WSJ says OCI NV is in merger talks with CF Industries

TL;DR

• OCI and America’s CF Industries in merger talks
• TE Data saga continues
• This week’s agenda: Kerry coming to town, CBE to set interest rates on Thursday
• IKEA looks to open second branch
• First Rafale jets arrive
• New Suez Canal countdown

…AND WE’RE BACK, WITH A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

As (most of us) return from our extended Eid and the Revolution Day break, we’re exceptionally pleased to inform all of you that Enterprise is welcoming leading real estate developer SODIC as the sponsor of our popular Speed Round section.

That makes SODIC our second commercial sponsor, after pillar supporter Pharos Holding.

In addition to having its logo appear at the head of Speed Round, SODIC will use its weekly “Word from SODIC” space to discuss developments in real estate, housing and the economy at large as well as to deliver news the company feels is of particular interest to Enterprise readers, who include chairmen and CEOs of major EGX-listed corporations and startups alike, as well as c-suite executives; domestic, regional and international fund managers; members of the diplomatic community; and others with a deep interest in Egyptian affairs.

The support of major corporate sponsors including Pharos and SODIC makes it possible not just for us to continue offering Enterprise at no charge to thousands of daily readers in Egypt and far beyond — it will allow us to continue developing as an independent publication. We’ll have more news for you on this front in the days and weeks ahead.

Please join us in extending a very warm welcome to our friends at SODIC. Thank you for your trust — we’re honored to have you along for the ride.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

We’re looking forward to the resumption of “business as usual” this week as the business community and the government alike begin the slow, Sa7el-season build-up to what will doubtless be a busy fall season. Among the major issues on which we would expect news this week and next: the Mahlab government is looking to push through key pieces of economic legislation and related regulations before the nation goes to the polls to elect its first House of Representatives under the new constitution. Similarly, we’ll be looking for the latest developments in the CBE’s managed devaluation of the EGP as well as news on energy policy, as many industrial consumers continue to cope with an effective shut-off of natural gas.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

John Kerry is due in Cairo for bilateral talks on Tuesday and Wednesday (28-29 July), with SolarTech Egypt due to take place on the same days at the capital city’s JW Marriott Hotel.

The next meeting of the Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee is due to be held on Thursday, 30 July — the same day a final verdict is expected in the retrial of former Al Jazeera English journalists Mohamed Fahmy, Baher Mohamed and Peter Greste.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

CBC’s all-star triumvirate of Lamees El Hadidy, Magdy El Galad, and Khairy Ramadan was a no-show on Saturday. Filling in was a doe-eyed gentleman, whom we were unable to identify. (We’ll do better next time if he’s back in the anchor seat, we promise.)

The first thirty minutes of CBC’s flagship program Lazem Nefham was devoted to covering the upcoming inauguration of the New Suez Canal. CBC’s unknown presenter spoke proudly of the project, giving the impression that he himself had been involved in the dredging process.

Anonymous gentleman: “When our president announced that the project would be completed in less than a year, there were doubts. Foreign media outlets questioned Egypt’s ability to achieve this national goal. They said that the project would fail, that it was mired with engineering challenges that could not be overcome. But due to the grace of God and the leadership of our president, the Egyptian people find themselves 12 days away from achieving this historic goal.”

After drawing his sycophantic praise of the New Suez Canal project to a close, the unknown presenter transitioned to a discussion on the thanawiya amma matriculation process (Egyptian high-school exit examination). A recent female graduate called-in to express her disappointment over what she described as an unfair system. “I got a 96.4 percent on my thanawiya amma exam. In spite of my high score, I will be unable to study pharmacy at any of the top universities. Also, I cannot afford to attend a private university. What am I supposed to do?” she asked.

To the disappointment of Enterprise’s talkshow reviewers, Al Qahera Al Youm will be off until 6 August. We presume that Amr Adeeb will be spending the next 10-12 days on the sunny shores of Egypt’s north coast, wallowing in grief over Zamalek’s 2-0 loss to archrival El Ahly. We’re gonna miss you, Amr.

