Moody’s shows banking system some love, raising outlook to ‘Stable’

TL;DR

• Watch our first national television advertisement
• Moody’s upgrades outlook for banking system to stable
• Cotton import ban suspended
• IMF chief in Cairo welcomes devaluation
• Juhayna posts strong 2Q/1H2015 results
• No clarity on export subsidies
• TE, Vodafone nearing solution on EGP 2 bn dispute
• Bedouin are providing intelligence, logistical support to Army in Sinai

** WELCOME, NEW READERS **

To mark the publication earlier this week of our 200th issue in English and the end of the ‘beta’ period for our Arabic edition, we have launched our first-ever national television ad on Al-Kahera wal Nas (run time: 0:59). Welcome to all of the new readers who have joined the fold since the ad first began airing yesterday — thank you for choosing to start your business day with Enterprise.

Enterprise is on break next week. We’re off 19-23 July to recharge our batteries and gear-up for what we expect will be a busy second half of the year — though odds are good we’ll drop into your inbox once or twice over the break. We’ll be back on 27 July before 7am with your daily roundup of the news and views that set the business agenda in Egypt — and with a little bit of additional news about what’s next for Enterprise.

On behalf of all of us here at Enterprise, please accept our warmest wishes for an Eid filled with family, friends and relaxation.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

There are busy news months, and then there’s the hurly burly through which we’ve passed since Ramadan began. Mercifully, it will be Eid El-Fitr in Cairo not even 24 hours from now.

When do we eat? The final iftar of Ramadan 2015 will be at 6:58pm today, according to Islamic Finder. For those who observe, Salat El-Eid will take place at 5:05am CLT on Friday.

NEXT WEEK’S HOLIDAY CALENDAR

Next week will be a very, very short work week. Eid El-Fitr will run from Friday, 17 July through Monday, 20 July. Markets and banks are closed, opening again on Tuesday, 21 July.

Thursday, 23 July is a public holiday in observance of the 1952 Revolution.

Reminder for anyone travelling to Sa7el: The government has closed the Alamein road in both directions from 14 July to 15 August for road improvements.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

The hosts of CBC Egypt were all off for the night, and Al Qahera Al Youm featured a religious-themed live musical performance to mark the end of Ramadan.

Which means we were left with Ahmed Moussa on Sada El Balad, who railed against Qur’anic reciter Mohamed Gebreel, who on Wednesday was barred from leaving Egypt while attempting to travel to London. As Ahram Online reports: “During Ramadan-evening Taraweeh prayers on Monday at the popular Amr Ibn Al-As mosque in south Cairo, Gebreel appeared to criticise government officials, media pundits, and religious preachers.”

Moussa also had a few words to say regarding a statement made by Gebreel on the day following Hisham Barakat’s assassination. (Watch in Arabic, running time: 1:40)

** READ ENTERPRISE IN ARABIC **

The Arabic edition of Enterprise is now out of beta. Sign up here without charge to receive your copy Sunday through Thursday before 8am.

SPEED ROUND

Moody’s upgrades outlook for Egypt’s banking system to stable: The ratings agency has upgraded its outlook on the nation’s banking system to stable from negative, reflecting its expectation that the funding and liquidity positions of domestic banks will remain strong amid improving operating conditions over the next 12-18 months. “We expect that Egypt’s banking system will benefit from improved operating conditions, resulting in rising consumer confidence and business investments, which in turn will support loan growth and asset quality”, said Moody’s Melina Skouridou. The agency expects that strengthening the domestic economy and improving the performance of restructured loans will help in improving banks’ asset quality, but capital buffers will continue to be under pressure. Moody’s subscribers can read a detailed report here, otherwise check out Moody’s release on the subject or see how it’s playing in the domestic press.

In what is at least the second legislative flip-flop in nearly as many months, Cabinet has suspended the ban on cotton imports, caving to pressure from industry, report Al-Mal and Al-Masry Al-Youm, citing unnamed government sources. Cabinet will form a committee to study the industry, where decades of bad management and poor policy have seen Egypt fall from being a next exporter of some 1.5 mn bales of cotton in 1969-70 to being a net importer of 225,000 bales last season. The suspension of the ban camedespite strong opposition from Agriculture Minister Salah Helal, who was quoted as saying that Egypt imported 1.5 mn quintals of cotton in the past 10 months despite reserves of 2.7 mn quintals sitting in storage. The US. Department of Agriculture — one of the world’s top authorities on such matters — predicts that Egyptian cotton production will nosedive 35% in the next season to its lowest level on record. Not up to speed? Salma El-Wardany and Whitney McFerron had a nice backgrounder a few weeks back for Bloomberg, while the inimitable Heba Saleh filed a take for the FT back in February.

