy rates are based on the upside risks to inflation due to the expected increase in fuel prices. However, with the government’s recent announcement delaying subsidy cuts owing to lower crude prices, as well as lower international food prices and concerns over global economic recovery, might be indicators of an inconsistent policy on the CBE’s part. To find out more click here.
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SPOTLIGHT ON Saudi market opening to foreign investors

Eyes turn to the Saudi stock market as it prepares to open to foreign investment: Monday marks the beginning of a new era in regional investment as the Middle East’s largest and most-liquid market opens to foreign investors. With an average daily turnover of more than USD 2.3 bn, the Tadawul is the seventh-largest and fourth-most-liquid global emerging market, and a diversified market of 169 listed companies spanning 15 sectors. Analysts expect robust market growth and an efficient inflow of capital, as the Saudi market upgrades from a frontier to an emerging market in the coming three to five years, FT reports.

Saudi-based Al Arabiya ran a report on the sectors expected to do well as the market opens, including banking and finance, a USD 157 bn market, and petrochemicals, a USD 134 bn industry. These are followed by real estate, construction materials, healthcare and education.

Saudi regulators, however, have not announced the number of licenses offered to foreign asset managers to operate locally. According to a spokesman for the Capital Markets Authority, the government will not announce the licenses on an individual case but will issue a periodical report. This did little to dampen the mood generated by this anticipation as Sunday’s trading session saw the main index growing 1.3%, Reuters Arabic reports.

Some regional markets have been daunted by the prospect of the Saudi opening for fear that it might lure capital away from theirs. This fear had been especially acute in Egypt, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest regional competitors, whose stock market has seen an extensive decline over a period of months. This decline was evident on Sunday, as trading by foreigners trended towards selling off shares, Al Borsa reports. The EGX dropped 1.07%, with a total market loss of EGP 3.2 bn.

Al Mal, however, says the recent market slump in Egypt has nothing to do with Saudi and everything to do with domestic issues, including Emaar’s IPO, the approach of Ramadan (which is often accompanied by a selling wave), and the implementation of T+1 protocol and the cancelling of Intraday Trading. The latter seems unlikely as plenty of analysts called for the T+1, saying that it would help increase liquidity in the market.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

As noted in the talk show reviews above, 22 people were killed and 19 injured in two separate car accidents on Sunday, Ahram Online reports, in what is currently leading the news on Egypt in the foreign press on Monday morning. One involved a microbus crashing into a truck on the Cairo-Alex road; the other took place in Wadi Natroun province. The news is being reported on by FOX, AFP, Iran’s PressTV and Saudi Arabia’s Arab News, among others, (and with varying death counts depending on the source).

Al Jazeera comes at us with this hard-hitting piece: “Analysts: Gulf-Egypt ties likely to survive turbulence.” Thanks Al Jazeera we were incredibly worried until you reassured us. (Read)

‘Released from jail, ailing Canadian resident still trapped in Egypt‘ — a Toronto Star report on Khaled Al-Qazzaz.

DIPLOMACY

Egypt opens Rafah crossing into Gaza in sign of easing tensions: Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Saturday, Reuters reports, in the latest sign of what could be considered a thawing of relations between Cairo and Hamas in preparation for another attempt at forging a unity government with the PA. (Read)

ENERGY, RENEWABLE ENERGY & SUBSIDY REFORM

El Sewedy Electric begins developing 50 MW solar power plant in Upper Egypt
Company Disclosure | 14 June 2015
El Sewedy Electric announced the signing of an agreement to develop a 50 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in Kom Ombo, Aswan. The USD 75 mn project will see El Sewedy develop, finance, build, own, and operate the power plant. The project is done under the feed-in-tariff scheme with energy produced from it sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company for USD 0.1434 per kWh. (Read on EGX website in Arabic or onSWDY IR website in English; both are pdf downloads. The story is also getting domestic press in Al-Mal.)

OIL & GAS

Oil and gas investments in Egypt amount to USD 905 mn in 1H2015
Youm 7 | 13 June 2015
Oil and gas companies have invested USD 905 mn in Egypt during the first six months of 2015, Oil Minister Sherif Ismail said. The majority of investments were in the Western Desert, The Gulf of Suez, the Mediterranean, and the Nile Delta. The investments in USD 100 mn from Edison and Petroceltic in their marine concession in Port Fouad as well as USD 145 mn from IEOC and BP in the Karawan offshore. (Read in Arabic)

Activist hedge fund buys stake in Circle Oil
Irish Independent | 14 June 2015
Activist hedge fund Audley Capital acquired a 6% stake in Irish oil producers Circle Oil. The Irish Independent says that “[t]he Audley Capital stake may see some major changes at Circle… The UK-based fund was one first activist investment houses. It targeted under-performing companies, bought stakes, and then actively lobbied for management restructuring.” Circle produces gas and oil in Morocco and Egypt and is exploring for oil and gas in Oman and Tunisia. (Read)

