TL;DR

• CIB gets CBE green light to buy Citi’s Egypt retail business.
• Integrated Diagnostics Holdings reports rise in revenues, net income in maiden earnings post-listing
• Bulge bracket banks don’t do much investment banking anymore, says FT
• OC in talks for Suez wind project
• Security forces disperse residents of Dokki informal settlement
• Of dogs, faith and imams

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‡ Yes, we know, “next level” is horrible corporate-speak. We apologize and mock ourselves. It’s simply that we’re at a loss for how to say, in few words, “We hope to soon bring you some cool new stuff, but we don’t want to spill the beans and give you the details just yet.”

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Traders gave off mixed signals across global capital markets yesterday as they tried to make sense of the latest “Black Monday”: MENA bourses rebounded (for the most part), as did Europe, while China tanked for a second day and U.S. markets sagged at the finish line to close in the red for a second day. With China’s policy moves failing to stem the rout and U.S. markets closing down, we’ll be looking for signs this morning that the bears are back in Europe and MENA.

Despite crude sitting now at six-year lows, analysts are saying the global market is healthier than it looks, according to Bloomberg. Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered are saying that other measures suggest physical markets for crude have stabilized or even strengthened, despite futures dropping below USD 45 per bbl for the first time since 2009. “The stabilization of the price gap between monthly crude contracts and changes in the relationships between regional benchmarks suggests financial flows are behind the renewed slump, rather than a change in the physical oil market,” Morgan Stanley said. Standard Chartered’s Paul Horsnell suggesting that the price drop is “macro driven” primarily on concerns over the Chinese economy’s outlook. However, “‘the irony is if you just take the oil market data on China, it’s good – it’s really, really good,’ said Horsnell. ‘If we were running it purely by the micro data, people would be saying: ‘Hey, this isn’t too bad’’.”

Meanwhile, the FT thinks Saudi Arabia will have a hard time of it with oil prices as they now stand, saying that falling prices have sparked a new round of speculation against the riyal, which is pegged to the USD.

Update from Moscow: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with Russian Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev on Tuesday night, reports Al Borsa. El Sisi said nice things about trade and manufacturing being drivers of economic growth, the newspaper says, with hallmarks of the president’s strategy for enhancing ties including the set-up of Russian industrial parks and the expansion of Soviet-era industrial complexes. Egypt also welcomes investment in the Suez Canal Corridor and the grain logistics hub. Earlier on Tuesday, President El-Sisi met with Sergey Naryshkin, speaker of the Russian Duma (parliament), to discuss inter-parliamentary cooperation, Ahram Online reports.

El-Sisi is set to meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin today. Russian news site Sputnik emphasizes that in addition to bilateral relations, President El Sisi’s meeting with Putin will also have the Syrian crisis as one of the “main problems under discussion.” Meanwhile, President El Sisi will reportedly not sign any nuclear power agreements during his Moscow visit, according to Ibrahim Asiri, advisor to the Minister of Electricity speaking to Al Mal. More on the visit in “Diplomacy,” below.

ON THE HORIZON

The Future of Energy in Egypt envisions Egypt becoming one of the Middle East’s top five energy exporters by 2030. The summit takes place 31 August – 1 September in Cairo.

Pharos 2015, taking place in Cairo from 1-3 September, will cast the Suez Canal Axis development project in the spotlight.

The Emirates NBD / Markit Economics Purchasing Managers’ Index for Egypt (as well as those for the UAE and Saudi) will drop on 3 September at around 7:30am CLT.

Nominations for the two-stage election for the House of Representatives are expected to open 13 September (TBC by the Higher Elections Committee).

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Tuesday night’s talk shows were as slow and uneventful as yesterday’s print and online news, forcing the talking heads to devote their primetime slots to discussions of the ongoing “meat boycott” and, God help us, population control.

Magdy El Galad, who is rapidly emerging as Lamis El Hadidy’s loyal second-in-command, led the night’s episode of Hona El Assema, opening with a short monologue on “Balaha Lahma.” The campaign is calling on Egyptians to boycott meat products to force avaricious vendors to lower their prices.

Mohamed Gad, spokesmen for the Balaha Lahma movement, then called-in to voice his grievances.

Gad: “We are facing problems with the private sector. Butchers are acting greedily, setting exorbitantly high prices without taking into consideration that most Egyptians cannot afford their product. … I appreciate the fact that ministers are supporting us. That said, their solidarity is not enough. We need the government to take action.”