Or is it the third flip-flop? In May, the Mahlab government bowed to pressure from retail investors and suspended implementation of the capital gains tax. Now, we’re keeping a close eye on what could be the third policy reversal given the resounding silence from Cabinet following Tax Authority chief Abdel Moneim Mattar’s musing that it would be nice to leave the 5% wealth surtax in place for another year.

Other decisions taken yesterday at the Council of Ministers’ weekly meeting:

• Scrapping the proposed two-year prison sentence for journalists convicted under Article 33 of the draft anti-terror bill of reporting facts at odds with the official narrative. Cabinet replaced the measure with a fine of EGP 200,000 to EGP 500,000. (Read in Arabic)
• Renaming Raba’a Al Adawiya Square after assassinated Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat. (Read in Arabic)
• Approving amendments to the illicit gains law, allowing the judiciary to dismiss charges against defendants who make full restitution. The amendments also allow state agencies to manage frozen assets to prevent their value from deteriorating during the period in which they’re sequestered. (Read in Arabic)
• Granting the National Service Projects arm of the Armed Forces the right to manage and operate roads falling under the new national roads project. (Read in Arabic)
• Assessing progress in the implementation of the Advanced Traffic Management System across the principal highways nationwide. (Read in Arabic)
• Allocating 535.6 feddans in North Sinai to build the New Rafah City. (Read in Arabic)
• A revaluation of the price charged for electricity exports to the Gaza strip. (Read in Arabic)
• Amending parts of the law on criminal procedure. (Read in Arabic)
• Establishing a Homeland Security Administration for Qalyubia in order to ensure that the security needs of the governorate are met. (Read in Arabic)

IMF welcomes devaluation: The Central Bank of Egypt’s move to allow the EGP to devalue against the USD is a welcome step, the IMF’s head of mission to Egypt told Al Shorouk. Christopher Jarvis said devaluation brings the EGP closer to its real value, helping to make foreign currency accessible, improve competitiveness, and support exports. Jarvis also praised the move to reduce the targeted budget deficit to 8.9% of GDP.

Winner of FSRU tender to be announced after Eid. EGAS has assessed the offers presented for supplying the second FSRU leaving only two offers that will be assessed in terms of price, a source told Al Ahram. In total, four offers were presented, with two excluded because they entailed delivering the FSRU in December and January, whereas EGAS wants it on station in Ain Sokhna in September, where it will join the Höegh Gallant. An FSRU is a floating storage and regasificaiton unit, which makes possible the import of liquefied natural gas and its feeding into the national grid. Learn how it works.

Juhayna posts 12% rise in 1H15 top line, 57% growth in net income to EGP 130 mn. The top dairy producer’s three primary business segments each recorded double-digit growth. The company also noted progress on its drive for increased “vertical integration and improved operational efficiency,” including the opening of two new distribution centers (on in Giza, one in Minya) and the arrival of its first consignment of 650 German Holstein cows. The news comes just a week after Juhayna formalized its new 51%-owned joint venture with leading European dairy products company Arla. Read the company’s earnings release here (pdf download, English) or catch the Amwal Al-Ghad’s take (in Arabic).

Beltone wins regulatory approval of EGP 200 mn capital increase, Reuters quotes Beltone Financial Holding IR chief Osama Rashad as saying, noting the subscription period will run 2-31 August and that the transaction is “the second part of a two-stage capital increase programme to fund growth in its financial services business which had previously been slated for earlier this year.”

Zero clarity on export subsidies: Just two days after Al-Borsa reported what it said was a statement from the Trade and Industry Ministry that export subsidies could nearly double from the EGP 2.6 bn promised in the FY2014-15 budget, Al-Shorouk quotes Mounir Abdelnour as saying the earmark will remain unchanged. “The government has other priorities like healthcare and education,” the minister is quoted as saying, raising the possibility that the earlier story in Al-Borsa represented a trial balloon from the ministry. Mohamed El Sewedy, Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, is concerned; he said the business community was promised the government would increase the earmarked amount through non-budget sources. Related Reading: N Gage Consulting has background on the export subsidy program, how to tap it, and the debate over doubling it to EGP 5 bn. It’s available without charge for Enterprise readers (pdf).

