Hani Dimian’s predicament. EGAS cuts-off industry. EGX to launch new index. Ikhwan returning to violence? Arla’s Egyptian JV is “shrewd.” EGY cement prices among highest globally? Negm pushes on cheaper internet. CBE Deputy Gov on Forbes List.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

It’s hard not to wonder whether we’re headed for a rocky week in emerging markets equities on the back of news that “Chinese stocks capped a volatile week of trading with a second day of losses amid concern that nation’s world-beating rally has gone too far, too fast” (Bloomberg) and that the IMF believes “capital flows to emerging economies are projected to fall to USD 981 bn this year, their lowest level since 2009” (Reuters). Notably for Egypt: “Capital inflows to our selected five MENA countries (the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon) are projected to increase slightly to USD 70.8 bn in 2015 driven by an increase in FDI and official loans in Egypt and a significant increase in portfolio investment in Saudi Arabia.” See more on page 31 of the IMF report (here, in pdf), listen to the report’s authors discuss their findings hereor visit the homepage for the report.

Also likely to make news this week: The preliminary death sentence against former president Mohamed Morsi for his role in the Wadi Natroun prison break of 2011 could be confirmed on Tuesday.

The HSBC / Markit Economics PMIs for Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia will drop at 7:30am CLT on Wednesday, 3 June.

Conferences of note taking place this week include:

• (Tuesday-Wednesday, 02-03 June): SPE Oil and Gas Fields with Challenging Economics, JW Marriott, Cairo.
• (Wednesday-Thursday, 03-04 June): 6th OPEC International Seminar, Vienna.

ON THE HORIZON

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund is due to visit Egypt early in June for “routine talks” in a move some analysts have suggested presages the opening of discussions between Egypt and the global financial institution on an assistance package.

The retrial of 73 defendants in the Port Said Football Massacre case will resume on 9 June. A judge-imposed media gag order on the details of the case remains in effect.

The COMESA, EAC, SADC Tripartite Summit will take place next week in Sharm El Sheikh, Sunday-Wednesday, 07-10 June. View the official website for the summit here.

Also starting next Sunday: Turkish general elections are scheduled to take place one week from today. Erdogan’s AKP is expected to secure a supermajority, enabling them to rewrite their constitution to allow for a shift to a presidential system. The move would cement Erdogan’s grip on power and effectively herald the final nail in the coffin of Turkey’s democracy.

The Economist has background in ‘A big moment for Erdogan—and Turkey‘: “Mr Erdogan’s plans for a strong presidency are troubling. He has dismantled checks on his power. His approach is majoritarian and divisive: so long as his party wins elections, it can trample any critics.”

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Amr Adeeb thinks that President Al Sisi is becoming impatient with the Egyptian people. “In the speech that he gave at the inauguration of the restructuring of the Alexandria Shipyard today he was basically saying, ‘You guys are taking a lot of money, but you’re too lazy to work.’ That was directed not only to the employees of the Alexandria Shipyard, but to all the public sector companies that are losing money hand over fist. Of course he didn’t say it in those words, he said it in his own polite Sisi way, but trust me, that’s what he meant. The man is losing patience.”

“The President is still operating under the assumption that people will work for the love of Egypt. This man has a very strong work ethic, but unfortunately most Egyptians don’t. Mr. President, I want to tell you something. You decided to tackle the electricity problem and you were successful. You were personally involved in this from day one. You changed the laws, you personally followed up and now we have a real success story. Can this formula be applied to other sectors like education and healthcare?”

Osama Kamal interviewed Laila Eskander, the Minister of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements.

“Dealing with informal settlements, which represent the majority of the neighborhoods in Cairo, is a top priority for every ministry in the government, not just ours,” said Eskander. “We are working in coordination with other Ministries, the Tahya Misr Fund and the private sector to try and provide decent living conditions for Egyptians. The ministry is new and the problem is huge. Maybe that is why we haven’t felt a difference yet. It is true, the President is working faster than the government, but we are trying to catch up.”