45% of Apache’s exploration wells in Egypt are successful
Africa Oil and Gas Report | 12 June 2015
45% of Apache’s exploration wells in Egypt were successful in 2014, the company reported. “The company netted 22.8 dry exploratory wells in the year contrasted with 18.6 productive wells,” Africa Oil and Gas Report said noting that this is lower than the rates recorded in 2012 and 2013 – during which success rates were over 50%. “Apache’s operations, located in remote locations in the Western Desert, have not experienced production interruptions,” the publication reported. (Read)

MANUFACTURING

New Cairo factories to cover 50% of stolen cables’ replacement cost
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
Factories in New Cairo that had their installed cables stolen will shoulder 50% of the replacement cost, a NUCA executive said. New Cairo investors are being given a similar treatment to businesses following the events of 25 January 2011, the executive said. The Housing Ministry is currently finalizing connecting infrastructure to factories being developed as part of the 1,000 factory initiative. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING

Maspero Triangle development tender issued
Al Mal | 14 June 2015
The government has opened the floor for tender offers to develop the Maspeero Triangle urban renewal project, which is expected to break ground in April 2016, said Soad Nageeb, head of the projects department for Greater Cairo at the Ministry of State for Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements. This announcement came after the tender was announced on Saturday in state newspapers, contractor’s forums, in addition to having the foreign ministry advertise for the tender in Egypt’s foreign embassies. The ministry will be accepting offers over the coming month. Companies short listed will be given three months to prepare development plans for the project after which the ministry will select a winner. (Read in Arabic)

Government to subsidize rent for low income tenants
Al Masry Al Youm | 14 June 2015
The government will use the EGP 500 mn loan signed to the Mortgage Finance Fund (MFF) from the World Bank to subsidize rent for low income tenants, according to Khalid Abbas, assistant Minister of Housing. He added that the subsidy is intended for a seven to nine year period, and that this is the first time the MFF reaches a budget of EGP 12 bn, independent from the national budget. (Read in Arabic)

Al Ahly Real Estate looks to double investments, mulls IPO
Al-Borsa | 14 June 2015
Al Ahly for Real Estate Developments plans to double its investments to EGP 4 bn in the coming 3-5 years, said its CFO Mohamed Issa. He added that the company is also seriously considering an IPO in the coming period. These investments will be used to speed up development at its EGP 1.5 bn L’Avenir project in New Cairo. (Read in Arabic)

Western North Coast development over in seven months
Al Mal | 14 June 2015
The Ministry of Housing expects to complete the Western North Coast development plans in 6 to seven months, according to assistant Housing Minister Khaled Abbas. He added that the mega-projects, including the Golden Triangle, are expected to house 18 to 20 mn people. Abbas added that the state is committed to executing the administrative capital, and delays in signing the final contract can be attributed to the scale of the project. (Read in Arabic)

TOURISM

Hotels to enforce initiative to cut electricity usage
Al Shorouk | 14 June 2015
Chamber of Hotels to announce the results of energy saving projects implemented at a number of hotels, ahead of implementing these systems on a national scale according to Mohamed Ayoub, the Chamber of Hotels chairman. (Read in Arabic)

CBE extends tourism protection initiative
Al Mal | 14 June 2015
The CBE announced on Sunday that it will extend its initiative to support the tourism sector until June 2016, after it was set to expire this month. The initiative which was launched by the CBE in March 2013, aims to protect the tourism sector in the event plummeting prices. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS & ICT

Ministry of Electricity in negotiations with telecom companies
Al Borsa | 13 June 2015
South Cairo Electricity Distribution Company (SCEDC) in talks with major telecom companies over new feature enabling recharging smart meters by mobile phone, said Abdel Dayim Fathy, head of information systems at SCEDC. Fathy added that SCEDC put forward a tender for 50 thousand smart meters to the telecom companies, noting that smart meters can eliminate electricity theft.  (Read in Arabic)

LinkdotNet loses 10,000 clients
Al Mal | 14 June 2015
LinkdotNet has lost 10,000 clients since Telecom Egypt began upgrading infrastructure with MSAN technology, bringing the total number of lost customers to 50,000 according to Waseem Arsani, president of LinkdotNet. (Read in Arabic)

AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION

EgyptAir in talks with major aircraft manufacturers
Al Mal | 14 June 2015
EgyptAir receives six bids for an eight-airplane tender from major aircraft manufacturers companies including Boeing and Airbus on an operational leasing basis, according to Hesham El Nahas, president of EgyptAir. (Read in Arabic)

APM Terminals in talks to buy COSCO’s shares in SCCT
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
APM Terminals is in talks to buy COSCO’s 20% stake in the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), a source told Al Borsa. The source added that COSCO has not had any significant operations with SCCT since acquiring its stake, which, according to source, is now worth USD 500 per share. APM Terminals already owns 55% of SCCT. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING & FINANCE

DIFC grants Al Ahly Capital license to issue funds
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
Al Ahly Capital Holdings, NBE’s investment arm, has received approvals from the DIFC to begin issuing funds. The bank says the license will allow NBE to attract savings from Egyptians living abroad. Hassan El Rifai, the head of Al Ahly Capital said more details about the funds will be made public soon. (Read in Arabic)