Shortly after the call came to an end, El Galad announced his support for the movement, calling on his viewers to join the cause. “I call on all Egyptians to participate in this boycott. We can survive without it [meat],” said the Gandhi-esque El Galad. “I will not eat meat, until we can all afford it from Alexandria to Aswan.”

Meanwhile, Population Minister Hala Youssef gave ONTV’s Youssef El Housseiny, host of El Sada El Mohtaramoon, and a seminar on Population Control 101.

Youssef: “To lower Egypt’s population grow rate, we must reduce the country’s fertility rate. To do this, we have to provide women with reproductive education and contraceptives. Moreover, we must delay the age at which women marry, so that they [women] have a ‘smaller window’ for childbirth. Females under the age of 18 make up 15% of all marriages in Egypt. This number rises to 30% if we focus solely on rural areas.”

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SPEED ROUND

CIB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s retail business has received CBE approval. The agreement includes USD 140 mn in Citigroup’s assets, USD 190 mn worth of deposits, and nearly 100k accounts, Reuters reported. CIB announced the sale in early June, with Chairman and MD Hisham Ezz Al-Arab noting at the time that among the agreement’s primary attractions was “the high quality portfolio and excellent skill set of the [Citi] staff.” Although the transaction is reasonably small by comparison to CIB’s size and position in the domestic market, the agreement makes CIB the market leader in Egypt’s credit card business with the addition of some 80,000 credit card accounts to its existing base of 240,000 clients; CIB will also get eight Citi branches and the bank’s ATM network. Citi has roughly 900 staff in Egypt. Analysts expect the sale to close in late 2015.

Widening the tax-exempt income bracket to EGP 6,500 will cost the state EGP 2.5 bn in lost tax revenue, Finance Minister Hany Dimian said. The Ministry believes that the economic impact of increasing the exemption will be beneficial economically as the funds will be reinjected into the economy and savings will be encouraged.

London-listed Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH) reported 18% rise in revenues to EGP 493.2 mn and an 11% uptick year-on-year in normalized net profits as it released its results for 1H2015. The company, Egypt’s largest fully integrated private-sector provider of medical diagnostics services, listed on the LSE earlier this year, making its first-half financials the first it has released since it went public. “Our first-half results speak to both the robustness of our business model and to the depth of our management team,” said IDH CEO Hend El-Sherbini. “We have delivered double-digit top- and normalized bottom-line growth and inaugurated our central [automated] ‘Megalab’ while simultaneously concluding our very successful IPO.”Fun fact: IDH’s Megalab is occupies what was once EFG Hermes’ storied Tahrir Street headquarters in Dokki. Read IDH’s maiden earnings release here.

11 banks to participate in syndicated EGP 10 bn facility to EGPC in September: The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) will receive an EGP 10 bn loan next month, after inking a final agreement with banks. The facility will be used to help pay off debts to international oil companiesand to finance petroleum product imports. (Read in Arabic)

Switzerland is set to adopt a new law that will speed restitution of illicit funds stashed in Swiss banks, “where thousands of ‘politically exposed persons’ are believed to hold bank accounts,” a top Swiss official told Reuters. “I certainly would not tell you we have failed on prevention, but obviously we have to get better… The most important thing is we have the legal framework in place… Our aim is to minimize the accidents,” Valentin Zellweger, head of the Swiss Foreign Ministry’s federal department of international law said. Zellweger noted that cooperation with Cairo on returning funds linked to former President Hosni Mubarak has slowed down following the assassination of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat.

Mansour Group offered to put its Metro and Kheir Zaman labels on Food Industries Holding Company (FIHC) products, supply minister Khaled Fahmy told Al Shorouk. The proposal would have Mansour Group set its technical specifications for FIHC’s products as well as the quantities and market them at its outlets as its store-brands. Mansour also expressed its willingness to redevelop the Ministry’s rural outlets and improve their supply chains.

Grand Egyptian Museum to get international board of trustees: The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum will be governed by an independent, international directorship, according to antiquities minister Mamdouh el-Damaty speaking to AP. “We have a plan for it to have independence and an international board of trustees like the Library of Alexandria,” he told reporters at a news conference.

