Sunday, 5 May 2019

‘Twas the day before Ramadan, and Malpass came to town

TL;DR

What We’re Tracking Today

We generally try to avoid having to open an edition of Enterprise with a “sorry we goofed” apology — but sometimes needs must…

We wrote on Friday in this month’s edition of Your Wealth that Ramadan will begin on Sunday, 5 May. Ramadan will of course actually begin tomorrow: Monday, 6 May. The story has since been updated on our website. We’re not quite sure how we got this wrong, having gotten it right for nearly a month (and as recently as Thursday’s issue). On that note: Savor that last morning coffee, folks.

Banks and the EGX go to shortened hours starting tomorrow.

Plan your getaway now: The Eid El Fitr should start on Wednesday, 5 June, meaning we will have a four-day weekend marking the unofficial start of summer. But the wags (read: those in pre-emptive caffeine and / or nicotine withdrawal) are pining for a 29-day month, with Youm7 having suggested we could be looking at Eid starting on Tuesday, 4 June.


The head of the World Bank is in town. Newly-appointed World Bank President David Malpass is in Aswan today to visit the Benban solar park, having spent yesterday in Cairo talking investment with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Investment Minister Sahar Nasr. We have more in this morning’s Speed Round and in Last Night’s Talk Shows. We’ll also have full coverage tomorrow from on the ground in Benban.

Key events coming up this week:

  • It’s PMI day: The purchasing managers’ index for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE is due out today at 6:15am CLT. You’ll find it here at the appointed hour.
  • Foreign reserves: The CBE should announce Egypt’s net foreign reserves figure for the end of April imminently.
  • Inflation: Monthly inflation figures are due out at the end of the week. Annual headline urban inflation eased slightly in March to 14.2%, down from 14.4% the previous month.

Emerging-market central banks continue easing: Rate cuts by emerging-market central banks exceeded hikes for the third consecutive month in April, Reuters says. A total of three net rate cuts were made across 37 emerging markets last month, the same as in February and March.

Riyadh is pushing ahead with bond market reform: Saudi Arabia will for the first time allow retail investors to buy sovereign sukuks under reforms announced by government officials in April, the FT reports. The Finance Ministry is looking to make it easier for retail investors to purchase sukuk by issuing them in portions of SAR 1,000 instead of the current SAR 1 mn. “We want to encourage savings; our market has very little savings schemes,” Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jabaan told the FT.

But investors will need more protection before entering the Saudi government bond market, Daniel Vaughan, manager research director at Morningstar Investment Management Europe, told International Adviser (paywall). “Anything that makes a market broader and deeper should be encouraged, however with retail investors becoming more involved we hope that the move will be accompanied by a specific regulatory framework to protect investors and ensure proper access to information about risks,” he said.


Unemployment in the US has fallen to the lowest level since 1969, Reuters reports April saw a higher-than-anticipated 263k jobs created and a slow-but-steady rise in average wages. The upside for EM: The odds of the Federal Reserve changing its policy stance and raising interest rates anytime soon just went down again. The Financial Times also has the story.

Too good to be true? The Washington Post wonders whether experts are missing subtle warning signs.


Sign of the times #1: One US hedge fund manager is warning that we could be looking at Vixmageddon, grumbling that his competitors are too complacency about the notion that global markets will remain calm through the end of this year. “It’s incredible how short the memory of the market is.” Truer words…

Sign of the times #2: “Investors appear to be wary of frontier markets, pulling some USD 219 mn out of frontier-focused funds in March,” the WSJ’s weekly frontier column suggests, quoting a Citi frontier analyst as saying, “The USD 219 mn outflow, driven by active frontier funds, was the biggest this year and indicates that fundraising is off to a challenging start in 2019.”


