Cabinet: New taxes may not happen, raising tariffs would spook investors and utilities won’t be part of IPO program

The EGP eased slightly against the USD again yesterday, edging closer to what some bankers think is a market-clearing rate north of EGP 18 to the greenback. The CBE reported average buy / sell rates of 17.56 / 17.94 yesterday against 17.48 / 17.91 on Sunday.

Egypt is one of “top three global winners” in a Trump presidency, a former USAID project officer writes in a commentary for Reuters, noting the US president-elect’s kind words for President Abdel Fattah El Sisi after the two met in New York earlier this fall and suggesting that “the fact that Sisi was the first foreign leader the president-elect spoke to after his big win only further demonstrates that Egypt looks set to be a winner from Trump’s victory.”

Speaking of Trump: Yesterday was a big day for one of Trump’s keystone economic policies — in a way that should resonate for those of us here at home who are obsessed with investment in infrastructure. Forget about his so-far baseless assertion that mns voted illegally for Hillary Clinton: “Donald Trump’s economic plans received strong backing from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on Monday, with the international organisation predicting the president-elect’s infrastructure plans would increase US growth, combat inequality and energise discouraged workers,” reports the Financial Times (paywall).

The catch, the Wall Street Journal (paywall) writes, is that “those gains would be lost if [Trump] pressed ahead with threatened tariff increases that triggered retaliation.”

Citi’s Global Consumer Conference takes place on today and tomorrow in London.

We really, really hope you’re not flying Lufthansa today or tomorrow. The German airline has cancelled 1,700 flights between today and tomorrow after failing to reach an agreement with its pilots’ union on a new contract.

Abandon all hope, ye who must venture into the city’s fair streets Wednesday or Thursday. The Meteorological Authority continues its weather advisory, warning of rain with a chance of thunderstorms starting as early as today and continuing into Wednesday and Thursday.

OPEC meets in Vienna tomorrow, and as we suggested yesterday, KSA seems intent on messing things up for everyone (itself included) by insisting that it’s not essential to curb output. A meeting of OPEC officials yesterday ahead of the Wednesday gathering failed to reach agreement, Bloomberg and Reuters are reporting.

Where, oh where have my VAT regs gone? Oh where, oh where can they can they be?

Thursday is Consumer Protection Chief Atef Yacoub’s so-called “buy nothing” day.

Cabinet econ team outlines policy priorities in group interview: The cabinet economic group — including the PM and the ministers of finance, investment, trade and industry, housing and petroleum — sat down for an extensive interview with Youm7’s editorial board, the latest installment in the government’s PR offensive to sell the public on its reform agenda. Particularly noteworthy:

• Public utilities will not be part of the first wave of the IPO program for state-owned assets, says Prime Minister Sherif Ismail;
• Finance Minister Amr El Garhy hits the nail on the head when it comes to a progressive tax system, saying stability in tax policy is more important than new taxes.
• Raising tariffs is always an option, but would send the wrong message to foreign investors, says Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil.
• Local elections are in the pipeline
• Cleaning up the welfare rolls is near the top of the government’s agenda.

The interview is also notable for the amount of straight talk the ministers deliver: “Economic reform plans are 30 years late, and will continue for three years,” said the prime minister. “When you delay important economic decisions for a long time, you exhaust the whole system,” added El Garhy.

We have a full rundown on the cabinet econ group interview on our blog here.

Hona Al Assema’s Lamees Al Hadidy defended Mubarak-era Industry Minister Rashid Mohamed Rashid,who apparently reached a settlement agreement yesterday with the Prosecutor General’s Office and a government anti-corruption committee. Judicial sources told Al Borsa that the government approved the settlement on evidence that funds he is alleged to have obtained during his tenure in office were investments he had made prior to assuming his past as minister of trade and industry. Which begs the question: if he is innocent, what is there to settle?

A couple of us here have covered Rashid both during his time as a business leader and as a minister — there was never a whiff of corruption around the man. Based on what we know of the man, we believe a just solution is one that sees charges against him dropped.

“When Rashid was in office, Egypt witnessed high economic growth rates and high export rates…. Furthermore, he strongly was a key backer of the anti-trust law that thwarted the ambitions of steel magnate Ahmed Ezz,” she said. Lamees stressed on the importance of reconciling with Mubarak-era ministers, saying, “We should end these lawsuits, we need Youssef Boutros-Ghali” (watch, running time: 8:12). We couldn’t agree more on the YBG sentiment.