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SPEED ROUND

Finance Minister Hani Dimian is facing a “predicament” according to Al Borsa. CBE Governor Hisham Ramez has refused prepay part of the Central Bank’s profits into the state treasury, despite this being the norm when Momtaz El Saeed was on the CBE’s board. The funds were used to reduce the budget deficit’s monetary value. In addition, Ramez has reportedly refused to expand lending to the government beyond the growth rate of the money supply — a clear shift in policy. Moreover, the governor has also reportedly refused to allow EGPC defer its losses to next year, which, along with the other disputes, leaves Finance Minister Hany Dimian possibly unable to hit his deficit target of 10% of GDP. The problems are compounded as Dimian continues to face backlash from other cabinet members over reducing subsidy provisions in FY2015/16 budget, which he had hoped to finalize prior to the IMF delegation’s visit later this month.

EGAS said it has stopped pumping natural gas to 60% of Egypt’s largest industrial consumers, according to Daily News Egypt. The stoppage was blamed on the higher temperatures and thus the increased gas demands by power stations. DNE says natural gas demands in powers stations exceeded 65% of the daily production after growing to 3.2 bcf per day. El Nasr, Helwan, Alexandria, and Al Masriya 1 fertilizer plants along with two production lines of Ezz Steel are no longer receiving natural gas, reports Al Borsa. EGAS said fertilizer producers will have to rely on fuel oil instead.

Orascom Construction announced the completion of the first phase of Assiut power plant, according to a press release. OC said the first phase, which began in 15 December 2014 and will generate and connect 375 MW to the national grid, was completed in world record timing. The OC consortium working to build the Assiut and West Damietta power plants “intends to add another 625 MW to Egypt’s national power grid at both Assiut and West Damietta by 1 July 2015.”

The Egyptian Stock Exchange is reducing the free float percentage required for listing on the EGX30 to 5% from 15% provided the market value of the free float is at least EGP 100 mn. The change comes into effect on 1 August, Reuters said. The EGX will also launch a new equal-weighted index that includes the top 50 companies in liquidity terms.

Is a fracturing Ikhwan repealing its renunciation of violence? Debate continues on Twitter regarding the release of the Ikhwan’s latest statement (Read in Arabic) which advocates for the use of muqawama, or resistance. The lines seem to fall on already pre-existing opinions as to whether or not the youth-led Ikhwan have fully and openly embraced violence, with apologists arguing that the term is ambiguous and could simply mean “peaceful resistance.” Two backgrounders (here and here) appear on Middle East Eye, although the site was down at time of dispatch.

Investment Minister Ashraf Salman said the first draft of the new investment law’s executive regulations will be ready in a week. Al Masry Al Youm added that Salman said that freezing the capital gains tax went into effect on 17 May. Four amendments to the investment law will be made, according to the Investment Minister. The amendments will relate to the status of existing free zones as well as the process to create new free zones, exempting transit goods from a 1% fee, and granting the PM the ability to allocate land directly. Salman said the amendments will be approved by presidential decree within three to four weeks, according to Al Mal.

Stressing the importance of free zones in Egypt, Salman posited that there are 700 projects underway across public sector free zones and over 220 projects in private sector freezones funded with USD 21 mn in investments, and employing over 196,000 workers, Al Borsa reports. Meanwhile, Salman said the “one-stop shop” investment window will not start operating until President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issues a decree. As the minister has previously noted, the policy will apply exclusively to agricultural investments at the outset, with other sectors following within 18 months. The World Bank provided USD 9.6 mn in financing to back development of the new policy

A draft of the executive regulations to the Mineral Resources Law was completed on Thursday and sent to Oil Minister Sherif Ismail, according to sources at the committee that drafted the regulations. The draft will be presented to Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab for review, with an eye to announcing them in early June. Among the changes made was the adoption of the ministry of local development’s royalties and rent prices on mines and quarries, which it had insisted on applying. Al Borsa provides a brief list of the pricing scheme associated with minerals.