Other international business headlines you should know about this morning:

  • A “secretive” tech fund at Goldman Sachs is doing more than future-proofing the bank — it’s generated returns of 25% or more p.a. in each of the last seven years. (CNBC)
  • There’s lots of M&A activity in the fragmented US wealth management sector, where more than 12,500 wealth management companies manage AUM of about USD 83 tn. (FT)
  • Warren Buffett talked death and profits at his annual shareholder meeting, but the 88-year-old Oracle of Omaha largely sidestepped the question of who will succeed him. He also touched on the company’s (oddly talked-about) decision to buy Amazon shares. (Bloomberg | FT | CNBC)

And in miscellany this morning:

  • We need more exclamation marks in email, New York magazine’s The Cut argues. It’s indefensible. And also probably correct.
  • We’re space nerds, so we love NASA’s short Instagram video on what to expect in the skies in May. (Instagram, runtime: 2:52)

PSA #1- Absolve yourself. “You may have been passed up for a promotion. You may have lost a job. You may have spent years in a Ph.D. program. You may have forfeited a marriage. You may have missed your kids’ grow up. You may have squandered your health. … It doesn’t matter.” A top US time-management coach talks in the New York Times about how to let yourself out of a jail of regret.

PSA #2- Look for the mercury to hit 36°C today and 37°C tomorrow before cooling to 28-31°C through Friday.

Enterprise+: Last Night’s Talk Shows

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s meeting with World Bank President David Malpass dominated the nation’s airwaves last night. Also creating buzz (to a much lesser extent): The Arab Economic Forum in Beirut. We have chapter and verse on both in this morning’s Speed Round, below.

Malpass praised Egypt’s economic reform program and said the mega-projects underway will provide extra catalysts for growth, Al Hayah Al Youm’s Lobna Assal said. Assal also took note of Malpass’ visit to the Investment Ministry’s Investor Service Center (watch, runtime: 2:21).

Color commentary: Hona Al Asema’s Reham Ibrahim phoned Cairo University finance professor Hisham Ibrahimfor his two cents. Ibrahim praised the bank’s relationship with Egypt and lauded its role in the country’s economic reform program. He also pointed out that Malpass’ visit came only a few days after the bank renewed its partnership program with Cairo, making it an “especially important” time (watch, runtime: 9:27).

Fresh start for Cairo and Beirut? Agreements signed between Egypt and Lebanon during the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut represent “a shift in relations and cooperation” between the two countries, Cabinet Spokesman Nader Saad separately told Assal (watch, runtime: 2:20).

In miscellany on the airwaves: El Sisi is set to inaugurate today four tunnels in Ismailia and Port Said, Assal reported. The tunnels should reduce the time it takes to cross the Suez Canal into and from Sinai to ten minutes or less (watch, runtime: 4:51).

Speed Round

Speed Round is presented in association with

New World Bank boss is in Egypt; met El Sisi yesterday and heading to Benban today: World Bank President David Malpass discussed infrastructure, labor force development and cooperation on small and medium-sized businesses yesterday in a meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, according to an Ittihadiya statement.

It’s Malpass’ first international trip since he assumed the top job. The WB chief also discussed how the Sisi administration’s reform program is playing out in the energy, health care, infrastructure and education sectors. Malpass met separately with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and had previously announced that the bank will increase its support for Egypt under his leadership.

More support for SMEs in the pipeline: Malpass and SME Development Authority chief Nevine Gamea inked a “declaration of intent” to boost cooperation on entrepreneurship and SME development, according to an Investment Ministry statement (pdf). The statement also noted the bank’s recently approved USD 200 mn SMEs loan, of which USD 145 mn is earmarked to subsidize non-banking financial institutions offering funding for small businesses as well as for women- and youth-led SMEs.

Startups get some love, too: Malpass checked out the Investment Ministry’s Fekretak Sherketak, a government startup support initiative. He also met with entrepreneurs who’ve recently seen their businesses graduate from ministry-supported startup accelerator Falak’s fintech program, which is powered by EFG-EV Fintech. The startups included student-athlete network Pass-port, telecom optimization app Raseedi, and payroll consultant PayNas.