The Administrative Control Authority will be represented at the Legislative Reform Committee, according to a presidential decree on Tuesday. The move, announced in the Official Gazette, is a follow-up on the government’s heightened focus on administrative reform and combating corruption, as administrative reform will now guide policy and law. Prime Minister hinted at this a few days ago on a visit to Mansoura where he said that “combating administrative corruption must take precedence over fighting financial corruption.”

MOVES- Magdy Abdel Khaleq has been appointed Deputy Justice Minister for Judicial Security Affairs by order of the President. Still no word on the new Prosecutor General.

The newspaper establishment in Egypt is in an uproar after the censoring of certain newspapers such as Sawt El Omma, El Sabah, and El Masryoon and shuttering of Al Tahrir newspaper this month. This led to a number of prominent journalists to come out criticizing the state and its heavy handed approach when it comes to censorship. Secretary General of the Press Syndicate Gamal Abdel Rahim is railing against what he says are efforts to restrain freedom of the press, while journalist Abu Al Maaty El Sandouby called them unconstitutional. He also criticized the Press Syndicate for not taking a harder stance toward the government. Prominent members of the Press Syndicate have also called for greater protection of journalists who have found themselves unemployed due to closing of El Tahrir. They called on newspaper owners to provide pensions for workers in the event a newspaper is shut down.

With the proliferation of political parties post-revolution (106 and counting), Al Ahram ran an interesting piece on the nature of party funding in Egypt today and how financing mechanisms worked pre- and post-25 January. The article brings together the opinions of politicians and legal minds. Restrictions on foreign contributions under the Political Parties Law have been cited as a reason for why so many parties are essentially ineffective, both before and after the Revolution. According to poli sci professor Ahmed Yahya, this has led parties to turn to charities that are allowed to receive foreign donations. Abdel El Ghaffar Shokr, who heads the Popular Socialist Coalition Party, praised a model whereby the state provides parties with funds (naturally being a socialist), a model that was adopted under Mubarak.

Lebanon is planning a USD 1 bn stimulus package, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. With economic growth expected to range between 0-1% this year, Lebanon’s central bank is considering injecting a stimulus package that could be increased to USD 1.5 bn, bringing the total amount spent on the central bank’s assistance programme to USD 5 bn since 2013. It is expected that the central bank will make the funds available to commercial banks at an interest rate of 1%. … Meanwhile, the ongoing protests in Beirut stemming from the uncollected trash crisis grew more complicated on Wednesday, with Hezbollah throwing their weight behind the demonstrations, the AP reports. The protest demands have escalated to demand a resignation of the government, despite the country being without a president for over a year, and a parliament that has extended its own mandate twice, according to the AFP. The Cabinet on Tuesday rejected a new plan to manage Beirut’s sanitation on account of high costs, with Hezbollah’s members of Cabinet ultimately walking out of the meeting.

There’s so much wrong with this story, it’s hard to know where to start: MENA Fund Manager was out yesterday with a piece that uses the uptick in regional IPO activity in 1H2015 as a way into a claim that we will see “even more listings” in the second half. ‘Data provider’ Zawya, it says, “lists more than 50 companies planning to go public during the final six months of the year” and names “Egypt’s Qalaa Holdings” as being among them. Apparently, the good folks at MENA FM missed the little facts of low oil prices, the tanking of the Emaar Misr IPO and the recent “correction” in global markets. (Oh, and Qalaa Holdings? It’s been trading under CCAP on the EGX since it listed in December 2009.)

Apropos nothing whatsoever: We breathed a sigh of relief when we read the WSJ’s “People love your sarcasm, really,” which lets us know that sarcasm “can be good for everyone involved.” Writes the columnist: “Researchers don’t know if sarcastic people are smarter, but they do know that sarcasm requires abstract thinking—discerning meaning beneath the surface—which is known to be a hallmark of intelligence. Both women and men use sarcasm in the same amounts, experts say, but they believe that women are judged more harshly for it by society.” Either way, we like her recycling of Wilde’s note that sarcasm is the “lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.”

If you work in investment banking (just happen to find the Bulge Bracket a source of endless fascination), you won’t want to miss the FT’s ‘Investment banking: Titans retreat,’ which finds that only two of the world’s 10 largest global banks still make most of their revenues from investment banking. The text works well on mobile, but if you want to appreciate the accompanying slides, you’ll want to read this on your laptop / tablet / desktop.

