Made-in-Egypt Sinovac™ coming 15 June — well ahead of schedule

Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to a very brisk news day. This morning’s top story is the very welcome news that the first doses of our Made-in-Egypt Sinovac jabs will roll off assembly lines in a little more than a week’s time — substantially ahead of schedule.

It’s a quiet morning for international business news, which is a good thing considering how much there is to process here at home.

***CATCH UP QUICK with the top stories from yesterday’s edition of EnterprisePM:

• FinMin issues executive regs for Unified Tax Act: The regulations detail how Egypt’s newly-launched single tax portal will work and provide instructions to taxpayers on how to access and use it.
• Emirates Advanced Investments launches bid for Alex Medical: The company has made a mandatory tender offer for up to 100% of Alex Medical, joining at least six other companies who have expressed an interest in acquiring the company.
• Sovereign sukuk bill gets early House nod: The House approved “in principle” the long-awaited bill, which would pave the way for the government’s inaugural sukuk issuance once it is signed into law.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

The 2021 G7 summit kicks off on Friday in the UK — and it’s set to be an important meeting. Leaders of the G7 group of rich nations — along with Australia, India, Korea and South Africa — will gather in the UK on Friday for the three-day summit. Likely to be on the agenda: The future of the global tax system, climate change, and the small matter of who will pay to ensure the world’s poorest countries have access to covid-19 vaccines (more on that in this morning’s Covid Watch, below).

We’ll be able to travel to Morocco again as of 15 June after Rabat announced yesterday that it will lift its covid-induced ban on flights from Egypt and other countries, Moroccan state news agency MAP reports. Travellers from Egypt will be able to fly to Morocco provided they have proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test as of that date.

We’re still waiting for confirmation on when French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will be in town after ambassador Stéphane Romatet suggested the minister would soon be in Cairo for a visit.

Unesco prizewinner Egyptian architect Salah El Din Hareedy passed away on Saturday of covid-related complications, Alexandria University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, where Hareedy had served as professor for several years, announced. Hareedy was part of a seven-strong team of Egyptian architects who won in April Unseco’s design competition for the revival of Iraq’s Al Nouri Mosque — a political and religious hub in Mosul that was destroyed in the battle against Islamic State in 2017. The team Hareedy led edged out more than 120 other with “Courtyards Dialogue” design for the 12th-century complex.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Inflation data for May will be released this week.

Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt will meet Thursday, 17 June to review rates.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed. Blackboard appears every Monday in Enterprise in the place of our traditional industry news roundups.

In today’s issue: Part 3 of our series on automation in education. Adaptive learning software — which offers automated learner feedback and basic follow-up tasks based on performance — is widely used in Egypt’s international schools, we reported previously. But even more advanced AI education software has also started to appear in Egypt. We look at how several schools are using Century Tech, an advanced machine learning platform that builds personalized learning paths for students. It offers greater precision in identifying knowledge gaps, much more data, and could even rival teachers in helping students remember and understand information.

Made In Egypt Sinovac™ coming 15 June: The first locally-manufactured Sinovac vaccines will be ready on 15 June, Health Minister Hala Zayed told El Hekaya’s Amr Adib last night (watch, runtime: 1:39). The shots will undergo a final analysis before being dispatched to clinics, she said.

This is much earlier than expected: Only last week the ministry was saying that the first shots would be ready at the end of June.

We could soon start producing an undisclosed European vaccine: New production lines expected to come online at Sixth of October City will pave the way for Egypt to “soon” contract with a European company to locally produce its jab through Vacsera, Zayed added (watch, runtime: 0:42). The minister didn’t name the vaccine or say when an agreement could be reached. The EU pledged in May to invest at least EUR 1 bn to expand vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa, with Egypt among the leading candidates for investment.