Egypt has warned Turkey against drilling in Cypriot waters after a dispatch from Ankara on the international maritime telex system NAVTEX announcing that it plans to start drilling for natural gas in internationally recognized Cypriot waters. Doing so could have negative repercussions on the “stability and security of the East Mediterranean region,” the Foreign Ministry said in a carefully-written statement yesterday. “We are closely monitoring the situation,” the statement reads, urging all EastMed countries to abide by international law.

The EU followed suit, warning against the bid, which Turkey launched after the Cypriot government stepped up cooperation on hydrocarbons with Egypt and Greece. Ankara later deployed several deep-sea drilling vessels to conduct exploration activities around the island.

Meanwhile: Egypt is going to have a long wait for Cypriot gas: Initial natural gas output from Cyprus’ Aphrodite field will come between 2024 and 2025,Cypriot Minister of Energy Yiorgos Lakkotrypis announced on Friday, Reuters reported. The gas will flow via pipeline to Egypt, where it will be liquefied and re-exported.

M&A WATCH- Bank Audi to acquire NBG’s Egypt arm: Bank Audi will acquire National Bank of Greece’s Egypt arm, including a book of “mostly of Egyptian-risk loans, deposits and securities (total assets of c. EUR 110 mn), a branch network of 17 branches and c. 250 employees,” NBG said in a press release. With a sale agreement now inked, the transaction is still subject to the final approval of the central banks of Egypt and Lebanon. NBG decided to exit the market last year as part of a wider plan to reduce its overseas presence under an EU-supervised restructuring. The statement did not give a value for the transaction or provide any other details.

Advisors: NBG had tapped Ernst & Young as financial advisor and Matouk Bassiouny and Freshfields as legal advisors for the transaction.

M&A WATCH- Germany’s DEA and Wintershall become DEA Wintershall with big plans for Egypt oil and gas assets: Germany-based oil and gas majors Wintershall and DEA have completed their multi-bn merger, the new entity, Wintershall DEA, said in a press release. DEA owner LetterOne (the investment arm of Russian bn’aire Mikhail Fridman) and Wintershall majority-shareholder BASF (a German chemicals group) finalized the merger after obtaining relevant approval.

The Egypt angle: Wintershall DEA has consolidated its Egyptian assets, giving it six onshore and offshore concessions throughout the country, with the most significant being its 17.5% stake in the West Nile Delta fields. The merged plans to invest USD 500 mn through 2020 to develop the asset as well as its Desouk and Gulf of Suez fields, we have previously noted; the company’s website confirms the figure.

EXCLUSIVE- AMOC won’t be in round two of the state privatization program; Sinai Manganese Company might be: Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (AMOC), which had earlier been dropped from the first wave of the state privatization program after posting an unexpected dip in profits, will not take part in the second wave, either, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik told Enterprise. The government committee tasked with managing the privatization program is now looking at other companies that could be added to the second wave, the minister added. Among them could be the Sinai Manganese Company, a senior government official told us separately. Tawfik had previously said the second wave should kick off in September.

Background: The government kicked off the first wave of the program in March with Eastern Tobacco’s secondary offering of a 4.5% stake. Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development has been dropped from the first wave, leaving Abu Qir Fertilizers and Alexandria Containers and Cargo Handling Company (ACCH), Tawfik told us last month. Either company could sell shares before Eid El Fitr, but neither will go to market during the summer, Tawfik said. The first phase of the program was delayed last year as the emerging markets sell-off hit the EGX. The ambitious program had an initial lineup of 23 companies slated either for IPO or for a secondary offering.

Competition authority meets with Uber, Careem on merger: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) met on Thursday with representatives from Uber and Careem to discuss the regulatory approvals necessary for the ride-hailing companies’ planned merger, the ECA said in a statement (pdf). The sit-down “focused on the extent to which investments from new rivals and the competitive environment of the sector could be affected by the transaction.” The ECA has gone after the USD 3.1 bn merger since before it was announced, threatened them with fines of up to EGP 500 mn apiece if they were to proceed. Uber’s prospectus for its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, published last month, noted that the ride sharing app could get a USD 470 mn break on the USD 3.1 bn price tag it put on its acquisition of Careem if the transaction fails to obtain regulatory approvals in certain markets, including Egypt.

