Wednesday, 5 August 2015

PMI down, Emaar Misr up, EGX in Smart Village by month’s end

TL;DR

  1. PMI signals renewed downturn in business conditions
  2. Govt targeting reduction of debt to IOCs to USD 2.9 bn by August’s end
  3. Emaar Misr 1H profit up 283%, 20% increase in net sales
  4. EGX ready to move to Smart Village by month’s end
  5. Sweater Weather: The global A/C gender war
  6. Differing takes on the Maspero Triangle urban renewal project

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING THIS WEEK

Thursday is a national holiday as Egypt celebrates the inauguration of the New Suez Canal. Enterprise will be taking the day off and will return on Sunday.

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING NEXT WEEK

The GB Auto 2Q15 results call is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 12 August 2015 at 16:00 Cairo Local Time.

LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Other than the debut of the first of the patriotic Suez Canal songs that will be playing non-stop in the days and weeks to come, there was not much to note on last night’s talk shows. Just to make sure that viewers have the song (we were unable to catch the title) memorized ahead of the festivities on 6 August, lyrics appeared on-screen karaoke style along with footage of the construction of the canal and impressive-looking tankers crossing the new waterway.

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SPEED ROUND

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PMI signals renewed downturn in business conditions: Business activity fell in July according to the Emirates NBD Egypt PMI survey on Tuesday, with the index dipping below the neutral 50.0 mark to 49.2. “…Assuming the two biggest factors that are undermining private sector business activity at the moment –security risks and FX liquidity shortages – improve in the coming months, we would be optimistic that growth momentum can accelerate in H2,” according to Jean-Paul Pigat, Senior Economist at Emirates NBD as quoted in the release. With regard to security: “Concerns over security were reported to have dampened demand, leading firms to scale back production.” The release also notes the increased pressure on purchasing power, as input costs went up on the back of a weaker EGP. (Read, pdf)

LG has earmarked USD 80 in investments for the construction of phase 2 of its factory in 10th of Ramadan city, reports Al Borsa. LG will begin production of domestically manufactured air-conditioners and refrigerators, once expansion is completed in 2017. Aggregate sales revenue for goods sold from the 10th of Ramadan factory is reportedly expected to hit EGP 3 bn in FY2015/16.

The government is targeting a reduction of its debt to foreign oil companies to USD 2.9 bn by August’s end, down from its current USD 3.5 bn, with an eye towards making full restitution by the end of 2016, said Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail. This comes as the country attempts to secure agreements with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait shipments for supplies of petroleum products with lax payment terms. The minister added that agreements signed with majors such as BG, BP, and Eni will help build local capacity and reduce reliance on imports, according to Reuters and as reported by CNBC Arabia. It should be noted that the while the government has made significant strides in reducing debt owed to foreign oil companies, the amount owed had begun to creep back up recently. While the government has managed to reduce the amount owed from USD 4.9 bn from November 2015 to the current USD 3.5 bn as of the present, the USD 3.5 bn owed marks a 6.1% increase from March 2015.

Emaar Misr’s 1H15 net profit jumped 283% y-o-y to EGP 522 mn, with revenues growing 56% on the back of a 20% growth of net sales to EGP 3.9 bn, according to its earnings release (pdf) sent to the EGX. The move comes just one day after a stock buyback saw 81% of its shares tendered by investors.Emaar Misr also announced it appointed Mohamed El Dahan as its new Managing Director, replacing Mohamed Alabbar who is now a non-executive chairman, according to a release sent to the EGX. (Read in Arabic, pdf)

The Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development was awarded ownership of an NDP building in Heliopolis, after an administrative court overturned a ministerial decree that designated the facility as property of the specialized national councils, reports Al Borsa.

Deputy Finance Minister Ayman Al Qaffas denied that finance minister Hany Kadry Dimian issued a threat to ministry employees planning to protest on 10 August during a closed meeting earlier on Saturday, an event which was widely reported in a number of media outlets, including our own. Al Qaffas stated that the minister did speak on the need to separate political action, unionized organization, and institutional duty, Al Borsa reports. The press release issued by the deputy minister struck a more conciliatory tone, but insisted that there can be no political action taken with regards to internal institutional policy.