‘Why Arla’s Egyptian JV with Juhayna is shrewd:’ “Egypt is one of the fastest growing markets for dairy both within the Middle East as well as globally,” Pinar Hosafci, an analyst with Euromonitor, tells just-food. “Egyptian dairy sales have grown by over 9% in constant value terms during 2009 to 2014, significantly outpacing global dairy growth [of] 3%. In particular, yoghurt and sour milk products represent a huge opportunity as these products are part of the country’s traditional diet and there is an ongoing shift from unpackaged products towards packaged dairy products, which further Egypt’s appeal [to international manufacturers].” (Read)

The price of cement in Egypt is among the highest in the world, said Ahmed El Zeiny, head of the construction materials division of the Chamber of Commerce. Egypt’s cement prices have reached USD 100 per ton, while the global average is around USD 50 per ton. These huge price discrepancies apply to other aspects of the construction industry, as steel’s global average price is USD 460 per ton, while in Egypt steel is sold for USD 600 per ton. (Read in Arabic)

Mohamed Salem, the newly appointed Chairman of Telecom Egypt, said there will be no drastic changes in the company’s strategy, according to Amwal Al Ghad. However, Al Mal raises questions surrounding the future of the unified telecom license, noting that former CEO Mohamed El Nawawy, as well as former CIT Minister Atef Helmy, were the chief proponents of the license. CIT Minister Khaled Negm, meanwhile, continued his drive to make it more affordable for Egyptians to access the internet, saying lower prices are in the national interest, Al-Ahram reports.

Egyptian on Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women list: Alexandria native and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Nemat Shafik is ranked this year at number 66 on the Forbes 2015 World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list.

Egypt tunes in to Indian TV drama in absence of Turkish programming: While Indian films have been a longstanding fixture of Egyptian television, India-based daily Deccan Herald notes that Indian television series have started to fill the vacuum left behind following the boycott of Turkish television series on Egyptian TV screens. “Immediately, Bollywood and Indian TV drama succeeded in attracting the Egyptian audience, not only because of the political situation but also because of their stories that suit … Egyptian society …” (Read)

Minister of International Cooperation Nagla El Ahwany signed a USD 140 mn loan agreement with the African Development Bank to help finance the country’s priority national projects.USD 90 mn will be obtained through a direct loan from the ADB, while USD 50 mn will be made accessible through the bank’s “Africa Grows Together” fund. A USD 2.1 mn grant was also obtained to finance Phase 2 of the Sharm El Sheikh Airport upgrade. (Read in Arabic)

NASA scientist touts renewable energy, saltwater farming during climate-change talk, citing agricultural farming project in Egypt: On Friday, during a talk on mitigating the effects of climate change on Friday, NASA’s chief scientist at its Langley Research facility Dennis Bushnell shed light on one possible plan of making use of farming halophytes – plants grown in saltwater. “You solve land, water, food, energy and climate just by going to halophytes,” said Bushnell, who said he’s working with the U.S. State Department on a saltwater farming project in Egypt,” as well as in Mexico, Aruba and Chile. (Read)

Early humans migrated out of Africa through Egypt rather than Ethiopia, new study says:According to a new study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics by Luca Pagani of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, humans migrated out of Africa more than 60,000 years ago through Egypt, not via Ethiopia and across the Bab el Mandeb strait to the Arabian Peninsula. (Read)

MOVES-

• Nigeria’s outgoing Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina was voted in as the new president of the African Development Bank, taking over the reins in September from Rwanda’s Donald Kaberuka, who has held the post since 2005.
• Advisory and assurance group DNV GL has appointed Remi Eriksen as the new Group CEO, replacing current Group President & CEO Henrik O. Madsen who is going into retirement; some background on DNV GL’s activities in Egypt is scattered throughout this release.
• Sepp Blatter isn’t going anywhere, yet, having been re-elected as FIFA president for a fifth term in a vote on Friday. “I am the president now, the president of everybody,” Blatter is quoted as saying. He also lashed out at the U.S. for the recent convictions of FIFA officials, insinuating that the timing was meant to torpedo his re-election, the NYT reports.

