New rules on how we all observe holidays = more long weekends

THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE OF PLANS and we now have a long weekend to which to look forward rather than a midweek holiday tomorrow. The Madbouly Cabinet decided last night to make Thursday, 2 July a national holiday for the public and private sectors in observance of the anniversary of the 30 June protests that ended our Islamist interregnum, according to a statement.

But of course it’s just not that simple:

State-owned banks will be off on Wednesday, 1 July, as will any private sector banks whose fiscal years end 30 June. State banks always close their doors to the public at the end of their fiscal year to close their books.

All banks will be off on Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt said last night in a new circular that set aside the previously announced 30 June bank holiday.

And the stock exchange will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday as the bourse doesn’t open when a significant part of the banking system is closed.

SMART POLICY- Cabinet has decided that we’re going to have more long weekends from now on. If a national holiday falls in the middle of the week, it will automatically be pushed to the following Thursday. The exceptions: Eid El Fitr, Eid El Adha, and Coptic Christmas. Mabrouk, everyone: We now have more clarity to plan and the promise of more long weekends. That’s a win, so far as we’re concerned, but enjoy redoing your corporate / school / personal calendars, boys and girls.

Enterprise is also off on Thursday and will be back in your inboxes at the usual hour on Sunday morning.

It’s a big day for the future of our water supply — and of farmers — as the UN Security Council is set to talk GERD today after the issue was put on the agenda at the request of France. Egypt held talks with several council members ahead of the meeting to clarify its stance on the dispute, according to Ahram Gate.

Egypt rallies int’l support as GERD talks resume: The Emigration Ministry released a video over the weekend urging viewers to sign a petition for Ethiopia to abide by the 2015 Declaration of Principles and refrain from filling the reservoirs of its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without reaching an agreement with its downstream neighbors, Sudan and Egypt (watch, runtime 1:39). The video comes as the three countries have returned to the negotiating table this week in a last-ditch effort to reach a final pact on the dam.

Meanwhile, Egypt should receive the first USD 2 bn tranche of the IMF’s USD 5.2 bn standby loan within the next few days, Central Bank of Egypt Deputy Governor Ramy Aboul Naga told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 7:14). The IMF had approved on Friday the loan, which will help the country plug a balance of payments shortfall and finance the budget deficit. The remaining USD 3.2 bn will be doled out in two further tranches after staff reviews.

And no, you weren’t imaging things: A 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit Cairo yesterday evening at around 7:43 pm, said Gad El-Kadi, head of the National Institute of Astronomical Research, according to Ahram Gate.

Add the Financial Times to the list of folks concerned about what school closures and “hybrid learning” could mean for working parents. As we suggested yesterday, businesses need to consider what the possibility of blended learning could mean to their staff come September, which is not that many sleeps away.

One good piece of news for folks with young ankle biters in the house: Nurseries will be permitted to reopen as early as this Wednesday under guidelines announced by Social Solidarity Minister Nivine Kabbag (watch, runtime: 12:41). Kabbag told ExtraNews that nurseries will be allowed to operate four days a week — from Sunday through Wednesday — but will have to close their doors each day at 3pm rather than 5pm. All staff members will be required to wear masks and gloves (kids are exempt).

COVID-19 IN EGYPT-

The Health Ministry confirmed 81 new deaths from covid-19 yesterday, bringing the country’s total death toll to 2,789. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 65,188 confirmed cases of covid-19, after the ministry reported 1,265 new infections yesterday. We now have a total of 17,538 cases that have fully recovered.

New guidelines: Following World Health Organization guidelines, the Health Ministry is now considering any covid-19 patient who shows no symptoms for 10 days as being fully recovered, according to the statement. The last confirmed figure for the number of confirmed cases that tested negative for the virus after being hospitalized or isolated was 18,658 on Saturday.

Rep. Abdel Rehim Ali has tested positive for covid-19 and has been hospitalized in an ICU in a hospital in Paris, where he was attending a conference on the crisis in Libya, Al Shorouk reports. Ali is the eleventh MP to have tested positive for the virus thus far, according to Ahram Online.