** READ ENTERPRISE IN ARABIC **

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SPEED ROUND

CF Industries in talks to merge with some of OCI NV’s businesses: Fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc. said Monday it was in talks with OCI NV about a potential merger with some of OCI’s businesses, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. Both CF Industries and OCI separately declined to comment at this stage and both said that talks may not necessarily lead to an agreement, according to CF Industries’ press release. CF Industries was established in 1946 as a fertilizer brokerage and is today headquartered in a suburb of Chicago, with a subsidiary operating seven nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Canada as well as a 50% stake in UK plant nutrients manufacturer GrowHow. The Journal speculates that the agreement could be structured as a so-called ‘inversion’ that would see CF Industries’ so-called “tax headquarters” out of the United States for tax purposes — adding that it would be the largest such transaction since the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new regulations that made such transactions more difficult to pull off.

Top river transport and Nile River police officials placed on administrative leave: Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab has suspended the heads of the River Transport Authority and the top official in charge of policing the nation’s riverways following the Waraaq boat incident on Wednesday, Al Masry Al Youm reported. Families of each of what the Health Ministry now says are the 35 confirmed victims will receive a death benefit of EGP 60,000, Youm7 claims.

Also sacked: Cairo security chief: Cairo police chief Gen. Osama Bedair was dismissed on Thursday, 16 July, replaced by Gen. Khalid Abdel Aal, according to a statement from the MOI and as reported by AFP. The statement gave no reason for the reshuffle, but the AFP piece points to the spate of recent bombings under Gen. Bedair’s watch. (Read)

The saga of TE Data continues as the state’s top telecoms regulator announced that it is considering new regulations to curb TE Data’s 70% share of the broadband internet market. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority is reportedly in discussions with the company on a package of measures that would include TE Data suspending offers of ultra-high-speed internet access; impose new tariffs payable to the state on promotional offers; and a ban on TE Data signing-up new clients ‘poached’ from other providers who were moved to the ISP when landline numbers were changed, Al Borsa reports. The move comes as multiple new complaints have reportedly been lodged with the Egyptian Competition Authority alleging that that TE Data is engaged in anticompetitive practices, the newspaper adds. TE Data Chief Executive Osama Yaseen denies the 70% market share represents a monopoly. His argument? “Other providers are running smoothly and their clients are not jumping ship.” He also denied that the NRTA was making any regulatory changes governing the market. (Read in Arabic)

Furniture retailer IKEA is looking to open a second branch in Egypt, general manager Adosh Sharma told Al Mal, which quotes him as saying it is too early to speculate on location or investment cost. The Cairo Festival City store is the first in Africa and only the fourth in the Middle East, after Dubai, Qatar and Oman.

Watch a spectacular flyby of Egypt’s new Rafale fighter jets — or check out a couple of up-close photos. Ahram Online has a bit more here.

Would-be suicide bomber killed near military base last week: The armed forces denied on Wednesday, 15 July, claims made by an Islamic-state affiliated group that it had successfully bombed a military base on the Katameya-Suez road, as reported by Ahram Online. The group had claimed the attack on Twitter, saying that it had resulted in the death of military personnel. The Egyptian Army said the vehicle exploded after service members opened fire on it as it attempted to break through a security checkpoint. The would-be suicide bomber was killed in the explosion.

Wanted Egyptian militant urges jihad against President El Sisi -SITE: “An audio message attributed to Hisham al-Ashmawy, who security officials suspect masterminded the recent car bomb assassination of Egypt’s top prosecutor, said the country is ‘overpowered by the new pharaoh Sisi,’” according to Reuters, citing jihadi-monitoring network SITE. Nabil Na’im, a leader of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya during the 1990s, said Al-Ashmawy was a former member of the Egyptian Army’s special forces, from which we was sacked in the 2000s, according to Ahram Online. Na’im also went on to state that the audio message is a call for further foreign funding for more attacks.

Justice Minister Zend struck a harsh note in an interview with El Watan, speaking of the historic pre-30 June struggle against the Ikhwan and the ongoing war against the “traitors,” of whom Egypt has “15,000.” Zend dismissed journalists’ concerns about the new terrorism law and penalties — criminal or financial — for journalists who report facts that deviate from the official line in terror cases. He also reaffirmed how a judge should not be compelled to hear from all witnesses in a case before rendering a verdict. Notably, Zend also made clear that Egypt has a witness protection law that he has promoted as a means of encouraging individuals with information about terrorist and other crimes to come forward.