Etisalat Misr plans invest in EGP 4.5 bn this year including EGP 3 bn to modernize its network, CEO Hazem Metwally tells Reuters. The company is also working to grow its internet services revenue, which it wants to see at 35% of total revenues this year (against 30% in 2018) as it works to make up for a falling subscriber base. Etisalat, like other players, has been hit by the government’s decision to hike regulatory fees for new mobile lines by EGP 50. Etisalat is also looking to roll out fixed-line service in the next two years, Metwally said.

EFG Hermes topped the EGX’s brokerage league table for April with a market share of 19.8%, according to figures released by the EGX (pdf). CI Capital came in second with an 11.2% market share, followed by our friends at Pharos with a 6.6% share. Pioneers rounded out the top five with 4.6%.

Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi released on record GBP 15 mn bail: Abraaj founder Arif Naqvi was granted conditional bail by a London court on Friday for a record GBP 15 mn (USD 20 mn), Bloomberg reports. Naqvi is likely to face a hearing in the UK on 24 May to determine whether he will be extradited to the US on charges of fraud, Reuters said. Former Abraaj managing partner Sev Vettivetpillai has also been released on conditional bail and will appear in court again on 12 June. Naqvi and former managing partner Mustafa Abdel-Wadood were arrested in Britain last month and face charges of defrauding US investors by artificially inflating the value of the fund’s holdings. Naqvi’s representatives released a statement on Friday maintaining his innocence. The news comes just days after Abdel-Wadood was ordered released on bail of USD 10 mn. Abdel-Wadood will remain in a Manhattan studio apartment ahead of trial as early as November.

 

Corrected on 8 May 2019

(We had incorrectly reported that Abdel-Wadood’s bail as USD 10 bn) 

Egypt’s economy “will continue to outperform” its regional peers in FY2019-20, Fitch said in its Africa Monitor report for April. While the weighted average GDP growth rate for the MENA region is expected to come in at 1.9% in FY2018-19 and 2.8% in FY19-20, Fitch says it sees Egypt’s GDP growing at a 5.3% and 5.2% clip for the current and next fiscal years. Growth in the near term will be driven mostly by hydrocarbon investments and government infrastructure projects, while exports and non-hydrocarbon investments will grow at a more gradual pace. The report tempers expectations by pointing to “still-elevated” inflation as a downside risk for the economy, which it says “will weigh on private consumption in the near term … slowing the pace of job creating and in turn capping private consumption gains. We forecast these constraints to ease towards the latter part of 2019 and beyond — allowing private consumption to eventually re-emerge as the main contributor to headline growth.”

The report also lauds the Central Bank of Egypt’s recent rate cuts, noting that “cheaper credit is broadly positive for Egypt’s economic growth trajectory, helping to facilitate investment and stimulate job creation and consumption.” Fitch maintains it expects another two 100 bps rate cuts over the course of the year, noting that the downside risks to further monetary easing are “substantial.”

Egypt will issue USD 1 bn in one-year dollar-denominated treasury bills tomorrow, the Central Bank of Egypt has said. The auction will finish on Tuesday when around USD 1.1 bn worth of dollar-denominated bonds will mature. Vice Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said earlier this year that the Finance Ministry is looking to cut the government’s borrowing costs by diversifying its debt issuances and extending the average maturity period. An official told us last month that in the coming fiscal year the ministry plans to issue EGP 7 bn of green bonds, USD 5 bn of eurobonds and EGP 725 bn of local debt — EGP 435 bn will be issued as short-term t-bills.