Some 50% of the 300k registered restaurants, hotels, and tourist facilities in Giza opened their doors on Saturday, when the government lifted the curfew and allowed a host of non-essential services to return to normal working hours for the first time in three months, according to Al Mal. The Consumer Protection Agency, along with the Health and Tourism Ministries, have started inspecting facilities at random to ensure they abide by the precautionary measures, including a 25% cap on occupancy. The Tourism Ministry has handed out safety certificates to 144 restaurants and cafes, a statement said.

Matrouh’s El Negelah Hospital, the country’s first dedicated covid-19 quarantine facility, is resuming operations as a full-service hospital and will no longer be limited to operating as a quarantine facility, deputy director Mohamed Ibrahim said (watch, runtime: 5:49). The hospital is still treating covid-19 patients.

Uber’s Careem expects demand for its services to pick up sooner than initially projected, and return to pre-corona levels sometime in 2021 as countries relax lockdown measures, CEO Mudassir Sheikha told Reuters’ Arabic service. The pandemic has hit the ride-hailing company hard, forcing it to slash 31% of its workforce in May after business fell by 80%. Both Careem and parent company Uber have indefinitely suspended recruiting new drivers amid the slump in activity.

Reminder: We’re also reopening our international airspace on Wednesday, 1 July, with EgyptAir set to resume flights to 22 destinations. You can find details on the flights and how to confirm your bookings here.

Three tour groups are set to arrive in Egypt in early July, said Travco Tourism Group General Manager Moataz Sedky, which organized the tours, according to Hapi Journal. The Travco groups are coming out of Italy, Belgium, and Ukraine. Charter flights are resuming at the beginning of the month to the Red Sea, South Sinai, and Matrouh.

ON THE GLOBAL FRONT-

The covid-19 pandemic reached a grim milestone yesterday as the global infection count crossed into eight figures. Johns Hopkins University data shows that there have now been more than 10 mn cases of the virus and 500k deaths since the outbreak began in China at the start of the year. The news comes as the US health secretary warned that the “window is closing” to halt the spread of the virus across America and as the New York Times reported that US testing sites are overwhelmed.

Another 500k people in China have been locked down, after authorities detected a new virus cluster near Beijing, Deutsche Welle reports.

EGYPT BEYOND COVID-

The Egyptian Private Equity Association is holding a webinar with Sovereign Fund of Egypt head Ayman Soliman today at 11 am. Moderated by EPEA chairman and the fund’s new CIO Abdalla Elebiary, the session will cover the fund’s targets, plans and partnerships. Contact the EPEA for more info.

EG Bank and Cairo Angels are now accepting applications for the fall 2020 cycle of the Mint Incubator. The program will for the first time feature a dedicated track for fintech startups.The deadline for applications is 15 August. Apply here.

AND THE REST OF THE WORLD-

Three Egyptian businesses made it into Forbes’ 2020 Top 100 Arab Family Businesses in the Middle East, which is dominated by Emirati and Saudi firms. Egypt’s Mansour Group — managed by Mohamed, Yassin and Youssef Mansour — landed in the top spot on the list overall, with a combined wealth of USD 7.4 bn. Memaar Al Morshedy ranked 55, while ElAraby Group ranked 68.

More big brands have pulled their ads from social media for the foreseeable future: Starbucks, Levi’s, Hersheys and alcohol maker Diageo have all joined Unilever, Coca-Cola and Verizon in pulling out of most forms of social media for a six-month period amid suggestions that Facebook, in particular, has become a toxic player in global society. Most of the bans appear so far to apply primarily to the companies’ US media spend. Diageo’s moratorium on social media spending is global, the Financial Times notes. CNBC has more.

It’s the salmon-colored paper’s equivalent of newbie foreign reporters showing up in Cairo and talking to taxi drivers to take the pulse of the “Arab street,” but there’s a kernel of truth nonetheless to Rana Foroohar’s latest column for the FT, wherein she argues that the picture painted by small businesses offers a much grimmer assessment of the health of he US economy than does the performance of the stock market. Read: Small business: a canary in the US economic coal mine.

Covid-19 was in the limelight on the airwaves last night after the country took its latest steps towards reopening the economy on Saturday.

The government could decide to re-impose lockdown measures, including returning to the nighttime curfew if the infection rate spikes as a result of the reopening, Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad told Masaa DMC’s Eman El Hosary. Saad reminded viewers that the pandemic is not over — and that everybody should follow personal precautionary measures laid out by the government, including wearing face masks in closed spaces and on public transport (watch, runtime: 6:20).