Expect intense lobbying at the British embassy in the coming days as Egypt tries to make a swift exit from the UK’s “red list”: Zayed told Adib that she requested to meet virtually with the UK’s ambassador to Egypt, Geoffrey Adams, to discuss the UK government’s decision to place Egypt on its “red list” (watch, runtime: 2:12). The move, effective tomorrow, means that travellers entering the UK from Egypt will be required to pay GBP 1,750 for a mandatory 10-day hotel quarantine, effectively quashing British tourism to Egypt for the foreseeable future. Zayed said face-to-face meetings will take place with the ambassador when he returns to the country, allowing the government to argue its case that covid cases are falling and its vaccination campaign is picking up steam.

The Health Ministry reported 801 new covid-19 infections yesterday, down from 821 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 267,972 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 43 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 15,352.

Calls increase for G7 to stump up money for global vaccine rollout: One hundred ex-presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers have joined calls for the G7 to pay for vaccinating people in developing countries, according to a letter seen by the Guardian ahead of this year’s G7 meeting in the UK on Friday. A total of 230 global figures have urged the world’s richest countries to cover two-thirds of the USD 66 bn needed to produce and distribute vaccines to poorer countries.

Senegal is hoping to become a covid vaccine production hub for West Africa, with plans to begin manufacturing vaccines locally next year under an agreement with Belgian biotech group Univercells, Reuters reports. Senegal aims to produce 300 mn doses by the end of next year. Only 7 mn of Africa’s 1.3 bn population have been vaccinated against covid-19 to date.

As if supply shortages weren’t enough: The proliferation of fake covid-19 vaccines on the continent is threatening to undermine Africa’s vaccination efforts, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some 2.4k doses of fake vaccines were found at a warehouse in South Africa, with Interpol describing the seizure as “only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Covid-19 vaccine related crime.” Pfizer has said it has also identified fake versions of its vaccine in Poland and Mexico.

We’re going to be charged 14% VAT on all online delivery services provided by restaurants and shops, according to an executive amendment to the VAT Act (pdf) announced by Finance Minister Mohamed Maait yesterday. The law came into force last Thursday, 3 June.

What was happening before? Only some companies were required to collect and remit VAT on delivery fees under the original VAT Act. Under the law (pdf), retail and restaurant chains, tourist-trap restaurants, as well as retail stores and restaurants in airports and shopping malls, were required to charge the 14% levy on delivery fees. Individual shops and traders, meanwhile, were able to sell goods online without collecting VAT from the buyer.

What’s new? All restaurants and businesses with more than EGP 500k in annual revenues will have to charge and remit VAT on online delivery services, director of taxpayer services at the Egyptian Tax Authority Mohsen El Gayar told Enterprise yesterday. This is part of the state’s efforts to outline a framework for taxing e-commerce sales, he said.

This will help the government raise tax receipts: The Finance Ministry is looking to increase tax collection by 18% in the coming fiscal year, targeting total tax revenues of EGP 983 bn during FY2021-2022. The draft budget currently sees VAT revenues falling slightly, though it is unknown whether the additional tax on delivery services was factored into the ministry’s original calculations.

The amendment is the latest in a series of moves taken by the government to collect VAT on digital services: In October 2018, we had reported that the Finance Ministry has notified e-commerce platforms such as Souq, Jumia and OLX that they’ll be required to begin charging VAT on all transactions in goods that would be subject to VAT if sold offline. These companies have been required since then to settle their VAT payments to the government at the end of every month as other retailers do.

Where does Big Tech stand in all this? The government is reportedly drawing up separate VAT amendments that would require overseas technology companies to collect VAT on digital transactions. The specifics of the amendments remain unknown, as do their relation to the draft E-Commerce Act, which is also supposed to put in place a framework for taxing tech.

IN OTHER LEGISLATION NEWS- The House of Representatives has given preliminary approval to the long-awaited Sovereign Sukuk Act, Youm7 reports. The bill, which would pave the way for the government to begin issuing sharia-compliant bonds, will be put to a final vote during an upcoming plenary session.

The House SMEs committee yesterday approved a USD 50 mn loan from the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development that will support Egyptian SMEs, according to Youm7.

Egypt Post plans to debut its private equity arm Post for Investment (PFI) on the EGX, Chairman Sharif Farouk said in an interview with CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime 2:28). Market conditions and appetite from foreign investors will determine the timing and size of the offering, he said, adding that preparations for the IPO should wrap up by the end of this fiscal year.

