Sunday, 28 December 2014

Chinese rail experts arrive in Egypt • EGPC set to pay USD 1.5 bn to IOCs • maximum wage law could be revisited • Abraaj + Kellogg still at it over BiscoMisr • will Mercedes stop assembling in Egypt? • Russia to honor January wheat contracts

BY THE NUMBERS

Starting today, official and parallel market USD rates, market data, etc., will appear at the end of each day’s report, after On Your Way Out and Before Calendar.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

The Delek-Nobel consortium threatened to resort to international arbitration to defend its right to extract gas from the Leviathan and Tamar gas fields after Israel’s antitrust regulator raised the prospect of stripping their holdings.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

Parliamentary election dates should be announced by Wednesday 31 December, if media reports over the weekend hold true; look for a three-day / three-stage process. President Abdelfattah El-Sisi stated again yesterday in remarks during a reception for the Spanish foreign minister that the polls will be held in March before the Sharm El-Sheikh investment summit.

Also Wednesday: The new Suez Canal zone investment law should be made public, per Suez Canal Authority chief Moheb Mamish, Al-Ahram reports.

The first hearing in the appeal of three imprisoned Al Jazeera journalists takes place on Thursday, and speculation is mounting there may be a resolution to the case beforehand. Australia’s foreign minister says the release of one of the journalists (an Australian national) is “under consideration” by the Sisi administration, and Canada’s foreign minister is reportedly planning a January visit to Cairo to nudge along a settlement.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

In a festive studio decorated with Christmas trees, Lamees El Hadidy asked: “What made Egyptians happy in 2014?”

El Hadidy’s highlights of 2014

  • The transition of power from Adly Mansour to Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
  • Hussein El Jasmi’s hit song “Boshret Kheir,” for making Egyptians happy and renewing their sense of optimism.
  • The New Suez Canal project and the EGP 64 billion that was raised by Egyptians in eight days.
  • Sovaldi, the new treatment for Hepatitis C, which has given hope to millions of Egyptians.
  • The launch of Egypt’s new telecommunications satellite from Kazakhstan.
  • Emad Meteb’s goal, which led Al-Ahly to win the African Confederation Cup title for the first time.
  • Al-Sisi’s first visit to the U.S. as president and his speech to the United Nations.

El Hadidy’s “top five things Egyptians would like to see disappear in 2015”

  • Disease
  • Terrorism
  • Ikhwan
  • Garbage
  • Bureaucracy

El Hadidy’s guest was economic expert Hisham Tawfik, who said the biggest  economic challenges for 2015 are:

  • Continuing with the removal of subsidies
  • The human resource gap

“We have to build a more qualified workforce. 2-4 mn government employees must be re-trained so that they may move over to the private sector within the next five years,” said Tawfik.

SPEED ROUND

Ties between Cairo and Beijing have officially been upgraded by both sides to the level of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” following President Abdelfattah El-Sisi’s two-day visit to China. the meeting was capped by a spate of cooperation agreements that could see Chinese companies invest in renewable, coal and other energy projects as well as build a high-speed rail line linking Alexandria with Aswan. (Chinese rail experts are already in Cairo to begin planning, Al-Ahram reports this morning.) The two sides also discussed measures that could see more Chinese tourists arriving in Egypt. See Diplomacy, below, for a full readout on the trip.

EGPC is preparing to pay USD 1.5 bn to international oil companies “within days,Al-Mal reported late yesterday, quoting unnamed sources. The payment will be made after EGPC finalizes the syndicated loan agreement reached with NBE, NBAD, and HSBC earlier this month.

The Sisi administration may revise the nation’s minimum wage law and, with it, provisions on the maximum wage for public servants following parliamentary elections scheduled for March, Minister of Planning and Administrative Reform Ashraf Al-Arabi has suggested. The cap on public sector wages has in recent months prompted a wave of public bank and CBE officials to depart for more lucrative opportunities in the private sector. (Read)

Egyptian and Qatari intelligence officials met last week in Cairo for talks that could pave the way for a meeting between President Abdelfattah El Sisi and Qatari Emir Tamim El Thani in either Riyadh or Cairo sometime in 2015, Reuters reports, citing “security and diplomatic sources.” Qatar’s intelligence chief was present for last week’s talks, which included discussion of Qatar’s funding of Islamist militants in Libya. Egypt is taking a page out of Ronald Reagan’s book: Trust, but verify. “The source said Egyptian intelligence was checking Qatar had ceased alleged funding of Islamist groups in Egypt before any reconciliation,” Reuters noted. The substance of the story has since been corroborated by an AFP report.

