PM — Walking the talk

Good afternoon, folks: It’s a good news / bad news sort of afternoon, with reports of new investment into Egypt’s healthcare sector and new developments in FAB’s potential acquisition of EFG Hermes being balanced with the increasing prospect of major conflict in Europe. Let’s get to it.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- EFG looks to appoint advisors for FAB acquisition bid: EFG Hermes’ board of directors agreed on Thursday to proceed with appointing an international financial advisor and local counsel for its potential acquisition by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the leading financial institution announced today in an EGX disclosure (pdf). The Emirati lender last week announced that it had offered to purchase at least 51% of EFG for EGP 19.00 a share.

#2- Alta Semper to invest Macro proceeds in healthcare? Private equity player Alta Semper Capital could invest part of the proceeds from the sale of its shares in Macro Group’s IPO into the Egyptian healthcare sector, according to a report in the local press, which cites Managing Director Ahmed Rady. The firm made USD 85 mn selling its stake in Macro during its IPO last week, handing it spare capital to deploy to the sector.

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

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

• M&A in Egypt continued to accelerate in 2H2021 as waning pandemic uncertainties and cheap international borrowing rates fuelled a rebound in transaction volumes following the covid shock in 2020, according to a Baker McKenzie report.
• The Madbouly government wants our first Samurai bond issuance to be fully guaranteed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to ensure strong investor participation.
• The private sector was Egypt’s leading wheat importer last year: Private sector wheat imports surpassed purchases by the state-run General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) in 2021 — and could continue to lead Egypt’s wheat imports.

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HAPPENING NOW-

The Senate gave its final approval to the draft Labor Act earlier today, Al Masry Al Youm reports. The Senate will now pass the bill back to the House of Representatives for final approval. The law would, if enacted, extend both maternity leave and notice periods, cap working hours, and change minimum raise increments, among other things. We have an explainer on the bill’s finer points here.

The draft Ins. Act, meanwhile, is up for debate at the Senate’s Financial Affairs Committee today and tomorrow, Ahram Online reports. The bill would make the Financial Regulatory Authority the primary regulator for the ins. sector and make ins. compulsory for SMEs and freelancers.

The Arab Sustainable Development Week is ongoing and will run until Tuesday at the Arab League headquarters and the Nile Ritz Carlton.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Talk of war in Ukraine is still front-page news everywhere you look this afternoon: As Western nations move to pull non-essential diplomatic staff from Ukraine and advise citizens to evacuate, some airlines are now canceling or diverting flights to the country on fears that war is imminent between Moscow and Kiev, according to the Associated Press. More than a dozen countries, including the US, the UK, and Germany, have told their nationals to leave Ukraine as Russia continues its war games in Belarus, amassing an estimated 100k troops along Ukraine's border.

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FOR TOMORROW- The three-day Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) begins at the Egypt International Exhibition Center tomorrow, and runs until Wednesday.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

An art exhibition featuring work from marginalized children will be held at Townhouse Gallery from tomorrow until Saturday. The event is organized by the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, AlexBank, Townhouse Gallery, Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment, and Ubuntu Art Gallery.

PSA- Companies that are required to sign up to the sixth phase of the rollout of the government’s electronic invoicing platform must do so by Tuesday. Over 31k companies had signed up by January to the Tax Authority’s e-invoicing system for B2B transactions, Egyptian eInvoicing.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a daytime high of 21°C tomorrow, while the mercury will fall to 9°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.

With the COP presidency still in hand, the UK is struggling to “walk the talk” when it comes to green promises, writes the Financial Times. Since COP26 in Glasgow, the UK COP team have been meeting with delegations from countries around the world to hammer out green agreements. Britain is also working to push the global implementation of the broad agreements delivered in Glasgow, which focus on coal, carbon markets, financing for developing nations and national climate targets. At the same time, however, UK leaders have failed to stick to a common narrative around the green transition, instead defending new oil and gas projects and refusing to impose a windfall tax on the sector as surging energy costs put pressure on households and companies.

Climate targets are taking a backseat thanks to the energy crisis, which is “squeezing the political space for countries to focus on their climate change policy,” Alex Scott, who works at the climate think-tank E3G, told the FT. This is putting the UK’s COP team in the tricky position of pushing other countries to accelerate their green energy plans at the same time as the government stalls on its own domestic climate agenda.