ICYMI: IMF says energy subsidized by USD 5.3 tn worldwide in 2015: Governments worldwide have continued to subsidize energy by USD 5.3 tn this year in the form “post-tax” subsidies which fail to account for its harmful environmental, health and other side effects of energy consumption, according to an IMF report. IMF economists Benedict Clements and Vitor Gaspar wrote that at USD 5.3 tn or 6.5 percent of global GDP, energy subsidies exceed the estimated public health spending for the entire globe. (Read)

Download Google Photos, because ‘paying for storage as we know it is dead’. Whatever privacy concerns you have, odds are good you’re already deep in the embrace of the G. So download Google Photos for iOS or Android. Unlimited free storage forever of all your images (up to 16 MB each) and videos (1080p). It’s the easiest to use, coolest solution to keeping years and years of family photographs safe and in one place.Official announcement here, the Verge’s review here or geek-out on the product-development storyhere.

Mary Meeker’s influential annual Internet Trends Report is out and available here on Slideshare. The thing is 196 slides long, including a section called “Ran outta time thoughts”. We’ll be skimming it for more in the days ahead.

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EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Mohamed Soltan deported to the United States after relinquishing Egyptian citizenship: The lead story on Egypt in the foreign press on Sunday morning was the deportation of (former) dual national Mohamed Soltan to the United States, following his renunciation of his Egyptian nationality. Soltan was due to arrive in Washington D.C. on Saturday evening, after having spent 489 days on hunger strike. The New York Times notes: “Though Mr. Soltan’s father, like Mr. Morsi, had been a senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, the younger Mr. Soltan was not a member of the group and had been critical of Mr. Morsi’s leadership, his family said.”

Al Jazeera television presenter Faisal Al Qassem, who earlier this month called Alawites devils and openly called for genocide, asks why people keep demonizing Islamists. (Read Moderate Islamic groups torn between prison and extremism in the Qatari Peninsula Online).

In Egypt to meet moderate Muslims, France’s far-right leader is scolded for her views on Islam: The only thing more odd than Marine le Pen’s surprise visit to Cairo on Thursday was Washington Post foreign affairs correspondent Adam Taylor coverage of the meeting: “Notably, photographs of the meeting show the National Front leader apparently comfortable, and not wearing a veil.” Seriously? Since when are women expected to wear a veil when speaking to an Egyptian political or religious figure? And she was comfortable? Is the Washington Post surprised she wasn’t put on the rack or held in a vice during the duration of her meeting? The screen-grabs of tweets from some HRW hack comparing El Sisi to Saddam and Bashar Al Assad puts the finishing touches on a WaPo classic. (Read)

DIPLOMACY

President El Sisi met with former US Defense Secretary and CIA head Leon Panetta on Thursday, Al Malreported. The two spoke about the proposed joint Arab military force, according to Ahram Online.

Libyan tribes reject dialogue with Islamists, Ikhwan at Cairo meeting: Who can blame them, really. (Read)

French FM to head Israel, Egypt in June to revive peace process: France’s Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday he will travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories in June to try to put forward a French U.N. Security Council resolution that would set parameters for talks. “I will go … to Egypt, the Palestinian territories and Israel to speak to their leaders,” Fabius said. We want the negotiations to restart between the two sides and that this negotiations is put within an international framework.” (Read)

WHAT YOU CLICKED ON LAST WEEK

The most-clicked links of last week were::

• kotn.co, an extra-long staple Egyptian cotton shirt startup with ownership of the entire supply chain, recently featured in Inc magazine’s podcast
• Press release on NBAD’s Egypt on the Rise – West East Corridor forum which took place at the JW Marriott, Cairo, on Wednesday, 27 May. (Zawya)
• American Pharoah’s owner hit with gambling debt lawsuit, (Fortune)
• Pandemonium at Kuwaiti Al Ahlia Investments’ AGM following the announcement of 94% losses. (Watch, running time: 0:54)
• Patrick Werr charts the course of one Egyptian entrepreneur as he attempts to raise funds to get his business off the ground (The National)