Egypt, Lebanon ink a flurry of agreements during Arab Economic Forum, cementing closer ties: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and his Lebanese counterpart Saad Hariri signed five MoUs during the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut on Thursday, according to a cabinet statement. The agreements will see the two countries exchange tax expertise, deepen collaboration on technology, increase Egyptian exports of construction materials to Lebanon, and look for mutual investment options over the coming two years. The Egyptian-Lebanese Business Council also signed another four cooperation agreements to develop business incubators and increase Egyptian investment in the Tripoli Special Economic Zone, among other things, a separate cabinet statement said.

Egyptian companies are interested in Lebanon’s electricity sector, Madbouly told Lebanese President Michel Aoun during the event, according to a Cabinet statement. Local press reports noting that Egypt may be exporting excess electricity to Lebanon also emerged from the sidelines of the forum, citing Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad.

Hariri waxes lyrical on Egypt’s economy: “Lebanon is faced with two alternatives: economic collapse or following Egypt’s path [toward reform],” Hariri said during the forum, adding that his country is suffering from high debt and corruption levels and widespread misuse of public funds. The Associated Press also has the story.

Egypt wants to attract USD 200 bn of investment and USD 47 bn in net FDI over the next four years, Madbouly said in his speech at the conference. The prime minister also announced the government is now targeting an annual growth rate of 8% by FY 2021-22. This is a notable upwards revision from the 7.3% growth forecast made in November last year. The government last week revised downwards its FY2018-19 growth forecast to 5.6% from 5.8%.

Rising living costs, unemployment biggest concerns for Arab youth: Economic pressure including higher cost of living and unemployment are the biggest concerns for young Arabs, according to the 2019 ASBA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey. Of the 3,300 18-24 year-olds surveyed across the region, 56% cited rising living costs as the biggest concern, while 45% pointed to unemployment and 31% cited slow economic growth.

Three-quarters of those surveyed in North Africa want the government to do more to bolster the economy, compared to only 39% in GCC states. The majority were in agreement that their governments have a responsibility to provide safety, education, healthcare, energy subsidies, jobs and housing to all citizens.

But reliance on the public sector for employment is not solving the problem, the IMF’s Jihad Azour writes in the report. An estimated 2.8 mn young people will join the workforce every year in the next 10 years, and yet unemployment remains extremely high (exceeding 30% in several countries). Looking to the public sector as source of jobs compounds the problem, undercutting education reform and the growth of the private sector, he says.

You can read the full report here (pdf).

CORRECTION- We mistakenly said on Thursday that a joint venture of Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors will build a wastewater treatment plant in Sharqia’s Bahr El Baqar. The USD 739 mn facility, which is set to be the biggest in Egypt, will treat water — not wastewater. The story has been corrected on our website.

** SHARE ENTERPRISE WITH A FRIEND **

Enterprise is available without charge — just visit our English or Arabic subscription page, depending on which edition you would like to receive. We give you just about everything you need to know about Egypt, in your inbox Sunday through Thursday before 7am CLT (8am for Arabic), and all we ask for is your name, email address and where you hang your hat during business hours.

Egypt in the News

Still topping coverage of Egypt in the foreign press is the question of whether the United States will designate the Ikhwan a terrorist group. Reuters offers context with an overview of the Ikhwan’s inception and the growth of its regional offshoots. Fortune, the Washington Post and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace all argue that the group as a whole does not fit the legal definition of a foreign terrorist organization (from a US perspective), with Carnegie being especially blunt in its assessment that The Donald is engaging in a “counterproductive political stunt.”

Also getting plenty of ink: The Antiquities Ministry’s announcement that archaeologists have located an ancient burial cemetery near the Giza pyramids. The tombs are estimated to be 4500 years old, dating back to the fifth dynasty of the Old Egyptian Kingdom, reports the Associated Press. The Daily Mail and Sky News are among those taking note.