We’re seeing more cases, but fewer people in critical condition, Hossam Hosni, head of the scientific committee at the Health Ministry told Al Kahera Alaan’s Lamees El Hadidi. Around 2-3% of new daily confirmed cases are considered “critical” and only 10% require ICU treatment, Hosni said (watch, runtime: 2:15).

On the bright side, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of e-learning, which is part of the Education Ministry’s broad reform program, Minister Tarek Shawki told El Hekaya’s Amr Adib. Shawki noted that the ministry has rolled out several online communication platforms and online libraries for students to benefit from (watch, runtime: 11:24).

Are you ready for an electric 128? State-owned El Nasr Automotive is expected to complete feasibility studies and sign a final agreement to assemble as many as 25k electric cars a year with a Chinese company within three months, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik told ‘Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa. Tawfik didn’t name the company, but we’re still banking on it being Wuhan-based Dongfeng, which was in negotiations with El Nasr to assemble EVs since last year before the covid-19 pandemic delayed talks. Tawfik expects each car to retail for about EGP 300k (watch, runtime: 18:38).

In other transport updates, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir broke down his ministry’s plan to develop the Arab Organization for Industrialization’s Semaf railway factory, which should be complete by October 2020 (watch, runtime: 52:53).

IPO WATCH- Pioneers Holding to split into three new companies, list them on the EGX in 4Q2020: Pioneers Holding plans to split into three separate arms, one each focused on financial services, real estate, and industry, it announced in a statement (pdf). This will mean that Pioneers will be spinning three subsidiaries off onto the EGX under three separate tickers in 4Q2020 in a first-of-its-kind move in Egypt. The restructuring, which the company announced in October, aims to help expand into new businesses while improving its focus on core activities, the statement said. The company has recently completed an MTO in a bid to cobble together larger positions in five of its EGX-listed subsidiaries — which wrapped up earlier this month — before moving ahead with the restructuring.

Advisors: UHY United is acting as Pioneers’ financial advisor and Baker McKenzie is providing legal advice.

Sodic sells out of Vye villas in two days: Sodic sold all its first batch of detached, solar-powered villas in its Vye compound within 48 hours of going on sale, in what was the developer’s first launch since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. The sales brought in EGP 250 mn, the company said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. The real estate developer hopes to sell EGP 43 bn worth of units in Vye, having already recorded EGP 1 bn in sales in just two days in December. The Vye project is the first of three compounds to be included in a 500-feddan development in New Zayed City.

M&A WATCH- Saudi’s Khaled Abdullah Al Subaie Holding looks to acquire Maridive Offshore Projects: Jeddah-based Khaled Abdullah Al Subaie Holding Company has expressed interest in acquiring Maridive Offshore Projects, a wholly owned subsidiary of EGX-listed Maridive & Oil Services, the company said in a regulatory filing (pdf) that provided no further details of the potential transaction. Maridive said in March that it was in talks with creditors as it struggled with covid-19 and plunging oil prices.

PHD, CI Capital’s Taaleem ink MoU to set up life sciences university in Badya compound: Palm Hills Development (PHD) has signed a preliminary agreement with CI Capital subsidiary Taaleem to jointly set up a new private university in its West Cairo Badya project, according to a press release (pdf). The two companies would set up a joint venture to establish the university, which would span 100k sqm of PHD’s development and be home to a health sciences college in partnership with the Medical University of Vienna, as well as branches of at least one other international university. Taaleem would be in charge of managing and operating the project, which is still subject to corporate and regulatory approvals, the statement says.

Background: The Badya compound is a 3k-feddan West Cairo project under development by PHD in partnership with the New Urban Communities Authority. Taaleem is a subsidiary of EGX-listed CI Capital (which holds a 16.4% stake in Taaleem and has “influence over the decision[s] of its board of directors”) and owns the Nahda University in Beni Suef, the largest private university in Upper Egypt with 5.6k enrolled students.

REGULATION WATCH- The FRA has set new solvency standards for consumer finance companies in a bit to curb concentration risk and strengthen financial stability, according to a statement (pdf). Under the new rules companies will only be allowed to lend up to 10% of their capital base to a single borrower to prevent them from becoming overexposed to a small number of clients. Companies will also be allowed to take loans worth up to 9x their equity value to support their activities.

