Mahlab: “A state of war.” El-Sisi visits Sinai troops in fatigues. CBE lets EGP depreciate. Emaar Misr shares trade today. Will PMI fall again in June? El-Sisi to ratify election laws this week. Electricity consumption 20% below gov’t projections.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Emaar Misr shares will begin trading on the EGX this morning under the symbol EMFD. At the offer price of EGP 3.80 per share, the real estate developer’s market cap will be c. EGP 17.6 bn when trading begins. The IPO of 600 mn shares was about 36x oversubscribed, a record on the EGX, so far as we know. EFG Hermes and JP Morgan acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the transaction; it’s the fourth high-profile listing so far this year for EFG, following snackmaker Edita on the EGX, the dual listing of Orascom Construction on the EGX and Nasdaq Dubai, the Integrated Diagnostics Holdings on the LSE.

The HSBC / Markit Economics Purchasing Managers’ Index for Egypt drops today at 7:30am CLT. You can find the release here when it is out (although we note the firm’s website was down at dispatch time this morning). The Saudi and UAE PMIs will be out at the same time.

Greeks will vote today on whether to accept more austerity in return for additional international aid in a referendum that will likely determine whether the nation remains part of the eurozone. Accept more pension cuts and tax increases and we’ll help bail you out, they’re being told. It’s anyone’s guess which way they’ll vote: Reuters reports that four of five polls put the “Yes” campaign fractionally ahead; all five polls were within the margin of error. The Guardian surveyed seven top economists (including two Nobel laureates), four of whom said they’d vote “No,” while three would say “Yes.” Among the more pungent remarks was from Columbia professor Joseph Stiglitz, who said, “The programme that the ‘troika’ (the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund) foisted on Greece five years ago has been abysmal … I can think of no depression, ever, that has been so deliberate and had such catastrophic consequences.” The New York Times says the referendum “lays bare deep schisms among beleaguered Greeks,” while CBC‘s Margaret Evans found “Greek referendum voters [are] unclear on question, potential aftermath.” The Washington Post sets out to explain the politics behind the referendum, while the Wall Street Journal looks at how both the Yes and No campaigns have used imagery of doom and gloom to try to sway voters.

Iran and negotiators from the P5+1 companies went into a marathon session of negotiations last night in a bid to reach an accord on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Many media outlets are presenting today as a “make or break” infection point. In a message posted to Youtube this weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif said, “At this eleventh hour, despite some differences that remain, we have never been closer to a lasting outcome. Getting to yes requires the courage to compromise, the self-confidence to be flexible, the maturity to be reasonable.” Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met for an hour late yesterday, and the two sides have reportedly made progress on critical areas including the inspection of Iranian nuclear and military installations and the pace at which sanctions will be eased. The Voice of America has more here, or you can check out Zarif’s Youtube video (in excellent English, runtime 4:03).

The first day of Eid will be Friday, 17 July, according to calculations by the National Astronomy and Geophysics Research Institute.

Okay, so when can we eat? Maghreb will be at 7:01pm today, while fajr will be at 3:15am, according toIslamic Finder.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Most of the talk shows were still discussing and dissecting last week’s attacks, following the release of a video by the Ministry of Defense on battle — a video which endorsed the view that the militants had wanted to dig-in and hold Sheikh Zuweid. The video also includes interviews with injured troops.

Amr Adeeb speculated that the slain militants were not Egyptians, and was critical about the statements made by those such as Tunisia’s Rashid al-Ghannouchi, who according to Adeeb said with reference to Wednesday’s attack: “Weren’t the Ikhwan better than Daesh?”

Adeeb went on to say that the Ikhwan’s plan is to weaken the state in order to try to take over, but that what they don’t realize is that if they ever succeeded in toppling the state, there would be nothing left for them to rule over. With regard to the media confusion on casualty numbers on Wednesday, Adeeb said that the official state bodies should have provided an official running count throughout the day, and that in the vacuum of this information, foreign news agencies, using their stringers on the ground, filled that informational void. Adeeb hosted politician and former member of the Dostour Party Hossam Eissa in his studio.

Magdy El-Galad on CBC Extra hosted Minister of Urban Development Leila Iskander, who discussed the government’s recent achievements in equitable resolution of issues regarding informal settlements, such as the successful resolution of negotiations over the development of the Maspero area.