198 alleged members of Ikhwan referred to military prosecutor; Eid Friday demonstrations leave six dead, Morsi calls for his followers to continue the revolution: Six pro-Ikhwan protesters were killed in clashes following demonstrations on Friday, 17 July, according to state news agency MENA and as reported by Ahram Online. A message purportedly smuggled out of prison and allegedly written by former president Mohamed Morsi had circulated online the day before protests took place, calling on his followers to “continue the revolution.” Meanwhile, acting Prosecutor General Ali Omran referred on Wednesday, 15 July,198 alleged members of the Ikhwan to military court for allegedly planning to target police officers and army officers in militant operations, according to Ahram Online, citing a statement from the Prosecutor General’s office.

Morsi trial session postponed, Ikhwan accuse gov’t of attempting to poison ex-president:Mohamed Morsi’s ongoing espionage trial has been postponed to 2 August as Morsi was unable to attend last Wednesday’s trial session due to low blood sugar, Ahram Online reports. The Ikhwan cosplay parliament-in-exile-in-Turkey accused the Sisi administration of trying to poison Morsi and called on the United Nations to intervene, according to UAE-based Gulf News.

Nazif gets longer prison term as retrial verdict handed down: An Egyptian court sentenced former prime minister Ahmed Nazif to five years in prison for graft, according to Ahram Online, in a retrial which witnessed a toughening of his sentence, along with an EGP 53 mn fine.

The World Trade Organization is ready to slash tariffs on 201 technology products including computers, touch-screen devices and machine tools and components — but the measure is just short of the quorum required for it to go into effect. The USD 1.3 tn agreement, covering a whopping 7% of world trade, is expected to boost global economy by USD 190 bn. The trade covered in this agreement is comparable to annual global trade in iron, steel, textiles and clothing combined, and more than world trade in cars, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo, told Reuters. The agreement, built on the previous Information Technology Agreement (ITA), incorporates popular products invented after 1997, when the last ITA was inked, including GPS, MRI machines, touch screens, microchips, semiconductors and video game consoles among others, reported WSJ. It’s the first major global tariff-cutting pact in 18 years.

Influential movie director and scenario writer Raafat El Mihi passed away at age 75, Youm7 reported. You’ll remember him from classics including Ghoroub W Shrouk, Samak Laban Tamr Hendi, and the movie that set off Mortada Mansour, El Avocato.

Why we hate self-driving cars on basic principle, lesson 1: “[I was] a willing subject on whom they could test the car-hacking research they’d been doing over the past year. The result of their work was a hacking technique—what the security industry calls a zero-day exploit—that can target Jeep Cherokees and give the attacker wireless control, via the Internet, to any of thousands of vehicles. Their code is an automaker’s nightmare: software that lets hackers send commands through the Jeep’s entertainment system to its dashboard functions, steering, brakes, and transmission, all from a laptop that may be across the country.” Say the hackers: “When you lose faith that a car will do what you tell it to do … it really changes your whole view of how the thing works.” Read “Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway—With Me in It”

SPOTLIGHT: The countdown to the New Suez Canal begins

A trial run of three large cargo ships became the first convoy to pass through the New Suez Canal ahead of its official opening on 6 August. Suez Canal Authority Chief Mohab Mamish supervised the vessels’ run down the 72 km waterway, Al Mal reports.

Hopes are high as we approach the official opening of the new canal, long celebrated as a cornerstone economic project of the Sisi administration. The government is anticipating a tripling of Suez Canal revenues to USD 15 bn per annum as a result of the new canal, while expecting revenues from the Canal’s International Logistic and Industrial Center to comprise 33% of GDP, according to Al Mal.

Promoting project’s success has become a national priority, with EgyptAir changing its logo and offering a 25% discount on all flights for those attending the opening as the Civil Aviation minister ordered refurbishing and upgrades to Cairo International Airport.

Mindshare, the advertising wing of the opening ceremony’s organizers WPP Consortium, has called on state-owned and private newspapers to run advertisements for the event without charge, with Al Borsa agreeing and running a full-page coverage of the event in its print edition. Mindshare also released today its first wave of TV ads for the opening ceremony, which you can view here.