Lamees then reminded us that despite it having been elected, we should not count on the House of Representatives to defend civil liberties. The talkshow host spoke critically of the House Legislative Committee’s refusal to strike “contempt of religion” from the criminal code, noting that the offense has long been used to restrict freedom of expression. We have to give Lamees her due as she showcased a video in which MP Abul Ma’aty Mostafa says Egyptian Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz’s novels constituted ‘obscene content’ for which Mahfouz should have been arrested. Lamees spoke with MP Nadia Henry, who had championed the effective decriminalization of “contempt of religion.” Says Henry: “We only wanted to reduce the punishment to fines [rather than a prison term],” she said (watch, runtime: 26:28).

Ibrahim Eissa struck the same note on his eponymous Al Qahera wal Nas show, saying being thrown in jail for producing ‘obscene’ content is itself an obscenity. Eissa also called out Naguib Mahfouz-hater Aboul Ma’aty, saying he fits perfectly with Daesh supporters and other ultra-conservatives. Eissa also criticized any talk of a possible political reconciliation with the Ikhwan, saying, “It is more worthwhile to seek reconciliation with imprisoned activists,” Eissa said (watch, runtime: 44:54).

Eissa then interviewed former Finance Minister Ahmed Galal who spoke out against austerity measures. “These policies never result in high economic growth rates,” the minister turned professional gadfly said.

Amr Adib began last night’s episode of Kol Youm by talking about the government’s lifting of tariffs on poultry (more on that in the Speed Round). MP Ehab Ghataty, who is a poultry producer, said that this will destroy the domestic industry (watch, runtime:7:10).

Adib also dove back to the ever popular subject of med shortages, interviewing MP Ayman Abou El Ela, who is part of a recently formed House committee investigating the issue. Oddly enough, Abou El Ela claimed he has documents proving the Health Ministry’s Egyptian Pharma Trading Company has 5 mn packages of infant formula sitting undistributed in its warehouses because the ministry has decided to withhold the product from the market. EGP 200 mn-worth of formula will expire in months, he alleges (watch, runtime: 6:25). Health Ministry spokesperson Khaled Mogahed denied the whole affair in a call-in that this is untrue (watch: runtime: 3:28).

The Ismail government’s USD 2.5-3 bn eurobond issuance will take place by mid-January, Finance Minister Amr El Garhy told Reuters. A second international offering of the same value is in the pipeline for 2H2017, he added. The original roadshow was scheduled for November, but was delayed amid market volatility. Foreign investment in T-bills and bonds reached USD 500 mn since the float, he said, with inflation expected to ease around 10% in the second half of 2017.

We need to get on the road quickly: Tunisia is also planning a eurobond, planning to test the market in January with a USD 1 bn offering: “Tunisia’s government is trying to implement a reform program meant to cut costs, draw investors and promote private sector growth. The country has already secured a USD 2.88 bn International Monetary Fund loan, and is hosting an investment conference that begins Nov. 29.”

Also yesterday, El Garhy said he expects foreign direct investment to rise 40-50% next year, Al Mal reported. Inflation should cool to 10% in the second half of next year, he added, while the government continues to target a 10% budget deficit.

Eni is in talks to cut its stake in Egypt’s giant Zohr offshore gas field to 50%, Reuters quotes Chief Executive Claudio Descalzi as having said on Monday. The move follows last week’s sale of a 10% stake to BP for USD 375 mn. BP also has the option to acquire a further 5% before the end of 2017 under the same terms. Eni has been looking to save EUR 7 bn through the sale of key discoveries in 2016-2019. Meanwhile, the government is once again reminding folks that the sale to BP will not dilute the state’s stake in the field. It made the point in a report from the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center.