***
A MESSAGE FROM PHAROS HOLDING

The EGP looks set to fall to 8.00 to the USD in the coming weeks and to 8.50 in 2016. You can thank a ‘Perfect Storm’ in emerging markets — and alarming CBE July data

We had accurately projected the two rounds of depreciation so far in 2015. Today, we project a third round to or above the EGP 8.00 per USD mark (average CBE auction rate) over the coming few weeks. We also see a fourth leg to / above the 8.50 mark in the first half of 2016. Why?

• The CBE’s reserve firepower has dwindled sharply in July 2015
• The near-term outlook for capital inflows has weakened materially post the recent rout in commodity prices; in the wake of the mass exodus from emerging markets; amid continued weakness in tourism receipts; and, most importantly, in the face of continued large-scale deficit monetization operations.
• Sustained loss of competitiveness amid flaring EM currency wars.

FX policy neutrality is no longer an option, in our view, and action will be taken sooner rather than later. This should provide a strong floor to Egyptian equities ahead of a projected Q4-15 rebound in oversold cyclical stocks and high-yield dividend plays.

Click here to read more on where we think you should be placing the EGP/USD rate in your 2016 budget.
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EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Turkish daily Sabah op-ed: ‘The West loves Egypt’s autocracy while showing visceral hatred toward Turkey’s democracy‘: “Western media outlets, based on the West’s centuries-old hate of the East, carried out a treacherous plan through the portrayal of Egyptian coup leader el-Sissi [sic] as a representative of democracy while portraying the democratically-elected President Erdoğan, who received 52 percent of public votes as a dictator.” Clearly someone hasn’t been reading Enterprise.

Paris-headquartered International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) published a critique of the French government’s support of Egypt and President El Sisi, equating the president with Bashar Al Assad. Assad has presided over a civil war which has resulted in over 200k deaths, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Monalisa Freiha, of Lebanese publication An-Nahar, questions Egypt’s “new” stance towards Syria in light of last week’s meeting between an Egyptian media delegation and several Syrian ministers as well as El Sisi’s visit to Russia. Freiha points to Al Masry Al Youm’s Suleiman Gouda’s stance, who was part of the media delegation, and said that even though he is not a supporter of Al Assad, it appears to him that Syria is fighting a war on terrorism and that reports on the regime’s violence seem “exaggerated.” She also cites Egyptian political commentator Hassan Nafaa in adding that, unlike regional neighbours, Egypt “doesn’t have a problem with Al Assad remaining in office or not … what’s important is the unity of the state and who takes over after Al Assad.” Nafaa, she says, is looking for pragmatic means for reconciliation. (Read in Arabic)

Hamad Al Majid, a columnist for Al Asharq Al Awsat, warns of the dangers of generalization when it comes to labeling Ikhwan as terrorists. He asks whether the terrorism reference is aimed towards those who pledged allegiance to their Supreme Guide or those who share their ideology but are not official members. If it’s the case of the former, it would be “political suicide” to try and eradicate the organization from its roots, he says. If it were the latter, then the application of the decision to label them would be impossible. Instead, Al Majid urges us to eliminate the polarization that is grappling the region and focus on what he calls “the real enemy”: Iran and Daesh. (Read in Arabic)

WORTH READING

ICYMI- In “Of Dogs, Faith and Imams“ for the New York Times, author Mohamed Hanif makes an impassioned case for dogs as the best friends of all ‘men’ — even observant Muslims. “Like them, I worry if it’s O.K. to care about a mutt when the world around us is falling apart. Then I tell myself it’s exactly when the world is falling apart that you should care about mutts. After all, our prophet cared about the safety of dogs in the middle of a battle.”

WORTH WATCHING

Fred Armisen’s rapid-fire, seemingly improvisational character on Saturday Night Live — political comedian Nicholas Fehn — may help momentarily distract you from the soul-crushing existential angst which you may or may not be experiencing. (Watch, running time: 4:37)

DIPLOMACY

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Moscow yesterday. The meeting involved calls to improve bilateral economic and political cooperation and both reviewed the geopolitical and security developments in the region, according to astatement by SIS.

President El Sisi’s latest state visit to Moscow comes on the heels of meetings taking place on Tuesday between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Jordan’s King Abdullah, according to Reuters. The meetings were held on the sidelines of Russia’s military air show MAKS, and were largely concerned with bringing about a resolution to the Syrian civil war. “We need to find a solution on Syria. Your role and the role of your country is vital in bringing together all the rival sides to a negotiating table towards a peace solution,” King Abdullah is reported to have said to Putin.