Other headlines worth a moment of your time:

  • Egypt should look to Morocco for how to handle Daeshbags returning from Syria and Iraq, Jeune Afrique suggests.
  • Steel rerollers and small factories are struggling to cope with tariffs imposed on imported iron billets, and could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs, Al-Monitor reports.
  • A resurgence in Red Sea tourism threatens Egypt’s marine environment, with academics and conservationists saying more must be done to safeguard delicate coral reefs from pollution and dive boat damage, AFP reports.
  • Forbes contributor Elizabeth McBride sat down with Egyptian “doctorpreneur” Amr El Tayeb, who founded Smart Medical Services, to tackle Egypt’s lack of health care services through software.
  • Low-ranked Egyptian tennis player Issam Taweel has been found guilty of three charges related to match-fixing, the Associated Press reports.

On The Front Pages

World Bank President David Malpass’ sit-down with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during his ongoing visit to Cairo topped the front pages of the government-owned dailies this morning (Al Ahram | Al Gomhuria | Al Akhbar). Scroll up to this morning’s Speed Round for more.

Energy

Egypt in talks with Chinese companies for solar projects

Military Production Minister Mohamed Al Assar last week visited four Chinese engineering and technology companies which could help construct new solar plants in Egypt, according to a Defense Ministry statement. Representatives from the ministries of defense, electricity, investment and environment accompanied the minister on his visits to the China Electronics Technology Group, China Metallurgical Group, China Enfi Engineering Corporation and China Silicon Corporation.

Basic Materials + Commodities

Egypt’s wheat farmers decry unfair gov’t offers to purchase local produce

Local farmers are complaining that the government has set unsatisfactory prices for the purchase of local wheat, The Arab Weekly said. The price the government announced ahead of the harvest season — EGP 3,900 (c. USD 230) per tonne — is not enough to entice the farmers to sell to the government given their running costs, Farmers’ Syndicate head Hussein Abu Saddam says. The average price per tonne on the international market is USD 180-200.

Health + Education

US’ Precipio signs services contract with Egyptian hospitals

US-based cancer diagnostics firm Precipio announced last week it has signed a services contract with several unnamed hospitals in Cairo that could be worth more than USD 1.5 mn, reports Proactive Investors. The contracts will see the establishment of “laboratory operations in Egypt that will license Precipio’s proprietary technologies to provide liquid biopsy testing.”

Telecoms + ICT

Mobile subscriptions in Egypt continue to fall, reaching 93.13 mn in February

The number of mobile subscribers in Egypt continued its downward trend in February, falling to 93.13 mn users, down 7.1% y-o-y and 0.32% m-o-m, according to a CIT Ministry report (pdf). This brought Egypt’s mobile phone penetration rate to 100.62% by month-end, down 9.58% y-o-y and 0.47% m-o-m. The number of ADSL subscribers, meanwhile, increased 24.2% y-o-y, to stand at 6.74 mn in January, up from 5.43 mn in February 2018. Mobile internet users, however, reversed last month’s upward trend to fall to 32.49 mn in February, down 4.8% m-o-m, but up 1.25% in y-o-y terms.

Banking + Finance

BdC to make EGP 200 mn in direct investments by end of 2019

Banque du Caire (BdC) is planning to invest a further EGP 200 mn into companies by the end of 2019, taking the total value of its portfolio to EGP 1 bn, head of investments Mohamed Ragai said. This will include a planned USD 5 mn capital increase in BdC majority-owned Cairo International Bank in Kampala and a USD 3 mn purchase of stakes owned by the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr in the same bank — which the central bank greenlit last month.

Egypt Politics + Economics

Parliament renews state of emergency across Egypt for three months

Parliament approved yesterday a presidential decree to extend for an additional three months the nationwide state of emergency, reports Ahram Online. The state of emergency has already been in place for two years.

National Security

Egypt receives third German submarine

Egypt received the third Type 209/1400 submarine out of the four it has purchased from Germany in an official ceremony held in Kiel on Friday, Ahram Online reports. The first two submarines were received in December 2016 and August 2017, respectively. The agreement is reportedly generating controversy in Israel, according to the Times of Israel.