ENERGY, RENEWABLE ENERGY & SUBSIDY REFORM

Lafarge ECOCEM signs two agreements to manage refuse-derived fuel platforms
The Cairo Post | 29 May 2015
Lafarge Industrial Ecology (ECOCEM) announced on Friday that it has signed major contracts to manage and operate existing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) platforms in Suez and Qalyubiya, according to the Cairo Post. ECOCEM signed a ten-year agreement to renovate and upgrade the platforms in Suez, and a separate ten-year agreement to manage and operate the existing platforms in Qalyubiya, at a total investment of EGP 12.7 mn. (Read)

China signs MoU with Egypt nuclear energy authority
Want China Times | 29 May 2015
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), according to a CNNC press release cited by the China Business News and as reported by Want China Times. The agreement was reportedly signed in the third week of May, and mentioned bringing China’s Hualong One nuclear power technology to Egypt, but gave no further details. (Read)

3,600 solar units to be installed in residential units in 4 governorates
Egypt Independent | 29 May 2015
The home solar project will install c.3,600 solar energy units in four governorates: Aswan, Luxor, Qena and New Valley, according to Mohamed Mostafa, the official responsible for the project speaking to state news agency MENA and as reported by Egypt Independent. Of these, 1,200 solar cells will be installed in homes in Aswan free of charge. “One solar cell runs five bulbs, a TV and a ceiling fan at a capacity of 340 watts and can run for eight hours, according to Mostafa.” This follows reports from last August that stated that the government was considering expanding its solar energy drive to residential units upon working out the details of how the power would be integrated into the grid. (Read)

Environment Ministry assess the usage of recycled tires to generate energy
Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
The Ministry of Environmental Affairs is considering the usage of tires in energy generation, Minister Khaled Fahmy told Al Borsa. This comes as part of the ministry’s plans to phase out the usage of coal in electricity generation by 2030. Fahmy said his ministry along with the Agriculture Ministry will propose including tyres and rice straw into Egypt’s energy mix. (Read in Arabic)

Taqa Arabia to build USD 75 mn solar power plant
Al Shorouk | 28 May 2015
Egypt’s New and Renewable Energy Authority has signed two agreements, each worth USD 75 mn, for solar energy projects in Kom Ombo, announced authority head Mohamed El Sobky. The agreements were signed with Qalaa Holdings’ subsidiary, Taqa Arabia, and Cairo Solar. Upon completion, the project will add 200 MW to Egypt’s national grid. (Read in Arabic)

Armaments Authority signs deal with Siemens to build EUR 2 bn wind power plant
Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
The Defense Ministry’s Armaments Authority plans to sign a EUR 2 bn deal with Siemens to establish a wind power plant in the Gulf of Suez which comes as part of the MoUs signed between the company and the government during the EEDC. The deal will also showcase the roles different government agencies will play in formulating deals of this type. The armaments authority will study the project, run technical analyses and approve the prices, while the NREA will be responsible for funding. Pricing will be determined by the average prices of tender offers for 250 MW power plants running under the BOO system, which is 5 cents per KW per hour. (Read in Arabic)

OIL & GAS

Possible third FSRU for Egypt -source
Interfax | 28 May 2015
An unnamed source working within Egypt’s energy sector speaking to Interfax said that EGAS Chairman Khaled Abdel Badie’s comments last week where he reiterated that private companies can directly import natural gas were a signal that the government is open to a third FSRU in Egypt specifically to facilitate such private sales. “Hany Genena, head of research at Pharos Securities Brokerage, agreed the repeated announcement likely referred to the ability of selected licensed firms in Egypt – such as Qalaa Holdings via its subsidiary Taqa Arabia – to invest in regasification terminals in order to import gas and sell it to local customers.” (Read)