India FM urges release of six Indian sailors detained in Egypt for over 18 months: Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who wrapped up her visit to Cairo on Tuesday, urged her counterpart FM Sameh Shoukry for the release of six Indian sailors, Firstpost reports. The men have been detained for the past year and a half, though the report does not explicitly state the charges.

The COMESA Trade and Investment Conference will be postponed to 6-7 November, sources tellAl Mal. The conference was originally scheduled for October, but the African Development Bank subsequently called for it to be postponed. The conference is set to present investment opportunities in five sectors including communications, infrastructure, energy, and agriculture.

ENERGY

Electricity Ministry in talks with OC-led consortium for Suez wind project
Al Mal, Al Borsa | 25 Aug 2015
The Electricity Ministry is in talks with a consortium of Orascom Construction, GDF Suez (Engie), and Toyota to construct a 250 MW wind energy project in Suez, a source told Al Mal. The Ministry is reviving the talks after failing to reach a final agreement with an Actis-led consortium that had presented the lowest bid for the project. The project involves building the windfarm on a BOO basis with the CBE having already issued a USD 630 mn credit guarantee for the project ensuring the investment costs of the project are covered. (Read in Al Mal) The Electricity Minister has contracted Fichtner Consulting Engineers to evaluate the tender offers on a 250 MW wind power station in Gabal El Zeit. Four consortia are vying for the project: Toyota Tsusho with GDF and Orascom; Enel Dream Power; Lekela Power and Actis; and Terna, with the Toyota and GDF and Orascom consortium reportedly being the highest bidder at 4.7 cents per KW. (Read in Al Borsa)

Bapetco and Khalda pumping USD 23 mn to drill in limestone layers
Al Borsa | 24 Aug 2015
Shell’s Bapetco and Apache’s Khalda are investing USD 23 mn to drill for unconventional gas in limestone layers of the Apollonia concession. The two companies will begin hydraulic fracturing and are drilling two exploratory wells. Shell and Apache signed Egypt’s first unconventional gas E&P contract in December of last year and are set to begin production in 2016. (Read in Arabic)

Electricity Ministry cancels smart-metre tender
Al Borsa | 24 Aug 2015
The Electricity Ministry cancelled a tender to provide 50k smart electricity metres, according to Al Borsa. The companies bidding to provide the metres were not given reasons behind the cancellation, but sources said the tender will be replaced with a bigger one to provide 3 mn prepaid smart electricity metres. Sources added that 12 companies, including El Sewedy, Siemens, and Huawei, have expressed interest in bidding for the new tender. The Electricity Ministry is planning on using the smart metres to transform the electricity billing system to a prepayment one in order to give consumers more control over their electricity usage. (Read in Arabic)

MIDOR assessing the environmental impact of its refinery expansion project
Al Masry Al Youm | 25 Aug 2015
MIDOR held meetings with Alexandria’s Governor and representatives from the Environmental Affairs Ministry to assess the environmental impact of expanding the refinery. The project’s environmental consultant said MIDOR will reuse treated industrial water and will abide by emission-regulating standards stricter than the Environmental Affairs Ministry’s national requirements. MIDOR is engaged in a USD 1.4 bn project to expand its refineries and increases its middle distillates’ production. (Read in Arabic)

INFRASTRUCTURE

Ministry of Housing promises close supervision of 6 October, New Cairo water plants
Amwal Al Ghad | 25 Aug 2015
Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly is personally following progress at infrastructure projects including a water plant in 6 October City that he says is key to solving the ‘water crisis’ in Faisal and Haram, in addition to a large-scale New Cairo facility that will provide the water needs of both New Cairo and the new administrative capital. Madbouly’s remarks came as he announced he would hold weekly meetings to monitor the progress of 83 water and sewage projects awarded to subsidiaries of the Holding Company for Construction. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS + COMMODITIES

Egypt looking for Russian funds to upgrade Helwan Iron and Steel Co.
Youm7 | 25 Aug 2015
With President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on a three-day visit to Russia, Abdel Nour called in to El Hayah television yesterday for a chat and let slip that Egypt is looking for Russian investment in an upgrade of the deteriorating Helwan Iron and Steel Company. Abdel Nour, who noted that Russia supplies c. 50% of Egypt’s total wheat imports, noted that Egypt is in negotiations to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. (Read in Arabic)