***
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***

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

By and large, the international press has not been in a very festive mood in the past week — at least not where Egypt is concerned:

With Washington’s Complicity, Egypt Cracks Down on Critics: The New York Times has published its twice-monthly editorial on Egypt, accusing U.S. lawmakers of becoming “complicit in Egypt’s repression” by passing “versions of the foreign aid bill that fail to make the annual USD 1.3 bn in military aid to Egypt contingent on it taking steps to protect human rights and govern democratically.” The crux of the piece hinges on “In past years, Congress sought to discourage growing authoritarianism by requiring the State Department to certify that Egypt was meeting those criteria.” It makes no mention of the national security interest waiver, which has been used — in multiple instances, including by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — to permit the flow of aid to continue. While the editorial also mentions the Obama administration in its criticism, characterizing previous foreign aid bills as having serious conditions as the editorial board does here is misleading.

Daylong visit from Uncle Ayman, cancel your plans: Ayman Nour has reinvented himself as an Egyptian Edward Snowden, leaking what he says is inside information to anyone who will humor him, which at this point includes and is limited to the Turkish press. When last we heard from Nour, he said he was leaving Beirut for Turkey before heading to Europe. In his recent sit-down with Turkish newspaper Sabah, it would seem that Nour is settling in to stay in Turkey so he can be in better touch with the other “revolutionary youth” hiding out in Ankara and Istanbul. So why did Nour leave Beirut? He became convinced that the Egyptian regime was trying to assassinate him when it was noticed that a laser light was shining inside his vehicle. By the same logic, it would in retrospect appear that this writer narrowly dodged an assassination attempt himself while on a jog, after having a green laser shined in his eyes by two unkempt youts on a motorcycle.

Egypt arrests press advocate, accuses him of belonging to banned group: Egyptian authorities on Tuesday arrested the head of the independent Electronic Media Syndicate, accusing him of belonging to the Ikhwan, as well as “taking pictures and displaying artistic works without a license,” with regard to photographs he took of the late Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat’s funeral, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday. (Read)

Why things could get even worse for reporters in Egypt: Ruth Michaelson, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, who details her experience in being contacted by FactCheckEgypt, a media watchdog affiliated with the State Information Service, regarding Michealson’s reporting. “‘It is our view that journalists’ basic function in any democratic society is to vet government behavior, not the other way around,’ said Sharif Mansour of the Committee to Protect Journalists. ‘The government should focus on fulfilling its role, as prescribed in Egypt’s own constitution, of providing … access to information, instead of intimidating critical and independent reporters.’”

Robert Fisk, again. Robert Fisk sounds the alarm at The Independent, arguing, among other things, that the lack of affordable housing in Egypt is reinforcing Daesh’s position in Egypt, in What a choice for Egypt – a megalomaniac president or the madness of Isis. Along with his analysis he sprinkles in his incredulity that Egypt will be able to complete its announced projects on time or perhaps at all: “… the new two-lane Suez canal which must be finished – and those who know Egypt will literally gasp here – in a maximum of 12 months.” Meanwhile, Egypt successfully tested the expanded waterway on Saturday with six vessels in two fleets of three, according to the AFP, ahead of the Suez Canal Axis inauguration on 6 August, as noted in our special feature above..

Egyptian show that’s flattering to Jews is a surprise hit among Palestinians: The Washington Post reports on the Egyptian Ramadan drama series “The Jewish Quarter” as having captured a 40% share of primetime viewing. Khalid Sukar, the programming director general for Palestinian public TV, is quoted as saying “‘Honestly? For many Palestinians, the Jew is a soldier or settler … That’s it. That’s what our people see. For us, the stereotype is a Jew with a machine gun who occupies us.’ He said The Jewish Quarter offers another perspective, and one that gets closer to the truth of the complex relationship between two peoples.”Meanwhile, Saudi cleric Mohamed Alarafe, who has 12.5 mn followers on Twitter (view his Twitter handle) weighed in on the FJP’s site with his review of the show, which he criticizes for not demonstrating the ‘true nature of Jews’ [insert the usual canards of treachery, hate of Muslims and usury here]. (Read in Arabic. Or save yourself the aggravation.)

Egypt’s New Drug Addiction: Peter Schwartzstein dips into what seems to be the never-ending well of the Tramadol abuse story in Egypt for the Daily Beast. The Economist basically did this same article back in April, (A pill for work and play).