Mostafa Bakri on Sada El Balad spent the entirety of his program establishing links between Hamas and Wednesday’s attack, specifically to Hamas’ military wing the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He also said that the remaining undiscovered border tunnels were used for logistical support to plan the attack and as an escape route for fleeing militants.

** READ ENTERPRISE IN ARABIC **

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SPOTLIGHT ON the fallout from last week’s terror attacks

“We are in a state of war and we need to remain vigilant,” Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said on Thursday while reviewing security preparations. Mahlab also stressed that all vital buildings need to have security cameras installed.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi visits troops in North Sinai; Israel says Hamas involved in the attack: Dressed in fatigues with his former insignia of rank and qualification badges affixed, El Sisi visited troops stationed in North Sinai on Saturday to boost morale and express the country’s appreciation of their service, according to a brief statement from Ittihadiya as well as wire reports. “I have come to salute the heroes of the armed forces and to express to them my recognition,” the AFP quotes the President as saying. Watch the President’s address here in Arabic, running time: 29:13.

As noted in the talk show reviews above, the President’s speech to the troops tracked closely with a video explainer of the attack released by the Ministry of Defense on Thursday, (Watch in Arabic, running time: 14:22; or with reasonable English subtitles, running time: 14:32). Ahram Online notes that the military spokesperson has also released undated footage of airstrikes on Daesh targets, which may be viewed here andhere.

Following allegations by the IDF that Hamas was directly linked to the attack, Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, denied the claims on Friday in Haaretz, as well as claims that Hamas was involved in much-rumored indirect talks with Israel. There is some lack of clarity on the Egyptian military’s position on the matter, as Reuters quotes unnamed security personnel as saying: “Egyptian security and military sources said there was evidence that Palestinians, including some individuals from Hamas, had participated in the Sinai battles this week, but said there was no wider organizational link. ‘If we had confirmed information that Hamas as an organization participated in the attack, our response would have been very different.’”

On this last point, the entire attack seems ready to upend what was thought to be a possible rapprochement with Hamas to its neighbors Egypt and Israel, with talks centered around the possibility of a five-year truce. Such diplomatic initiatives would now seem to be tabled, as the Egyptian media has been making similar allegations regarding Hamas involvement over the past few days.

Daesh claimed that it had fired three rockets from Sinai into Israel, with Israel only confirming two rockets landing, neither of which caused casualties or were remotely near a populated area. While the official Facebook page of the Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman has made no comment as yet, second-tier news outlets El Wady and Moheet say the army has rejected claims rockets were fired into Israel from Sinai. We’ll be following this story closely over the next few days, as its ultimate resolution could involve consequences including possible military incursions into Gaza by Israel, among other scenarios.

Wednesday’s death toll revised upward: Twenty one Egyptian soldiers died in clashes with Daesh militants on Wednesday, the Egyptian Army confirmed on Saturday, revising the casualty count upward from the 17 it initially reported. In the three-day period to Saturday, security forces have killed 205 militants in Sinai, according to an army statement.

Individuals found guilty of destroying electrical, natural gas, or petroleum lines could be sentenced to death, following the State Council’s approval of an amendment to Article 22 of the country’s Anti-terrorism Law, reports Al Borsa. On Saturday night, unknown assailants destroyed a 220,000 volt electricity tower in Fayoum, cutting power throughout much of the governorate, reports Al Mal. Hussein Sabagh, Head of the Fayoum Electricity Department, promised residents that power would return to the affected areas shortly. The total cost of repairing the tower will ring in at EGP 1 mn. In related news, leading Ikhwan figure Ashraf Abdelghaffar appears to admit the outlawed group sees attacking electricity infrastructure as a form of peaceful protest. (Watch, running time 1:29)

The acting prosecutor general has imposed a ban on media coverage of former Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat’s assassination. No media outlet — print, broadcast or online — is allowed to report on the case until further notice. Meanwhile: Barakat’s son Mohammed was the prosecutor at yesterday’s session of the trial of former president Mohamed Morsi on espionage charges, Masrawy reports.

Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawki Allam has an op-ed out in the Wall Street Journal headlined “How Islamist Extremists Warp the Fatwa.” Writing that “half-educated pseudo scholars have perverted this useful tool for interpreting Islamic law,” Allam says, “These bogus fatwas have included expelling religious minorities from their homes, subjugating women and treating them as [redacted] slaves, setting people ablaze for their opinions, slaughtering in cold blood those whom they consider their enemies. These acts do not represent Islam. They reflect nothing but a horrendous mentality that is thirsty for bloodshed.”