The Ikhwan wrote what can only be described as a break-up letter to Qatar and Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr. (Read) They really come off as jilted here, making reference to Qatar’s small size in terms of geography twice, as well as promising “Our Revolution will go on.”

Non-Egyptian holdings of Egyptian T-bills have fallen to 0.2% of the USD 67 bn market from 20% in 2010, says Bloomberg’s Ahmed Namatalla, in a very solidly reported piece. Namatalla notes, among other things, that the attractiveness of Egyptian paper is limited not just by the low returns compared with markets such as Brazil, but also by “a 20 percent tax, twice the rate on equities, and the cost of non-deliverable forward, or NDF, contracts to hedge the risk of further currency depreciation. The final return may be trimmed to as little as 1.25 percent, according to Commerzbank AG.” Also weighing on investors minds, Namatalla reports, is political risk: “Egyptian notes ‘are some of the best investments in the Middle East and North Africa region if investors are willing to go in without the NDF hedge,’ Apostolos Bantis, a Dubai-based credit analyst at Commerzbank, said in a phone interview. ‘But they’re not ready to do that yet. A lot of them still have images of Tahrir Square and instability in their heads.’” (Read)

Exchange-traded funds could be a reality as early as the second week of January if regulations meet with final approval at a bourse committee meeting scheduled to take place this week, EGX Chairman Mohamed Omran said at a press conference yesterday. The EGX chief said the market could also see up to 10 IPOs in the first half of the new year, Al-Masry Al-Youmreports. Omran moreover noted that an active secondary market for Egyptian bonds is up to EFSA and the CBE (the exchange, he suggested, is on board and has done its part). In reaction to a reporter’s question, Omran also said he has no intention of moving the EGX’s trading floor out of its historic Downtown Cairo building to the exchange’s Smart Village headquarters.

CBE Governor Hisham Ramez has pledged to eliminate the black market for foreign exchange in 2015 through a series of measures to control FX bureaux without having to resort to the police. (Read in Arabic)

A final draft of the new unified investment law will be ready before 15 January, according to the Minister of Transitional Justice, who told reporters the law will pass through at least one further round of discussion within government before it is made public for consultations with the business community. (Read in Arabic)

It’s (almost) officially tax season, Al-Ahram‘s Saturday edition reminds us, noting that the Tax Authority is gearing up to assist taxpayers — and suggesting that early payment of taxes is something of an obligation given the state’s ongoing budget challenges. Filing deadlines: End of March for individual returns, end of April for companies. What’s more: A presidential decree now obliges financial services companies to file their taxes electronically, the Daily News Egypt reports.

Abraaj raised its offer for BiscoMisr on Wednesday to EGP 88.09 per share, only to be topped a few hours later by Kellogg’s counter-offer of EGP 89.86 per. Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority chairman Sherif Samy told Reuters on Wednesday he was extending the deadline for bids to 31 December and, if the bidding war continues, will move to a sealed-envelope process to draw the process to a close. Reuters says the “intensifying USD 144 mn takeover battle … has shown foreign investors are turning to Egypt.” Angus Blair, chairman of think-tank Signet, is quoted saying a Kellogg win “would attract much wider FDI as well as being better for the company. … It will certainly draw other investors into the market to look at Egypt much more seriously than they have in the past.” (Read)

Easing of subsidy bill? Good. Drop in GCC aid? Not so much. Low oil prices could save Egypt USD 4.2 bn in fuel subsidy outlays — but could also endanger GCC budget support, which amounted to USD 10.6 bn in 2013-14, Reuters suggests, before concluding: “‘The sums provided to Egypt so far are relatively small when compared with the Gulf’s savings, so things would probably have to get a lot worse before they cut aid,’ said William Jackson, economist at Capital Economics in London.” (Read)

Saudi spending unchanged in draft FY15 budget, sees oil at USD 80 per barrel. The likelihood of KSA cutting assistance to Egypt appears low after the kingdom announced it’s largest-ever (by a nose) budget. The SAR 860 bn in spending proposed for 2015 is 0.6% over the current year’s outlay, which Reuters points out is the smallest rise in more than a decade. The budget, which implies a deficit of about 5.1% of GDP, suggests the kingdom sees oil prices recovering to USD 80 per barrel, according Bloomberg.