PFI is a private equity firm that invests in industries including telecom, non-bank financial services, outdoor ads, and real estate. It is 100%-owned by Egypt Post. The company has stakes in bold-name businesses including Etisalat Misr, microfinance player Tamweely and Ayady.

2021 could see as many as five companies list or offer shares after the EGX debut of healthcare giant IDH and higher education unit Taleem earlier this year. Misr Ins.Holding also recently announced plans to offer 25% of its subsidiary Misr Life in an IPO by the end of this year or in early 2022.

OTHER IPO NEWS- Real estate developer Arkan Group is planning a possible IPO of its education subsidiary Arkan Education Services, the company said in a statement. Preparations for the listing will take around two years to complete, Chairman Emad Eissa said, adding that the group is currently restructuring Arkan Education into a joint stock company.

A consortium of Orascom Construction (OC) and water treatment company Metito has delivered a USD 130 mn seawater desalination plant in East Port Said, with a total capacity of 150k cubic meters per day (cbm/d), Metito said in a statement (pdf). The plant is expected to serve almost 1 mn citizens and will minimize its environmental impact by disposing of wastewater safely and employing energy-saving technologies.

Metito has big plans for water projects in Egypt: The company announced last month that it would allocate 50% of the USD 20 mn loan it secured from the International Finance Corporation to its Egypt unit. Metito, alongside OC and Hassan Allam Construction, was recently awarded the construction of the El Hamam agricultural wastewater plant, which the companies claim is the largest of its kind in the world.

Metito and Hassan Allam have already completed the 1 mn cbm/d Al Mahmasa agriculture wastewater treatment inaugurated last year, and an EGP 2 bn desalination plant in El Galala City with a capacity of 150k cbm/d. This all comes as part of the government’s USD 50 bn multi-year water-saving plan through 2037.

IN OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS-

Hassan Allam Construction has begun work on a project to revitalize Saint Catherine city in South Sinai, a company source told Enterprise yesterday. The build construct hotels and eco hostels as part of a wider ُEGP 3 bn project to develop the area’s tourism and transportation infrastructure. Al Mal reported earlier in the day that Hassan Allam is working with Abnaa Sinai on the project, a claim our source denies.

Egyptian e-commerce platform Tejarra.com has raised a six-figure USD seed investment from venture capital firm Openner, according to a press release (pdf). Openner will provide technical support, expertise, and other resources to help “the platform’s marketing and sales operations as well as its market success and positioning” through a so-called “venture building” model.

About the company: Launched in January by CEO Islam Erfan (LinkedIn), Tejarra is a consumer electronics marketplace that has attracted more than 50 vendors to its platform offering more than 18k products. The startup wants to grow sales to EGP 100 mn by the end of the year and will focus on both B2C and B2B transactions.

Openner is getting more involved in the Egyptian tech scene, announcing in October that it would invest USD 5 mn into as many as 50 Egyptian tech startups over the next two years. The Washington-based, Middle East and Africa-focused VC outfit bills itself as a “venture builder” as it both invests in and works closely to help startup founders implement ideas on the ground.

Check out this afternoon’s edition of Enterprise PM for our exclusive sit-down with Openner’s Egypt managing director, Ahmed ElSherif, who spoke to us about Openner’s approach, what it has in store, and how the “venture building” model might just be what venture capital in Egypt needs.

ALSO FROM PLANET STARTUP-

Fintech startup MoneyHash has closed a six-figure USD pre-seed round led by COTU Ventures, with participation from the Ventures Platform, Kepple Africa Ventures, and angel investors, the company announced in a statement.

About MoneyHash: Founded by Egyptians Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid as well as American Anisha Sekar last year, the US-based company is developing a unified platform that allows companies to offer customers payment and fintech services at checkout as well as to collect data and track analytics through a single dashboard. The company plans to launch in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and be up and running “in various countries” in the Middle East and Africa by 2022.