The EGX will complete its long-anticipated move to its facility at Smart Village before the end of August, reads an official statement from the exchange. In related news, the EGX board has plans to establish a museum at the bourse’s soon-to-be-vacant downtown trading floor, in commemoration of the stock exchange’s 130 year history.

The Legislative Reform Committee preliminarily approved the Unified Nile River Law, Youm7reports. According to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hossam Moghazi, the draft law will be presented to the Legislative Reform Committee for final approval, once all of the committee’s concerns are addressed. The Unified Nile River law, according to Moghazi, gives authority to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation to monitor projects and activities along the Nile and hone in on violations, in addition to issuing necessary building permits.

The Transport Ministry has received overtures from the Italian government to invest USD 150 mn in overhauling dilapidated railway lines, according to the investment advisor to the Transport Minister. He added that the negotiations and financing frameworks will be agreed upon this month. He also stated that the ministry plans to fund refurbishing around 3,300 railway cars with EGP 2.5 bn from its own coffers,Al Mal reports.

The government plans to extend the personal income tax exemption limit, in addition to increasing family tax benefits, in an amendment to the Individual Income Tax Law (or Salary Tax Law), according to sources within the government. The amendment would see the raising of the personal tax exemption from EGP 7,000 to EGP 7,500. While deliberations are ongoing with regard to the extent of family benefits,Al Mal reports that the likeliest idea is to peg them to the inflation rate.

China is ready to assist Africa in combatting the effects of climate change through the South-South Cooperation Trust Fund, said Environment Minister Khaled Fahmy after a meeting between Minister Fahmy and Chinese environmental officials. He added that China has expressed a keen interest in investing in renewable and clean energy projects in Egypt and throughout Africa. Minister Fahmy also spoke of the necessity of partnering with Russia to build up technical capabilities for clean energy project,Al Mal reports. While clean energy projects should be a priority, turning to China, which is fast becoming the world’s leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, must be taken with a grain of salt. Chinese promises in this regard may have more to do with projection and development aid in light of Obama’s recent visit to Africa. The timing of pledge also coincides with Obama’s announcement of a monumental environmental policy plan.

… However, some incremental change is happening. The Agriculture Ministry celebrated its switch to solar power on Tuesday evening, as part of a comprehensive government plan to move have its facilities rely on solar power. Agriculture Minister Salah Hilal was reportedly set to be on hand to mark the occasion, as his ministry becomes on the first to implement the government-wide mandate, according toAl Mal.

Sweater Weather: The global A/C gender war: Gwynn Guilford writes for Quartz on a phenomenon happening right now in nearly every office in the world, but rarely discussed: the gender wars over air-conditioning. While not an absolute, anecdotally it would appear that women prefer warmer office climates, often leading to women keeping a sweater on hand in the middle of summer. If the case no such sweater is kept on hand, the situation may quickly escalate to the hiding of the A/C remote, yelling, and betrayal. Guilford writes: “A new study confirms that women’s body temperatures are much lower than the standard used to set air-conditioning levels, making women much more prone to feeling uncomfortably cold. The study was published online in Nature Climate Change … Others have shown that women feel comfortable with room temperatures of around 77°F, compared with men’s preference for less than 72°F. For comparison, the US government recommends office temperatures be between 69°F and 73°F (20.5°C to 22.8°C).” (Read Men are literally freezing women out of the workplace)

Okashawatch: Tawfik Okasha suddenly railed against historical revisionism in a recent television appearance, saying that the 1952 revolution was a coup, and that such distortion of history has had deleterious effects on the Arab nation, (Watch in Arabic, running time: 3:42). It’s uncertain what has Okasha riled up, but he did reportedly make a scene with passport authorities recently over his remaining on a travel ban pending a judge’s decision. Okasha has since had his travel ban lifted, Al-Mashhad reports. (Read in Arabic)

The head of the Afghan Taliban’s political office in Doha has resigned, the BBC reports, in what appears to be a split in the group following Mullah Omar’s death, which had been kept secret for almost two years.” The confirmation of Omar Mullah’s death has stalled peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, as different factions of the Taliban appear divided about succession.

Marc Champion, Bloomberg View editorial board member, writer on international affairs, and former Istanbul bureau chief for WSJ, writes in the Chicago Tribune: Turkey’s June election is quietly being stolen. “ … In order to reverse the election result, Erdogan will need to break the alliance between Turkish liberals and Kurds that allowed the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, or HDP, to make it into parliament. And the best way to do that is to revive the ethnic hatreds that mired Turkey in a 30-year war starting in the mid-1980s, costing an estimated 40,000 lives and untold economic opportunity.”