The statement also notes that stricter capital requirements will be introduced to shore up balance sheets but didn’t disclose the specifics. We were unable to reach the FRA for comment yesterday.

Companies will have to comply with the new rules by the end of FY2020-2021 and submit quarterly compliance reports to the FRA.

NBFS players may, in the future, be able to raise funds from both retail and institutional investors through a new type of fund. That’s the primary takeaway from a decision by the FRA last week that will allow the creation of funds dedicated to providing liquidity to leasing, mortgage and consumer finance, factoring, and microfinance companies. These NBFS players will be able to transfer their receivables to those funds, which the authority labels as “specialized in transferable value.” The funds will in exchange pay the companies the present value of their portfolio. This will help NBFS firms to comply with the increased capital requirements as both retail and institutional investors will be able to invest in the securitized debt of the companies by buying into the dedicated funds.

Think of it like securitization, with a twist: Companies with substantial unrealized revenues — such as NBFS and real estate firms — often pool their receivables into special purpose vehicles and sell them to institutional investors. Those institutional investors provide immediate liquidity for the issuers to finance working capital. This dedicated type of fund will function in a similar way, except it will be open to both institutional and retail investors, introducing a whole new layer of funding. The FRA hopes this will increase capital inflows and make it easier for NBFS firms to access liquidity.

REGULATION WATCH- Administrative Court hands down landmark ruling in real estate M&A case: The Administrative Court has issued a ruling that any mergers or acquisitions between real estate joint stock companies have no legal bearing on these companies’ legal status. The ruling — which accepted a case filed by Shahid Law Firm — sets a new legal precedent that exempts these companies from a 2010 ministerial decision that imposed fees on real estate companies that cede land plots to other developers, which only apply to sole proprietorships.

The ruling overturns a EGP 1.38 bn fine the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) had slapped on EastGate Developments. The dispute arose after NUCA awarded a land plot to Barwa Egypt for Real Estate Development in 2007, before Barwa New Cairo Development bought up the company and later changed its name to East Gate Developments. NUCA had claimed that this acquisition qualifies as a cessation of land, which would entail paying the cessation fees.

DISPUTE WATCH- Court rules in favor Amer Group, Porto Group in Antaradous dispute: The North Cairo Court has turned down claim for compensation lodged by Syria’s Antaradous for Touristic Development against Mansour Amer and his two holding companies, Amer Group and Porto Group, the defendants said (pdf). Arbitrators had originally ruled in Amer’s favor, but the Syria based company decided to pursue the case in court.. The dispute dates back to 2008 when the parties entered into a partnership to develop a Porto-style project in the coastal city of Tartous.

CBE Credit Guarantee Company will guarantee loans by banks under EGP 100 bn stimulus program: The Central Bank of Egypt has launched a new initiative to hedge against part of the risk associated with bank lending under its EGP 100 bn initiative to extend low-interest loans to industrial, agricultural, and construction firms. The bank said in a circular that EGP 7 bn will be set aside for its recently formed Credit Guarantee Company, expanding the scope of the company to guarantee loans to larger companies alongside its current focus on SMEs.

KSA to give EGP 200 mn grant to five Egyptian MSMEs: Saudi Arabia will provide EGP 200 mn to finance five new micro, small, and medium enterprises in Egypt, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat said yesterday. The Agricultural Bank of Egypt will receive EGP 100 mn to finance a rural development project, livestock supply chains, and dairy factories. A healthcare support program by Contact Financial Leasing and a SME logistics support program by UE Finance will receive EGP 50 mn each.

LEGISLATION WATCH- The House Health Committee approved in principle yesterday a bill that would raise the salaries of state-employed healthcare workers under a directive from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, according to Masrawy. The bill would, if passed, grant general practitioners an additional EGP 1,225 in hazard pay, while dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians and physiotherapists would see an EGP 875 bump in their compensation. Specialized nurses, chemists and physicists would see EGP 790 added to their paychecks, while technical diploma holders in nursing and health would receive EGP 700.