Afreximbank will loan United Bank USD 600 mn for on-lending to SMEs and to support trade finance, Masrawy reports, citing sources it says are in the know. Afreximbank provided a credit facility of the same amount to the bank last year to help SMEs access financing during the covid-19 pandemic, the sources said. The African multilateral lender provided almost USD 5 bn to Egypt last year, including USD 3.55 bn to the banking sector to support the economy through the pandemic.

United Media Services Company has appointed Albert Shafiq as the chairman of ON TV Network, the company said in a statement. Shafiq was previously the chairman of Al Nahar TV Network in 2016 before being appointed the chairman of Extra News TV Channel. Shafiq also supervised the development of Egyptian state TV channel Al Oula. He founded Egypt's ON TV channel in 2008, and ON TV Live in 2011, as well as ONA News Agency in 2012. This comes less than two weeks after UMS reshuffled its board of directors. The company has also said it plans to list on the EGX and is looking to launch a regional news channel.

Covid dominated the conversation on the nation’s airwaves last night as Health Minister Hala Zayed announced that the first batch of made-in-Egypt Sinovac jabs will be finished by 15 June. We have more in this morning’s Covid Watch, above.

There was time to discuss the Finance Ministry’s recent expansion of its natgas transition scheme, through which it’ll allow owners of 20+ year-old microbuses to apply for the first phase of the government’s natgas vehicle swap scheme starting July. The ministry will provide dated microbus owners with support of 25% of the new vehicle’s total value — which should not exceed EGP 65k — to help cover the down payment to make the switch, spokesperson of the Automobile Financing Fund Tarek Awad said in a phone-in to Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 6:54) last night. The remaining cost of the vehicle will be paid over seven to 10 years in installments at reduced rates of as much as 3% under a financing program backed by the Central Bank of Egypt, in addition to life and auto ins. coverage at discounted rates, according to Awad. Masaa DMC also had coverage of the Finance Ministry’s latest move (watch, runtime: 8:50).

Also on the airwaves last night:

• A draft bill permitting the automatic dismissal of civil servants, which was handed preliminary approval by the House yesterday, would primarily be applied to those who have been blacklisted in terrorism-related crimes, targeting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Rep. Atef Maghawry said. (Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 11:39)
• The Transport Ministry has agreed to establish three new highways in Cairo and Giza, spanning 100 kms in length and costing EGP 3.5 bn, Minister Kamel El Wazir said. (Ala Mas’ouleety | watch, runtime: 4:00)

The new administrative capital is in the press this morning, with the Financial Times’ Andrew England using the capital as the centerpiece for the salmon-colored paper’s Big Read. It’s the latest take in the international press on the military’s role in the economy. Elsewhere, researchers tell AFP that academic freedom is under threat in Egypt.

Construction of Talaat Moustafa Group’s EGP 500 bn Nour City development has begun, after Housing Minister Assem El Gazzar and TMG CEO Hisham Talaat Moustafa yesterday laid the foundation stone, the company said in a statement (pdf). The 5k-feddan project will accommodate 600k residents in 140k residential apartments and villas, and feature commercial and administrative spaces. TMG received the land — which it purchased in January for EGP 28.5 bn — at the end of May.

Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:

• Prime Fintech’s Endorse will roll out consumer finance services in the next two months, with further plans to launch a digital factoring service soon. The company launched a financial leasing service earlier this year, offering a finance with a tenor of up to 60 months.
• Saudi Arabia has agreed to suspend newly-imposed requirements on Egyptian food imports, and will send a team to Egypt this week to inspect food safety measures, Egypt’s Agriculture Ministry said in a statement last week. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority last month said it would introduce new controls on crops imported from Egypt from July, requiring that all fresh foods, crops and spices acquire a Certificate of Conformity proving they comply with Saudi food safety regulations.
• A campaign to raise awareness on marine conservation in the Red Sea was launched by the environment and tourism ministries at the weekend, as part of the wider Eco Egypt initiative that aims to promote environmental tourism.