Simplest truth on KSA oil policy written to date: “Saudi oil policy is set by the minister alone in consultation with the king and a tiny group of senior princes. Access to those discussions is severely limited. Those who know tend not to talk, and those who talk tend not to know.” — Reuters column on “Saudi oil policy and diplomacy”

Japan Post is planning what could be the world’s largest-ever IPO, the Wall Street Journal reports. Japan Post Group runs one of the world’s largest banks and Japan’s largest insurance company, the paper notes, suggesting the offer could be in the USD 40 bn range. The FT pegs the offering at “more than USD 30 bn” and suggests a 2H15 window, as does Reuters, which reports there will be separate simultaneous offerings of the bank and insurance arms as the state looks to cut its holdings to “around” 50%. The group has about USD 115 bn in net assets.

From Jim Cramer and Dolly Parton to Paul Volcker and Vanguard Group’s John C. Bogle (by way of at least two Nobel laureates) comes the WSJ’s The Best (and Worst) Investments They Ever Made. It’s a ridiculously US-centric list, but great fun nonetheless.

ICYMI

Investec’s 2015 Investment Views casts a wide net with one consolidated overview and 9 x 1-2pp spotlights penned by senior staff on the outlook for everything from commodities and natural resources to emerging markets bonds and equities in 2015. The package, released in November, includes video and pdf downloads. In extreme summary: Investec tips a strong greenback, interest in local currency emerging markets bonds — and thinks growth will come in at about 3% on a global basis, driven not by emerging markets, but by a resurgent U.S. economy.  (Explore)

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

International coverage of Egypt was dominated over the weekend by news that the country has banned the big screen Biblical epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” which dramatizes the exodus out of Egypt. Google “Egypt Exodus ban” for more than you’d ever want to know about it, or just hit the NY Times or the Guardian. The latter reminds us that Morocco has banned the film, too, ostensibly because it “represents God,” while Gulf News suggests the UAE has given it two thumbs down because authorities “found ‘many mistakes.’”
Patrick Kingsley had a hat-trick for the Guardian over the break, with two pieces appearing on Christmas Day and a third on Boxing Day:

  • Worse than the dictators: Egypt’s leaders bring pillars of freedom crashing down: “Egypt is enacting authoritarian laws at a rate unmatched by any regime for 60 years, legal specialists from four institutions have told the Guardian.” Among the laws singled out for criticism: The prohibition on third-party lawsuits against state contracts in the April revisions to the investment law.
  • Strongman leadership returns to grip Egypt and divide Libya: “With no sitting parliament, Sisi now has almost full executive control. He has used it to take sudden administrative decisions – cutting fuel subsidies and expanding the Suez canal – as well as to strengthen the security apparatus.”
  • Egyptian activist’s ‘Made in Prison’ handbags catch on outside: “Her family says she has made about 50 bags at £6 each and in a recent letter suggested she might abandon dentistry for full-time design. But, her fiancé says, money is not her main goal. ‘It’s just to deliver a message,’ says Ibrahim Ragab. ‘Even if you’re jailing us, you can’t stop us: our souls are free. Whatever happens, prison won’t stop our imagination. As Asmaa is always saying, we’re beyond breaking point.’”

The New York Times is a bit late to the party with its take on the new NGO law, with David Kirkpatrick writing: “Egyptian rights advocates and nonprofit groups are bracing for a crackdown and fleeing the country, but the official who oversees them [Minister of Social Solidarity Ghada Waly] says there is nothing to fear.” (Read)

Egypt isn’t playing well in Germany: Germany’s Deutsche Welle carries an op-ed by a correspondent in Cairo slug-lined: “The acquittal of Hosni Mubarak stirred up Egypt like no other incident in 2014. After this new setback to the revolution, people have become increasingly demoralized.” It’s a Christmas Day companion piece to its earlier report “Egypt aims to throttle its civil society.”

The recent Zamalek tattoo expo is winning international ink (not sure whether the pun is intended or not, really) with an AP story and a string of photos by Razan Alzayani being fairly widely picked up. (Read)

WORTH READING

A multi-month investigation by the Wall Street Journal headlined “The Child Soldiers Who Escaped Islamic State: Boys, Teenagers Tell of Lessons in Beheading, Weaponry at Training Camps” is brutal: “Teachers brought in three frightened Syrian soldiers, who were jeered and forced to their knees. ‘It was like learning to chop an onion … You grab him by the forehead and then slowly slice across the neck.’ A teacher asked for volunteers and said, ‘Those who behead the infidels will receive gifts from God,’ recalled Jomah, who didn’t want his full name revealed. The youngest boys shot up their hands and several were chosen to participate. Afterward, the teachers ordered the students to pass around the severed heads.