Nestle tips

On Your Way Out

Egypt plans to use the latest digital technology to showcase many of Tutankhamun’s treasures to audiences for the first time in two 7,000 sqm galleries in the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), Arab News reports. Holographic displays will allow visitors to view hundreds of the Egyptian king’s artifacts, including his world-famous mask. Many of these items, which will provide a snapshot of how the young king lived, have never been displayed to the public before.

Egyptian photojournalist Heba Khamis has won second prize in the people singles category in the 2019 World Press Photo contest for her powerful project “Black Birds,” Egypt Independent reports. The project depicts the complicated reality of young refugees in Germany, marginalized and forced to make harsh choices in order to survive. Khamis had earned the first prize in last year’s competition for her “Banned Beauty” project, making her the third Egyptian and the first Egyptian woman to receive the accolade.

Is JLo actually coming to Egypt or is this our version of Fyre Festival? Event planning company Venture Lifestyle announced last week that singer/actress Jennifer Lopez will be performing at a concert in Alamein this summer, but JLo has yet to actually confirm any of this is happening, Egypt Independent reports. Speculation is increasing that the event — for which tickets are already being sold — is not exactly confirmed, and a Music Syndicate official tells the newspaper that the syndicate has only heard that a certain company “asserted its desire” to bring JLo to Egypt.

The Market Yesterday

Share This Section

Powered by
Pharos Holding - http://www.pharosholding.com/

EGP / USD CBE market average: Buy 17.12 | Sell 17.22
EGP / USD at CIB:
Buy 17.10 | Sell 17.20
EGP / USD at NBE: Buy 17.12 | Sell 17.22

EGX30 (Thursday): 14,880 (-0.3%)
Turnover: EGP 315 mn (63% below the 90-day average)
EGX 30 year-to-date: +14.2%

THE MARKET ON THURSDAY: The EGX30 ended Thursday’s session down 0.3%. CIB, the index heaviest constituent ended down 0.7%. EGX30’s top performing constituents were Global Telecom up 1.8%, TMG Holding up 1.3%, and Emaar Misr up 0.9%. Thursday’s worst performing stocks were Heliopolis Housing down 2.3%, Ezz Steel down 2.2% and Egyptian Resorts down 2.0%. The market turnover was EGP 315 mn, and regional investors were the sole net sellers.

Foreigners: Net Long | EGP +4.9 mn
Regional: Net Short | EGP -5.5 mn
Domestic: Net Long | EGP +0.6 mn

Retail: 44.9% of total trades | 43.9% of buyers | 46.0% of sellers
Institutions: 55.1% of total trades | 56.1% of buyers | 54.0% of sellers

WTI: USD 61.94 (+0.21%)
Brent: USD 70.85 (+0.14%)

Natural Gas (Nymex, futures prices) USD 2.57 MMBtu, (-0.85%, June 2019)
Gold: USD 1,281.30 / troy ounce (+0.73%)

TASI: 9,336.90 (-0.27%) (YTD: +19.30%)
ADX: 5,242.59 (-0.30%) (YTD: +6.66%)
DFM: 2,758.51 (+0.25%) (YTD: +9.04%)
KSE Premier Market: 6,125.81 (+1.36%)
QE: 10,480.52 (+0.77%) (YTD: +1.76%)
MSM: 3,964.83 (-0.03%) (YTD: -8.30%)
BB: 1,434.59 (+0.05%) (YTD: +7.28%)

Share This Section

Calendar

May: 50 Egyptian companies are set to visit Libya to discuss trade, investment and reconstruction.

May: An IMF delegation will be in town to conduct its final review of the reform program ahead of the disbursement of the sixth and final tranche of Egypt’s USD 12 bn IMF loan.

6 May (Monday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

14 May (Tuesday): Egyptian Private Equity Association annual sohour. Four Seasons Hotel, Cairo.

23 May (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee will meet to review interest rates.

1H2019 (date TBD): Investment Minister Sahar Nasr will head a delegation of businessmen into Mexico City to explore cooperation avenues with the Latin American country.