EGAS locks in 2017 natural gas needs as Glencore, BB Energy, Gunvor and Vitol win “mega tender”: “State-run EGAS, which issued the import tender in late October, sought 96 cargoes for delivery in 2017 and 2018 in total, with an option to buy 12 additional cargoes in 2017. [EGAS] has now probably secured all of its 2017 requirements, and just six cargoes for 2018, traders said. It was not immediately clear why it did not seek more cargoes for 2018 delivery,” Reuters writes. We’d suggest the low appetite for 2018 deliveries suggests the Oil Ministry believes Eni will meet its 4Q2017 production target for Zohr — and note that Reuters says EGAS is probably paying USD 7.50 per mmBtu for the January-March cargo, leaving us feeling rather unsympathetic to folks in industry who think they should be paying less than the USD 4.50-7.00 per mmBtu they’re now shelling out.

The much-anticipated Natural Gas Act is now heading to the House of Representatives after Maglis El Dowla (the State Council) wrapped its review, Al Borsa reports. The law, which has been with the Council for over a year, promises to deregulate the natural gas industry, making it possible for the private sector to buy and sell natural gas domestically and making import and export permits possible. The draft would see the state take a step back from the market to assume the role of regulator and pipeline provider. The Oil Ministry said in October that five companies had already applied for permits. The Natural Gas Act would, if passed, help grow Egypt’s natural gas exports and has been a top priority for the State Council, legislative committee chair Ahmed Aboul Azm told the newspaper.

…Aboul Azm also said that his committee expects to receive a number of pieces of economic legislation “within days,” among them Consumer Protection Act, which would allow cabinet to fix prices on a number of “strategic” goods for a period of up to two years in a bid to cool inflation. Some MPs had previously noted that price controls would conflict with the government’s economic reform program.

Still-under-wraps amendments to the Investment Act will not offer cheap energy or natural gas feedstock as investment incentives, Investment Minister Dalia Khorshid said after a meeting of the Ismail cabinet’s economic group yesterday. Sources tell Al Masry Al Youm that cabinet is still ironing out the details on incentives for free zone and special economic zone companies. A second draft of the proposed amendments will be ready in “weeks,” Khorshid added. The minister had previously noted that the law would be ready to present to the cabinet at the end of the month. The government is sticking to its deadline of issuing the law before the year is out, said Khorshid, Al Ahram reports.

Don’t expect consensus from industry on the bill: The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) has renewed its call to scrap Khorshid’s amendments to the act and instead revive the pre-2015 act with some amendments, Al Borsa reports. The FEI’s investment committee met on Monday to discuss amendments to the old law, which it said it wouldn’t formally propose until discussing Khorshid’s draft with the minister.

Khorshid is set to hold a series of meetings with representatives of business associations next week. Her audience generally appears uniformly displeased with the draft. Then again, these are people who (in part, as we note above) apparently think they have a right to continue receiving subsidized gas…

On a related note, the Finance Ministry has reportedly begun assessing how to pay for the incentives mandated by the Supreme investment Council, particularly the tax incentives, Al Borsa reports. The ministry will complete a cost-benefit analysis of the incentives in the coming weeks.

Maneuvering for Eastern Med gas supremacy continues: New Europe looks at what it positions as a political consensus behind the East Med pipeline, which would connect Israeli and Cypriot gas fields to Europe via Crete and mainland Greece as an alternative to Russian gas. The proposal would curb Egypt’s ambition to emerge as a natural gas hub for the Eastern Med. The story — essentially a puff-piece backed by DEPA, which with Italy’s Edison is a 50% partner in the Eastern Med pipeline — is relevant to Egypt primarily because this is the first time that a December political meeting on the issue has hit our radar: “The fact that East Med enjoys solid political support from the Greek, Cypriot, Italian and Israeli governments is already established … the next step is in December, 2016, when Greek, Israeli, Cypriot and European officials are going to meet in Jerusalem to discuss trilateral energy cooperation and mutual gas projects.”

Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund is still in the pipeline? The cabinet economic group has approved drafting a law to establish the EGP 5 bn Amlak sovereign wealth fund, said Planning Minister Ashraf Al Araby, according to AMAY. The fund will invest in eight sectors including industry, agriculture, mining, and tourism.

Samih Sawiris is warning that we’re not just in a real estate bubble — it could burst if the government does not act soon, according to comments attributed to him by Al Mal at yesterday’s AmCham Egypt real estate conference. The market is oversupplied, he said, and sustaining sales will be difficult in no small part due to the float of the EGP. “Egyptians are now 30-40% poorer and their purchasing power dropped during the devaluation,” the chairman and CEO of Orascom Development Holdings noted. Egypt holds the highest rate of vacant real estate in the world, Sawiris added. Speaking on the same panel, AmCham president Anis Aclimandos who took a different view, saying the opportunities for growth remain there as long as the population rates grow at 2.6% annually, according to Al Ahram.

