Monday, 26 September 2022

AM — Gov’t wants to raise USD 6 bn from stake sales by the middle of next year

TL;DR

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Good morning, everyone and welcome to a reasonably quiet Monday morning. Think of it as a karmic (or cosmic) breather — with central and cabinet officials looking to get us out of the current bottleneck, 2023 planning in full swing at corporates, 3Q earnings season about to kick off, and the House set to come back into session on Saturday … it’s probably best we enjoy a light morning without complaint.

TODAY’S MUST READ- We’re running the results of our Enterprise Fall 2022 Reader Poll in today’s edition of EnterprisePM, which will be in your inboxes at 3:15pm CLT. Highlights include the EGP : USD rate you good people are using to prepare your 2023 budgets as well as your views on investment, M&A activity and whether you see yourselves outperforming your competition in the year ahead.

Reader surveys have been a regular part of Enterprise since we started publishing eight years ago this week. We’re looking forward in the coming weeks to running our first Enterprise Climate reader poll. Enterprise Climate is the first of our new series of daily, MENA-focused industry publications — taking deep dives into the region’s most important industries.

Your engagement with Enterprise Climate is off the charts — thank you, all of you, for having made it a success beyond our wildest dreams on launch day.

Do you think your industry is compelling enough to read about every day? Drop us a note on patrick@enterprisemea.com and let’s talk. We’re lining up our next two industries now, and one of them is still TBD.


Speaking of climate polls (not ours): CEOs around the world want governments to take the lead on climate action through smart regulation and good public policy, according to a Cambridge university study. That notion rings true with CEOs and other senior execs in Egypt: Even those among you who are making climate a significant part of your business tell us in private that the process would be a whole lot easier with (smart) government-mandated requirements. You can read more about Cambridge survey in this morning’s Enterprise Climate.


WATCH THIS SPACE #1- SODIC owner Aldar Properties is looking at the new administrative capital, CEO Tala Al Dhiyebi said during talks in Cairo yesterday, calling it “one of the most promising markets in the Arab world.”

WATCH THIS SPACE #2- The economic conference is happening — we just don’t know when: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly confirmed to reporters yesterday that the government is still planning to hold an economic conference before the end of the month (read: this week), but declined to give a date or a location. On the agenda: The final draft of the state ownership document, trade policy, and industrialization.

DATA POINT- Egypt’s LNG exports hit USD 8 bn in FY 2021-2022: Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports reached USD 8 bn last year, according to an infographic released by the cabinet yesterday. The figure is higher than the USD 6.5 bn recently cited by Oil Minister Tarek El Molla, who said the government will target USD 8.5–10 bn in natural gas revenues in FY 2022-2023.


Fall isn’t just PSL season — it’s time to load up on new books and TV shows. We’ve just finished Stephen King’s Fairy Tale and recommend it unreservedly. King, particularly when writing outside of the horror genre (as he is here), is simply one of the best English-language storytellers working today.

Looking to bulk up your TBR pile or watching queue? Start here:


HAPPENING TODAY- Defense Minister Mohamed Zaki is en route to the UAE for talks expected to last several days.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

PSA- Get into (almost) all museums for free tomorrow: The Tourism Ministry is celebrating World Tourism Day on 27 September by waiving entrance fees to almost all of its museums. The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and cultural museums aren’t participating. (Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 7:01)

Our friends at HSBC are hosting an energy transition webinar series this Tuesday through Thursday (27-29 September). The series will look at the “latest climate analysis in relation to the global energy market and transition to net zero” in six different sessions covering energy security, what is required to ensure the success of COP27, financing and investment needs for the energy transition, and the scaling up of renewables in the region, among other topics. You can register for the series here.

A Spanish business delegation will be in town this Tuesday and Wednesday (27-28 September) for the Egypt-Spain Multilateral Partnership Forum, organized by the Spanish Institute for Export and Investment, according to a press release (pdf). The two-day conference will include seminars and panel discussions on trade and investment in transport, energy, and water with Egyptian ministers and representatives from government bodies, alongside officials from international financing institutions and Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Xiana Méndez Bértolo. The agenda for the conference is available here (pdf).

The UN World Food Program and the International Cooperation Ministry are hosting a two-day conference on food security at the St. Regis Cairo Hotel on Wednesday and Thursday, according to a press release (pdf). The conference will mainly focus on the digitization of the agricultural sector, financial inclusion and social protection.