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***
A MESSAGE FROM PHAROS HOLDING

Juhayna Food Industries: Latest Sign of Intense Competitive Pressures

Pharos Holding has reiterated concerns over Juhayna Food Industries’ position in the Egyptian market, citing intense competition as the underlying reason behind the company’s recent soft-growth streak. Saudi Arabian manufacturer Almarai had stepped-up its game in 1H15, reporting a 49% increase in Egyptian sales volumes (in SAR-terms) during the period vs. only 11% for Juhayna, a drop Pharos had been expecting.

Although Juhayna trades at a relatively high annualized P/E of 29.9x, current dynamics indicate the company may face even stiffer competition in the second half of 2015, as SG&A expenses also rise and its well-established peer continues to push for market share in Egypt. Juhayna’s recently-signed JV with Danish dairy giant Arla Foods could turn things around for the company, but as visibility on the project is limited so far, we maintain our FV estimate for Juhayna’s stock at EGP 6.4/share and reiterate our Sell recommendation, at least temporarily. To find out more about Pharos’ reasoning, click here.
***

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

In a report by the AP’s Brian Rohan, readers get a glimpse into the main driving force behind Egypt’s youth calling for violence. Through interviews with protesters and officials, Rohan finds that most of those willing to talk to him say it is mainly to avenge friends and family. “Most of these young guys were not political before. They were politicized by violence, by seeing friends or family members shot and killed by police or being arbitrarily detained,” according to Cairo Institute for Human Rights’ Basem Zakaria al-Samargi. As a result, protests calling for violence against state authorities are more evident, especially in “poor, forgotten corners of the capital and countryside”, such as Matariya and Nahia. Jerome Drevon, a researcher at the University of Manchester on militant groups in semi-authoritarian regimes, says “The new Egyptian regime has triggered a self-fulfilling prophecy,” he said. “They have hindered any possibility of peaceful opposition to the regime, assimilated the Islamist opposition to IS, eroded mainstream Islamist groups’ internal organizational control over their sympathizers, and nourished a desire for revenge for young opponents.” (Read: Egypt’s disaffected youth increasingly calling for violence)

Time’s Jen Tse writes about Cairo-based photojournalist Roger Anis’ latest work on women facing harassment in Egypt. The photo essay includes portraits of women next to clothes they would want to wear on the streets if they weren’t afraid of being harassed. However, one of his niqab-dressed subjects quickly cuts to the truth of the matter: “clothes have nothing to do with harassment. You will be harassed no matter what you are wearing,” after she was spat on for wearing a colorful dress under her niqab. The article is in Time, but the url is not very email-friendly.

The BBC reports on the recent oversight by the Egyptian authorities, in their haste to prepare for Thursday’s event, to put up Egyptian flags in the streets of Cairo – sans the Eagle of Saladin – leaving them looking rather like Yemeni flags. The article presents the Egyptian media’s take on the error, citing both Egyptian publications Al Masry al-Youm and Al-Watan. (Read: Egypt: Gaffe sees Yemeni flags adorn the streets of Cairo)

WORTH READING

What’s happening with the Maspero Triangle housing development? Heba Saleh has an in-depth look at recent government initiatives on urban renewal of informal settlements in FT’s ‘Egypt: New Foundations,’ (paywall). The piece touches on specific developments such as the Maspero Triangle area development agreement, Minister Leila Eskander’s aspirations for the Manshiyat Nasr district and other informal areas, and what hopefully represents a real shift in the government’s outlook toward developing, rather than razing, informal areas, as reflected in the creation of Eskander’s ministry and her appointment within it. With regard to the Maspero Triangle urban renewal initiative, Saleh quotes a community leader who asserts that no forced evictions have taken place since the beginning of 2011. Urban planner Ahmed Zazaa says that the process thus far has been positive.