SPEED ROUND

The CBE allowed the EGP to depreciate for the first time in five months on Thursday as it sold USD 38.8 mn at its auction at a cutoff rate of EGP 7.63 to USD 1, Reuters reported. The rate has been kept at EGP 7.53 to USD 1 since 2 February. Banks are allowed to widen the band around the official rate to up EGP 0.1 more than the auction rate, so expect dollars to be traded at EGP 7.73 officially.

Egypt’s 9M2014-15 GDP growth came at 4.7%, the Planning Ministry announced, according to Al Ahram. The unemployment rate fell to 12.8%.

El-Sisi to ratify four key election-related laws this week, paving way for fall poll. Egyptians could go to the polls as early as September, according to Transitional Justice Minister Ibrahim El-Heneidy, as quoted by Ahram Online‘s Gamal Essam El-Din. The four pieces of legislation include laws on the House of Representatives, the exercise of political rights, the boundaries of electoral districts, and the Supreme Constitutional Court’s ability to throw out election results. Presuming the president passes the package as it stands:

• We’ll have 596 members of the House of Reps, including 448 elected as independents, 120 from party lists, and 28 appointed by the president;
• Dual nationals can run for seats in the House;
• The only significant redistricting will see Qena and Qaft in Upper Egypt merged into one riding. There will be no new constituencies in Cairo or Giza.
• The Supreme Constitutional Court faces no time limit on hearing lawsuits brought under the elections acts.

Electricity consumption is 20% below government projections: Electricity consumption during Ramadan is 20% below the Electricity Ministry’s projections, said ministry spokesman Mohamed El Yamany. Consumption in the first half of Ramadan came in at 26 GW, lower than the 28 GW expected by the ministry. The ministry had added new production capacity to supply an additional 2 GW in anticipation of a spike in demand during the holy month. Elsewhere Al Mal reports that the Electricity Ministry added 1,800 MW to the national grid last week as part of its emergency electricity plan for 2015, with plans to add a further 1,800 MW before the end of August.

EGAS says it has not stopped supplying gas to the Abu Qir fertilizer plant, Al Borsa reported. Supplies were only put on hold for 48 hours from last Monday as production from an Edison site was interrupted as the company was drilling a new well. Khaled Abdel Badie said EGAS has supplied Abu Qir with 96% of the contracted amounts in 1H2015 and 100% in 2014. The company had announced it began operating the two plants at 80% capacity and awaits natural gas supplies reaching their “normal levels” in order to resume operations in its third plant, according to Al Mal.

Egypt warms up Mediterranean market, E&P Magazine says: BP is putting its money where its mouth is and committing to its largest investment yet in Egypt, E&P Magazine‘s editor-in-chief writes, noting the country’s attempts to increase activities in the Mediterranean offshore. The development of BP’s fields has only been economically viable because of collaboration with BG Group, which enabled the West Nile Delta project to get underway and allowed for connecting WDDM production to onshore facilities. E&P notes that Egypt’s pressing need currently is to fix short- and long- term gas supplies and it has been “particularly innovative” in that with private customers domestically inking an agreement to buy USD 1.2 bn worth of gas from Israel’s Tamar field. See our Energy section today for a roundup of other significant news from the industry.

MCIT is delaying its planned nationwide reduction in internet prices in light of disputes within Telecom Egypt that saw CEO Mohamed El Nawawy and deputy CEO Sayed Gharabawi sacked, according to Al Borsa. The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology had originally announced internet prices would be reduced to EGP 50 for 1 mbps and EGP 100 for 2 mbps monthly by May, and then by June. Minister of Communication Khaled Negm said the price reduction would happen within weeks, but stopped short of specifying a date.

Middle East Glass acquiring MGM from Qalaa: Qalaa Holdings and other shareholders in container-glass manufacturer Misr Glass Manufacturing Co. (MGM) have entered into a preliminary agreement to sell MGM to Middle East Glass Manufacturing. An emailed statement from Qalaa says a sale and purchase agreement could be executed in 3Q2015. We note that multiple domestic press outlets have fundamentally misunderstood the disclosure (pdf download) and have flipped the buying and selling parties; the company confirmed this weekend that it is exiting MGM.