Telecom Egypt (TE) has formed a committee to address all of the problems arising from its replacement of copper wire with fibre-optic cable, Amwal Al Ghad reported. The committee is set to finalise its assessment before the end of the week. CEO Ossama Yassin that some of the difficulties faced are technical, particularly with power supply disruptions. This followed TE having received the independent financial advisor’s report on repricing its network infrastructure, which was completed by Pharos this week. Vodafone Egypt said it awaits an official proposal from TE in order to begin assessing the impact of the proposed repricing. Yves Gauthier, Mobinil’s CEO, also said his company has not yet received an official proposal and will need time to assess the impact of the offer. TE’s Yassin singled out Mobinil, saying the fixed-line monopoly has extended the duration of its negotiations with the French-owned mobile network operator for two months as he expects an agreement to be reached in September.

New unified social insurance law not yet finalised -Waly. Rumours that a draft of the unified social insurance bill has been finalised are untrue, Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Waly said yesterday. A proposed bill is still being revised by a panel of experts, and public consultations will be held before the draft begins moving through the legislative process. Current social insurance legislation needs to be amended to reflect provisions of the new civil service act. (Read in Arabic)

Electricity Ministry to sign-off on model renewable energy purchase agreement next month:Three months after it said it reviewing the final draft of the document in the run-up to the EEDC, the Electricity Ministry now says it will sign-off on a model energy purchase agreement prepared by German consultancy Fichtner. Fichtner appears to have used the interim period to re-work the agreement following feedback from players in the renewable energy sector on issues including the arbitration mechanism in cases of dispute, project implementation assurances, fines for delays, methods of payment, and differences in exchange rates. (Read in Arabic)

The Armed Forces foiled an attempt to remotely detonate a car filled with half a ton of TNT near a military checkpoint on the Katameya-Suez road, according to the Armed Forces’ spokesperson. The vehicle’s driver was killed after being fired at by the military personnel there but no other casualties were reported.

IMF update on Greece calls for further debt relief, protests turn violent in Athens: The IMF on Tuesday released a brief update on their preliminary analysis of the sustainability of Greece’s debt. Their findings conclude that Greece will require financing of c. EUR 86 bn for the next two and a half years, that debt will reach to 200% of GDP over roughly the same time period, and that “The dramatic deterioration in debt sustainability points to the need for debt relief on a scale that would need to go well beyond what has been under consideration to date—and what has been proposed by the ESM … If Europe prefers to again provide debt relief through maturity extension, there would have to be a very dramatic extension with grace periods of, say, 30 years on the entire stock of European debt, including new assistance.” The warning from the IMF came just one day before protests in Athens outside of parliament turned slightly violent with clashes between demonstrators and police involving Molotov cocktails and tear gas in response.

AT PRESS TIME: Greek lawmakers approved tax hikes and an increase in the retirement age, key conditions the nation’s creditors had demanded for a bailout to go ahead. The IMF’s Christine Lagarde said negotiations on a complete bailout package in the coming weeks will be a “colossal” challenge.

U.S. Senate FIFA inquiry to include plight of construction workers in Qatar; Labor unions, human rights groups step-up calls for FIFA reform: A US Senate subcommittee met on Wednesday to holding a hearing into allegations of corruption in FIFA’s award of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. The hearing was also set to look into alleged human rights violations with regard to labor practices in Qatar, as reported byThe Hill. This coincided on Wednesday with Transparency International, the International Trade Union Confederation and Avaaz announcing that they were joining the reform campaign #NewFIFANow. If that wasn’t enough pressure on the global football body, the U.S. national labor union federation sent letters to McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Visa asking them to support reform of FIFA, Reuters reported. “There has to be an independent reform commission and FIFA has to change. No more false dawns, no more scandals, no more dawn raids,” said Transparency International Managing Director Cobus de Swardt. For more on this story, ESPN UK’s documentary from last year is a good examination of the living conditions of Qatar’s migrant workers and its kefala system. (Watch “A 21st Century slave state” | Qatar World Cup 2022, running time: 8:12)

Turkey sentences two terrorists accused of beheading three Syrian priests to two years in prison, defendant alleges he was assisted by Turkish intelligence during his time in Syria: Magomet Abdurakmanov and Ahmad Ramzanov, two Chechen terrorists who had fought in Syria and who were arrested in Turkey in 2013 were each handed two-year prison sentences (reduced from 7.5 years) for belonging to a terrorist organization, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily reports. While the prosecutor had wanted to also prosecute the defendants for the beheadings, Turkey’s justice ministry refused the request, saying, “The crime was not committed against Turkey and the lack of agreement on extraditions.” One of the Chechen defendants alleged in court: “We were in contact with Turkish intelligence all the time. Turkey sent us arms, cars and money when we were fighting in Syria. Turkey was helping us because we were fighting against [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad.”