ADIB Capital’s USD 150 mn loan to go to EGPC
Al Mal | 28 May 2015
Sourced told Al Mal that the USD 150 mn in financing ADIB Capital was preparing for an unnamed energy-sector company will actually be going to EGPC. The loan will have a five-year maturity and will be used to import Kuwaiti crude. CEO Zeinab Hashem said the loan will be arranged within the next two months. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS & COMMODITIES

Supplies Ministry assessing creating better domestic, foreign commodities transportation networks
Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
The Supplies Ministry is assessing the creation of an “electronically developed” domestic and foreign transportation network for grains and commodities, Minister Khaled Hanafy said. The network will be connected to the domestic logistic centers across the country. Hanafy also said the ministry is planning on build five logistic commodity storage hubs and two dryland ports at an EGP 1 bn investment. The minister’s comments came after a meeting with representatives from Orascom and Aramex. (Read in Arabic)

MANUFACTURING

Salman suggests Egyptian Copper Works issue EGP 200 mn bond
Youm7, Al Shorouk | 28 May 2015
Investment Minister Ashraf Salman suggested that the Egyptian Copper Works company issues an EGP 200 mn corporate bond to be able to repay the company’s debts. Salman said that the step is less costly than obtaining a bank loan. EGP 840 mn were invested in Egypt Copper Works, including EGP 620 mn in fixed assets, to ensure the company remains operational for the next 20 years. (Read in Arabic and here)

Salman inaugurates LED lightbulb factory
Ahram Online, Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
Investment Minister Ashraf Salman inaugurated the first government-owned plant to produce LED lightbulbs. The plant is owned by NEEASAE and was completed in 11 months at an EGP 15.5 mn investment. The plant is targeting recording sales of EGP 93 mn and to net EGP 5.7 mn annually. (Read in English or in Arabic)

HEALTHCARE

Egypt to import vaccines, technologies from Russia
TASS Russian News Agency | 28 May 2015
Egypt will start importing vaccines from Russia, according to Yelena Magdi, chief of the department of medicine and pharmaceutics of the Russian-Egyptian Business Council, on Thursday. “At the moment, Egypt purchases all the active ingredients for medicines in India and China but local companies are interested in supplies of products of a better quality from Russia,” she said. A delegation of Egyptian specialists is set to visit Russia in two months time in order to get acquainted with the country’s pharmaceutical industry. (Read)

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING

Mortgage financing grows 76% y-o-y in 1Q2015, volume of EGP 296 mn
Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
The volume of new mortgage financing in Egypt grew by 76% y-o-y in the first four months of the year to EGP 296 mn, EFSA’s head Sherif Samy told Al Borsa. The total volume of mortgage financing at April’s end was EGP 2.5 bn, with refinancing accounting for EGP 14 mn. 60% of the borrowings are for units larger than 86 sqm and 98% of the financing went for residential purposes. (Read in Arabic)

EK Holding to propose new settlement offer after government rejects previous offer
Al Borsa | 30 May 2015
EK Holding is expected to propose a new settlement to its dispute with the government over the use of the 26,000 feddans of land in Al Ayat, Giza, announced Investment Minister Ashraf Salman. The dispute arose after the company purchased the land from the government for agricultural development, but then repurposed the land for residential construction. Consequently, the government demanded EGP 47 bn to compensate for the change in terms, which the company was willing to pay in exchange for another 14,000 feddans. After the government refused, the company offered to build an airport, which the government also rejected. (Read in Arabic)

El Nasr Housing launched tender bid to develop 750K square meters in Moqatam
Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
El Nasr Housing, a subsidiary of the National Co. for Construction & Development (NCCD), announced that it will launch a tender bid to develop luxury residential buildings on 750,000 square meter land in Moqatam under a PPP contract. The head of NCCD Mahmoud Higazy expects the project will attract EGP 5 bn in investments and that the company had already conducted the required feasibility studies. (Read in Arabic)

Qena to launch an auction for 25 plots of land next month
Al Borsa | 28 May 2015
Qena governorate is the midst of preparing for an open auction to sell 25 plots of undeveloped land for the construction of residential buildings in June. According to the housing department of the governorate, the plots are located in four main centers and whose size ranges from 560 to 950 m2. The department also announced that it plans to launch another auction for commercial units whose sized range from 2,000 m2 to 2400 m2. (Read in Arabic)