High-profile journalist Magdy El-Galad has been sentenced to six months in jail for broadcasting “false news,” according to reports in the domestic press. El-Galad, the editor-in-chief of Al-Watan newspaper, was sentenced in connection with a case brought by the Central Auditing Agency, which accused Galad and staff at his Lazem Nefham talk show of publishing false news and disclosing state secrets during an episode that focused on allegations that state funds had been squandered. Also sentenced were show writer Wael Saad and CBC owner Mohamed El-Amin. The sentences can be appealed, Ahram Online reports.

Israeli Economy Minister Deri calls for changes to proposed natural gas plan: The proposed gas agreement between the Israeli government and the Leviathan partners Noble and Delek has already produced its first dissenter in the Israeli government, with Economy Minister Aryeh Deri last Thursday opposing the plan. In addition, State Comptroller Yosef Shapira has said he will publish his own report on the Israeli government’s conduct on the natural gas file within 3 weeks, YNet reports.

Tunisia has declared a 30-day state of emergency, giving security officials additional powers to restrict freedom of assembly and both the police and military wider authority to act in terror-related cases. An anti-terror law that has been stalled in parliament since 2014 is also on deck to be fast-tracked, according to theBBC. The state of emergency is renewable for subsequent 30-day periods.

It’s official: Mega-mergers are back, the AP reports, with about USD 2.3 tn in transactions being announced in 1H2015, the best performance since just before the global financial crisis hit in 2007 and the second-best on record. The newswire cites figures saying that 31 agreements worth USD 10 bn or more each accounted for 39% of the total, adding, “That’s the largest share since the second half of 1999, at the peak of the dot-com bubble.” U.S. volumes account for just under half of the global total, according to a note published last week; the data provider has not issued a publicly available note on the global total.

CORRECTION: In Thursday’s issue, the link to the video of the Melody Aflam “Egyptian backstory” to the movie Seven said that it was provided with English subtitles, but the original without the titles was linked instead. For all of those who had clicked the link but were unable to follow the sketch, we apologize and provide the link with the subtitles here as well as below in the most-clicked links of last week.

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A MESSAGE FROM PHAROS HOLDING

How low can the EGP go?
The Central Bank of Egypt effectively allowed the depreciation of the EGP against the USD in its latest FX auction on July 2, which saw the cut-off rate reach EGP 7.63 per USD from EGP 7.53 — in line with expectations we had reiterated and encouraged for months after the first round of depreciation in 2015 was instituted last February. The effective retail buy / sell rates now stand at EGP 7.70 / 7.73 per USD.

Should the CBE consider allowing the pound to fall as low as EGP 8.00 per USD to offset the stronger-than-expected appreciation of the EGP versus the Turkish Lira and the EUR over the past 12 months? With the USD/EGP retail sell rate already weakened to EGP 7.73 today, it’s certainly a possibility. Click here for a comprehensive briefing on how we got here and what could be next.
***

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

There’s been a significant flurry of foreign news coverage on Egypt over the past several days, almost all of it negative, going beyond simply reporting about recent events to painting it as a foregone conclusion that the nation is spiraling into further violence.

The reports have not escaped the notice of the military’s spokesperson Brig. Gen. Mohamed Samir, as noted by the FT, who said that Egypt was fighting two wars, one against the militants, and the other against the media. The more notable pieces in the foreign media written following Wednesday’s events follow:

While we take issue with his some of his characterizations, especially of Egypt being unstable (despite last week’s events) Michael Wahid Hanna makes some good points regarding the Ikhwan as a political force going forward as well as the regime’s durability in his latest for The Century Foundation: “The strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood to frontally challenge the state has failed unequivocally … Despite unprecedented economic and security challenges … there is no evidence that these will ripen into a challenge to the sustainability of Sisi’s rule.” (Read Egypt’s next phase: Sustainable instability)

CFR’s Steven A. Cook, or perhaps his editor at FP, have a taste for the theatrical with the headline to his latest piece: ‘Egypt’s coming chaos.’ But even Cook, after much waffling, reaches a far more reasonable conclusion than the title suggests: “In the abstract, a change in the military’s place [in terms of governance] would be a good thing. But in the present conflict, it would mean breaking the military — and when you do that, you break Egypt.” (Read)

