PM — Abu Qir Fertilizers completes 10% share sale for EGP 2.25 bn.

We close out a busy week, with a very busy Thursday that spells a boom for our capital markets, ladies and gentlemen, with Abu Qir Fertilizers completing its stake sale and CI Capital getting the nod for its acquisition bid on a quarter of Cleopatra Hospitals Group. We also have good news on the inflation front as well.

But before we dive into it, it’s the 200th issue of EnterprisePM. And while not many of you readers may be counting, it means a lot to us that you’ve kept reading us these ten months. We hope to keep you guys updated and entertained in the afternoon for many more to come.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY-

Abu Qir Fertilizers completed the sale of 10% of its shares for EGP 2.25 bn to regional, international, and local institutional investors, according to a statement on the bourse today. The company’s second offering on the EGX was priced at EGP 17.8 per share. Abu Qir’s shares surged 20% on the news today, closing at EGP 22.11 and giving it a market cap of EGP 27.9 bn.

State privatization program revived: The sale, which follows the IPO of state e-payments giant e-finance, indicates that the long-dormant state privatization program is in full swing. Abu Qir had pushed back the secondary stake sale several times since first announcing it in 2018.

Next up is football club Ghazl El Mahalla is also set to make its debut on the EGX in a “micro-IPO” in two weeks.

Advisors: EFG Hermes acted as joint global coordinator and bookrunner on behalf of the selling shareholders: the National Investment Bank, Industrial Development Authority, Al Ahly Capital Holding, and Chemical Industries Holding Company. Renaissance Capital was joint financial advisor and bookrunner. CI Capital and Al Ahly Pharos were also tapped as underwriters on the transaction.

Also making a splash in capital markets is the Financial Regulatory Authority greenlighting CI Capital’s bid to acquire 26.21% of Cleopatra Hospitals Group, according to an FRA statement (pdf) to the bourse this morning. MCI Capital, the CI Capital subsidiary that’s executing the acquisition, has offered to purchase the shares at EGP 5 apiece. Cleopatra’s shares fell 1.1% to EGP 4.65 at closing time today.

Who’s selling: Creed Healthcare, which owns 37.9% of CHG through its subsidiary Care Healthcare, has agreed to sell an 8-12% stake in the company from its holdings (126 mn-192 mn shares) to MCI, CHG’s corporate strategy and IR director Hassan Fikry told us yesterday. Some 62% of the company’s shares are held by “others,” according to the company’s investor deck, which notes that key freefloat shareholders include Franklin Templeton Investments, VanEck, Norges Bank, Wasatch Funds, and Consilium Investment Management.MCI will likely acquire the rest of the shares through the EGX.

Annual urban inflation continued to decline in November, dipping to 5.6% from 6.3% in October, as prices of fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry dipped from the month prior, according to data released by Capmas today. On a monthly basis, headline inflation rose ever-so-slightly by 0.1%, following October’s 1.1% rise. The drop was expected, with analysts, including Al Ahly Pharos’ Radwa El Swaify telling us the drop was expected due to the base effect following months of rising prices. .

Interest rates under review next week: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its final meeting for the year to review interest rates on Thursday, 16 December. Look to our poll of analysts and economists on Sunday’s EnterpriseAM.

^^We’ll have more details on these stories and others in Sunday’s EnterpriseAM.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the other top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Sumed’s oil shipments at their highest in November since May 2020: Oil shipments through Egypt’s Sumed pipeline hit an 18-month high in November, with north of 700k bbl/d of crude flowing out of the pipeline last month.
• Minly acquires Emirati competitor Oulo: The Egypt-based customized celeb video platform acquired Oulo for an undisclosed amount. This comes six months after Minly closed a USD 3.6 mn seed round co-led by 4DX Ventures, B&Y Venture Partners, and Global Ventures.
• Government takes steps to stop robot takeover: Egypt wants to upskill the labor market to stop robots stealing our jobs or in other words,tackle the issue of jobs at risk due to automation.