Follow that up with a take from WaPo’s Liz Sly: “The Islamic State is failing at being a state“: “The Islamic State’s vaunted exercise in state-building appears to be crumbling as living conditions deteriorate across the territories under its control, exposing the shortcomings of a group that devotes most of its energies to fighting battles and enforcing strict rules. Services are collapsing, prices are soaring, and medicines are scarce in towns and cities across the ‘caliphate’…”

The History of Comedy: Chris Morris
Long before there was Bassem Youssef, Stephen Colbert, Sacha Baron Cohen or Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, Chris Morris had perfected the format of a fake news program. In the following clip, Morris had convinced a number of figures, including a British MP shown here, of a new drug called “Cake” which of course, does not actually exist. (Watch) Morris’ most recent work can be seen with him behind the camera directing episodes of Veep with his occasional creative partner Armando Ianucci.

ENERGY, RENEWABLE ENERGY & SUBSIDY REFORM

Minister of Electricity signs seven agreements with China in power generation
Al Mal | 23 Dec 2014
The Ministry of Electricity announced the signing of seven agreements in the fields of renewable energy along with MoUs regarding power generation technologies. The agreements will involve cooperation in building coal-fired power stations, hydro-electricity generation along the Nile’s banks, and renewable energy projects. (Read in Arabic)

50 UK companies to study opportunities in renewable energy on February visit to Egypt
Al-Ahram | 27 Dec 2014
Up to 50 CEOs from leading British energy companies in the region will visit Egypt in February to discuss opportunities in Egypt’s burgeoning renewable energy sector, says Mohamed Daoud, head of the Commercial Representative Office, the government’s trade-promotion body. Improvements in the nation’s investment climate, energy subsidy reform and Egypt’s drive to source 20% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020 are all driving foreign interest, Daoud suggests, saying interest was sparked by a conference organized earlier this year by the CRO and the Egyptian embassy in London. (Read in Arabic)

President approves USD 60 mn loan to build power stations
Al Borsa | 23 Dec 2014
President El Sisi approved a USD 60 mn loan from Saudi Arabia to increase the capacity of Al Shabab power station. The loan agreement was signed on 1 November and will increase generation capacity to 1,500 MW. President El Sisi also approved the increasing of the West Damietta power stations’ capacity to 750 MW. (Read in Arabic)

OIL & GAS

Import of Algerian LNG will not be postponed — EGAS
Al Mal | 23 Dec 2014
The head of EGAS denied rumors that Egypt will delay importing LNG from Algeria. An agreement had been reached on 4 December for six shipments of LNG and will be signed by the end of the month. EGAS will also discuss the importing of additional volumes of LNG. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING & FINANCE

Egyptian securities clearing house and Dubai Financial Market ink dual-listing agreement
The National | 25 Dec 2015
The Dubai Financial Market and MCCDR (as MCSD, the Egyptian market’s securities clearing house, is known these days) have signed an agreement to promote dual listings for Egyptian companies. MCCDR concluded a similar agreement last month with Nasdaq Dubai. (Read)

Citi still studying offers to acquire its consumer business in Egypt
Daily News Egypt | 27 Dec 2014
Reports that Citi has received offers from nine institutions to buy its consumer banking franchise ahead of its exit of that segment of the domestic market are not accurate and it is “too early to say” more, a Citi official told the Daily News Egypt. Citi is exiting the consumer market in at least 11 countries, but will continue to serve institutional clients in Egypt. (Read)

EBRD to provide USD 50 mn trade finance line to CIB
Zawya | 25 Dec 2014
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is extending CIB a USD 50 mn trade finance line as part of its Trade Facilitation Programme. The programme aims to promote trade between countries where the EBRD invests. Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, Chairman and Managing Director of CIB, expressed his delight with the deal describing it as “is in line with CIB’s commitment to support the Egyptian economy and underpin its growth.” (Read)