‘Egypt’s self-inflicted slaughter’ is the outrageous title of The Daily Beast’s piece by Ruth Michaelson, a title which must necessarily follow Michaelson relying mostly on statements by Michele Dunne and Brookings Doha Islamist-apologist Shadi Hamid. The article is critical of Egypt’s creation of a buffer zone, making no mention that is suspected that the militants were able to make use of remaining undiscovered tunnels in their attack and retreat. (Read)

The normally on-point AP switches gears from reporting into editorializing without any sort of warning: “The events do not bode well for attempts to support democracy, form a more pluralistic society, or even elect a parliament, which el-Sissi had said would come at the end of the year.” The article fails to note that the elections law has been approved in its final form by the Cabinet last Tuesday and awaits the President’s ratification, making it possible to hold parliamentary elections as early as September.

BBC Monitoring notes that Maj-Gen Yoav Mordechai’s interview with Al Jazeera (whose link we have above under Worth Watching) is becoming “a major talking point in the Israeli media.”

Amal Clooney’s practice, which is now apparently representing Irish Egyptian dual national Ibrahim Halawa in his case in Egypt, is now alleging that Halawa was tortured in detention, a claim disputed by the Irish foreign minister, who says that the allegation has not been established “beyond doubt.” (Read in The Sunday Times, paywall)

The last thing we need is your stupidity: Domina Coral Bay Hotel in Sharm El Sheik’s idea of live entertainment is to have a man wearing a tuxedo go up to foreign tourists on the beach and point a fake gun to their heads. We are torn between calling this hotel a national embarrassment, and between not elevating their importance. But everyone involved in the idea, from top to bottom, needs to be publicly shamed. (Read in the UK’s tabloid Daily Mail)

In relatively lighter news, the Egyptian Football Association has refuted Kofi Manu’s allegations that Egypt attempted to bribe Ghana into throwing the 2014 World Cup qualifier, as we had noted on Wednesday. “The Egyptian FA, under the presidency of Gamal Allam, will file a complaint to the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to punish a Ghanaian Football Association member called Kofi Manu and question him … However, Allam will first contact Ghana FA courtesy of the good relationship that ties both associations. The EFA president said that he is surprised by these ‘false allegations’, asserting that Egypt have always abided by the rules of fair play, and that he ‘will not give up on the association right after such accusations.’” (Read)

WHAT YOU CLICKED ON LAST WEEK

The most-clicked links in Enterprise in the week of 28 June included:

• Photo gallery of images from the site of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat’s assassination (Reuters)
• Melody Aflam’s untold Egyptian backstory to the development of the movie “Seven” from the channel’s 2009 ad campaign (YouTube)
• Photo of lineup at ATM machine inside the Greek Parliament (Twitter)
• Graphic images of Daesh fighters killed in Sheikh Zuweid by the Egyptian Army (Al-Ahram)
• Paris Hilton gets paid to appear on Ramez’s idiot show, then whines about it. (Huffington Post)

WORTH WATCHING

Al Jazeera foolishly invited IDF Major General Yoav Mordechai to a televised telephone interview, apparently under the assumption that he would be critical of Egypt following last weekend’s events. Instead, Mordechai praised Egypt’s strength and stability and accused Hamas of aiding Daesh militants in their attack on Sheikh Zuweid. Al Jazeera mysteriously does not carry the video on their YouTube channel. One of the best exchanges:

Al Jazeera host: “So why did you offer medical treatment to Hamas if you think they’re terrorists?”
Maj. Gen. Mordechai: “Because we’re human beings.”
(Watch in Arabic, running time: 4:08)

DIPLOMACY

Report: IDF to okay bolstered Egyptian forces in Sinai after deadly attacks: The Jerusalem Postsuggests that the Israeli military will “grant all Egyptian requests to reinforce troops in the Sinai Peninsula.” Each side is required under the terms of the Camp David accords to seek the other’s approval for the stationing of any additional military forces on their own side of the border.

Egypt signs economic cooperation agreement with Uruguay: International Cooperation Minister Naglaa El-Ahwany signed an economic cooperation agreement with Uruguay in Cairo on Thursday. The agreement replaces the 1990 pact between the two nations and focuses primarily on SMEs, education and technological cooperation.