… However, Mada Masr recently published a piece focusing solely on the Maspero Triangle project, reporting on conversations with residents who gave a more troubling account of what is happening. The project to renovate dozens of homes is currently being handled by Arab Contractors. Zazaa, who is quoted in the above FT piece, less than a week ago gave a far-less glowing account of the experience. “Zaazaa questions the reasons behind the governorate’s insistence on demolishing the 10 houses that the Arab Contractors were already working on, especially since the neighborhood is scheduled to undergo development work in the coming few months … Demolition notices have already been delivered to some residents demanding that they evacuate their homes, without being given any guarantees that they will be able to return after reconstruction, nor providing alternative housing units or financial compensation.” (Read The Maspero Triangle: Necessary demolition or forced eviction?)

WORTH WATCHING

The ending of Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 8 set to the theme of Curb Your Enthusiasm. (Watch, running time: 48 seconds).

DIPLOMACY

In an interview for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) foreign correspondent program, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she had warned Egyptian authorities of “ramifications” if Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste was given a guilty verdict. Aware that Australia had little political leverage with Egypt, Bishop claimed that she started “”a very concerted campaign of advocacy” which involved high-level diplomatic contacts with the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and countries in the Middle East.” (Read: Peter Greste: Julie Bishop warned Egypt of ‘ramifications’ over prosecuting journalist after deportation)

The Odyssey: Detained fishermen’s trial in Sudan adjourned to 6 August. In the latest twist to the ongoing saga of the 101 fisherman arrested in Sudan, for allegedly trespassing in Sudanese territorial waters, a Sudanese court has once again adjourned their trial to 6 August, DNE reports. The last session was supposed to take place on Sunday, and the detained Egyptians are now facing new charges of photographing military installations.

** Further reading in Diplomacy: Elissa Miller provides a detailed account of the content of talks during US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit on Sunday in Cairo for bilateral talks. (Read A Breakdown of US-Egypt Strategic Dialogue Discussions)

ENERGY

Burullus contracts Enppi to refurbish Taurus and Libra field terminal
Al Mal | 03 Aug 2015
Burullus petroleum company has contracted the Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (Enppi) with enacting changes and refurbishing of the land terminals and handling all paperwork for connecting feeder gas pipelines to the Taurus and Libra fields. Enppi’s report indicates that the gas will be gathered and transferred to EDCO through three main pipelines. (Read in Arabic)

Qalaa to begin petroleum product storage and ship fueling project in New Suez Canal
Youm7 | 04 Aug 2015
Qalaa Holdings will begin an EGP 3.5 bn petroleum product storage and ship fueling project for its subsidiary, Mashreq, in the New Suez Canal in three months, according to trusted sources. The project will be executed over a period of 18 months and over 3 phases, with the first phase will costing EGP 1.5 bn. The project is located over a 210,000 m2 area strategically located near the entrance of the Suez Canal, and presents an example of government efforts, combined with the private sector’s resources and experience, to help develop the Suez Canal as an international services and logistical zone and better utilize traffic through the canal. (Read in Arabic)

BASIC MATERIALS & COMMODITIES

Ministry of Agriculture resorts to Ethiopia and Sudan for Eid meat
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
Thirteen-thousand heads of cattle will be imported from Sudan and Ethiopia in preparation for Eid Al Adha, said Sayed Gad El Moui, head of the veterinary quarantine unit at the the Public Authority for Veterinary Services. The Ministry of Agriculture signed a cooperation protocol with Somalia and Kenya to import meat in the event of additional demand from the private sector, he added, noting that inspectors have been sent and trade has been greenlit. (Read in Arabic)

USD 100 mn needed for 100k feddan reclamation
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
Experts and investors have commended government efforts to restructure the Egyptian-Sudanese Agricultural Integration Company,according to Al Mal. Sources at the Ministry of Agriculture have estimated financial resources needed for a 100k feddan land reclamation project at USD 100 mn, in addition to a comprehensive plan to eliminate the bureaucracy stalling the company’s efforts. The plot of land in question is located in the Al-Damazin area of the Blue Nile State. (Read in Arabic)

Agriculture minister vows to help farmers obtain “basic needs”
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
Agricultural Minister Salah Hilal vowed to help farmers obtain their basic needs and achieve growth in crop supply. He acknowledged that the agricultural sector has been choked by inefficient administration, and an ineffective regulatory framework. (Read in Arabic)

Egyptian Starch and Glucose to merge with Cairo Starch and Glucose
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
The OGM of Egyptian Starch and Glucose Company (ESGC) voted to approve the merger of the company with Cairo Starch and Glucose Manufacturing Company, after the board ratified a due diligence report by GAFI on the assets included in the merger. The OGM also approved raising the issued capital to EGP 416 mn as a result of the merged net minority ownership rights. (Read in Arabic)