June: International Forum for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

June: Egypt will host the first economic forum for Union for the Meditteranean (UfM) countries to promote trade and investment in the 43 member states.

June: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to attend US-Africa Business summit in Mozambique.

4-5 June (Tuesday-Wednesday): Global Entrepreneurship Summit, The Hague, the Netherlands

5-6 June (Wednesday-Thursday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

11-12 June (Tuesday-Wednesday): Offshore Congress MENA, InterContinental Semiramis, Cairo.

16-17 June (Sunday-Monday): Mega Projects Conference, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

16-18 June (Sunday-Tuesday): Middle East & Africa Rail Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

17-18 June (Monday-Tuesday): Seamless North Africa, Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo.

17-19 June (Monday-Wednesday): Cairo Technology Week, Hilton Heliopolis, Cairo.

18-19 June (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Open Market Committee will hold its two-day policy meeting to review the interest rate.

19-20 June (Wednesday-Thursday): Pharos Holding Annual Investor Conference, El Gouna, Egypt.

23 June (Sunday): Cairo Arbitration Court hearing for Amer Group vs. Antaradous for Touristic Development.

28-29 June (Friday-Saturday): G20 Global Economic Summit, Osaka, Japan.

30 June (Sunday): June 2013 protests anniversary, national holiday.

July: Customs officials from Egypt and the US will sit down to discuss “procedural and administrative matters” as part of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFA).

11 July (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee will meet to review interest rates.

19-21 July (Friday-Sunday): LED Middle East Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

23 July (Tuesday): 23 July revolution anniversary, national holiday.

30-31 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Open Market Committee will hold its two-day policy meeting to review the interest rate.

7-11 August (Wednesday-Sunday) Eid El Adha (TBC).

22 August (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee will meet to review interest rates.

29 August (Thursday): Islamic New Year (TBC), national holiday.

2-4 September (Monday-Wednesday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

8-11 September (Sunday-Wednesday): Sahara Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

9-12 September (Monday-Thursday): The 9th Annual EFG Hermes London Conference, Arsenal Emirates Stadium, London.

17-18 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Open Market Committee will hold its two-day policy meeting to review the interest rate.

26 September (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee will meet to review interest rates.

6 October (Sunday): Armed Forces Day, national holiday.

10-13 October (Tuesday-Sunday): Big Industrial Week Arabia 2019, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

23-24 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Intelligent Cities Exhibition & Conference, Hilton Heliopolis, Cairo.

23 October-1 November (Wednesday-Friday): CIB PSA Women’s World Championship, Great Pyramid of Giza, Cairo.

28 October-22 November (Monday-Friday): World Radiocommunication Conference 2019, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

29-30 October (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Open Market Committee will hold its two-day policy meeting to review the interest rate.

3-5 November (Sunday-Tuesday): Electrix 2019, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

9 November (Saturday): Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, national holiday.

10-14 November (Sunday-Thursday): GeoMEast International Congress and Exhibition, Marriott, Cairo.

14-17 November (Thursday-Sunday): Machtech Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

14-17 November (Thursday-Sunday): Transpotech Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

14-17 November (Thursday-Sunday): Airtech Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

December: Egypt will host for the first time the Pack Process trade expo for the Middle East and African region.

3-6 December (Tuesday-Friday): Cairo WoodShow, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

9-11 December (Monday-Wednesday): Pacprocess Middle East Africa, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

9-11 December (Monday-Wednesday): Food Africa 2019 Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

10-11 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): US Federal Open Market Committee will hold its two-day policy meeting to review the interest rate.

26 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee will meet to review interest rates.

9-12 January 2020 (Tuesday-Sunday): PLASTEX, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

25 January 2020 (Saturday): 25 January revolution anniversary / Police Day, national holiday.

11-13 February 2020 (Tuesday-Thursday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International

Exhibition Center, Nasr City, Cairo.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.