AIB generated EGP 59 mn this year
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
Arab Investment Bank (AIB) profits grew 30% to EGP 59 mn between January and May of this year, the bank’s Chairman, Hani Seif El Nasr, said. Profits are expected to reach EGP 200 mn by the end of 2015, from EGP 170 mn last year. He added that the bank has formulated a plan to develop the Islamic sector by opening up a new branch in New Cairo. (Read in Arabic)

NBE lends EGP 7.4 bn to oil sector as of last April
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
NBE’s (National Bank of Egypt) oil sector credit constitutes EGP 7.4 bn of the total medium sized company funding portfolio’s EGP 10.7 bn, said Sherif Riyad, head of the medium sized company funding sector. He added that the oil sector’s share of the portfolio was due to the bank’s expansive strategy which aims to fund new projects in the Energy sector. (Read in Arabic)

Arab Banking Corporation rebrands
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
On the eve of its 35th anniversary, the Arab Banking Corporation has officially changed its name and registered trademark to ABC Bank. The name change will ensure that the bank carries the same trademark as its 18 subsidiary companies in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The name change will go into effect on the 15 June. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Fresh Fruit Company set to invest EGP 100 mn in north coast project
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
The Fresh Fruits Company intends to invest EGP 100 mn to establish a large-scale project in the north coast of Egypt in 2016. The project will entail the reclamation of 250 acres of agricultural land, as well as the establishment of production, refrigeration, storage, and packaging facilities. The company had originally planned to kickstart the project 3 years ago, but was unable to do so due to various property violations. The company intends to grow water-saving vegetables during the initial phases of the project. (Read in Arabic)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Civil service law executive regulations ready by the end of next week
Al Borsa | 14 June 2015
The final draft of the civil service law executive regulations will be completed by the end of next week, Planning Minister Ashraf El Araby said. The draft will be presented to the cabinet for review. Al Araby said that hiring in the public sector will be merit-based and assessed via computer assessments. Al Araby said the wage structure will also be amended so that basic salary constitutes 75% of the total remuneration, with variable and additional items contributing the remaining 25%. (Read in Arabic)

Former PM Shafiq steps down as leader of Egyptian Patriotic Movement
Ahram Online | 14 June 2015
Former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq announced his resignation on Saturday from leading the Egyptian Patriotic Movement, as reported by Ahram Online and as tweeted by Shafiq’s Twitter account. “I had to resign due to the difficult circumstances I had to face while doing my job,” he wrote on Twitter. Shafiq’s resignation comes days after media reports that his recent television interview went unaired due “political pressure”, according to Ahram Online. (Read)

ON YOUR WAY OUT

There were only 7.9 mn registered vehicles in Egypt as of year-end 2014, according to CAPMAS. 2.2 mn of those vehicles are in Cairo, 921.5k in Giza, and 702.1k in Alexandria.

As many of you may have read on Thursday afternoon, a police officer was sentenced to 15 years in prison over his killing of activist Shaimaa el-Sabbagh, as reported by Reuters. The officer can appeal the sentence.

Al-Mal has caught on to the Asia-led sell-off in global emerging markets on which we’ve been reporting, breaking it down for a domestic audience and hitting all of the highlights: Prospects the U.S. Fed will raise rates; China’s continued exclusion from MSCI; the World Bank downplaying EM growth prospects…

The Philae lander, which lost power following its comet landing, has “woken up” and contacted Earth, the European Space Agency (Esa) announced, according to the BBC. Esa said it might have located Philae from images and other data from the mothership.

The Atlantic has an excellent piece speculating as to why the right-wing in the United States is virtually non-existent in the world of comedy in Waiting for the Conservative Jon Stewart: “Liberal satirists are certainly having no trouble making light of liberal institutions and societies. Portlandia is about to enter its fifth season skewering the kinds of liberals who don’t understand that eco-terrorism and militant feminism may not be as politically effective as they think.” (Read)

Sepp Blatter is planning to renege on his resignation from the presidency of the banana republic of FIFA less than two weeks after announcing his resignation, reports the BBC. Blatter will hold meetings over the coming days where he will gauge whether he still retains enough support to seek a sixth term as president. We can almost hear champagne bottles popping at the Nepalese labor camp known as Qatar.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: If you’re watching Game of Thrones and have yet to see Sunday night’s episode, you may want to skip the internet today.

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Sunday, 14 June): 7.5301 (unchanged since Monday, 02 Feb)
USD parallel market (Sunday, 14 June): 7.68 (+0.01 from Sunday, 07 June, Reuters)

EGX30 (Sunday): 8,534.13 (-1.07%)
Turnover: EGP 232.2 mn (51% below the 90-day average)

WTI: USD 59.82 (-0.23%)
Brent: USD 63.53 (-0.53%)

TASI: 9,644.6 (+1.3%)
ADX: 4,542.3 (-0.3%)
DFM: 4,098.3 (+0.6%)
KSE Weighted Index: 424.5 (flat)
QE: 11,858.3 (-0.2%)
MSM: 6,488.8 (+0.1%)