Egypt’s Old Strategy for New Terrorism: Why It Won’t Work, by Nancy Okail and Allison McManus for Foreign Affairs. “There are several major differences between Egypt’s security problems then and now. In the 1990s, small groups of militants carried out attacks without much international support. Today, a range of players has embraced terrorism and violence … today’s bloodshed cannot be seen—at least not exclusively—as a direct consequence of domestic adversity and government repression. The project of transnational jihad feeds and is fed by local struggles.” (Read, paywall)

Egypt’s Durable Misery: Why Sisi’s Regime Is Stable, by Eric Trager for Foreign Affairs, (paywall).

WHAT YOU CLICKED ON LAST WEEK

The most-clicked links in Enterprise in the last week of Ramadan and in our three ‘special issues’ last week included:

• The European Debt Crisis Visualized, Bloomberg. (Watch, running time: 12:33)
• Full text of new state budget (Read in Arabic)
• 57357 Pediatric Cancer Hospital bizarre Ramadan commercial, with, uh, a surprise ending. (Watch in Arabic with English subtitles, running time: 1:35)
• President El Sisi’s ‘Laylat al Qadr’ speech (Watch in Arabic, running time: 15:26)
• Enterprise — Ramadan advertisement 2015 (Watch in Arabic, running time: 0:59)
• Slack.com, the workplace chat app
• Egypt: A Market for Natural Gas from Cyprus and Israel? GMF Policy Paper, Nikos Tsafos. (Read)
• The Egyptian Parliamentary Elections 101, Middle East Institute. (Read)

WORTH READING

EBRD-World Bank Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) for Egypt: The EBRD, in collaboration with the World Bank, published last week its firm-level MENA Enterprise Surveys for 20 countries it defines as “transitional,” including Egypt. The Egypt report found that, according to private Egyptian firms, the three largest obstacles in their operating environment were “political instability; corruption; and competitors’ practices in the informal sector,” a result found among other North African countries surveyed, according to Helena Schweiger, EBRD Senior Economist, in this 1:16 video coinciding with the launch of the reports. The three-page report is available as both html and pdf, and the full firm-level data is available to researchers from the form here, which should take two business days for approval.

WORTH WATCHING

Don Cheadle is Captain Planet. (Watch, running time: 2:25)

Captain Planet 2. (Watch, running time: 3:41)

DIPLOMACY

Seventh meeting of the tripartite technical committee on the Renaissance Dam ends with no announced progress, Sudan seeks to buy electricity generated from GERD: Two-day talks in Khartoum ended last Thursday with no announced results, as experts from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia met with representatives from two consultancy firms, (French and Dutch) who have outlined feasibility studies on the dam’s impact on downstream countries. Water Resources Minister Hossam Moghazi said Egypt presented two studies, according to SIS: one on the GERD’s impact on Egypt’s water supply and hydropower generation, and another on the performance of the GERD’s spillways, and a recommendation that they be increased to minimize decreased water supply on downstream states. Sudan’s state news agency SUNA says that Sudan and Ethiopia have signed an agreement linking power grids at 500 kV with an eye on future purchase of electricity generated by the GERD, Sudan Tribune reports. Sudan has reportedly faced electricity shortages.

Sudan backtracks on promised release of 101 Egyptian fishermen: On Thursday, Sudan had announced it was releasing 101 Egyptian fishermen detained for trespassing in Sudanese territorial waters, only to reverse the decision a day later on Saturday, according to the MFA as reported by Ahram Online. “It was not immediately clear if the men were released and re-arrested, or were not allowed to walk … in the first place,” according to Ahram Online.

PM Mahlab met with a high level French delegation headed by Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Cairo, Al Mal reports. According to the cabinet spokesperson, the agenda included a number of national security issues such as further cooperation on combating terrorism and the fight against extremist ideologies. The issue of illegal immigration will be discussed in addition to France’s official attendance of the opening ceremony of the New Suez Canal. France and Egypt are also in talks for the sale of two Gowind-class corvettes, in addition to the four already ordered, according to the AFP.

PM Mahlab traveled to Equatorial Guinea to attend first international conference on Ebola, followed by visit to Italy: Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab was in Equatorial Guinea from 20-21 July to attend the first international conference on Ebola, followed by his visit to Italy where he met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, along with the Italian president and defense minister, according to Youm7 as reported by the Cairo Post. New petroleum drilling agreements were signed during the state visit to Italy, as noted in our Energy section below.

FM Shoukry travelled to Riyadh on Wednesday to meet with his counterpart Adel Al Jubeiraccording to Ahram and as reported by Ahram Online. The two foreign ministers were set to discuss the new nuclear accord reached between Iran and the P5+1 states as well as to discuss the ongoing war in Yemen.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq on Saturday before returning to Iran, the Qatari Peninsula Online reports.