HEALTH & EDUCATION

MoH resumes aid to Africa after 4-year hiatus
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
After a four-year halt following the events of 2011, the Ministry of Health in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, is resuming medical convoys and aid to Africa. The MoH has begun sending convoys to South Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Mali, and is building medical centers in several countries along the way, while sending Egyptian doctors to manage the medical centers in Nigeria and Ethiopia. The Minister of Health has promised that, as of this year, 12 convoys will be sent annually to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad. (Read in Arabic)

Note: While the MoH may have suspended medical aid to Africa over the past few years as reported by Al Mal, the Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa, run by the foreign ministry, has consistently provided medical aid to African states since its founding in 1980.

Hep-C treatment Harvoni priced at EGP 1450 per pack, negotiations over price ongoing -Sources
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
The Ministry of Health has priced Harvoni at EGP 1450 per pack, according to sources from within the ministry speaking to Al Mal. The sources added that the ministry might allow Egyptian companies to sell their alternative products on the market if Gilead Sciences are late in distributing the original due to disagreements over the price of import. However, international law does not allow the selling of an alternative drug before the original. The ministry is in continued negotiations with Gilead with the aim of announcing a repricing of Harvoni for the Egyptian market within three months, according to Tarek Salman, the minister of health’s deputy for pharmacology. Harvoni has a near-100% cure rate for Hepatitis C. (Read in Arabic)

Ministry of Education buys 72 mn books at EGP 850 mn
Al Borsa | 04 Aug 2015
The consortium of printhouses participating in the tender to print the upcoming school year’s books have distributed 72 mn of 160 mn books to the Ministry of Education at a total cost of EGP 850 mn, according to Abdel Raouf Taleb, deputy head of the chamber of printing industries at the Federation of Egyptian Industries. Approximately 70% of the textbooks will be distributed to the private sector, with the remainder going to public sector use. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE & HOUSING

1224 middle-income housing units in New Toushka completed
Al Borsa | 04 Aug 2015
Over 1224 mid-income housing units have been constructed and are now in the finishing stage, according to head of the New Toushka city authority Mohamed El Dakroury. Six-hundred twelve units are middle-income housing while another 612 are part of social housing. The construction was completed through a consortium of three companies that included the Arab Contractors, Mokhtar Ibrahim and Egyco. (Read in Arabic)

TELECOMS & ICT

Africa and Middle East Software Engineering Conference in Johannesburg
Al Mal | 04 Aug 2015
Under the theme of “Software Innovation for Boosting the Digital Economy,” Johannesburg will host the second Africa and Middle East Conference on Software Engineering (AMECSE 2015), taking place on 31 August – 1 September. The conference aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from the world of IT “to present and share the most recent innovations, trends, experiences and concerns in the field of software engineering,” said the CIT Ministry in a press release issued on its website. (Read inArabic,English)

AUTOMOTIVE & TRANSPORTATION

Cairo governor to receive 174 buses from Emirati grant
Al Shorouk | 04 Aug 2015
Cairo Governor Galal Mostafa is set to receive 174 buses, the last batch of those financed by a grant from the UAE, in a ceremony on Wednesday. The buses play a vital role in bettering transportation services in Cairo, Mostafa said in a statement on Tuesday. (Read in Arabic)

DPA signs contract to deepen Damietta Port’s waterway
Al Shorouk | 04 Aug 2015
The Damietta Port Authority (DPA) signed a 6-month contract on 4 August to dredge more than
5 mn cubic meters at EGP 340 mn to deepen Damietta Port’s waterway. DPA president Ayman
Saleh said that the waterway is expected to be 16 meters deep to increase the number of incoming cargo ships to the Damietta Port. (Read in Arabic)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

General Electric plans non-electricity projects, including 300 water desalination plants
Daily News Egypt | 04 Aug 2015
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab recently met with GE officials to discuss the company’s future investments in Egypt, followed by a statement saying that GE plans to invest in projects not solely related to electricity, including 300 water desalination plants and projects in the health sector, according to a Cabinet press release. Mahlab also added that there would be more cooperation between the government and GE in various fields. (Read)