Deputy Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk was also part of the panel discussion and commented that all economic signs look healthy and the economic reforms and the float has been well-received by investors. National Bank of Egypt head Hisham Okasha, meanwhile, said that NBE has covered around USD 800 mn in imports since the float. Asked where the where the EGP might stabilize, participants on the panel offered everything from EGP 10 to EGP 15 per USD 1, the newspaper reports.

Food producers Regina and Bisco Misr have cut expansion plans and are dialing-down output on FX volatility: Pasta maker Regina froze plans to add three new production lines worth a total of EGP 1.5 bn, saying the decision came amid FX volatility and fuel price increases following the EGP float, supply chain manager Ahmed Talaat told Al Borsa. Production is down 25% following the float compared to trailing four-month period, Talaat said, and the cost of production inputs — from plastic packaging to flour — is up 80-100%. Regina’s products are 50% more expensive in the market now.

Regina’s news comes as baked goods and cereal manufacturer Bisco Misr has also shut down several production lines, including corn flakes, since the float, the newspaper reported. The company has reduced headcount and cut production to reduce losses, sources at the company said. Bisco Misr had to increase prices of certain products by 100% and cut the weight of others by 28%, the sources added. The food industry had also been reeling this month from sugar shortages, and the Supply Ministry raising the price of sugar to industry to EGP 11,000 per tonne last week.

On that front, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail decreed that tariffs on white sugar imports would be lifted last night, Al Mal reports. Imports will remain customs free until 30 May 2017, and will apply retroactively from 10 November 2016. Poultry imports were also lifted, provoking a backlash from domestic producers, who called it a threat to the local industry. Members of the House of Representatives’ agriculture committee said they would file formal inquiries into the Ismail’s decision and threatening boycotts, Al Borsa reports. The Cairo Chamber of Commerce also voiced objections, demanding that the government backtrack on its decision ASAP.

Obourland prices offering at EGP 9.00-9.88 per share; first day of trading is set for 15 December: Cheese maker Obourland launched the institutional offering on Sunday of 80% of the 200 mn shares it plans to list; the balance will apparently take the form of a retail offering, told Al Borsa. The institutional offering will close on Friday, 9 December, and should see shares priced at EGP 9.00-9.88 each. CI Capital is global coordinator and bookrunner, with Beltone Financial Holding acting as bookrunner. The story did not include mention of legal counsel to either the issuer or to the global coordinator.

EFG Hermes is reportedly serving as lead arranger on an EGP 1.25 bn syndicated facility for Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate, sources told Al Mal. EFG has received offers from the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, CIB, AAIB, Arab Bank, and NBAD. Al-Futtaim would reportedly use the 10-year facility to restructure and refinance its debt.

More healthcare M&A? The Saudi Health Investment Company has reportedly acquired a 55% stake in Cairo’s Ibn Sina Hospital for EGP 50 mn, bringing its total stake to 85% from 30% before the transaction, according to Al Mal. The Saudi Health Investment Company also owns Al Amal Hospital in Egypt, which it acquired in 2008.

Speaking of Beltone, the firm plans to launch two private equity funds worth EGP 1 bn each, said Beltone CEO Bassem Azab. One of these will focus on real estate investments, while the other will invest in a variety of sectors and in companies of different sizes. Beltone will apply for a leasing licence from the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, Azab added, according to Al Mal.

Meanwhile, OTMT sold 7.72 mn shares in Beltone, lowering its stake to 76.74% from 81.3%, according to an EGX disclosure. If this does mark the end of the sell-down, OTMT fell short of placing the 7% stake it had been looking to divest. The EGX suspended trading of Beltone Financial’s shares last week after its stocks rose 10% to EGP 14.67, prompting Beltone to file a complaint with regulators accusing the EGX of sabotaging the sale.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has postponed voting on issuing the USD 500 mn second tranche of a USD 1.5 bn loan to 12 December, AfDB resident representative in Egypt Laila Moukaddem told Al Borsa. The delay has been caused by negotiations over the projects that will be financed by the facility, she added. AfDB is looking to discuss Egypt’s financial strategy for 2017-2019 with the government, including energy, informal housing, and youth-related projects, she said. Egypt signed a USD 1.5 bn loan agreement with AfDB in December 2015 has received the USD 500 mn first tranche.

