EnterprisePM — Only 714 women sat on Egypt company boards in 2020.

Good afternoon, everyone. And if your 10 year old hasn’t put you through the ringer of “April Fool’s” then give yourself a pat on the back for good parenting.

Someone who isn’t getting a pat on the back is The Guardian, which is out with April Fool’s piece on the Ever Given. Considering all the material that’s out there, we’re surprised they bothered with the dearth of joke writing talent on staff. We’ll let the late, great Desmond Llewelyn handle this one.

On to more serious business: Look for a busy week ahead in the news, as a number of key monthly indicators are out:

• PMI figures for will land on Monday, 5 April.
• Foreign reserves figures should be out next week;
• Inflation data for March will be out on or around Saturday, 10 April;
• “Summer hours” will come into effect for stores and restaurants as of 17 April.
• Interest rate day falls on Thursday, 29 April when the central bank meets to discuss policy rates.

Meanwhile, the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group are set to take place from 5-11 April. This year’s virtual meetings will bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics. The topics up for discussion include the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, aid effectiveness, and the global financial system. Some events will be open to the public and can be streamed live from the World Bank’s platform.

The government’s fuel pricing committee is scheduled to meet “within days” for its quarterly review of prices, reports El Watan, citing unnamed government sources. Faced with slightly higher global oil prices, the committee could hike prices this time around, after leaving rates steady since last April.

CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from this morning’s issue of EnterpriseAM:

• Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ is acquiring 100% Amoun Pharma in a USD 740 mn transaction. The selling party is Canada’s Bausch Health.
• Our first 854k-dose batch of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines from the Gavi / Covax program has landed in Egypt, and there’s speculation that another 4 mn doses could be here in April.
• Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are reportedly heading back to the negotiating table this Saturday in the nth attempt to resolve the GERD impasse. The sitdown comes after intensive diplomacy from the Sisi administration to build support from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the GCC and Europe.

On that last note, Sudan has called on the US to pressure Ethiopia to not fill the dam before reaching a legally binding agreement with all countries involved in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) impasse, according to a Tweet from Sudan’s Foreign Ministry. Sudan’s foreign ministry has previously requested a four-party mediation from the United Nations, African Union (AU), the EU and the US last month, a notion Ethiopia pushed back on.

DATA POINT OF THE DAY: Passenger car sales were down 2% year on year in February, snapping an eight-month growth streak. EGX-listed GB Auto saw its combined volume of Hyundai, Geely, Chery and Mazda sales rise 17% to more than 2.6k units. The wider market for all vehicles declined 1% year-on-year to nearly 22.2k units, with bus sales down 20% and truck sales up 21%, according to figures from industry group AMIC.

IN COVID NEWS heading into the weekend, it’s Lockdown CCCXI: France is going into its third national lockdown and the Canadian province of Ontario is pulling the “emergency break” and slapping on new restrictions for 28 days starting Saturday. Germany has extended its lockdown until mid-April, and Austria, Norway and Switzerland have all tightened measures.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The HVAC-R Egypt Expo kicked off today and will run until Saturday at the Egypt International Exhibition Center in New Cairo. The fifth annual expo for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and energy and brings together more than 170 national and international operators with different suppliers.

The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization will open this Saturday in El Fustat. Local and international visitors alike will pay less for admission for the first two weeks to explore the museum’s central hall, according to a cabinet statement. Meanwhile, the Royal Mummies Hall will be ready for visitors starting 18 April.

That means the Pharaoh’s Golden Parade will make its way across Cairo this Saturday, transferring 22 mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in colorful and ornate parade cars. The parade will start by circling the obelisk at the nearby Tahrir Square before running along the Nile and concluding at the mummies' new, permanent home at the museum. You can get a sneak peek of what the procession will look like with Al Akbar Al Youm’s video of the rehearsal. The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry has also produced a stunning video featuring actors and public figures to introduce the new museum.

The Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum will reopen after 10 years of closure this Sunday, 4 April, according to a statement (pdf) by the Culture Ministry. The museum is located in Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil’s palace built in the early 20th century and houses the family’s expansive collection of masterpieces by great artists such as Paul Gauguin, Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, John Jongkind and Charles Francois Daubigny.

AUC is holding “MySafeUni Day” on Monday, 5 April — an event full of activities and discussions focused on ensuring campuses are safe from [redacted] harassment. AUC alumni will be given audience-led conversations on the topic including AUC’s Social Research Center Professor Hania Sholkamy, adventurer Omar Samra, and opera singer Gala El Hadidi.