TOURISM

EGOTH abandons plans to turn the Cairo Shepherd into a five-star hotel
Al Mal | 28 May 2015
EGOTH said it will no longer go forward with plans to amend the designs for the Cairo Shepherd Hotel to make it a five-star hotel. Instead, the hotel will be redesigned as a four-star establishment, saving EGP 170 mn in the process. The decision to downgrade was driven by shortage in liquidity and is now set to cost EGP 320-350 mn. (Read in Arabic)

German tourists’ summer bookings grew by 20%
Amwal Al Ghad | 27 May 2015
Summer season booking to Egypt by German tourists grew by 20% y-o-y, Tourism Minister Khaled Ramy announced. Ramy expects bookings for the whole year to reach 40% after implementing new plans that have already received preliminary approvals. Ramy says bookings for the winter season are set to be 30% higher than last year. The minister asked tour operators focus more of their efforts on Luxor and Aswan to bring rates up to their 2010 levels again. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS & ICT

Egyptian companies invest USD 7 mn in African ICT firms
All Africa | 27 May 2015
Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) recently hosted a three day visit from an African delegation under the second round of the “Africa together” program. The event witnessed the signing of agreements between Egyptian companies such as Raya and Hiteknofal with over 17 African ICT firms from 6 different countries. (Read)

Egypt’s cellular networks bring in 700K new subscribers
Al Mal | 30 May 2015
Cellular network companies have managed to attract around 700,000 new subscribers during the first quarter of 2015, according to a report issued by the ministry of telecommunications, registering 95.9 mn in total subscribers as of March. Vodafone added 500,000 new subscribers in 1Q15, bringing its total number of subscribers to 40 mn and a market share of 41%. Mobinil added 100,000 new subscribers in 1Q15, bringing its total to 33.7 mn users, while Etisalat Egypt added 300,000 new subscribers in the quarter, for a total of 22.2 mn users. (Read in Arabic)

BANKING & FINANCE

CIB, AAIB, and Pharos Capital to advise on Tanmeyah’s planned securitization issue
Al Borsa | 27 May 2015
Tanmeyah Micro Enterprise Services has selected CIB, Arab African International Bank, and Pharos Capital to advise on the company’s planned securitization deal. This marks the first time that the company has issued bonds, revealed Tanmeyah chief Amro Abouesh. The total value and timeline of the issuance have yet to be determined, added the CEO. In related news, Tanmeyah recently opened four new branches in Fayoum and has plans to open two additional branches in Aswan. (Read in Arabic)

S&P revises Outlooks on NBE, Banque Misr and CIB from Stable to Positive
CPI Financial | 28 May 2015
S&P revised its outlook on NBE, Banque Misr and CIB from stable to positive, according to a press release issued on Thursday, and affirmed its B-C long- and short-term ratings for the three banks. “The positive outlooks indicate that we could upgrade NBE, BM, and CIB if we upgraded Egypt. We could revise the outlooks on the banks to stable if we revised the outlook on the sovereign credit ratings to stable,” the statement read. (Read)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Panalpina acquires its long-time Egyptian agent Afifi
Panalpina press release | 29 May 2015
Switzerland-based supply chain solutions provider Panalpina announced it will acquire its Egyptian agent Afifi, a family-owned company consisting of Afifi Air Cargo, Afifi World Transport and Afifi Logistics International, according to a press release issued on Friday. Afifi has been Panalpina’s agent in Egypt for the past 20 years. “The acquisition will not only allow us to substantially increase business in our home market but also across borders, as we will now be able to offer true end-to-end solutions to our international customers,” said Mohamed Afifi, Jr., managing director for Panalpina in Egypt. (Read)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