ENERGY

Mahlab agrees to bill companies for actual gas usage
Amwal Al Ghad, Al-Ahram | 04 July 2015
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab agreed to a suggestion from the Ministry of Trade and Industry to charge industrial consumers for their actual gas usage, rather than the fixed amounts for which they had contracted, retroactive to January 2011. Trade and Industry Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdelnour said the move is intended to lighten the load on industry and avoid extra costs to manufacturers which will, in turn, reflect on the prices, he added. Many producers were locked into minimum contracts on which the state had demanded payment despite its subsidiaries falling far short of delivery targets. (Read in Amwal Al-Ghad or Al-Ahram)

El Sisi asks Siemens to revise project schedule, bring power plants online by November 2016
Al Mal | 02 July 2015
President El Sisi has asked Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Siemens as well as its domestic affiliates to expedite their energy projects and bring the first phases of the three commissioned power stations into service by November 2016. Siemens is building three power generation stations with combined production capacity of 14.2 GW. A source at the Electricity Ministry said the companies have already begun preparations to begin the construction phase from this month. (Read in Arabic)

IFC lends PICO subsidiary Cheiron USD 50 mn to bolster energy supplies
IFC Press Release | 02 July 2015
The IFC is lending Cheiron Finance Limited, a subsidiary of PICO International Petroleum, USD 50 mn to “bolster energy supplies in the Arab World’s most populous state.” The loan is part of a USD 200 mn package arranged by the IFC, EBRD, and HSBC. The funding will “help PICO … expand operations and optimize production at its oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Suez” and is considered by the IFC as part of a larger effort to support Egypt’s energy sector. PICO is the largest home-grown E&P player. (Read)

APR Energy signs contract to supply gas-turbine power plant in Egypt
PR Newswire | 02 July 2015
APR Energy has signed a contract to supply a gas-turbine power plant to an unnamed industrial customer in Egypt. Expected to begin production in 1Q2016, the project will take a minimum of 12 months to complete and has an estimated value of over USD 30 mn. “APR Energy’s plant will feature three GE aeroderivative mobile turbines that will run on clean-burning natural gas,” the company’s press release noted. (Read)

INFRASTRUCTURE

22 municipalities have received infrastructure and utilities upgrades, NUCA says
Al Borsa | 4 July 2015
Some 23,000 feddans of land in new municipalities have been hooked up to utilities and have had their infrastructure packages finalized, according to the deputy head of the New Urban Communities Authority. Among them: 10 Ramadan, 15 May, Sadat, 6 October and Borg El Arab. The story is long on facts and figures, but does not specify when the work took place. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS & COMMODITIES

Egypt, Somalia in livestock agreement
Al Mal | 02 July 2015
Egypt and Somalia signed a pact to execute joint strategic plan that could see Somali exporters deliver as many as 5,000 head of cattle each month to the Egyptian market, said Agriculture Minister Salah Halal. (Read in Arabic)

Sugar producers suffering due to low-cost imports
Al Borsa | 02 July 2015
Sugar companies are unable to sell their stock from last year, with an additional 1.3 mn tons of beet sugar produced this year virtually untouched, says Abdel Hamid Salama, Chairman of Delta Sugar Co. Salama says foreign suppliers are selling sugar into Egypt at EGP 3,000 per ton against EGP 4,000 per for domestic sugar. Sugar companies have had to borrow heavily to pay beet farms, he adds. (Read in Arabic)

Supply Ministry imports 60,000 tons of Romanian wheat
Al Mal | 02 July 2015
The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Supply and Domestic Trade, signed a contract to import 60,000 tons of wheat from Romania at USD 212.47 per ton, said Mamdouh Abdel Fattah, vice president of GASC. Cargoes will arrive between August 1-10. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH & EDUCATION

Over 57,000 treated with Sovaldi
Al Shorouk | 3 July 2015
The state has paid for Sovaldi treatment for over 57,000 patients suffering from Hepatitis C since the national treatment plan was put in place last October, according to the National Committee to Combat Viral Hepatitis (NCCVH). Domestically produced Sovaldi generics have still not been incorporated into the treatment plans, with the program so-far relying on the doses provided by America’s Gilead Sciences, despite four domestic companies producing the drug, according to NCCVH member, Gamal Essmat. (Read in Arabic)