ECRF reports 658 violations against journalists
Youm7 | 04 Aug 2015
In its first annual report, titled “Forbidden Right” published on 4 August and which discusses the current state of press and media independence in Egypt, the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) reported a total of 658 violations against journalists from police, the military and other government entities. The most common violation, 258 cases, was work stoppage, the report stated. Among the reported violations against Egyptian journalists: 138 cases of physical assault, 20 incidents of verbal assault, 118 cases of detention and arrest, and 52 cases of imprisonment. Two hundred thirty seven recorded violations against journalists were reportedly at the hands of police, followed by 136 incidents at the hands of civilians. (Read in Arabic) (Read the ECRF report in Arabic, pdf)

** Further reading in Egypt Politics + Economics: To Vote or Not to Vote: Examining the Disenfranchised in Egypt’s Political Landscape by Sarah Sirgany for the Atlantic Council. “Boycotts only work if they present serious threats with the potential to embarrass regimes into concessions, or if the boycotters have an alternative plan. Neither scenario applies to Egypt … the onus for any progress is on the state. The participation of Islamist voters in the political process requires steps that the state is currently unwilling to take …” (Read, pdf)

NATIONAL SECURITY

United States delivers M1A1 Abrams Tank turrets to Egypt: Egypt received five M1A1 Abrams Tank turrets on Friday, where they were headed to the Egyptian Tank Plant for US-Egyptian M1A1 tank co-production, according to a release by the US Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday. “The United States will deliver additional 14 M1A1 turrets to Egypt this August with more scheduled turret deliveries as production continues,” according to the statement.

Suez Canal opening to be secured by 10,000 police officers: Police and military personnel began implementing their heightened security plan from the start of the month, reportedly reinforcing the security at all key state institutions, according to state news agency MENA and as reported by Ahram Online. The security plan also involves securing every stop along the way of the celebration before its destination in Ismailia, as well as increasing the security for national and foreign delegations.

Private sector objections to allowing MOI, Armed Forces establish private security firms: The private security division at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce will submit an official objection to allowing the Ministry of Interior and the Armed Forces to establish private security companies to the Cabinet, according to Adel Emara, head of the division. The private security firm law exempts MOI and Armed Forces affiliated companies from fees and monitoring, which Emara says will make monopolizing the industry very easy. (Read in Arabic)

Policeman shot dead in Egypt’s Sharqiya – security director: A police officer in Sharqiya was gunned down by unidentified assailants on Tuesday, according to Sharqiya security director Khaled Yehia as reported by Aswat Masriya. The public prosecutor has been notified to begin an investigation of the attack.

Security says confiscated missile manufacturing materials: Three individuals were arrested by Cairo security forces for allegedly smuggling rocket manufacturing materials to extremists, according to Al Masry Al Youm and as reported by Egypt Independent. Security sources stated that one of the suspects in custody said he made an agreement to supply the material to north and south Sinai as well as Gaza.

Eight suspected militants killed in North Sinai raid -Military sources: Military forces shelled part of Sheikh Zuweid in north Sinai on Tuesday, according to security sources, resulting in the deaths of 8 suspected militants, as reported by Aswat Masriya. The offensive was launched against three cells of Sinai Daesh affiliateWilayat Sina. Security forces also reportedly dismantled six roadside bombs set for military vehicles.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Giza Zoo has an animal museum. Also, it’s re-opened. Built in 1914 and boasting the world’s oldest mummified crocodile, embalmed birds and animal skulls – and not to be confused with the zoo itself – the Animal Museum at Giza Zoo re-opened on Monday following renovations, Ahram Online reports.

BY THE NUMBERS

USD CBE auction (Tuesday, 04 August): 7.7301 (unchanged since Sunday, 05 July)
USD parallel market (Tuesday, 04 August): 7.88 (unchanged from Sunday, 26 July, Reuters)

EGX30 (Tuesday): 8,181.95 (+1.17%)
Turnover: EGP 789.6 mn (68% above the 90-day average)

WTI: USD 45.89 (+0.33%)
Brent: USD 49.99 (x+0.95%)

TASI: 8,769.5 (-0.6%)
ADX: 4,811.7 (-0.2%)
DFM: 4,096.6 (-0.6%)
KSE Weighted Index: 416.9 (+0.3%)
QE: 11,811.6 (+0.5%)
MSM: 6,466.9 (-0.5%)

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