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HAPPENING NOW- Egypt’s diplomacy is in full swing as Israeli Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo today, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The pair discussed updates on Egypt’s efforts to rebuild and help with the reconstruction of the Gaza strip. Not noted in the statement are reports in the Israeli press that the Israeli FM will return 100 stolen Egyptian antiquities that were confiscated in an attempt to smuggle them into Israel during the visit. Lapid also met with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati also landed in Cairo today for a one-day visit: El Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also met with Lebanon’s Prime Minister, alongside Foreign Minister Sameh to discuss bilateral cooperation, regional issues, and Lebanon’s current political scene, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The visiting PM also met with the Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abu El Gheit at the Cairo headquarters, according to a Lebanese cabinet statement.

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She’ll be coming round Hermoz when she comes: The Ever Given is fully loaded and making its way back to the Suez Canal next week, less than nine months after getting unlodged from the passageway, reports Bloomberg. The 400-meter-long container carrier reportedly agreed to pay the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) USD 540 mn in compensation for its six-day blockage of the vital trade artery in March of this year.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD- China is once again front and center of global headlines for all the wrong reasons.

First up, Fitch has finally declared Evergrande to be in “restricted default”, lowering its rating from ‘C’ to ‘RD’ after the property developer failed to meet bond payment deadlines earlier this week, according to a Fitch Ratings statement. This is the first official recognition of a default by Evergrande, the world's most indebted real estate company. Following claims from the company that it could fail to meet its obligations, Fitch expects that Evergrande bondholders can likely expect to recover no more than 10% of their claims, if anything, in the case of default, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the possibility of Evergrande’s default could give way to other defaults from Chinese firms — which Fitch also downgraded — such as real estate developer Hengda and Evergrande subsidiary Tianji. Nikkei Asia has the story.

Then there’s the Winter Olympics, as China cracks the whip on the US, UK, Australia, and Canada over boycotting the games due to be held in Beijing. Beijing threatened boycotting countries, saying they would “pay the price for their mistaken acts” of political manipulation, according to Reuters. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin also said that China had no plans to invite officials from Britain and Canada to the Games anyway and there was no fear that the countries’ absence could have a domino effect for other nations to opt out.

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HAPPENING SOON-

The Cairo Woodshow kicks off today at the Cairo International Convention Center

It’s the second day of the Global Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research which runs through to tomorrow at the St. Regis Al Masa Convention Center.

The new round of Silicon Waha’s Startup Factory will kick off tomorrow at the Assiut Technology Zone. The program will offer marketing tips and tricks for startup founders, who can apply here.

Young professionals have until next Sunday to apply to the McKinsey Forward program which focuses on leadership, business, and the transition to digital, McKinsey announced in a press release (pdf). The six-month program aims to teach participants how their business can combat challenges and use them to their advantage, integrate tech, and be adaptable and resilient during times of change. Forward will be available without charge to those eligible to apply, and one of the requirements is having less than five years of work experience. You can apply via this link before the deadline.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Booster shot registration: The Health Ministry will begin allowing senior citizens with chronic medical conditions, as well as all medical staff, to register for a booster covid-19 vaccine as of next Sunday, 12 December.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Yesterday’s sandstorm has given way to warmer weather: The weekend will see daytime highs of 24°C on Friday and Saturday while the mercury will fall to 12°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.

The pandemic continues to make the rich even richer, with the top 0.01% of individuals now holding 11% of the world’s wealth, according to the World Inequality Report 2022, recording the steepest increase in bn’aires share of wealth on record. The report showed that bn’aires own 3.5% of global household wealth in 2021, up from a little over 2% at the outset of the pandemic in 2020. Forbes’ annual list of bn’aires showed that 2,755 bn’aires had a net worth of USD 13.1 tn this year — up from USD 8 tn last year. In November, WFP Director David Beasley singled out bn’aires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to donate a fraction of their wealth to end world hunger.

Visa delves deeper into crypto with a new consulting arm. The world’s largest payment processor has launched an advisory service to help its clients navigate the world of cryptocurrencies, Reuters reports. Visa said its new practice is aimed at educating financial institutions about crypto, helping retailers attract customers with a crypto offering — including assets such as NFTs — and guiding central banks looking to explore digital currencies. The move comes after a global study by Visa showed that nearly 40% of respondents would be likely to switch primary banks to one that offers crypto products. Visa currently allows buying, selling and owning digital currency through its network, and has processed USD 3.5 bn in digital currency transactions through its crypto-linked card schemes.