The Spring Flowers Exhibit (Ma3rad El Zohoor) is currently taking place at Orman Botanical Garden in Giza. More than 200 exhibitors have set up shop to sell flowers, plants, agricultural products, and gardening equipment. The exhibit runs through 13 April.

???? FOR YOUR COMMUTE-

Swiss crop-trading blockchain startup Cerealia is using NFTs to trade grain, creating a NFT backed by 30k tonnes of Mexican white corn. Using tokens could help eliminate physical documents and costs associated with many grain transactions that take place over the counter, “opening up trading to other players including hedge funds, banks and other investors,” CEO Filipe Pohlmann Gonzaga told Bloomberg. Cerealia’s move could mean setting up a system that allows financial institutions and speculators to take part in the grain trade without having to take physical delivery of the commodity. The company in recent years expanded into Egypt, Brazil, and Ukraine, and is moving towards Singapore and sub-Saharan Africa next.

Financial markets aren’t done with NFTs just yet: An investment vehicle called NFT Investments announced it intends to raise USD 13.7 mn by floating on London’s niche Aquis Stock Exchange Global Market, reports Reuters.

Bad timing? The NFT craze is starting to cool as asset pricing approaches corrective territory, as daily sales volumes fall from an average USD 19.3 mn to USD 3.03 mn in late March, Bloomberg reports. While the rapid drop in NFT value indicates waning interest in the digital asset as its novelty fades, some artists think it's partially due to poor quality work “with distinctly sexist and racist overtones” in the market right now, digital artist Kataoka told Bloomberg.

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???? Egypt’s handball team will be in Group B in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, alongside Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Japan, and Bahrain, the International Handball Federation announced on Twitter. The group is anything but easy, with Denmark being a two-time World Champion, and Sweden being last edition’s finalist, but Ahram Online writes that our performance against Denmark in the Men’s Handball World Championship was “a spirited display” and us at Enterprise believe we have a good chance. Meanwhile, Group A includes Norway, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain, and Argentina. The Olympics will take place from 23 July to 8 August.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

Egyptian-produced animated film The Knight and The Princess is coming to Netflix today. The 2019 film aimed to tell an Arab story featuring a real Arab hero and is premised on the belief that “Arab stories are better told from an Arab perspective by Arab talents.” It follows a warrior who is determined to save abducted women and children, leading him to confront a brutal tyrant and a devious sorcerer.

⚽ There are no football matches on today thanks to the international break, but domestic leagues will return tomorrow.

The Egyptian Premier League returns tomorrow with two matches. Wadi Degla will play against El Entag El Harby at 5pm, followed by Misr Lel Makkasa and Smouha at 9pm. La Liga is coming back tomorrow with a match against Levante and Huesca at 9pm, while Saturday will see Real Madrid play against Eibar.

Al Ahly is playing against Sudan’s Al Merrikh on Saturday in a CAF Champions League group stage game. Al Ahly ranks second in their group with seven points from four matches. El Zamalek also has a match for the league on Saturday, playing against Algeria’s MC Alger at 9pm.

The English Premier League is also resuming on Saturday, with gameweek 30 kicking off with Chelsea and West Brom at 1:30pm, Leeds and Sheffield United at 4pm, Leicester City and Man City at 6:30pm, Arsenal and Liverpool at 9pm.

Finally, Serie A is coming back full force with 10 matches. Matches to look out for include Milan and Sampdoria at 12:30pm, Torino and Juventus at 6pm, and Bologna and Inter Milan at 8:45pm.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Nuwa is a recently opened pan Asian restaurant, that brings flavorful dishes from China, Japan, India, and Thailand to Umm El Donia. Their plates come full of high quality ingredients, colorful veggies, and delicious sauces while their sushi is perfectly put together in detailed rolls. We recommend their butter chicken, fried egg noodles, and beef teriyaki. For a non traditional dessert try their matcha chocolate fondant that plays with both common and exotic flavors. You can find Nuwa at Sheikh Zayed’s Capital Promenade and New Cairo’s Garden 8.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

ElSakia Puppet Theatre is holding two Om Kalthoum puppet concerts tonight, this time performing Sert El Hob and Baeed Anak. The first performance will take place at 6pm and the second at 8pm.

El Sawy Culture Wheel is also having three rock bands this Saturday in their CTRL ALT ROCK night. The bands are Cairopathix, 404Band, and Linkin Park tribute band Figure 09.