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A MESSAGE FROM PHAROS HOLDING

Buy (or at least Accumulate) GEMMA — the recent softening in the real estate market doesn’t necessarily bode poorly for a company with earnings visibility through 2017

In 2014, Pharos Research had upgraded its fair value estimate for GEMMA (ECAP.CA) to EGP 13.6 / share on the back of the ceramic manufacturer’s increased brand equity and product diversification. During the year, the stock reached EGP 10.6 / share, its highest levels since 2008, and closed the year with a 119% gain. This upward trend, however, has recently reversed with GEMMA losing 46.9% of its value in 2015 to date, leaving its market capitalization at EGP 226.1 mn.

Pharos Research believes that this new market cap level is below the fair value of the stock especially if the company maintains its 1Q15 sales momentum throughout 2015 and without suffering any one-off expenses. The investment bank will revise its FV estimate once the company releases its second quarter earnings but in the meantime recommends buying or at least accumulating. Click here to read more — and to learn why we don’t think the recently-observed softening in the property market necessarily holds downside for GEMMA, where there’s earnings visibility through 2017.
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EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Antiterrorism bill a ‘deadly blow to human rights’-Amnesty: Amnesty International released a statement on Wednesday criticizing the recently-proposed anti-terror bill, saying it “… Expands the Egyptian authorities’ powers and threatens the most fundamental rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” according to Amnesty International’s Said Boumedouha as reported by Reuters. The story has since been picked up by Zawya, Yahoo News, Business Insider and Ahram Online.

Carnegie Endowment for Peace now offering strategic advice to the Ikhwan: Georges Fahmi’s latest piece for the Carnegie Middle East Center on the generational split in the Ikhwan and subsequent fracturing of the organization strays into ‘interesting’ territory as he goes beyond analysis in his conclusion to offering policy recommendations to the Ikhwan: “If it wants to maintain the coherence of the organization, give members more room to act, and at the same time ensure its ability to make and enforce decisions even if not all members accept them, the new leadership should work toward new organizational rules. These rules would balance internal democracy by including lower-ranking members in the decision-making process with the need ensure that all members are committed to decisions and that the current decentralized structure does not prevent the leadership from making and enforcing its decisions when needed.” (Read: The Struggle for the Leadership of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood)

French historian compares Egypt’s leadership to the Mamluks in new book: James Denselow writing for Huffington Post reviews the recently published book From Deep State to Islamic State – The Arab Counter-Revolution and its Jihadi Legacy by French historian Jean-Pierre Filiu. Filiu attempts to cast Egypt’s current leadership as an extension of the Mamluk sultanate: “It is a ‘study of the repressive dynamics designed to crush any hope of democratic change’ … that looks to use a parallel with the Mamluks’, who ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1517, to understand how a military elite in particular were able to ‘hijack the post-colonial independent states and establish their military dictatorships’ (p.125) … Filiu charts how the ‘Mamluks’ survived the transition of Tantawi to Sisi via a ‘tripartite alliance between militarised intelligence, politicised judiciary and criminal gangs’ (p.167) and warns that Sisi ‘could prove more devastating than all the previous Mamluk adventures.’” (Read)

UK citizens apparently “not happy” with Cameron inviting El Sisi to tea: Iran’s Press TV is doing little to promote a thaw in relations between Cairo and Tehran with its coverage of a “powerful” protest against a planned meeting between U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, obviously impressed by the 50 or so tweets of #sisinotwelcome. MP’s are being urged to sign an Early Day Motion, the parliamentary equivalent of planning an unimportant debate in protest. (Watch in English, running time 2:17. Or don’t and save yourself the blood pressure points.)