Speaking of which, BTC mining is soaring — and so is the BTC hash-rate, rising to its highest rate since May, reports the Financial Times. The BTC hash-rate, which measures how difficult it is to create new coins and is reflected in computing power, rose as miners dedicated more computer resources to minting the digital coin. The energy-intensive process of BTC mining was outlawed in China in May as the Asian country ramped up efforts to slash emissions and produce its own digital currency, which sent miners to the US, Iceland, Norway and Canada, with the US emerging as the world’s biggest hub for minting BTC. Since September, crypto prices have been recovering, as has the capacity to mine the currency. Some US miners have forecast that they would hit record mining levels by the middle of next year as they ramp up production on new-generation equipment. For more about how crypto is mined, check out our two-part explainer on BTC mines.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

(all times CLT)

Calling all Bayern fans: FC Bayern: Behind the Legend is Amazon Prime’s newest sports documentary which explores the history and modern reality of the iconic German team. The doc follows the team from their victory in Lisbon in the 2020 Champions League final to the end of the 2020/21 season. It’s a great mix of the past and present, telling both human and logistical stories so that you get to know the people behind the club as well as the structure and business model that keeps it going.

⚽ The Arab Cup quarter-final match-ups: Egypt will face Group C runner ups Jordan while Algeria will face Morocco on Saturday at 9pm. The other half of the draw will see Tunisia compete against Oman at 5pm tomorrow while Qatar plays at 9pm.

Gameweek 16 of the English Premier League kicks off tomorrow, with a match between Brentford and Watford at 10pm. Meanwhile on Saturday, Man City will play against Wolves at 2:30, Chelsea against Leeds at 5pm, Liverpool against Aston Villa at 5pm, Arsenal against Southampton at 5pm, and finally Norwich City against Man United at 7:30pm.

La Liga is also coming back on Friday, with Mallorca and Celta Vigo set to hit the field at 10pm. On Saturday, Espanyol and Levante will start off the day at 3pm, while Alaves and Getafe play at 5:15pm, Valencia and Elche at 7:30pm, and Athletic Club and Sevilla at 10pm.

Serie A: Genoa will face Sampdoria at 9:45pm on Friday. There are three matches slated for Saturday including: Fiorentina versus Salernitana at 4pm, Venezia versus Juventus at 7pm, and Udinese versus Milan at 9:45pm.

The Champions League group stage finals came to a close yesterday. These are the top teams from each group:

• Group A: Manchester City
• Group B: Liverpool
• Group C: Ajax
• Group D: Real Madrid
• Group E: Bayern Munich
• Group F: Manchester United
• Group G: Lille
• Group H: Juventus

Meanwhile the runner ups are PSG, Atlético Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Inter Milan, Benfica, Villarreal or Atalanta, RB Salzburg, and Chelsea. In Sunday’s draw for the round of 16, the group victors will be drawn against the runners up.

Finally, there are tons of matches in the Europa League and the Conference League tonight. Napoli versus Leicester City promises to be an interesting match in the Europa League at 7:45pm while you can catch Roma versus CSKA Sofia in the Conference League at 7:45pm.

????EAT THIS TONIGHT-

As Christmas parties start to take place, here’s what to bring: Everyone loves chocolate, but what Oh Chocolatier (@ohchocolatier.eg) creates can only be described as edible art. They’re bite-sized chocolates are colorful and elegantly-designed and almost look too good to eat. They have a light blue, gold, and navy chocolate design that is simply gorgeous as well as chocolate bark with strawberries, pistachios, pretzels and more. What we’re most impressed with is their space collection, with every piece of chocolate alluding to a planet or galaxy. The flavors are also something to be excited about, including cinnamon butter cookie, hazelnut praline, salted caramel, blueberry, and coffee ganache. Bring a box of these chocolates with you to any Christmas party, and you’ll be sure to catch a few eyes.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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AUC is holding a Community Christmas Celebration where students and alumni can head to the New Cairo campus for carols, food, activities, a bazaar, and a Christmas tree lighting. The event will take place today until 7pm and tomorrow from 6-9pm.

Classic rock band 404 Band is playing at The Room Garden City today at 9pm. Tomorrow also has an event on, with BohemianProject holding a musical concert singing some of the biggest tunes from Broadway.

El Far3i and Amir Eid are hitting the stage at the Greek Campus on Friday from 5pm.