IN DIPLOMACY: Egypt’s air force and navy are taking part in joint military drills in Saudi Arabia alongside troops from the kingdom as well as the UAE, Jordan and Oman, Saudi state news agency SPA reports. This comes as Egypt holds separate drills with the UAE until 30 June.

FROM THE REGION- Lebanon’s central bank chief Riad Salameh is under mounting pressure after French prosecutors began investigations into allegations he helped to launder money, AFP reports. This follows a similar probe opened by the Swiss attorney-general in April, which is looking into claims that Salameh and his brother embezzled more than USD 300 mn of central bank money.

7 June (Monday): British Egyptian Business Association hosts an event featuring Oil Minister Tarek El Molla.

7-9 June (Monday-Wednesday): A delegation of 18 French companies will meet with international financial institutions and Egyptian private partners in an event organized by Business France The event will take place at Sofitel Gezirah.

14 June (Monday): Egypt Green Economy Forum.

17 June (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

17-20 June (Thursday-Sunday): The International Exhibition of Materials and Technologies for Finishing and Construction (Turnkey Expo), Cairo International Conference Center.

20 June (Sunday): Ismailia Economic Court to hold hearing on Ever Given compensation case.

20 June (Sunday): Deadline to apply for enpact and the TUI Care Foundation’s Tourism Recovery Programme. You can apply using this link.

22-27 June (Tuesday-Sunday): The CIB PSA World Tour Finals for 2020-2021 will take place in Cairo.

24 June (Thursday): End of the 2020-2021 academic year (public schools).

26-29 June (Saturday-Tuesday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center, Cairo, Egypt. The Big 5 Egypt Impact Awards will also be taking place at the event on 27 June.

28 June – 2 July (Monday-Friday): The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will virtually hold its 30th annual meeting and business forum.

30 June (Wednesday): The IMF will complete a second review of targets set under the USD 5.2 bn standby loan approved in June 2020 (proposed date).

30 June (Wednesday): 30 June Revolution Day.

30 June- 15 July: National Book Fair.

July + August: Thanaweya Amma exams take place.

1 July: (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 30 June Revolution.

1 July (Thursday): Large taxpayers that have not yet signed on to the e-invoicing platform will suffer a host of penalties, including removal from large taxpayer classification, losing access to government services and business, and losing subsidies.

1 July (Thursday): Businesses importing goods at seaports will need to file shipping documents and cargo data digitally to the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) system.

15 June (Saturday): EGX-listed will have to complete filing their financial disclosures for the period ended 31 March.

19 July (Monday): Arafat Day (national holiday).

20-23 July (Tuesday-Friday): Eid Al Adha (national holiday).

23 July (Friday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

2-4 August (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt is hosting the Africa Food Manufacturing exhibition at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

5 August (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

9 August (Monday): Islamic New Year.

12 August (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year.

12-15 September (Sunday-Wednesday): Sahara Expo: the 33rd International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East.

16 September (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

30 September-2 October (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Projects 2021 expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

30 September-8 October (Thursday-Friday): The Cairo International Fair, Cairo International Conference Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1 October (Friday): Expo 2020 Dubai opens.

6 October (Wednesday): Armed Forces Day.

7 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Armed Forces Day.

12-14 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Mediterranean Offshore Conference, Alexandria, Egypt.

18 October (Monday): Prophet’s Birthday.

21 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Prophet’s Birthday.

28 October (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1-3 November (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Energy exhibition on power and renewable energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1-12 November (Monday-Friday): 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, United Kingdom.

29 November-2 December (Monday-Thursday): Egypt Defense Expo.

13-17 December: United Nations Convention against Corruption, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

16 December (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

14-16 February 2022 (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo, Egypt.

1H2022: The World Economic Forum annual meeting, location TBD.

May 2022: Investment in Logistics Conference, Cairo, Egypt.

27 June-3 July 2022 (Monday-Sunday): World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

**Note to readers: Some national holidays may appear twice above. Since 2020, Egypt has observed most mid-week holidays on Thursdays regardless of the day on which they fall and may also move those days to Sundays. We distinguish below between the actual holiday and its observance.