Foreign Minister Shoukry met with his UAE counterpart Abdullah Bin Zyed on Friday Al Mal reports. The meeting looked to strengthen bilateral relations and explored a number of the region’s troubled areas such as Libya, Yemen, Palestine, Iraq and Syria, according to the foreign ministry spokesman.

**Further reading in Diplomacy: Why are Saudis wooing the Muslim Brotherhood? Riyadh has recently played host to members of the Ikhwan from Gaza, Tunisia, Jordan and Yemen, in what many observers say is a signal that Saudi Arabia is looking to reestablish its role as an Islamist incubator in an attempt to resist Iran. “Despite recent hostilities, Saudi Arabia has an extensive history of using the Brotherhood against its regional rivals. In the 1950s and ’60s the kingdom supported the Brothers as a way to weaken the nationalist republican regime of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser. Although banned from political activity in Saudi Arabia, Brotherhood members were active in academia and had substantial influence in the kingdom’s secondary schools and universities.” (Read)

ENERGY

Eni makes 15 bcm gas discovery in Nile Delta
Eni Press Release, Al Borsa | 20 July 2015
Eni announced on Monday a gas discovery in its Abu Madi West license, an area in the Nile Delta 120 km north-east of Alexandria. The discovery is, according to preliminary estimates, around 15 bn cubic meters, in addition to associated condensates. The discovery will go into production in two months’ time, according to the release. Eni, through its subsidiary, holds 75% of a working interest in the West Abu Madi lease, with BP holding 25%. (Read) ENI’s discoveries at its two West Delta concessions will add 40 mn cubic feet of gas daily, said EGAS head Khaled Al Badei, in an interview with Al Borsa.

Ministry of Petroleum signs five agreements with Italy to drill for gas and oil
Al Mal, Eni Press Release | 25 July 2015
The Minister of Petroleum Sherif Ismail inked five agreements to begin new exploratory drilling projects for oil and gas, as well as developing the petroleum refineries, on a ministerial delegation with Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab to Italy last week. Italy will provide 85% of total investment required to the MIDOR expansion project in Alexandria and the hydrocracking project in the Assiut Refinery. (Read in Arabic) One of those agreements signed was with Eni, according to a statement released by the company on Friday. The agreement was made in light of Eni’s aforementioned discovery at the West Abu Madi concession, and sought to renegotiate “the terms and contract extension of the concession,” according to the statement, as well as to “reaffirms and strengthens the commitments undertaken with the Head of Agreement signed last March during the Egyptian Economic Development Conference,” which aims at a USD 5 bn investment by the company in Egypt over the next four years. (Read)

Netanyahu seeks to loosen gas exports quota to ensure Egypt agreement
Haaretz | 20 July 2015
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly working to ease the ceiling on Israel’s natural gas exports, reports Haaretz, to help ensure that the Noble Energy / Delek Group cartel can supply natural gas to Egypt, in a move which the newspaper characterizes as potentially putting Israel’s long-term energy security at risk. The ceiling, which the article notes that Netanyahu worked to get in place just as recently as 2013, currently limits exports to 40% of Israel’s gas reserves. His government’s recently proposed amendments to Israel’s export law includes a provision that would redefine what constitutes Israel’s domestic share by changing it from proven reserves to expected, which would speed up exports, as well as another amendment that would allow for more gas exports from the Tamar gasfield before Leviathan comes online. (Read, paywall)

National Bank of Egypt to issue a EGP 1.6 bn loan to CEPC to finance 340 MW plant
Al Borsa | 25 July 2015
The National Bank of Egypt is getting ready to issue a EGP 1.6 bn loan to the Cairo Electricity Production Company (CEPC) and is concluding final internal loan approvals, according to an unnamed official. The bank will underwrite EGP 1.1 bn of the loan while other unspecified banks will cover the remaining EGP 500 mn. CEPC will use the loan to establish a 340 MW combined cycle plant with Italian Ansaldo Caldaie in Sixth of October City. (Read in Arabic)