Parliament before end of 2015 -President El Sisi
Ahram Online | 27 May 2015
President Abdelfattah El Sisi promised party heads that a new parliament will be seated by the end of the year during a meeting on Wednesday, Ahram Online reports. The President reiterated his calls for different parties to run in unified electoral lists. (Read)

President approves EUR 67.6 mn in EU funding
Al Ahram | 28 May 2015
President El Sisi approved EUR 67.6 mn in funding from the European Union to finance an employment programme in Egypt. The funds, according to Al Ahram, were disbursed through the EBRD. The programme includes projects to increase employment in infrastructure and civil service and aims to increase youth employment and contribute to capacity building. (Read in Arabic)

Egyptian companies keen on expanding in Algerian market, government envoy says
Al Mal | 28 May 2015
Egyptian companies are looking for opportunities to expand into the Algerian market, an envoy of the Egyptian government said. The comments came during the Foire Internationale D’Alger, were Egyptian producers showcased their products on a 300 sqm plot at the event. 1,300 producers from 30 different countries are represented at the fair in Algiers. (Read in Arabic)

REGIONAL

Daesh claim second Saudi mosque bombing in as many weeks, two volunteer security guards died stopping suicide bomber from reaching worshippers
The Independent | 29 May 2015
Volunteer security guards Mohammed Hassan Ali bin Isa and Abdul-Jalil al-Arbash, died when a suicide bomber blew himself up after they turned him away from the Shiite Imam Hussein mosque in Dammam on Friday. The attacker was reportedly dressed as a woman and was heading for the women’s entrance to the mosque. Daesh later claimed responsibility for the attack online. (Read)

Daesh seize Sirte airport in Libya
BBC News | 29 May 2015
The capture of the airport was announced both by Daesh and by a Libyan militia that retreated from the airport on Thursday, BBC reports. Daesh has also managed to capture the world’s largest irrigation project, the Great Man Made River, which supplies freshwater to Libyan cities. Both facilities were previously controlled by the rebel Islamist militia who currently occupy Tripoli. (Read)

Houthi anti-aircraft munitions leading cause of casualties in Sanaa -Amnesty
Amnesty International press release | 28 May 2015
Houthi anti-aircraft fire falling and detonating in populated areas is the leading cause of death in the Yemeni capital, according to medical staff speaking to Amnesty International following their week-long investigation on the ground, according to a release by the organization on Thursday. “A doctor at al-Thawra hospital, one of the largest public hospitals in Sana’a, told Amnesty International that the vast majority – around 90% – of war wounded patients admitted to the hospital had been injured by anti-aircraft fire … A second doctor working at the hospital also confirmed that the majority of the 1,024 wounded patients treated there during the first month of the conflict, had also been injured by anti-aircraft fire.” (Read)

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Following an armed protest on Friday, partially made up of biker gangs, outside a Phoenix, Arizona mosque against the “tyranny of Islam in America,” perhaps the most informed and eloquent commentary comes from a reader’s comment in the Washington Post’s reporting on the event: “Protesting against Muslims? In America? I’m an 81 year old Jew born in New York … with yellow journalism’s constant railing against Muslims and with many of our elected officials stirring the hatred pot, we are witnessing scenes not that different from Germany just prior to Kristallnacht.” (Read, scroll the end of the article for the comment)

Text someone a certain string of Arabic characters and you can force their iPhone to restart, it seems. The BBC has the report.

Egypt’s Renewable Energy Summit wraps today at the Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Palm Hills Developments’ second subscription round for unsubscribed shares, representing 3.39% of its EGP 1.648 bn rights issue, starts today and will run until 2 June.

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (last sale Thursday, 28 May): 7.5301 (unchanged since Monday, 02 Feb)
USD parallel market (Thursday, 28 May): 7.67 (unchanged from Sunday, 24 May, Reuters)

EGX30 (Thursday): 8,912.05 (-0.61%)
Turnover: EGP 706.3 mn (26% above the 90-day average)

WTI: USD 60.30 (+4.54%)
Brent: USD 65.56 (+4.76%)

TASI: 9,757.1 (flat)
ADX: 4,516.6 (-1.3%)
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