AM — SFE reportedly eyeing renewable energy fund

Good morning, friends, and happy Thursday to you all. We hope the week has been kind to you and that you’re looking forward to unwinding this weekend.

Four days in and Afcon 2021 has been nothing if not entertaining: There were incredible scenes in Cameroon yesterday as Tunisia’s meeting with Mali devolved into chaos in the final five minutes when Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe twice blew the full-time whistle before the 90 minutes were up. Mali had taken a 1-0 lead through a controversial penalty decision before the chaotic denouement, which saw the ref call full time on the 85th minute, hand a straight red card to Mali forward El Bilal Toure, and blow the whistle again in the 89th minute as the Tunisians were searching for an equalizer. It took a full 20 minutes before the officials decided to resume the game, only for the Tunisians to refuse to take to the field, handing Mali the victory. Check out Bein Sports’ coverage of the late-game fiasco here (watch, runtime: 2:12), while Eurosport has footage of the Malian coach being pulled out of the post-match presser to restart the game.

PSA- It’s going to be a cold weekend: Temperatures across the country are set to dip over the weekend, according to the Egyptian Meteorological Authority, which forecasts the mercury to dip as low as 7°C in the capital between today and Monday. The authority is forecasting wind and a chance of light to moderate rain over the next four days.

Look for daytime highs of 15-16°C over each of the next five days, our favourite weather app tells us.

---

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

The World Youth Forum wraps up today. Planning Minister Hala El Said took center stage yesterday, speaking on how the Sisi administration’s Decent Life initiative is a crucial policy in alleviating poverty in Egypt (watch, runtime: 2:25). You can check out the full agenda for the forum here (pdf), and we have more on yesterday’s events in Last Night’s Talk Shows, below.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Annual inflation in the United States for December was the highest it has been since 1982 at 7%, up from 6.8% a month before amid supply bottlenecks, labor shortages, and unprecedented liquidity flowing through the economy from pandemic-related stimulus, fresh data released yesterday shows. Core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy prices — stood at 5.5%, its highest since 1991.

But equities took it in stride: US stocks rose on Wednesday as the inflation figures came largely in line with analysts’ expectations, quelling fears of even higher price hikes that could have forced the Federal Reserve to unwind its stimulus program more swiftly, Reuters reports. Investors were reassured by expectations that inflation will peak by mid-year, helped by an easing of bottlenecks and planned interest rate hikes from the Fed, which the bank’s head Jay Powell on Wednesday insisted would not harm the economy.

Also still broadcasting the “inflation is transitory” line: IMF head Kristalina Georgieva, who yesterday said US inflation would start to decline by the second quarter of the year as the supply squeeze eases.

The news is everywhere in the global business press this morning: Reuters | Bloomberg | FT | WSJ | CNBC.

It’s a mixed open in Asia this morning: Shares in China, Japan and South Korea are down but the Hang Seng and Australia’s ASX are marginally in the black. The futures markets are also mixed, with shares in Europe poised to see early gains but the US on course to open in the red.

ICYMI- Annual inflation here at home is lower than it is in the US. We hit 5.9% in December (from 5.6% in November), ending a two-month downward trend, according to Capmas figures released earlier this week. A slower-than-expected rise in food and beverage costs led to a more muted rise in the annual headline figure than most analysts had anticipated.

MEANWHILE- Fortune thinks Facebook Meta may “soon” have to sell Instagram and El Whats as the US Federal Trade Commission prepares to take Meta to court over antitrust allegations. Two Democratic operatives have taken to the op-ed pages of the Wall Street Journal to position Hillary Clinton as a potential 2024 candidate for the US presidency

Subscribe to Enterprise

WEEKEND MUST READ-

SOUND SMART- A proposed EU taxonomy could soon become the world’s gold standard for green investment, the Economist reports. The rules will set out criteria to measure the quality of purportedly green investments — and their stringency and detail could make the taxonomy the last word on sustainable investing globally. European banks and green fund managers will have to disclose how their investments align with the rules, in a step that is set to reduce greenwashing, increase confidence in sustainable assets, and force more climate data into the public domain.

Expect some controversy: The draft text has prompted backlash after it classified some nuclear power and gas projects as “green” (which, coincidentally, wouldn’t be so bad for our own energy hub ambitions). Some energy experts also question whether the taxonomy is enough to steer funds towards the right investments, arguing that it creates no incentive for companies to back poorly-funded sustainable assets.

What’s next? The taxonomy is currently under review by experts and is expected to be published in its final form later this month — after which it would become law by the summer, unless a supermajority of EU countries or the bloc’s parliament move to block it, Reuters reports.