Health Ministry to develop over 5,000 health units
Al Shorouk | 2 July 2015
The Ministry of Health has put in place a plan to develop all of its 5123 health units throughout 4,777 villages in Egypt, said official spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghafar. The Ministry of Health has completed 154 units, equipped 61 units and certified 248 more in 19 governorates so far, he added. (Read in Arabic)

Health Ministry’s new budget reaches EGP 55 bn
Al Mal | 04 July 2015
Deputy Minister of Health Mohamed Mo’eet announced that the Ministry of Health’s new budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year is approximately EGP 55 bn. Mo’eet said that the new budget was going to reach about EGP 64 bn, but that it had been revised to become EGP 55 bn. The Ministry of Health’s budget new budget increased more than EGP 12 bn compared to last year. The new budget will be allocated for new projects, including and the Hepatitis C treatment project and the issuance of medical smart cards. The Hepatitis C treatment project will cost around EGP 5 bn, while the medical smart cards project will cost around EGP 3.4 bn. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING

Wadi Degla projects EGP 3 bn sales by end of 2015, inks EGP 1 bn facility with CIB
Al Borsa, Amwal Al Ghad | 04 July 2015
Wadi Degla for Real Estate Development expects EGP 3 bn in sales from its projects by the end of 2015, said Chairman Maged Helmy. Wadi Degla will begin implementing a touristic housing project in the North Coast within days, in addition to recently launching the Murano resort in Ain El Sokhna, one of the first therapeutic tourism projects in Egypt, Al-Borsa reports. Meanwhile, CIB will be arranging an EGP 1 bn syndicated loan for the company, Helmy announced. The loan will be used to finance the company’s EGP 13 bn Neopolis project in New Cairo, which will include 14,000 residential units along with a sports club and two schools. (Read inAmwal Al-Ghad or in Al-Borsa)

TOURISM

Poland advises citizens against travel to Egypt
AP | 5 July 2015
“The Polish Foreign Ministry has advised its citizens against traveling to Egypt, and at least one major travel agency [TUI] has responded by canceling package holidays to the country for the rest of the summer season,” AP reports. (Read)

TELECOMS & ICT

Telecom Egypt prepares cost-cutting plan
Al Borsa | 04 July 2015
Telecom Egypt is preparing to cut costs at the request of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT). The plan, formulated by the board of directors, includes pay cuts for a large number of senior executive managers. Telecom Egypt was exempted last year by the State Council from a wage cap imposed on public-sector employees. (Read in Arabic)

Souq.com to introduce installment payment option for Egyptian customers
Al Mal | 04 July 2015
Souq.com, in partnership with three local banks including Emirates NBD Egypt and Banque Misr, will be launching a simple installment scheme to its Egyptian customers shortly. (Read in Arabic)

AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION

Indra to participate in Metro smart card tender
Daily News Egypt | 04 July 2015
Spanish infrastructure and technology solutions company Indra announced it plans to participate in the Metro smart card tender issued by the Transportation Ministry. The project involves a smart card system on both the first Metro line, from Marg to Helwan, and the second line running from Shubra El Kheyma to Moneeb, including the 65 metro stations in between.
Indra praised the ministry’s decision to cast the project in a public tender rather than by direct award. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING & FINANCE

EFSA: 93.7 % increase in mortgage activity
Youm7 | 02 July 2015
Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority chief Sherif Samy announced that mortgage lending grew 93.7 % year-on-year in the first five months of 2015, reaching EGP 395.4 mn as opposed to EGP 204 mn in 5M2014. Mortgage contracts increased 250% in 2015, reaching 1,159 contracts in total with EGP 8.7 bn in value. The story also notes that one additional player has joined the mortgage finance sector since this time last year. (Read in Arabic)

NBE to reduce non-performing loans to EGP 4.5 bn in next two years
Amwal Al Ghad | 4 July 2015
The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) aims to reduce its NPL portfolio to EGP 4.5 bn within two years, down from EGP 6.2 bn at the end of the fiscal year that ended on 30 June 2015, according to executive board member Yehia Abou El Fetouh. The NBE fell short of its target of an EGP 5.5 bn NPL portfolio in FY 2014-15 because of devaluation of the EGP against the USD and “marker circumstances,” he said. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Japan’s government backing the Grand Egyptian Museum, Antiquities Minister says
Amwal Al Ghad | 02 July 2015
The Japanese government will continue to support the Grand Egyptian Museum project technically and financially, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh El Damaty said. In a meeting with Tokyo’s ambassador to Cairo, El Damaty floated the idea of asking Japan for a second loan to finalise works on the museum. The Japanese ambassador expressed the willingness of his country to send technical experts to support the project. (Read in Arabic)