Tintera Photographic Art Consultancy will be hosting Swedish artist Xenia Nikolskaya as she presents her newly published book, The House My Grandfather Built, with an artist talk and book signing on Saturday, 3 April at 4:30-6:30pm. The book won the Swedish Photobook Award for 2021. You can reserve a seat for the event by emailing zein@tintera.art.

The Cairo Flea Market will be holding a Ramadan Street Market this Friday at Sheikh Zayed’s Walk of Cairo.

You could also check out the new museums opening this weekend and the mummies parade. Circle back to Circle Your Calendar for more on those.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Values: Building a Better World for All written by economist and former governor of Canada’s central bank Mark Carney aims to create a framework on how to build an economy and society based not on market values but on human values. Carney looks at growing inequality, systemic racism, health and economic crises from the pandemic, mistrust of experts, climate change, and the rise of robots, concluding that they all stem from a common crisis in values. Every chapter contains ideas on how to reform our infrastructure to make things better and fairer while restructuring society in a way that prioritizes our human values and ensures we leave a better world for generations to come.

???? TOMORROW’S WEATHER- This weekend will be the last of cold days for a while before we go into another dusty heat wave. Expect daytime highs of 21°C on Thursday and 25°C on Friday before we hit the 30s on Monday, our favorite weather app tells us. Wednesday will be the hottest of the next seven days at 35°C.

Over 577 mn shares of Macro Group Pharma will be listed on the EGX on Monday ahead of the company’s IPO, after the EGX listing committee approved the move yesterday, according to an EGX statement. Trading on shares is scheduled to begin on 19 April under ticker symbol MCRO.CA. The subscription period for the retail portion of the offering is slated for 8-14 April.

The group had priced its IPO at EGP 5.30-6.15 per share, according to a previous statement (pdf). The transaction will see 45.8% — or some 264.5 mn shares — of Egypt’s largest and fastest-growing cosmeceutical company offered in a secondary sale. The sale includes offerings to institutional investors locally and abroad, with a retail offering for Egypt only also in the books. The indicative price range values the company, pre-offering, at between EGP 3.1 bn and EGP 3.6 bn.

Background: Macro was established in 2005 and enjoys a market share of over 23%. The IPO comes with 80 new products expected to roll out in 1H2021. Currently, it has 125 cosmeceutical and nutraceutical products in the market, which are sold over the counter. Last year’s revenues reached EGP 430.5 mn (with a 2018-2020 CAGR of 34%) and EBITDA stood at 187 mn (92% CAGR on the same period).

Advisors: CI Capital and Renaissance Capital are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners. White & Case is international and (with MHR & Partners) local counsel, while Dechert LLP and Zaki Hashem & Partners are counsels to the joint global coordinators and bookrunners. Inktank is the investor relations advisor.

Women made up only 13% of board seats in Egypt’s companies in 2020, with a total of 714 holding seats, up 30% y-o-y from 2019, the Women on Boards Observatory annual report states. Just over 57% of EGX-listed companies have at least one woman on their boards, up from 46.5% in 2019, said the report. The observatory, which was founded in 2017 by the AUC School of Business, monitors the amount of women on boards of companies listed on the EGX, companies regulated and registered with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), Public Enterprises Ministry companies and banks.

The Egyptian Media Production City has the highest number of women on its board amongst EGX-listed companies, with 7 out of 16 board seats being held by women. It is followed by Marine and Oil Services with 6 women on its 14-member board. The Public Enterprise Ministry company with the highest number of women on its board is Memphis Pharmaceuticals, with 3 women and 2 men.

Real estate appears to be the sector with the most women board members, with 34 women sitting on boards of EGX-listed firms, the report shows. However, this only makes up 6% of the total board members in the sector. In percentage terms, the energy and support services sector tops other sectors with 30% women board members.

A long way yet to go: To reach the observatory’s 2030 strategy target, an additional 945 women need to be added — or an average of 95 women annually. “320 women in EGX-listed companies, 50 women in banks, 95 women in public enterprise companies and 480 women in FRA companies are needed to join boards until 2030,” according to the report.

SMART POLICY- The FRA’s Egyptian Institute of Directors is offering women a 50% discount for its Certified Board Member Certification program, the regulator’s training arm said in an announcement picked up by local media. The program is funded by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and aims to increase the number of women on company boards. Women who complete the certification will also be included in the institute’s database of board-ready individuals. The FRA had previously mandated that all EGX-listed companies have at least one woman on their board by the end of 2020.