Speaking of nukes: The UAE’s Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) is set to produce 85% of Abu Dhabi’s clean energy by 2025, CEO Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi said at a conference yesterday, according to Reuters. ENEC owns Abu Dhabi’s Barakah nuclear power plant, the Arab world’s first. The plant is expected to generate 5.6 GW of power and prevent more than 21 mn tonnes of carbon emissions a year once fully operational, according to the Abu Dhabi government.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

SODIC shareholders will vote on the company’s new board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday, 16 January. The formation of the new board comes after an Emirati consortium of real estate giant Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ in December acquired 85.5% of SODIC in an allcash, EGP 6.1 bn transaction.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is due in town from 20-21 January on an official visit, during which he will meet President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

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

Cosmeceuticals giant Macro Group’s shares will be listed on the EGX today after receiving the blessing of the bourse’s listing committee yesterday, according to an EGX statement (pdf) yesterday. The listing will pave the way for company’s plan to offer up to 45.8% of its shares (which will trade under the stock ticker MCRO.CA) in a transaction that could value the company at as much as EGP 3.5 bn, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said last month.

When will Macro go ahead with the sale of shares? The FRA gave Macro the green light last month to offer shares to investors, setting a late-January window for the transaction. Macro plans to make its EGX debut sometime in the first quarter of 2022, a source familiar with the matter told Enterprise in December, adding that the exact timeline for the IPO has not yet been set. Market conditions are critical to the timing of any IPO. The FRA has lately telegraphed that it could be flexible on the deadline to complete transactions for companies that have listed their shares, but not executed sales.

Background: Macro Group postponed its IPO plans in April 2021 despite strong appetite from international institutional investors, citing concern for the market’s capacity to absorb a packed offerings schedule on the EGX. The company was about to kick off retail subscription when the listing was postponed, with shares priced at between EGP 5.30-6.15 apiece, valuing the company at EGP 3.1-3.6 bn. Sources told us last month that the company would start the book building process from scratch following the holiday season.

Advisors: Our friends at EFG Hermes is quarterbacking the transaction as sole global coordinator. EFG Hermes and Renaissance Capital are acting as joint bookrunners, while White & Case is counsel to the issuer. Inktank is investor relations advisor to Macro.

More IPOs on the horizon: Our friends at healthy foods player Abu Auf is looking to make its EGX debut in 2Q, while non-bank financial services outfit Ebtikar has also signaled it is looking to IPO, but refused to give us guidance on timing when we recently asked. The FRA last month gave approval for Nahr Elkhair Development and Investment to list up to 61% of its shares on the EGX, with a fair value estimate of EGP 500 mn.

IN OTHER CAPITAL MARKETS NEWS-

Real estate firm Marseilia Group’s shares will be listed on the EGX from next Thursday, 20 January, after making the jump from the small-cap Nilex, the EGX statement added. The EGX Listing Committee approved the company’s EGP 28.8 mn capital increase, pushing its capital just north of the EGP 100 mn capital requirement for companies to list on the EGX, the bourse said In a separate bulletin yesterday. The increase will be financed by annual and retained earnings.

Our friends at the Sovereign Fund of Egypt is working to launch a renewable energy sub-fund this year as part of its plan to support the green transition, Al Borsa reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the fund’s plans. The Madbouly government is reportedly planning to transfer ownership of the assets of both the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and the Hydro Power Plant Executive Authority (HPPEA) over to this new sub-fund, which will manage investments in climate-friendly projects.

Where the plan stands: SFE officials are studying reports from the NREA and the HPPEA on their assets and ongoing projects, the newspaper says. We reached out to all the parties involved for comment, but they haven’t gotten back to us as of dispatch.

The HPPEA is already set to be scrapped: The body will be abolished and the country’s hydroelectric assets transferred to the NREA under a bill passed by the House last week. The legislation, first proposed by Cabinet two years ago, still needs to be ratified by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

So what assets will the sub-fund hold? Anything and everything related to national projects in wind, solar, and hydro. Renewable energy production from the NREA projects increased over 22% y-o-y in FY2020-2021 to reach c. 4.5k megawatts / hour. Further rapid expansion is planned, as the government targets sourcing 42% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

The SFE plans on scaling up climate-friendly investments this year. It is currently backing several high-profile infrastructural projects, including a USD 2.5 bn plan to develop 17 new desalination plants and Egypt’s first-ever green hydrogen facility. The fund is also considering its first green bond issuance, according to CEO Ayman Soliman, who in December said the SFE could sell the climate-linked securities in collaboration with unidentified “partners.”