Other legislative news to note in brief:

• The House Religious Affairs committee approved a bill restructuring the Religious Endowments Authority to bring it under the Religious Endowments (Awqaf) Ministry’s umbrella, and grant the authority the right to manage and invest endowment funds, Al Shorouk reports.
• Shou Ming, they’re coming for you: The House Constitutional and Legislative Affairs approved an anti-cheating bill that would impose fines and jail time to those found guilty of illegally obtaining and leaking exam materials, and automatically flunk students caught cheating during exams, according to Al Shorouk.

EARNINGS WATCH- Palm Hills Developments (PHD) saw its net profits fall by 42% to EGP 81 mn in 1Q2020 from EGP 141 mn in the same period last year, according to its quarterly financials (pdf). This came despite revenues rising 18% to EGP 1.1 bn from EGP 958 mn.

Pioneers Holding’s net profits nearly halved in the first quarter of 2020 on a y-o-y basis, falling to EGP 271 mn from EGP 456 mn in 1Q2019, according to its earning statement (pdf).. Profits fell on the back of much lower revenues, which fell 30% to EGP 1.73 bn from EGP 2.49 bn.

Sidpec turns loss in 1Q2020: Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company (Sidpec) reported losses of EGP 31.3 mn in 1Q2020 against net profits of EGP 193.1 mn in 1Q2019, the company said in a regulatory disclosure.

Suez Cement turned an EGP 390 mn loss during the first three months of the year compared to the EGP 213 mn profit made in 1Q2019, the company said in an EGX filing (pdf).

MOVES- Palm Hills Developments has appointed CI Capital Holding’s group co-CEO and managing director Tarek Tantawy (LinkedIn) as a board member, after accepting the resignation of COO Mohamed Fahmy Soliman (LinkedIn), according to a disclosure to the EGX (pdf).

Egyptian Ferro Alloys Company boss Mohamed El Saadawi has been selected to succeed Medhat Nafea as chairman of state-owned Metallurgical Industries Holding Company, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik said, according to Hapi Journal.

Sri Suma Chakrabarti is preparing to mark his final day as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Cooperation Minister Rania Mashat noted on Twitter yesterday, saying Sir Suma — a longtime friend of Egypt — will be “truly missed.” Chakrabarti, who has led the EBRD since 2012 and championed its expansion outside European borders for the first time, will step down in July.

In this week’s episode of Making It: Trella co-founder and CEO Omar Hagrass delves into the practices that make a sustainable business, and offers advice to entrepreneurs looking to secure their first funding round. Hagrass and his co-founders completed a USD 600K pre-seed round with only a pitch deck in early 2019, showing that having a strong team ready to solve a big problem is a significant pull for investors.

Trella eliminates the need for middlemen between shippers and carriers, saving both parties time and resources.

Tap or click here to listen to the episode on our website | Apple Podcast | Google Podcast | Omny. We’re also available on Spotify, but only for non-MENA accounts. Subscribe to Making It here.

Robo-gastronomy may be the future: A pandemic sure can change your neuroses. Just six months ago the coming robot takeover was a serious source of existential angst. Now, we’re begging them to cook us our koshary. This restaurant, developed by Country Garden subsidiary Qianxi Robot Catering Group, is the world’s first ever contactless, fully automated robotic eatery — perfect for those among us who are now terrified of coming into contact with other humans while eating out.

Egyptian belly-dancer Sama El Masry’s three-year jail sentence and EGP 300k fine is leading the conversation on Egypt in the foreign press. El Masry was arrested in April after sharing videos online which the court said incite “immorality” and upend Egyptian family values. The dancer denies the allegations, and claims the videos were stolen and uploaded from her phone without her knowledge. (Reuters | Sky News | Independent | Times of Israel | The Mirror | The Telegraph)

Elsewhere: Egypt’s film festivals are set to go ahead as planned in 2H2020 as covid-19 restrictions are lifted, according to Al Monitor. This includes El Gouna Film Festival, the Cairo International Film Festival, and Alexandria International Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries.

Egypt imported 5 mn tonnes of wheat in 1H2020, down 16.6% compared to 6 mn tonnes in the same period last year, the local press reports, citing official data. State grain buyer GASC accounted for a little over half of the imports, while the remainder was imported by private sector players. Russia was our biggest source market, providing 46.52% of the wheat we imported during the first six months of the year, followed by Ukraine (25.19%) and France (12.25%).