ADIB Egypt Named Best Commercial Bank in Africa at Islamic Business and Finance Awards 2014
ADIB Press Release, Al-Borsa | 27 Dec 2014
The win, based on 8,000 votes by readers of Islamic Business and Finance, is ADIB Egypt’s second pickup for 2014, having earlier been named “Best Islamic Bank in North Africa” for 2014 by Banker Africa. (Read the press release in English or check out Al-Borsain Arabic)

TOURISM

“Masr qareeba”: New campaign targets GCC tourists, Tourism Ministry seeks new direct flights to Red Sea from Arab capitals
Al-Arabiya | 25 Dec 2014
A new Tourism Ministry campaign looks to lure more Arab visitors while encouraging direct flights from Arab capitals to the Red Sea coast, Al-Arabiya reports. The campaign, headlined “Masr qareeba” (Egypt is nearby), comes as Tourism Ministry officials are encouraging direct flights between Amman and Beirut and top Red Sea destinations Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh. Flights to both resort locations from Riyadh and Jeddah began early this year. Arab tourists currently make up 18-19% of total arrivals, the story says. (Read)

BASIC MATERIALS & COMMODITIES

Russia to honor January wheat contracts with Egypt, future contracts uncertain
Reuters, Al Mal | 26 Dec 2014
Despite new export controls, Russia will honor a contract for 120,000 tons of wheat for delivery to Egypt between 11-20 January, Reuters quotes Supply and Domestic Trade Minister Khaled Hanafy as having confirmed on Friday. The newswire adds that the fate of 60,000 tons for 21-31 January delivery remains uncertain. Russia had introduced a 15% export duty on wheat imports effective 1 February 2015 in an attempt to control domestic inflation rates (Read, and in Arabic)

Ministry of Agriculture (once again) targets self-sufficiency in wheat production
Al Mal | 27 Dec 2014
The Ministry of Agriculture’s latest campaign to make Egypt self-sufficient in wheat production is due to kick off tomorrow, Al-Mal reports, with the Agricultural Research Center’s Dr. Hamada Assaad saying farmers need incentives to grow more wheat. The piece ties the campaign to the uncertain future of Russian wheat exports, and Assaad notes the Sisi administration is planning to provide seeds and technical support to farmers, is guaranteeing a floor price of EGP 420 per ardeb (about USD 100 per ton more than global prices) and will double the number of land plots zoned for wheat to 5,000 from 2,100 today (the piece does not specify how many hectares / feddans this might be). (Read in Arabic)

Five dead, 48 injured at Sinai Cement plant
Al Mal | 28 Dec 2014
Five workers are dead and another 48 injured following an industrial accident at Sinai Cement’s South Sinai facility, officials have confirmed. (Read in Arabic here and here) MA

Date-palm wood in Japanese spotlight
The Japan News | 27 Dec 2014
The English edition of Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun looks at how an NGO-backed factory in Minya turns date palm branches into laminated wood for use in the furniture industry, where it is used to make both desks and chairs. (Read, or get some additional background on the Egyptian NGO behind the project in this March 2013 story in the UAE’s The National)

AUTOMOTIVE

Mercedes to stop assembling cars in Egypt, move operations to Algeria?
Al Masry Al Youm | 24 Dec 2014
Mercedes Benz is set to move its automobile assembly plant from Egypt to Algeria, the newspaper reports. The move is economically driven as Mercedes seeks to make use of the benefits provided by the Algerian government. A member of the Egyptian Chamber of Commerce speculates that the decision owes at least in part to the reduction of customs duties on EU-made automobiles under the EU-Egypt Association Agreement. Mercedes Benz previously assembled 4,000 vehicles annually in Egypt, the paper says, but this level has been falling until it reached c. 1,000 units in 2014, a level deemed economically unviable, the newspaper claims. (Read in Arabic)

Raouf Ghabbour considering a debt-for-equity swap as GB Auto continues to study growth opportunities
Al Mal | 25 Dec 2014
GB Auto chief executive Raouf Ghabbour is considering swapping two shareholder loans extended to the company — an EGP 273 mn local currency facility  and a second USD 70 mn dollar-denominated facility — into equity, Al-Mal reports. The shareholder loans were extended to drive expansion plans, which are currently under study. The story notes the company is also mulling the addition of another model (presumably Chinese) to its lineup for launch in 2015 following the success of the Geely Emgrand7. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE

SODIC to invest EGP 2 bn in 2015
Al Borsa | 23 Dec 2014
SODIC intends to invest EGP 2 bn in 2015. The real estate developer will expand into tourism sector for the first time as it plans to develop a coastal resort. SODIC is also planning to expand beyond Cairo and engage in real-estate activities in other cities in Egypt. (Read in Arabic)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Egypt to host dialogue between Syrian factions
Ahram | 28 Dec 2014
Egypt will host talks aimed at getting Syrian groups opposed to President Bashar El-Assad on the same page prior to talks scheduled to take place in Russia, the newspaper quotes Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry as saying. (Read in Arabic)

Finance Minister Demian keen on passing value-added tax before end of January 2015 — Al-Borsa
Al Borsa | 27 Dec 2014
Al-Borsa cites an “unnamed source” as telling it that Minister of Finance Hany Dimian is keen on passing a new VAT before the end of January 2015. The information was slipped into a longer piece on Mansour & Co. PricewaterhouseCoopers holding a briefing for more than 100 multinational companies operating in Egypt on how the VAT will be applied and calculated. Amr Al Mounir, a managing partner at PwC, noted that the inflationary impact of the VAT will disappear following an initial shock and the new policy will actually widen the tax base. He stressed, however, the need for a better social safety net. It was noted at the conference that some commodities (such as alcoholic drinks and tobacco) that were taxed at a higher rate than the current sales tax will slapped with an extra consumption to account for the lower revenues from VAT. (Read in Arabic)

Social, economic cost of coal could be pegged at USD 1.6-5.9 bn annually, says Central Auditing Organization in report to president
Al Wafd | 24 Dec 2014
The Central Auditing Organization (CAO) submitted a comprehensive report to the offices of the president and the prime minister, detailing its observations on government performance and shortcomings, as well as recommendations for improvement, the partisan daily Al-Wafd reports. Among the many findings outlined in the report, the CAO warned against the use of coal as a fuel source because of its polluting effects, saying it will increase carbon dioxide emissions and will have huge social and economic costs, reaching between USD 1.6-5.9 bn annually. The report also revealed that a kilowatt of wind power costs EGP 0.54 to generate, but is sold to the Electricity Company for only EGP 0.16. Egypt has 49 power stations of which 22 (40%) are over 20-years old, which will adversely impact efficiency, productivity and maintenance, the CAO noted while also mentioning in passing disagreements between the ministries of electricity, petroleum and finance. Further, the CAO warned that construction of the proposed Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia will reduce hydroelectric power between 13.9%-50.74%. The report also urged energy-intensive companies to buy their natural gas supplies directly from foreign energy companies.

Egypt vulnerable to adverse global economic developments — IMF mission chief
Daily News Egypt | 27 Dec 2014
Egypt needs to grow its base of international reserves and “prepar[e] contingency plans for the budget” to ward against exogenous shocks even as Cairo continues with an ambitious reform program, says IMF chief of mission Chris Jarvis in a brief interview with Daily News Egypt. The IMF expects 3.8% GDP growth in FY2014-15, and Jarvis says that while the fund has not yet been invited to the Sharm economic summit, it plans to participate. (Read)

Police officers cannot be court-martialed
Al-Masry Al-Youm, Al-Shorouk | 28 Dec 2014
The Administrative Court for Presidential Affairs has ruled that the trial of members of the police service by military tribunal is unconstitutional and has ordered the re-trial of any member of the police service convicted and sentenced by the military judiciary. As a result, members of the police service convicted of offenses including murder, rape, embezzlement and bribery could be reinstated before facing trial, the newspaper reports. (Read in AMAY or in Al-Shorouk)

Egypt and India sign three sci-tech cooperation agreements
Ahram | 28th of December 2014
Egypt and India have signed cooperation agreements in science and technology that will see the two work together on the application of biotechnology to agriculture as well as unspecified work together in renewable energy and telecommunications and IT. (Read in Arabic)

DIPLOMACY

Spotlight on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s first official state visit to China
President Abdelfattah El-Sisi’s four-day visit (two days of meetings) to China concluded with the Cairo-Beijing relationship being formally upgraded to that of a “comprehensive strategic partnership” and the signing of 26 MOUs between the Sisi administration and Chinese companies covering (per Ittihadiyya):

  • Electricity generation projects, including renewable energy cooperation, coal power generation and hydroelectric and power generation;
  • Repair, renovation and maintenance of Egyptian railways;
  • The construction of a high-speed rail link between  Alexandria and Aswan;
  • The construction of an electric rail line linking El-Salam City and Belbeis
  • The upgrade of a port;
  • The construction of a factory in the governorate of Beheira to manufacture paper from rice straw;
  • State-of-the art road surfacing and maintenance;
  • The establishment of charter flights between Egyptian and Chinese cities.