Egypt plans to develop industrial mining “cities” for the extraction of gold, copper, and phosphate, Bloomberg Asharq quoted Oil Minister Tarek El Molla as saying yesterday at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh. The zones would extract and process gold in the Eastern Desert, phosphates in the Western Desert, and copper in Sinai, El Molla reportedly said.

Marsa Alam to see our first gold refinery as part of the plan: El Molla said at the forum that work is underway to establish the country’s first accredited gold refinery in the Eastern Desert’s Marsa Alam, according to a ministry statement.

Gold worth USD 1 bn? The area housing the gold refinery is thought to hold more than 1 mn ounces of gold, the ministry announced in November. The deposit could be worth up to USD 1 bn if estimates are proven correct. The area has an average gold concentration of 1.5 grams per tonne of rock, according to El Molla. Iqat Gold Mining Company — a joint venture company set up by the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority and the military-owned Shalateen Mining Company — holds the concession.

The ministry aims for the mining sector to grow tenfold over the next two decades, which would ultimately see it contribute 5% to annual GDP, El Molla said.

The gov’t is working to expand the mining industry: Last year’s gold tender saw gold exploration licenses awarded to players including Sawiris-backed Altus Strategies subsidiary Akh Gold, Canada’s Lotus Gold, Egypt’s Ebdaa Gold, and the Mining and Manufacturing Company (MEDAF). The tender came following amendments to the Mineral Resources Act that Sawiris has said were “more favorable and more realistic and would attract foreign investments to the sector.”

Grocery delivery startup Tawfeer Market has raised USD 500k in seed funding, the company has announced. The Alexandria-based company said that it had received “contributions” from Alexandria Business Angels Network, without mentioning whether other investors were involved in the round.

About Tawfeer Market: Launched in 2020, Tawfeer Market is an online grocery store. It currently stocks more than 6k products at its fulfillment centers and says deliveries are made within one hour of ordering. Its app has been downloaded more than 100k times and has completed tens of thousands of orders, which are seeing double-digit m-o-m growth, according to the statement. The company recently graduated from the AUC Venture Lab accelerator program.

The nation’s talking heads couldn’t stop talking about the World Youth Forum for the third night running: Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 7:23 | 3:52), Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 9:40), Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 9:16) and Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 11:38) all had coverage of the third day of the event.

There was time for econ talk on the sidelines of the forum: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait appeared on Ala Mas’ouleety to discuss inflation, bread subsidies and commodity prices among other things (watch, runtime: 37:02), while IMF executive director Mahmoud Mohieldin talked climate change and prospects for the economy on Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 35:36).

Women’s rights are getting attention in the foreign press this morning: The BBC picks up the story of a teacher who was sacked from her job and divorced by her husband after she was filmed belly-dancing at a party on a Nile boat. Reuters has a piece on how digital gameya have offered a lifeline to women entrepreneurs in Egypt since the pandemic. Meanwhile, Amnesty International is out with a statement criticizing a court decision to jail for one year a human rights activist who accused the government of not doing enough to protect women from harassment.

Air Supply and Kima ink agreement for new gas production project: Air Supply Group signed an EGP 260 mn agreement to construct, manage, and operate a medicinal gas factory at Kima’s Aswan complex, Hapi Journal reported. Some of the oxygen and nitrogen produced at the factory, which is set to start operating in 1Q2023, will go towards Kima’s production of ammonia nitrate. Air Supply was founded in 2010 and specializes in the production of industrial and medical gasses as well as other chemicals.

The Central Bank of Egypt has established (pdf) an information security center in a bid to bolster banks’ cybersecurity.

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

• The Suez Canal Authority wants to increase its share of global energy trade to 15% by 2040, up from 8% in 2019.
• Elsewedy to light up the new capital: Elsewedy Electric for Trading and Distribution signed an EGP 443.4 mn contract (pdf) to light the New Administrative Capital’s South Ben Zayed Road.
• E-waste recycling company Recycle Key will invest EGP 200 mn to establish its second factory in the Sadat City Industrial Zone, set to be completed by the end of the year.
• The National Telecom Regulatory Authority has issued (pdf) the regulatory framework for the provision of Internet of Things (IoT) services.
• Land reclamation: More than 2 mn feddans of agricultural land will be reclaimed in the next two years, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has reportedly said.

The Health Ministry reported 948 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 932 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 395,688 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 28 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 22,042.

Frequent covid boosters could adversely affect the immune system, warned the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at a press briefing on Monday (watch, runtime: 45:41). Boosters “can be done once, or maybe twice, but it’s not something that we can think should be repeated constantly," said Marco Cavaleri, the EMA’s head of biological health threats and vaccines. As covid transitions from a pandemic into an endemic phase, governments would be wiser to space out stop-ulcers-meds.com booster campaigns and tie them to the onset of winter, as is done with flu shots, he said.