???? EARS TO THE GROUND-

WHAT’S NEXT- Harvard Business School discussions of current events that sit at the crossroads of business and culture: In podcast After Hours, Harvard Business School professors, Youngme Moon, Mihir Desai, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee, take apart the headlines from their different perspectives derived from race, gender, politics, and of course, a ton of business. It’s impressive how the three academics can infuse different variables into events taking place, pointing to connections and links you may not have noticed otherwise. The Harvard Business Review podcast offers an insightful view of the bigger picture, what moves it, and how all the headlines eventually stem down to a number of politicized themes. Recent episodes see the professors discuss The Future of Twitter and GE as conglomerates break up (something we delved into ourselves), Are Generational Stereotypes Fair? (ditto), Has Apple Peaked?, and The NFT Craze and The Future of Streaming Music.

Don’t be put off by the podcast delving into somewhat US-centric headlines: The hosts find a way to make what’s happening in their purview make sense to listeners worldwide in terms of their own landscapes. We often find their episodes timely with events taking place right here in Egypt. Case in point; this episode about Raising the Capital Gains Tax.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

What if you could see how people react to your death? That’s the main premise of fiction novel Dava Shastri's Last Day by Kirthana Ramisetti. When Dava Shastri, one of the world's wealthiest women, finds out she has terminal cancer, she decides to break the news of her death early to see the obituaries and find out what the world actually thinks of her. Shastri’s children are less than pleased with the idea and the entire book is rife with humorous, but complicated family dynamics that anyone can relate to. The thing is, while Shastri was a huge proponent for women’s rights and a generous philanthropist, the media decided to push that aside after her death and instead reveal devastating secrets that further complicate her last days alive on Earth, pretending to be dead. The book poses interesting questions about celebrity culture, how society values women, and the legacies we leave behind.

The EGX30 rose 0.7% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 2.06 bn (31.9% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 6.4% YTD.

In the green: Abu Qir Fertilizers (+20.0%), Heliopolis Housing (+7.5%) and Orascom Development Egypt (+5.1%).

In the red: Egyptian Resorts Company (-1.1%), Cleopatra Hospital (-1.1%) and CIB (-0.8%).

Pfizer CEO blames Pfizer itself and developing countries for their own low vaccination rates: The pharma manufacturing giant could have done more to improve low vaccination rates in developing countries, but the manufacturer’s efforts to ramp up supplies were met with hurdles such as poor infrastructure and vaccine hesitancy, CEO Albert Bourla said at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council yesterday. Several developing countries requested delays in vaccine shipments, Bourla said, though he admitted that these issues should have been anticipated and preempted through partnerships with NGOs.

Hold up: is this the same Pfizer that allegedly “bullied” low-income countries over vaccine contracts? The company has come under scrutiny in recent months over claims it imposed harsh and even abusive terms on countries in vaccine supply agreements. Unredacted contracts show that Pfizer prohibited Brazil from accepting donations of its vaccine or buying extra doses from other countries. The company is also accused of “holding to ransom” countries including Argentina over vaccine supply contracts, demanding states put up sovereign assets like embassy buildings as collateral against future legal cases, causing months-long procurement delays.

Calls to waive IP rights for vaccines have become more urgent on account of Omicron: The World Trade Organization (WTO) has delayed a conference scheduled for this week, where members were set to discuss a waiver of intellectual property rights on vaccines. The WTO cited renewed travel restrictions amid the emergence of Omicron as behind the delay, though health experts and countries including India and South Africa argue that the new variant only makes the task more pressing. Vaccine makers including Pfizer have repeatedly come under fire from health organizations and officials in low- and middle-income countries for refusing to waive IP rights to allow them to manufacture their own versions of the vaccine.

Especially as news surfaces that Omicron variant could be four times more transmissible than Delta, according to a study by a Japanese scientist Hiroshi Nishiura who advises the country’s health ministry. The scientist analyzed genoma data from Omicron cases in South Africa to compare them with previous findings on the delta variant.

Pfizer has the solution for Omicron… more Pfizer: A third dose of the Pfizer jab could “neutralize the Omicron” variant based on results from an initial laboratory study, Pfizer and BioNTech said in a statement picked up by Bloomerg. The findings could accelerate booster drives taking place across countries worldwide and transform the standard two-shot regimen into a three-shot inoculation to protect against variants, writes Bloomberg.