Look for more coverage this week of Mahmoud “Shawkan” Abu Zeid as Amnesty International mounts an exhibition in the UK of the photojournalist’s work set to run 28 November to 16 December in east London. Shawkan has been in jail since August 2013, when he was arrested for photographing events at Rabaa Adawiyya, the Guardian reports.

Super-smart intern joins UK hedge fund’s Middle East sales department; males of the Finance Species lose their minds. UK finance Twitter is agog that a former Goldman summer intern turned “Youtube sensation” is turning her back on internet fame to join Winton Capital Management as an analyst for the hard-core fund’s head of Middle East business development and investor solutions. Jess Greenberg, who studied stats, econ and finance at University College of London, “has uploaded 60 videos to YouTube in total, and she has a formula: she sits in a bedroom, in front of a wardrobe, wears a cleavage-displaying top, plays the guitar and sings to the camera.” Greenberg seems not to have uploaded anything new since joining Winton, “one of the UK’s most successful systemic macro hedge funds. Historically, it preferred to hire data scientists with PhDs ‘including extragalactic astrophysicists, computer scientists and climatologists,’ but the company now runs an analyst programme and hires graduates.” Everyone from eFinancialCareers to ZeroHedge has lost their mind over the story. Dealbreaker at least had the decency to check out Greenberg’s LinkedIn profile, which makes clear she’s also done internships at Barclays, Morgan Stanley, BAML and JPMorgan.

Has KSA made the retirement of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry a precondition for ending the rift? That’s what the Middle East Monitor would have us believe, citing a report in the Islamist-leaning Arabi 21 and adding that sources in the Arab diplomatic community say Egypt has rejected the Saudi demand. Turfing Shoukry is the quickest way for the Saudis to turn him into a nationalist icon — next thing you know, some shaabi singer will be singing odes to the foreign minister…

The Foreign Affairs Ministry will not respond to Al Jazeera’s The Soldiers film, calling it “prosaic” and conceived to shake trust in the Armed Forces, ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a call-in Sunday night to ON TV talk show “El Sada El Mohtaramoun” (runtime 03:23). Abu Zeid said it was the Egyptian media’s role to respond and protect the image of the Armed Forces.

Egypt to establish “road / belt” business council: The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce is due to sign an agreement with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade to establish a business council as have other countries that have signed on to China’s One Belt, One Road trade initiative. We noted earlier this month that Egypt will host a conference of 24 business associations from those countries in April.

Uruguay-Egypt trade: The Egyptian and Uruguayan Foreign Ministers signed an agreement to ease customs procedures between the two countries, Ahram Gate reported.

“Russian Trade Representative in Cairo Fedor Lukashin said on Sunday evening that the signing ceremony of the Dabaa nuclear power plant contract is expected before the end of the year,” Ahram Online reports. And we suggest again: Maybe a little bit of conditionality is in order (read: let tourists return to Egypt) before we sign for Chernobyl Junior?

The solution to the “energy crisis” is to not back down from selling it at international prices, Qalaa Holdings Co-Founder and MD Hisham El-Khazindar said at a conference yesterday, Al Mal reported. The government being the distributor, importer and refiner of energy helped drive state spending on energy up drastically, El-Khazindar said. There have been calls from industry players for the government to “reduce prices” industry pays for energy post the float of the EGP; they don’t use the word “subsidize,” but most are paying USD 4-7 per mmBtu for energy the state will be importing at north of USD 7 per mmBtu in the first quarter of next year.

Siemens is spinning up generators at its Beni Suef, Burullus and New Administrative Capital power plants as it appears to be nearing the commissioning phase, Al Shorouk reports.

The Electricity Ministry is continuing negotiations with Saudi’s ACWA Power to build a 2.25 GW power plant in Dairut for an estimated USD 2.1 bn under a build-own-operate scheme, an unnamed official tells Al Borsa, denying any intentions on either side to scrap the project. The source said that negotiations are currently focused on financial guarantees, fuel supplies, and arbitration. Previous reports said that Hassan Allam Construction have agreed to finance 25% of the project’s construction costs.