New covid antiviral on the block: Swiss drugmaker Novartis will seek US regulatory approval for its ensovibep antiviral, which was shown to reduce the risk of covid-related hospitalization or death by 78% in a phase 2 study, the company said in a statement. Unlike antiviral covid pills from the likes of Merck and Pfizer — both of which are set to become available locally soon — the Novartis drug is delivered intravenously.

Has the US just pulled support for the Greece-Israel EastMed pipeline? The Biden administration has expressed “reservations” about a planned gas pipeline linking Israel, Cyprus and Greece, Greek government sources tell Reuters. In a note to Greece, "the American side expressed to the Greek side reservations as to the rationale of the EastMed pipeline, (and) raised issues of its economic viability and environmental (issues)," one source told the newswire. The EUR 6 bn pipeline, which had been backed by the Trump administration, has been planned for several years, and the participating countries are hoping to finalize funding for the project later this year.

The tide may be turning in Ethiopia’s civil war as government forces reportedly push back Tigray rebel fighters who a few weeks ago were threatening to enter the nation’s capital, the Wall Street Journal reports. The military has retaken several towns and forced the Tigray People’s Liberation Front force to retreat back to their northern homeland, lessening pressure on the country’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who in recent days has released several opposition leaders from prison and pledged to open peace talks.

Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh has been banned from leaving Lebanon by a judge as authorities investigate allegations that he helped to launder money and embezzle bank funds. (Reuters)

Dr. Asser Salama, founder and CEO of Easy Care: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Asser Salama (LinkedIn), a trained cardiologist and founder and CEO of FMCG player Easy Care. Edited excerpts from our conversation follow:

My name is Dr. Asser Salama, I am a physician and CEO of Easy Care Group. I stopped practicing medicine 15 years ago to focus on business and then I finished my MBA and did my postgraduate at Harvard Business School. I am a certified instructor and I teach contemporary management at AUC, the Arab Academy of Science and Technology (AAST), ESLSCA and Alexandria University.

Easy Care is trying to make expensive products affordable to the masses and democratize non-food FMCG products. We are a market leader in sanitary products like baby wipes and disinfectant wipes as well as personal care goods like shower gel, hand soap and alcohol sanitizers.

We have been in the market for almost 20 years now, evolving from an SME into a market leader. We are one of the few companies that went from being microfinanced to being a holding company. Today, we have four factories across Egypt and we are in every household. We like to say that we introduced the culture of wipes in Egypt, and we sell 2 mn units of our hair removal product Easy Sweet each month.

I am an early bird, I wake up at 6 or 7am and I do my prayers. Then I ask myself two questions: How can we sell more, and how can we reduce our costs, without compromising on quality.

I am kind of a workaholic and work 14-15 hours a day.I believe that work-life balance depends on the person, but personally I find my passion in my work. Being a CEO is a little like being a theater director — you have to get people to do more and be more, and figure out how the people around you can help you achieve your goals.

I go to work everyday, but not necessarily to the office or to a factory. I’m a very mobile person and I love to move around and spend time with my customers. The market is my office. And technology allows me to do my business anytime, anywhere. My role is more strategic leadership than management. I’m not a GM and I don’t want to be. I have to dedicate more time to looking to the future to assess our weaknesses and strengths.

I am a hope seller. My responsibility is to lead the team amid uncertainty by giving them hope and setting the stage for them to perform better. Motivation is important, but hope is what creates excellence, positivity and security. You have to appreciate people for their work everyday. I believe that people perform better because they are appreciated, not necessarily because they are paid better.

I stay focused and organized by being clear about what I’m not going to do. You have to be clear about what you need to delegate. Any business owner can get caught up in daily operations and lose sight of the big picture.

I started teaching an MBA program by chance five years ago. At first, I wanted to quit because I was so awful. Then my wife told me to take a step back and reconsider my strategy, so I decided to treat my students like employees and it made all the difference. My nickname at university is professor chairman and 15% of my students have quit their jobs and are pursuing their own business.

Teaching has really changed my life. If you really want to learn about something, don’t read about it, teach it. There was so much that I thought I knew, but I understood it in a completely very different way when I started teaching it. Management is a social science and it’s a culture.

My favorite way to switch off is to watch a sitcom or read a book. I love to watch Modern Family and I like books on history and strategy, but that’s only if I have time. I also love to cook Asian and Indian food. It is a passion of mine and I am seriously thinking of getting a degree in cooking. It’s a kind of entrepreneurship in its own way: you take raw materials and limited resources and make something with it.

The best piece of advice that life has taught me is to give hope. You don’t lose when you lose business, you lose when you lose hope.