Egypt will be handed the COP presidency in November as the country hosts COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. Until then, it’s likely that Egypt will increase its diplomatic push ahead of the climate forum, similar to the 460 UK climate attaches who helped to lobby ministers worldwide ahead of Glasgow, the FT writes.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Automotive players are reskilling for the electric future: Bosch, Europe’s premier auto parts supplier, will spend EUR 2 bn to retrain its workers for the shift from fuel-powered engines to electric vehicles, the FT reports. The German company’s move aims to limit job losses caused by the EU’s plan to ban new fossil-fuel cars by 2035, which threatens the livelihood of thousands of workers across the continent.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

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Another one for true crime show fans: Catching Killers talks to the investigators behind cracking infamous serial killer cases, retelling the harrowing and suspense-filled details of the process of finding these criminals. Season two of the show has just been released, looking at three different cases in the US and Canada. The first looks at BTK, a Kansas serial killer who re-emerges after 30 years of hiding, leading investigators to use DNA technology and garner help from the media to catch their guy. The Phoenix Serial Shooter is another case in the US, in which the killer sees murders as a sport as he targets random pedestrians on the streets. Finally, the Toronto Village Killer gets two episodes which explore how men with similar features were being reported missing in Toronto in a horrific story of cannibalism.

⚽ The chase continues between Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the English Premier League today. Liverpool will be looking to narrow the gap between them and league leaders Man City to nine points when they kick off against relegation-threatened Burnley at 4pm. At the same time, Newcastle will play against Aston Villa and Tottenham against Wolverhampton. Later today at 6:30pm, Leicester City will face West Ham.

In La Liga: Barcelona will host Espanyol in the “Catalonia derby” at 10pm, with Blaugrana fans hoping for a victory that will propel the team to third place in La Liga. Other matches in the Spanish League today include Levante versus Real Betis at 5:15pm and Real Sociedad against Granada at 7:30pm.

In Serie A: Juventus are looking to cement their coveted fourth-place position when they meet fifth-placed Atalanta at 9:45pm. Only two points separate the two sides, with Atalanta having a game in hand.

Pyramids and Al Masry begin their journey in the group stage of the African Confederation Cup today. Al Masry is now playing against Cameroon’s Coton Sport in a match that started at 3pm, while Pyramids hosts Al Ahly Tripoli of Libya at 6pm.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Stop by Pizza Near Me for a slice of deliciousness: The new pizza deli in Arabella Plaza has tray after tray of pizza coming fresh out of the oven all day, serving customers by the slice or by a portion of the tray. The owner has other pizza places in Italy and Malta, but decided to venture into Egyptian bellies with the new food joint. The hot pizza options include staples such as pepperoni, mozzarella funghi, and vegetarian. However, if you want to try something a bit new, go for their eggplant-focused pizza (melanzane) or the tacchino patate mozzarella which has turkey, potatoes, and spicy olive oil. Pizza Near Me also has cold pizzas topped with tuna, salmon, or shrimps. For a sweet treat, you can go for their stuffed Nutella pizza.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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The Unuk Dance Collective is ongoing, with different workshops and performances everyday. Today’s event is a Qigong workshop where participants will be led through the Chinese exercises that aim to improve qi (energy) circulation and the function of organs. The workshop will take place at 7pm at Dokki’s Cultograph.

Medrar is hosting the solo exhibition Guideposts by Bassem Yousri in which he is “investigating the form and function of structures born of a culture of improvised troubleshooting in a shifting cityscape.” The exhibit will run until 10 March.

Komedy Koshk will be performing tonight at The Room New Cairo at 8:30pm.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

The importance of democratizing access to tech: Dignity in a Digital Age, written by US Congressman Ro Khanna, looks at the unequal distribution of tech within the US and the effect it has on people, education, jobs, and the economy. After the pandemic underlined the necessity of tech adoption, it is even more important now to bring in those left behind by the digital revolution, Khanna argues. The book features insights from several political philosophy and economics experts, who alongside Khanna, suggest that the approach of “progressive capitalism,” can help democratize access to tech. While the book is mainly US-focused, it provides a roadmap and policy recommendations on how to fastrack access to tech that can be implemented in countries like Egypt, such as more public and private partnerships.

EARNINGS WATCH-

Alexandria Minerals and Oil Company (AMOC) recorded EGP 407.5 mn in net income in 2H2021, compared to EGP 42.6 mn during the same quarter last year, according to the company’s earnings (pdf). This came on the back of sales growing by two-thirds to EGP 7.1 bn.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Egypt reported a 45% y-o-y increase to its bottom line in FY2021, bringing in EGP 710 mn, according to an official statement. The bank said its net assets increased by 41% y-o-y, reaching EGP 48.4 bn.

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MARKET ROUNDUP-

The EGX30 fell 1.2% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 797 mn (23.8% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 4.3% YTD.

In the green: TMG Holding (+2.7%), GB Auto (+2.5%) and Qalaa Holdings (+1.3%).

In the red: Rameda (-5.6%), Palm Hills Development (-4.8%) and Housing and Development Bank (-4.6%).