Sudan seeking Egyptian investments in its gold extraction sector
Daily News Egypt | 24 Aug 2015
Sudan is urging the Egyptian government to encourage investment in Sudan’s gold extraction sector, according to Elgaili Mohamed Elbashir, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan. He added that the sector is particularly promising, but currently lacks the required investments. (Read)

Egypt’s Agro Experts engaged in Sudan irrigation project, mulls USD 20 mn listing
Al Mal | 24 Aug 2015
Egypt’s Agro Experts is implementing an irrigation system for its 34k feddan land in Sudan, Moustafa El Ahwal, the company’s Chairman told Al Mal. The project aims to reduce 30% of the cost of setting up an irrigation network, he added. Agro Experts had acquired the land for USD 32 mn on a 99-year usufruct agreement. El Ahwal said the company is also mulling listing 40% of its shares in Sudan and expects this to generate USD 20 mn. (Read in Arabic)

MANUFACTURING

Abdel Nour allows use of GOEIC labs to clear license backlog
Al Ahram | 25 August 2015
Industry Minister Moneir Abdel Nour ordered that the labs of the General Organization for Export & Import Control (GOEIC) should begin testing chemical samples (a prerequisite for licenses to import or export industrial chemicals), to clear a backlog at the Chemistry Administration’s labs. The decision comes after repeated calls by export councils for the Ministry to act. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH + EDUCATION

Pharmacist arrested for allegedly posting false information on Sovaldi on Facebook
Al Bedaiah | 25 Aug 2015
A pharmacist was arrested Tuesday morning in Nasr City for Facebook posts criticizing Sovaldi, a drug used to cure Hepatitis C, Al Bedaiah reported. Islam El Menshawi was arrested on charges of spreading fabricated news on social media that threatens the public interest, according to El Menshawi’s lawyer. On his Facebook page, El Menshawi reported grave side effects experienced by patients on the Sovaldi treatment. El Menshawi and his colleague Wael Ali had filed a complaint against the Minister of Health. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

Security forces disperse protesting residents of informal settlement in Dokki
AMAY, Egypt Independent, UNISDR | 25 Aug 2015
Security forces dispersed residents of an informal settlement in Dokki on Tuesday as they protested the demolition of their homes, saying that they had yet to receive replacement housing promised by the government, as reported by Al Masry Al Youm and Egypt Independent. “Mohamed al-Sheikh, secretary-general of Giza Governorate, told state agency MENA that the target recipients of the planned residential units stand at 145 families, adding that there had been 30 flats handed in a first stage, with the delivery of 75 others underway in the second phase,” Egypt Independent reported. The move flies in the face of comments made by Minister of State for Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements Laila Iskander earlier this year where shestated: “…We decided to take bold new steps, mainly one of no forced evictions. Prior to the establishment of my ministry in 2014, there had been many cases of forced evictions.” AMAY has footage of today’s incident. (Watch in Arabic, running time: 2:02)

Hassan Allam Construction contracted to build 1,200 apartments in Sharqiya
Al Borsa | 25 Aug 2015
Hassan Allam Construction won an EGP 115 mn contract to build 1.2k apartments as part of the second phase a public housing project in Sharqiya, beating 13 other participants in the tender. The Sharqiya Housing Authority has allocated 96.5 feddans to the 24-month project and will supply all the utilities, said authority head Mohamed Madkoor. He added that 70 parcels of land ranging in size from 1,000 m2 to 6,000 m2 will be up for grabs for commercial development within three months. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS + ICT

MCIT will not reduce mobile internet prices
Al Borsa | 25 Aug 2015
The MCIT has decided not to reduce prices for mobile internet “at this time” after cutting prices for high-speed broadband ADSL. The ministry had announced earlier that it will reduce internet prices across the board in Egypt, but will prioritize ADSL connections. Mobile internet generated EGP 7.2 bn in revenues in 2014, with the leading provider being Vodafone, which realized revenues of EGP 2.2 bn in 2014. (Read in Arabic)

AUTOMOTIVE + TRANSPORTATION

AF Automotive facing financial difficulties, production weakens
Daily News Egypt | 24 Aug 2015
AF Automotive, the Hossam Aboul Fotouh-owned Speranza agent in Egypt, has reportedly informed the Manpower Ministry it is experiencing financial difficulties. The agent’s employees had resorted to the Ministry to complain about not being paid. Hassan Aboul Fotouh, the company’s Chairman, told Daily News Egypt that AF Automotive “agreed with the Ministry of Manpower to settle the dispute and end the conflict” and said all dues will be settled within the next few months amidst anticipation of improved financial health. The company has been experiencing financial and operational difficulties since 2011, the newspaper alleges (Read)