INFRASTRUCTURE

Ministry of Local Development to establish six pollution control centers
Al Mal | 25 July 2015
The Ministry of Local Development is cooperating with the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources to establish six pollution control centers along the Nile, said local development minister Adel Labib. The governors of Cairo, Qalyubia, Aswan, Luxor, Assiut and Beni Suef have been notified to settle any disputes over the land required to set up the centers, which in turn will be equipped with the latest pollution control equipment, he added. (Read in Arabic)

Ministry of Planning allocates EGP 1 bn to informal housing, EGP 650 mn to villages
Amwal Al Ghad | 25 July 2015
The Ministry of Planning has allocated EGP 1 bn to develop informal housing areas and markets, as part of the FY2015-16 economic and social development plans. The sum was allocated from the total EGP 6.85 bn allocated to local development. Additionally, EGP 650 mn were allocated to developing the most-needing villages at a 9% of the total goal. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH & EDUCATION

WHO selects Egypt for its flagship event for World Hepatitis Day on 28 July
WHO News Release | 23 July
The WHO’s theme of its campaign this year is focused on prevention, with its key messaging being: “Get tested, seek treatment, Demand safe injections, Know the risks and Be vaccinated.” The focus on prevention is obvious given the enormously costly treatment, not to mention that, according to the WHO, 80% of all liver cancer cases are caused by Hepatitis B and C. With specific regard to Egypt, the WHO’s release notes: “WHO is helping the country develop national ‎blood safety standards and has selected ‎it as one of 3 pilot ‎countries for its new Global ‎Injection Safety Initiative.‎ WHO will provide support over the next 3 years to ‎reduce unnecessary ‎injections and help transition to ‎the exclusive use of syringes ‎that can only be used once.” (Read)

Share value in DBK Pharma’s IPO expected to grow 12x
Al Borsa | 25 February 2015
DBK Pharma’s IPO next month is expected to lead its share price to grow by a factor of 12, according to Dina Youssef of Al Rowad Security Brokerages, the underwriters of the IPO. This comes on the back of a projected growth in the domestic pharmaceutical sector, and the company’s expected license to manufacture over 100 new drugs. The company is also expected to grow its production capacity. (Read in Arabic)

Mahlab meets with Don Bosco board in Italy
Al Mal | 24 July 2015
Prime Minister Mahlab met with the governing board of the Salesians of Don Bosco, a religious organization which runs tertiary education institutions all over the world during his visit to Italy. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the organization’s presence in Egypt and to seek its expertise in developing vocational education programs and developing programs for educators in Egypt. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING

Palm Hills subsidiary inks EGP 750 mn syndicated medium term loan agreement for Hacienda Bay
Company Statement | 16 July
Palm Hills Middle East for Real Estate Investments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Palm Hills Developments and the entity which owns the north coast development Hacienda Bay announced on Thursday, 16 July, that it has signed an EGP 750 mn medium term loan agreement with Banque Misr and AAIB, according to an emailed release from the company. EGP 330 mn will be used to refinance an existing revolving facility with Banque Misr, while the remaining amount will be used to accelerate the expected date of completion of Hacienda Bay from 2019 to 4Q 2017.

AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION

Plans to establish academy for rail transport
Al Mal | 26 July 2015
Minister of Transportation Hany Al-Dahy said that plans to establish an Academy for Rail Transportation at the Wardan Railways Training Institute is currently being discussed with experts at Hannover University and Braunschweig University in Germany. The academy will establish curricula and training programs that will enable graduates to work in the rail transportation sector immediately, Dahy added. After a site visit to the Warden Institute, German officials suggested implementing a two-month training program for 15 Egyptian engineers at Braunschweig University. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Abdel Nour creates committee to follow up on COMESA free trade area
Al Mal | 25 July 2015
Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour formed a committee to follow up on the application of the programs and mechanisms of the COMESA FTA. Abdel Nour will lead the committee, and members will include the ministers of finance, foreign affairs, international cooperation, agriculture, justice, communication, transportation, electricity, water resources, environment and civil aviation. The committee will also include representatives from the Central Bank of Egypt, CAPMAS, the National Council for Women, Federation for Egyptian Industries, General Authority for Investment, FEDCOC, Egyptian Competition Authority, Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, and the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association. (Read in Arabic)

EGP 72.2 mn cost of Marsa Matrouh Investment Plan projects
Al Mal | 24 July 2015
The investment plan put forth by the Ministry of Planning for FY 2014-15 for electrical, paving and environmental projects in Marsa Matrouh has been completely executed at a total cost of EGP 72.2 mn, according to the head of planning at the Marsa Matrouh Governorate Mohamed El Sayed. (Read in Arabic)