Last Tuesday, the first day of the visit, President El Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with heads of Chinese universities to seek closer academic cooperation, including the possibility of opening a Chinese university in Sinai focusing on science and technology, as well as sending Egyptian students to China on academic exchange programs. At a subsequent meeting with the Egyptian-Chinese Business Council, the main topics of discussion were the Suez expansion project and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s national project of trying to reestablish land and maritime trade routes along the ‘Silk Road’ to connect Asia to the Middle East and Europe. [For more on the Silk Road project, see The Diplomat’s The New Silk Road: China’s Marshall Plan?(Read)]

President El Sisi then met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials on Tuesday, which included a formal reception, the signing of a number of MOUS and a dinner banquet. Both sides agreed to elevate relations to a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership,’ however the terms of such an agreement have yet to be made public, going by official statements released thus far.

The first day concluded with meetings with representatives of China’s business community, who were invited by the President to take part in the upcoming Sharm conference in March.

The second day of meetings began with the President meeting heads of major Chinese travel agencies. According to the statement, and alluding to a point which we have mentioned before in Enterprise: “The President expressed special interest in learning from China’s experience in adding its historic sites on the list of World Heritage designations as a means of attracting tourists from around the world.”

Also notable: China National Tourism Administration head Li Jinzao “requested increasing the number of flights between Egypt and China, facilitating the procedures for Chinese tourists to obtain entry visas and extending the duration of the visas.”

The visit concluded with a meeting with Huawei Technologies Co. chairwoman Sun Yafang, who promised to expand investments in Egypt in the months and years ahead.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

A five-year old boy in Aswan became the tenth victim of H5N1 avian flu this winter, according to the Health Ministry. (Read)

Amreya Petroleum Refining Company said it is currently engaged in three upgrade projects costing EGP 410 mn including a EGP 280 mn phenol extraction unit. (Read in Arabic)

The Armed Forces’ Engineering Authority is mulling the building of a new civilian airport in Sinai, Al-Mal reports, without clarifying where, exactly, the airport might be built. (Read in Arabic)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade expects a presidential decree allowing the direct allocation of land by the government to industry projects in 2015. (Read in Arabic)

Two men sentenced to three years in prison in the male-male wedding case had their sentences reduced to a year each yesterday by Qasr El-Nil Misdemeanor Court. (Read in Arabic)

Egypt and Mauritius have signed an agreement to eliminate double taxation (Read in Arabic)

A drive-by shooting near Mohandiseen’s Sphinx Square saw one police officer killed and another injuredyesterday. The shooting, which targeted members of the police service protecting banks, was the third attack on security personnel this past weekend.

Expect more headlines about freedom of expression after prosecutors referred writer Fatima Naoot to trial for contempt of religion on Friday after she denounced in a Facebook post earlier this year the ritual slaughter of sheep for Eid El-Adha. (Read in Ahram Online in English or Al-Shorouk in Arabic)

It’s going to snow in Dubai. Real snow, if man-made. We won’t even bother with this one. Just go read “How a company plans to make it snow in Dubai“ on Engadget.

Dar El-Ifta says it is acceptable — maybe even a duty — for Muslims to wish their Christian friends and neighbors a Merry Christmas, Al-Ahram reports. We’d laugh at the very notion that this is news, but given (a) the Morsi interregnum and (b) Daesh…

BY THE NUMBERS

USD (CBE auction): 7.1401
USD (parallel market): 7.80

EGX30 (Thursday): 8,740 (-0.13%)
Turnover: EGP 370.6 mn (46% below 90-day average)

EGX 30 (last week): +4.0%

WTI: USD 54.73 (-1.99%)
Brent: USD 59.45 (-1.31%)

TDWL: 8,749 (+0.6%)
ADX: 4,537 (+0.1%)
DFM: 3,887 (+1.4%)
KSE: 442 (-0.4%)
QSE: 12,449 (+0.7%)
MSM: 6,434 (+0.9%)

ey linking Damietta and Eskenderun expires.

22-23 April 2015:
World Green Economy Summit, Dubai

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