Civil Aviation Authority approves the resumption of flights to Yemen
Amwal Al Ghad | 24 Aug 2015
Yemen Airways, Yemenia, said Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority gave it the green light to resume flights between Egypt and Yemen. Yemenia will resume flights to Sanaa and Aden and expects to return to its regular schedule once the situation in Yemen is resolved. Egypt now requires Yemenis aged 18-45 years old to obtain visas prior to flying to Cairo, others can obtain visas on arrival. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING + FINANCE

EEHC needs USD 525 mn loan to complete Assiut, Damietta power plants
Amwal Al Ghad | 25 Aug 2015
The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) is asking for a USD 525 mn loan from banks to complete the Assiut and Damietta power plants, a source within EEHC told Amwal Al Ghad. The loan is needed to pay the contracting companies Orascom Construction and General Electric. The first phase of the Assiut power plant complex involves generating 375 MW by operating three out of eight units and is being jointly built by Orascom Construction and General Electric. The total output after all units are operational ranges between 1000-1500 MW. The Damietta power plant outputs 250 MW and was built by Orascom Construction. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Egypt raises its contribution to the African Development Fund to USD 200 mn
Amwal Al Ghad | 25 Aug 2015
Egypt raised its contribution to the African Development Fund (ADF) to finance 50 infrastructure projects worth USD 200 mn, according to sources speaking to Amwal Al Ghad. Egypt had paid about USD 100 mn of its share in the fund. Last May, the African Development Bank launched the ADF in cooperation with People’s Bank of China with the aim of using its financial resources over the course of 10 years to fund infrastructure projects in the African continent. Total capital investments in the African Fund has reached USD 1 bn and counting. (Read in Arabic)

LEGISLATION + POLICY

Amendments to Insurance Supervision Law
Official Gazette | 25 Aug 2015
The President issued minor amendments to the Insurance Supervision Law, specifically amending articles concerning government insurance fund. Their purviews will be all incidents considered uninsurable by the private sector or anything the government deems worthy of coverage. These funds are to be authorized by the prime minister, with the terms and conditions of these funds to be determined by the appropriate minister and only after a lengthy study conducted by the fund’s management.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Bomb explodes in Al-Arish on Tuesday injuring civilian, conscript: A roadside bomb targeting a military vehicle injured at least one civilian and one conscript, according to DNE quoting Ahram. Civilian deaths occur almost daily, according to several North Sinai residents, DNE says.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

The Egyptian Automotive Council is set to convene today to add new local agents to its council, according to the its coordinating manager Hussein Mostafa speaking to DNE.

A party in outer space? Suntory, the Japanese liquor company, sent a case of whiskey to the International Space Station for scientific purposes. It wants to find out if the aging process occurs faster in space, positing that the microgravity environment of the Space Station makes it the perfect lab to test the hypothesis. An identical case containing five types of distilled spirits with 40% ethanol, will be stored for the next year in Japan to be used as the control group.

The Trade and Industry Ministry slapped a 54-77% antidumping tariff of imported blankets sourced from China, Al Masry Al Youm reported. Local producers complained that the imported blankets are damaging domestic industry.

The Administrative Court dismissed a case calling for blocking Facebook and all its applications in Egypt, Al Shorouk reported. The case was filed a lawyer claiming that the social network is corrupting society and spreading rumors.

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Tuesday, 25 August): 7.7301 (unchanged since Sunday, 05 July)
USD parallel market (Tuesday, 25 August): 7.97 (+0.02 from Sunday, 23 August, Reuters)

EGX30 (Tuesday): 6,836.95 (+2.75%)
Turnover: EGP 396.2 mn (15% below the 90-day average)

WTI: USD 39.56 (+0.64%)
Brent: USD 43.21 (+0.52%)

TASI: 7,543.1 (+7.4%)
ADX: 4,334.2 (+1.6%)
DFM: 3,558.4 (+4.6%)
KSE Weighted Index: 389.2 (+0.1%)
QE: 10,905.7 (+3.2%)
MSM: 5,760.3 (+0.4%)