WORTH READING

The recent murder of a Bedouin woman by Wilayet Sina terrorists for cooperating with the Egyptian Army could prove a turning point, Reuters concludes after speaking with “more than a dozen tribal leaders [who], outraged by the attack and other brutalities, now say they will join the battle against the militants, despite years of feeling neglected by the central government. … Tribal fighters, he said, are helping the army with intelligence — advice on local terrain and the identity of individual militants, many of whom come from the very tribes which have now begun to support the government. The tribes are also offering logistical support and helping suppress anti-army sentiment.” Read: Special Report: Bedouins drawn into Egypt’s Islamist fight

WORTH WATCHING

NASA press conference on Pluto images and data from New Horizons: On Wednesday, NASA held an hour-long press conference on their images and findings from the New Horizons spacecraft during its flyby of dwarf planet Pluto. The Guardian has a short video of the highlights, including a zoomed-in image of what appears to be a mountain range, (Watch, running time: 1:35). What’s next for New Horizons? It’s hoped that the spacecraft’s nuclear energy supply will last for decades to come, and the next stop is the Kuiper Belt — a formation resembling an asteroid belt composed mostly of frozen methane and ammonia.

ENERGY

EGPC expects to collect EGP 13 bn in taxes from IOCs this fiscal year
Al Borsa | 14 July 2015
The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation expects to collect EGP 13 bn in taxes from international oil companies in FY2015-16, a source told Al Borsa. EGPC is not expecting any fuel grants from Arab countries, contrary to previous years. In order to be able to meet its obligations, EGPC, which has a budget of EGP 458 bn this year, will borrow around EGP 47.7 bn. (Read in Arabic)

USD 100 mn solar plant contract to be signed in days
Amwal Al Ghad | 15 July 2015
A final contract to build a USD 100 mn solar plant in the Wadi El Gedid governorate in cooperation with South Korean investors will be signed within days, said Mehrem Helal, head of the 10th of Ramadan Investor Association. The 50MW project will be built on a 50 feddan plot of land. Helal says project planning should be done in six months, saying the facility could be online within a year. (Read in Arabic)

Supplies from the Suez-Mostorod pipeline disrupted following crash
Al Masry Al Youm | 15 July 2015
A truck working on the Cairo-Suez Road improvement project crashed into the Suez-Mostorod petroleum products pipeline, Al Masry Al Youm reported. The accident resulted in a fire that forced the pipeline to shutdown. The pipeline is being repaired and is set to resume operations, Mohamed Fathy, the head of the Petroleum Pipelines Company said. The truck driver was injured, according to Fathy, and a fire fighting team has managed to contain the fire. (Read in Arabic)

OiLibya reports EGP 900 mn sales in 6 months
Amwal Al Ghad | 15 July 2015
OiLibya Egypt achieved 100% of its sales plan in 1H15, according to managing director Saleh El Abdaly. The company made EGP 900 mn in sales in six months, yielding profits higher than all of 2014, which he attributes to new products, distributors and strategic contracts with 15 corporate clients. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS & COMMODITIES

Wheat reserves can last until mid-February, says Ministry of Supply
Al Mal | 15 July 2015
Egypt has wheat reserves can last until mid-February, announced Minister of Supply Khaled Hanafy. The General Authority for Supply Commodities signed a contract yesterday to import 235,000 tons of Russian and Romanian wheat for arrival over a 10-day period beginning 21 August. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH & EDUCATION

National Heart Institute receives EGP 110 mn additional funds
Al Mal | 15 July 2015
The Minister of Health Adel Adawi confirmed all three phases of development at the National Heart Institute are running simultaneously, assuring that the first phase will be complete at the end of this month and includes upgrading the ICU and outpatient clinics, as well as the blood bank and nursing school to accommodate 100 students instead of the current 35. Adawi also confirmed the institute has been allocated EGP 110 mn by the Ministry of Planning, and negotiations are in place with the Ministry of Finance to increase the available operations budget to EGP 46 mn, he said. (Read in Arabic)

30-50% drop in medical supply sales
Al Mal | 15 July 2015
The Medical Supply Division at the Cairo Chamber of Commerce reported a substantial drop in medical supply sales ranging between 30-50% since the start of Ramadan. There’s a slump in demand for medical supplies from hospitals in the current period as institutions rely on strategic reserves, said Ismael Abdo, head of the medical supply division. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING

EFCBC completes training 6,000 workers, raises training budget to EGP 1 bn
Amwal Al Ghad | 15 July 2015
The Egyptian Federation for Construction and Building Contractors has completed training 6,000 workers as part of a cooperation protocol signed with the Ministry of Youth, said EFCBC Chairman Hassan Abdel Aziz. Additionally, EFCBC members have increased their worker training budget to EGP 1 bn. (Read in Arabic)

TOURISM

EgyptAir introduces direct flights between Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada
Al Masry Al Youm | 15 July 2015
EgyptAir Express will launch direct service between the cities of Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada. Prices will be starting from EGP 414 for round-trip tickets, excluding duties and taxes, and flights will operate on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS & ICT

TE, Vodafone Global Enterprise close to resolving EGP 2 bn dispute
Al Borsa | 15 July 2015
Telecom Egypt has entered into negotiations with Vodafone Global Enterprise over EGP 2 bn in retained earnings that Vodafone Egypt has retained on its balance sheet since 2013. TE CEO Osama Yassin claims companies are close to reaching an agreement that could see Vodafone Egypt make its first in a series of payments to TE shortly. (Read in Arabic)

OTHER BUSINESS NEWS OF NOTE

Mahlab forms National Climate Change Council
Aswat Masriya | 14 July 2015
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab announced the formation of the National Climate Change Council. The council is tasked with drafting the national policy on climate change and linking it with the strategic plan for sustainable development. The council will be headed by the Environmental Affairs Minister, who will choose three experts to join the council, which will also include members from other ministries. (Read in Arabic)

P&G exported detergent, soap worth EGP 202 mn in 5M2015
Amwal Al Ghad | 15 July 2015
Procter & Gamble controlled 44% of Egypt’s detergent and soap exports in 5M2015, recording total outbound sales of EGP 202 mn. Industry wide, soap and detergent exports fell 9.3% in the first five months of the year to EGP 518 mn, according to a report by the Chemical & Fertilizers Export Council. (Read in Arabic)

REGIONAL

Nidaa Tounes, the ruling party in Tunisia, is mired in internal disputes — and even more are likely to emerge by the end of the year, Omar Belhaj Salah argues. “The internal structure of Nidaa Tounes no longer favors achieving effective dialogue between leaders … There’s no focus on the important issues… The result, therefore, is that decisions are made off the tip, without knowing who made them,” former party leader Abd Aziz Mzoughi said. The threat, Salah posits, is that “Nidaa Tounes leaders appear unable to advance institutional democracy over narrow clan-ridden politicking. This would discredit Tunisia’s commitment to democratic norms and further undermine the government’s ability to handle security and economic challenges.”

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Egypt has other mega projects in the pipeline and the new Suez Canal is not the only project in which the country is investing, Suez Canal Authority head Mohab Mamish said in a meeting with a delegation of Egyptian politicians and artists. In related news: Suez Canal revenues eased 4% in June 2015 to EGP 431 mn, according to Ahram Online.

Reports the Daily News: “Pirelli Egypt has signed a unique EUR 2 mn agreement with the Social Fund for Development in order to launch a new franchise of service centres for commercial and passenger tires, operated by young entrepreneurs who will be coached by Pirelli and financed by the Fund.” (Read)

Emaar Misr closes up for a third day in a row. Shares are still underwater from their EGP 3.80 price at IPO, but rallied 2.03% yesterday to close at EGP 3.52.

Africa50, the infrastructure investment fund launched in June by the African Development Bank, will hold its first general assembly meeting in Morocco later this month, Amwal Al Ghad reports. Ten countries have committed capital of USD 700 mn to the fund, including USD 100 mn from Egypt, leaving it short of its USD 1 bn goal. AfDB had said late in June that it would look to close the gap by fundraising private sector entities including pension funds and insurance companies and would consider opening participation to non-African agencies.

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Tuesday, 14 July): 7.7301 (unchanged since Sunday, 05 July)
USD parallel market (Tuesday, 14 July): 7.86 (-0.01 from Sunday, 12 July)

EGX30 (Wednesday): 7,882.62 (+2.55%)
Turnover: EGP 495.7 mn (4% above the 90-day average)

WTI: USD 51.41 (-3.07%)
Brent: USD 57.36 (-1.97%)

TASI: 9,337.9 (+0.7%)
ADX: 4,809.9 (+0.7%)
DFM: 4,101.9 (+1.2%)
KSE Weighted Index: 425.3 (+0.8%%)
QE: 12,020.7 (+0.5%)
MSM: 6,543.9 (+0.1%)