Ministry of International Cooperation settles 17 disputes with big investors
Amwal Al Ghad | 25 July 2015
The Dispute Settlement Committee, headed by the Ministry of International Cooperation, has successfully settled 17 disputes with big investors, according to Amwal Al Ghad. Among the reportedly settled disputes is that involving Omar Al Futtaim, CEO of Al Futtaim Group, of Cairo Festival City, according to minister of international cooperation Naglaa El Ahwany. (Read in Arabic)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Final agreement between Egyptian Front and Fi Hob Masr for parliamentary electoral bloc
Al Shorouk | 25 July 2015
The Egyptian Front and the Fi Hob Masr list have reached a final agreement concerning a merger for the upcoming parliamentary elections, said Nagy El Shehaby, president of the Generation Party and member of the presidential council in the Egyptian Front. The two biggest electoral blocs are set to meet this week to reach a conclusion on how many members the Front will push into the list as well as how the electoral alliance will go about working this coming period. (Read in Arabic)

Political parties rally behind Suez Canal opening festivities
Al Shorouk | 25 July 2015
The Conservative Party announced they will join the new Suez canal opening ceremony on 6 August, with their Secretary-General Boshry Shalash asking businessmen and investors to rally behind the state to fight unemployment and create job opportunities for the youth. Meanwhile, the head of the Al Wafd worker’s union Mohamed Al Menherwy called for all the workers of Egypt to visit the Suez Canal during the opening. Freedom Party leaders, led by Salah Hasaballah, will accompany a delegation of media personalities to the canal on Tuesday, to announce a three-city celebration in Cairo, Alexandria and Qena. (Read in Arabic)

**Further Reading in Politics + Economics: Ziad Bahaa Eldin’s analysis of the new state budget, which he calls more optimistic than realistic. (Read Egypt: Understanding the new budget)

REGIONAL

The Tunisian parliament adopted a new anti terrorism law following recent terror attacks on tourism sites in Sousse and at the Bardo Museum (in June and March, respectively), BBC reported. The law was passed with an overwhelming majority following a three-day debate and allows suspects to be detained for up to 15 days without a lawyer or appearance before a judge. It also facilitates investigators tapping suspects’ phones. Rights group have heavily criticized the law for its vagueness on defining a terrorist crime, and failing to safeguard a defendant’s rights.

Algeria’s central bank says foreign reserves fall by USD 19 bn in 1Q2015 to USD 159.9 bn:Algeria’s foreign exchange reserves dropped by USD 19.02 bn to USD 159.9 bn in the first quarter of 2015, from USD 178.938 in December 2014, due to the sharp drop in global crude oil prices, the central bank said, as reported by Reuters. Algeria relies on energy revenues for 60% of its state budget. (Read)

‘No progress’ in search for Italians kidnapped in Libya: Four Italians working for construction firm Bonatti who were kidnapped in Libya on Monday, 20 July, have yet to be found, according to the AFP, and no arrests have been made. The four were taken near the industrial complex owned by Eni in Mellitah.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Croatian national kidnapped in Egypt by armed men: A 31-year old Croatian national was reportedly kidnapped by armed men while on his way to work in Cairo on Wednesday morning, according to Reuters, citing the Croatian Foreign Ministry. According to Index.hr, the man works in the oil and gas industry. “His car was stopped by an armed group who forced the driver to leave the car and then took off in an unknown direction,” the ministry said on its website. (Read)

Daily News Egypt: Why have you changed your site’s text font color to light slate gray?

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Tuesday, 21 July): 7.7301 (unchanged since Sunday, 05 July)
USD parallel market (Tuesday, 21 July): 7.85 (-0.01 from Tuesday, 14 July, Reuters)

EGX30 (Wednesday, 22 July): 8,087.24 (+0.47%)

WTI: USD 48.14 (-0.64%)
Brent: USD 54.62 (-1.18%)

(Tuesday, 21 July)
TASI: Market closed.
ADX: 4,851.7 (+0.6%)
DFM: 4,182.1 (-0.1%)
KSE Weighted Index: 423.8 (+0.2%)
QE: Market closed.
MSM: 6,572.5 (+0.4%)