The continental leader in the number of women on boards is South Africa, with 29%, Bloomberg reports. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the only developing country bourse that beat the Group 20 average of 20%. South African women chair 11% of companies, also beating the G20 average of 5.5.%.

Japanese sanitizer maker Saraya is planning to build a USD 10 mn sanitizer and cosmetics factory complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), according to a statement by the Egypt-Japan Business Council. The complex will serve as an export base for the company’s products to MEA and other countries, in cooperation with the General Authority of the SCZone, VP of Saraya Egypt and Middle East Nabil El Mougi told local media.

CATCH UP QUICK-

• President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated state-owned medical city complex GYPTO Pharma, which at 180k sqm is considered the largest pharma production hub in the Middle East. The move is hoped would transform Egypt into a regional center for safe and affordable meds, according to a statement by Ittihadiya. You can watch the full inauguration event from TeN TV (watch, runtime: 02:09:54).

The EGX30 ended today’s session flat on turnover of EGP 1.0 bn (30.8% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 2.6% YTD.

In the green: Heliopolis Housing (+7.7%), Cleopatra Hospital (+4.1%) and Orascom Financial (+3.2%).

In the red: Abu Qir Fertilizers (-2.1%), CI Capital (-1.5%) and CIB (-1.0%).

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Pharos topped the March brokerage league table with a market share of 31.4%, EGX figures (pdf) showed. Traditional first-place holder EFG Hermes came in second at 10.2%. Rounding out the top five: CI Capital (6.9%), Beltone (5.9%), and Mubasher (4.2%).

EARNINGS WATCH-

Arabia Investments Holding’s (AIH) FY2020 net profits increased 15% y-o-y to EGP 95 mn from EGP 83 mn last year, according to a company earnings release (pdf). Revenues for the year were up 31% y-o-y to EGP 1.6 bn, driven by 30.6% y-o-y growth in construction and building materials revenues, and a 39% y-o-y growth in the non-banking financial services (NBFS) revenues. Subsidiary UE Finance saw its portfolio increase 175% y-o-y to EGP 2.3 bn.

Looking ahead, AIH plans to double its business over the coming three years through new services and products, expanding geographically, and adding new investments and companies to its NBFS portfolio.

Sinai Cement reported a net loss of EGP 560 mn in FY2020, down 26% y-o-y from a net loss of EGP 446 mn last year, the company said in its earnings release (pdf). Total sales revenues for the year grew 18% y-o-y to EGP 889 mn from EGP 752 mn in 2019.

Global IPO activity had its best first quarter in history, with proceeds raised throughout the first three months of 2021 more than 6x what was raised during 1Q2020. New listings so far into the year made a whopping USD 220 bn, compared to just USD 37 bn in 1Q2020. Vaccine optimism, low interest rates in developed countries, and new stimulus led to over 600 new issuances, the most ever at such an early point of a year, says Bloomberg. While capital generation is going through what could be its strongest point in history, the special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that had fueled the boom are coming under increasing regulatory scrutiny, and borrowing costs are continuing to rise amid record US treasury yields.

Businesses are “recognizing the power of public markets,” and the efficiency of raising capital through IPOs, NYSE Euronext President Stacey Cunningham told Bloomberg (watch, runtime: 9:39), with companies rushing to go public in past months to take advantage of high investor demand and record equity valuations. Europe is also starting to emerge from a two-year IPO lull, with Vodafone Group’s Vantage Towers raising EUR 2.3 bn in its listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange last month.

But could the SPAC bubble pop? The fact that over half of the proceeds raised in the IPO market so far into the year was through SPACs that have no actual business except to raise money for future acquisitions is also fueling worries of a potential equity bubble. While SPACs are raising more and more, 75% of those tallied by Bloomberg had not yet announced a target, and would have to return the money raised if they do not manage an acquisition within the two year deadline. If they do successfully acquire a company, that could cut back on potential IPOs in the future, with each acquisition a foregone IPO in the making.

Regulators are concerned that the SPAC frenzy could end badly, with the US securities and exchange commission demanding information from a number of Wall Street banks in recent days about their underwriting activities in the SPAC market and how they’re managing risk. Short sellers are also getting in on what is increasingly looking like a bear market, with the value of short positions taken against SPAC shares tripling to USD 2.7 bn since the start of the year.