In a story that reads as if it was planted by industry, we’re told the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ grains division will meet with the Central Bank of Egypt on Wednesday to discuss how they are supposed to credit facilities for which they had applied at EGP 8.88 per USD 1, but which are now being fulfilled at the new, post-float rate, Al Borsa reports.

Fertilizer manufacturer EFIC wants to triple its exports in 2017 through sales to Brazil, Russia, Albania, and a number of Asian countries, Al Borsa reported. The company is building a new production line in Assiut that will add 300k tonnes annually, Chairman Ali El Sayad said. The added production will be used to tap new African markets. The company is also “evaluating” wholly-owned Suez Company for Fertilizers, mulling whether it wants to take 40% of the subsidiary to IPO or sell the same stake to a strategic investor.

Two unnamed Indonesian companies are conducting financial and market studies to invest in tire and food manufacturing for the local market, Indonesian ambassador to Egypt Helmy Fawzy said, Al Mal reported.

The Arab Medical Equipment Company (Ameco), one of the market’s leading producers of syringes, will invest EUR 20 mn in expansion over the coming five years, CEO Amr El Fata told Al Borsa.

BPE Partners has locked down an Emirati partner with whom it plans to pursue a state tender to develop 200 schools under a public-private partnership framework, said Chairman Hazem Barakat. BPE Partners and Orascom Construction are two of 79 companies vying for the project. Meanwhile, state-owned NI Capital has been chosen to advise on the tender, with Sarie Eldin & Partners Legal Advisors selected as legal advisers, Al Mal reports.

ICT Minister Yasser El Kady promised mobile network operators more 4G spectra were coming this year at the Cairo ICT conference, Al Masry Al Youm reported.

The scramble to bank the unbanked continues: Egypt Post has signed a cooperation agreement with Visa that will see the company issue 9 mn e-payment cards for post office clients and pension recipients, Al Shorouk reported.

With sticker prices now in the EGP 455k, the humble Volkswagen Golf will not be returning to the domestic market come 2017 — it’s simply no longer competitive with other entries in its category, Egyptian Automotive Company (EAC) Executive Director Karim Naggar tells Al Mal. Earlier this year, EAC, which holds the distribution rights for VW and Audi in Egypt, stopped imports of the Jetta due to ballooning costs.

The Egyptian Auto Feeders Association (EAFA) hopes to open up Egypt’s automotive industry to new export markets through partnerships with manufacturers, Al Mal reports. The public positioning came one day after the House of Representatives began reviewing the long-awaited automotive directive, which aims to promote local auto manufacturing by offering economic incentives to players in the market.

Banque Misr is looking to retire its 20% interest certificates of deposit within the next few days, bank chief Mohamed El Etreby told Youm7. Banque du Caire’s Mounir Zahed also told the newspaper BdC is investigating whether there is a need for 20% CDs “now that they have accomplished their goals.”

Suez Canal Authority chairman Mohab Mamish will travel to Switzerland to discuss three-year payments in advance with global shippers Maersk, CMA CGM, and Mediterranean Shipping Company headquartered in Switzerland, Al Mal reports.

Egyptian Exchange chief Mohamed Omran was elected to the executive committee of the African Securities Exchanges Association for the third time, Al Masry Al Youm reported.

“Top seed Fares Dessouky of Egypt defeated second-seeded compatriot Mohamed Abouelghar 3-2 after a pulsating battle for top honours to lift the title in the CCI International JSW Indian Squash Circuit tournament” on Sunday, reports India’s Business Standard.

Our economic recovery relies on … crocodile breeding? Environment Minister Khalid Fahmi has a new plan to rescue the economy and infuse the banks with an FX transition: Breed crocodiles. “I am convinced that investment in crocodile breeding has economic returns as one crocodile now sells for USD 400,” Gulf News quotes Fahmi as having the House Environment Committee on Sunday. There’s lots of additional information on the link if you’re so inclined.

The Crete-to-Cape air rally that sees maybe a dozen vintage biplanes transiting the continent continues. Deutsche Welle has a photo essay.