EFEC studies three wood alternatives projects
Al Mal | 03 July 2015
The Egyptian Furniture Export Council (EFEC) is studying three projects that would explore the use by the industry of wood substitutes. Cotton stalks, palm tree branches and rice straw are all currently disposed of as trash (or worse, burned) creating environmental hazards. (Read in Arabic)

113 new exporters in May
Amwal Al Ghad | 04 July 2015
A total of 113 new exporters in different industrial fields are now operational, contributing to a total of USD 73 mn in exports as of the end of last May, said reports from the General Organization for Exports, Import & Control. (Read)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

EGP 416.6 bn in investments targeted this fiscal year –Planning minister
Al Borsa | 02 July 2015
The government is targeting EGP 416.6 bn in investments in FY2015-16, compared to EGP 353.7 bn in FY2014-15, Planning Minister Ashraf El Araby said. Out of the total projected amount, the Planning Ministry sees EGP 236.5 bn coming from the private sector and the rest from the government. The government is also expecting consumerism to remain strong with consumption set to grow by 15.3% y-o-y. (Read in Arabic)

Anger in Nubia after Mortada Mansour’s racist and classist comments against Al-Marghany
Al Masry Al Youm | 04 July 2015
After Wadi Degla football player Ahmed Al-Marghany’s Facebook post criticizing President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi on July 1, Zamalek president Mortada Mansour called the Nubian player a “servant” and a “doorman” (bawab) on telelvision. According to Al Masry Al Youm, the people of Nubia in Aswan are looking to take legal action against the Zamalek president because of what they view as “racial discrimination inconsistent with the Egyptian constitution.” Mohamed Azmy, head of the Nubian Union in Aswan, said that the Union’s Legal Committee is looking to sue Mansour for racist and classist comments and “belittling the Nubian people.” (Read in Arabic)

REGIONAL

Nestle to build a new factory in Dubai
Reuters | 01 July 2015
Nestle will invest CHF 112 mn building a coffee and culinary product factory in Dubai, Reuters reported. The expansion aims to keep up with rising demand in the Middle East and the factory will eventually create 400 jobs. (Read)

ON YOUR WAY OUT

The Investment Ministry has created a bureau to field investor complaints, Al Masry Al Youmreported. Minister Ashraf Salman said the new bureau aims to improve the service provided to investors and follows Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab’s directives. For any investment-related complaints, you can call +20 2 2751 3465. Let us know how that works out, would you?

Luxor cops get body cameras: More than 50 police officers in Luxor are wearing body cams that reportedly feed directly back to a central operations room as part of a pilot program, Al-Shorouk reports.

Closed. Open. Closed. Open… The Sadat Metro station beneath Tahrir square opened again on Saturday. The station was closed the day after the assassination of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat; Sadat had been open only two weeks at that point, having been closed in August 2013 during the dispersal of the Islamist demonstrations in Rabaa and El-Nahda squares.

The Sharkawy & Sarhan law firm in Cairo noted the CIT Minister’s decree to give NTRA wider authority over the telecom companies in their newsletter. Following decision (464/2015), the NTRA can now penalize telecom companies if they offer low quality services or not comply with its decisions regarding customer complaints or if they suspend the provision of service.

Paris Hilton was in on Ramez’s gag and “faked horror” on the show, gossip site TMZ reports. Shocking, we know. TMZ quotes liberally from what it claims is a pitch the producers sent to a variety of Hollywood star(lets) explaining the setup for the show.

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Thursday, 02 July): 7.6301
USD parallel market (Saturday, 04 July): 7.68 (-0.01 from Sunday, 28 June)

EGX30 (Thursday): 8,314.72 (-0.68%)
Turnover: EGP 1.1 bn (123% above the 90-day average)

WTI: USD 55.52 (-2.48%)
Brent: USD 60.32 (-2.82%)

TASI: 9,136.3 (+0.4%)
ADX: 4,726.7 (+0.6%)
DFM: 4,088.8 (-0.1%)
KSE Weighted Index: 418.9 (flat)
QE: 12,121.1 (+0.6%)
MSM: 6,444.0 (+0.2%)