And cross-border IPOs could hold other hidden risks: The China-led boom in cross-border activity, which is driven by more and more foreign companies looking to the US in search of higher valuations and experienced investors comes with its own set of dangers, Brooke Masters writes in an op-ed for the Financial Times. Nearly 40% of IPOs in the US this year weren’t by American companies, the highest ratio in almost two decades, Refinitiv data shows. US-based investors find those listings appealing as they offer a chance to tap into growing overseas markets through their domestic exchange. But these investments can be riskier, as non-US companies are subject to regulatory changes in their home countries that are harder to anticipate, and could have corporate structures that restrict minority rights.

RLX technology is a shining example: Last week, China’s largest manufacturer of e-cigarettes, NYSE-listed RLX Technology, saw its share price tumble after reports emerged that Beijing was looking at tightening vaping regulations. This was despite the company having seen its stock double on its IPO day earlier this year. Stocks of other Chinese companies were also broadly hit after announcements that the Biden administration would move ahead with Trump-era plans to delist China-based firms from the US due to an alleged lack of financial transparency.

Further volatility is expected down the road: Investors are anxious about a shift away from tech and stay-at-home stocks that benefited most from lockdowns. Rising bond yields could also draw investors away from the stock market. “Demand for IPOs remains high, although as yields rise it is possible that some of the lofty valuations may need to be revisited,” Lewis Grant, a senior portfolio manager at the global arm of Federated Hermes, said. An index that tracks SPAC listings dropped 17% from a February high, suggesting that the curve of the main driver of the IPO boom won’t be climbing upwards much longer.

April: The government’s fuel pricing committee is scheduled to meet for its quarterly review of prices

1-3 April (Thursday-Saturday): HVAC-R Egypt Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo.

5-11 April: The Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group will take place virtually.

5-6 April (Monday-Tuesday): Cityscape Egypt virtual conference on real estate investment.

6 April (Tuesday): French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Egypt working breakfast with Sovereign Fund of Egypt CEO Ayman Soliman.

7 April (Wednesday): British-Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) webinar on digital banking and fintech.

8-10 April (Thursday-Saturday): The TriFactory’s Endurance Festival at Somabay.

12 April (Sunday): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Egypt for GERD talks (watch: runtime: 1:28).

13 April (Monday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

25 April (Sunday): Sinai Liberation Day.

29 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC),

29 April (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1 May (Saturday): Labor Day (national holiday).

2 May (Sunday): Coptic Easter Sunday.

3 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

13-15 May (Thursday-Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25-28 May (Tuesday-Friday): The World Economic Forum annual meeting, Singapore.

1 June (Tuesday): The IMF will conduct a second review of targets set under the USD 5.2 bn standby loan approved in June 2020 (proposed date).

7-9 June (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo, Egypt.

17 June (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

17-20 June (Thursday-Sunday) : The International Exhibition of Materials and Technologies for Finishing and Construction (Turnkey Expo), Cairo International Conference Center.

24 June (Thursday): End of the 2020-2021 academic year (public schools).

26-29 June (Saturday-Tuesday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center, Cairo, Egypt.

30 June (Wednesday): 30 June Revolution Day.

30 June- 15 July: National Book Fair.

1 July: (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 30 June Revolution.

1 July (Thursday): Large taxpayers that have not yet signed on on to the e-invoicing platform will suffer a host of penalties, including removal from large taxpayer classification, losing access to government services and business, and losing subsidies.

19 July (Monday): Arafat Day (national holiday).

20-23 July (Tuesday-Friday): Eid Al Adha (national holiday)

23 July (Friday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

5 August (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

9 August (Monday): Islamic New Year.

12 August (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year.

12-15 September (Sunday-Wednesday): Sahara Expo: the 33rd International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East.

16 September (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

30 September-2 October (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Projects 2021 expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1 October (Friday): Expo 2020 Dubai opens.

6 October (Wednesday): Armed Forces Day.

7 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Armed Forces Day.

12-14 October (Tuesday – Thursday) Mediterranean Offshore Conference, Alexandria, Egypt

18 October (Monday): Prophet’s Birthday.

21 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Prophet’s Birthday.

28 October (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1-3 November (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Energy exhibition on power and renewable energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt

1-12 November (Monday-Friday): 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, United Kingdom.

29 November – 2 December (Monday-Thursday): Egypt Defense Expo

13-17 December: United Nations Convention against Corruption, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

16 December (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

27 June – 3 July 2022 (Monday-Sunday): World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

Note to readers: Some national holidays may appear twice above. Since 2020, Egypt has observed most mid-week holidays on Thursdays regardless of the day on which they fall and may also move those days to Sundays. We distinguish below between the actual holiday and its observance.