NEXT MONTH-

A call for women entrepreneurs: Looking for investors? Look no further. The Facility Investing for Employment will select a number of Egyptian projects that contribute to sustainable job creation to award financing ranging between EUR 1-10 mn, with a focus on women entrepreneurs and women-led businesses, according to a press release (pdf). Entrants can apply starting 14 November.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Italy just elected the (spiritual) heir to Il Duce: The far-right Brothers of Italy party looks to have won the Italian general election, making its leader, Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first-ever female prime minister and giving the country its most right-wing government since Mussolini’s fascist rule. Exit polls have the party comfortably ahead with more than a quarter of the vote, paving the way for it to enter government as part of a right-wing coalition with Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Matteo Salvini’s League.

The story is dominating the front pages of the foreign press this morning: AP | Reuters | Bloomberg | FT | BBC | NYT | Wall Street Journal.

ICYMI-

Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at the government’s attempts to grow the country’s local electronics manufacturing industry.

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*** 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: With the cap on tuition fees still in place, how are private + international schools coping with rising costs?

enterprise

The Somabay Endurance Festival, organized by The TriFactory, returns this month for the fourth time. Featuring four different races that combine swimming, cycling, and running, as well as the 1K Kids Race (ages 5-10) and the 10K Race, the Somabay Endurance Festival has got something for everyone. Taking place from 29 September though 1 October, spots are running out for Egypt’s favorite multi-sport event. To find out more and sign up, head to www.thetrifactory.com/somabay.

PRIVATIZATION WATCH

Siemens-built power plant among USD 3 bn assets to join the pre-IPO fund within weeks

Gov’t wants to raise USD 6 bn from stake sales by mid-2023: The Madbouly government expects to raises as much as USD 6 bn by selling stakes in state-owned assets by mid-2023, Planning Minister and Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) Chair Hala El Said told Bloomberg in an interview in New York. The government could sell shares to the public and to strategic investors, and plans to market companies to Gulf sovereign funds and investors in Europe and Asia during a roadshow in October, she said.

Siemens-built power plant up for grabs: El Said didn’t disclose which companies the government could offer stakes in but said that one of the three Siemens-built power plants will be among the first batch of assets that will be transferred to the SFE’s newly-established “pre-IPO” fund. Assets worth up to USD 3 bn will be handed over to the fund in the next three to six weeks, the minister said, without providing further details.

Pre-IPO fund? Announced by the SFE earlier this month, the pre-IPO fund is aimed at preparing state-owned enterprises for listing on the EGX and provides an alternative to public share sales while market conditions remain volatile. Shares held by the National Investment Bank worth up to USD 3 bn will be sold to strategic investors in the first phase, with a second similar sized phase coming later.

The SFE has had the Siemens plants on its radar for years: There has been talk of selling stakes in the power plants going back to 2019 when the SFE was first established. The fund has in the past suggested that it could acquire significant minority stakes in the plants as a prelude to their sale.

What other assets could be up for grabs? NIB holds stakes in a large number of state-owned companies across sectors including banking, media, fertilizers, food and agriculture, building materials, real estate, and transport, according to its website. Two of the companies listed — Egyptian Media Production City and Mopco — have recently been reported in local media to be the target of Gulf wealth funds, though none of the parties involved have publicly confirmed this.

The Saudi wealth fund could be interested: SFE head Ayman Soliman in April said the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) could invest in all three plants as well as military-owned Wataniya Petroleum. This would come as part of Riyadh’s USD 10 bn investment pledge that has seen the Saudi fund buy minority stakes in four EGX-listed companies for USD 1.3 bn.

Gulf sovereign funds will likely be the priority targets of the strategic sale program, after GCC countries pledged more than USD 22 bn in direct investment to help the country weather global economic headwinds. The Abu Dhabi and Saudi funds have both supported the government’s pivot to strategic stake sales by snapping up holdings in EGX-listed, state-owned companies, and there’s talk of the Qatar Investment Authority following suit. “Sovereign wealth funds are usually long-term investors, they add value in terms of expertise, finance and technology,” Bloomberg quotes El Said as saying.

REMEMBER- Our privatization roadmap is ready: The Madbouly government this week finalized its state ownership policy after months of consultations with representatives from the public and private sectors. Strategic stake sales are a key pillar of the privatization plan, which envisions more than doubling the private sector’s role in the economy to 65% over the next three years, and attracting USD 40 bn in investment by 2026. Expanding the private sector is also in step with IMF guidance — something the government is paying close attention to as it looks to wrap talks over a fresh loan from the multilateral lender within the next month or two.

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INVESTMENT WATCH

Al Masry SC eyes EGP 4 bn Port Said sports complex

Al Masry Sporting Club has hired Zilla Capital as financial adviser on a planned EGP 4 bn sports complex in Port Said, the investment services firm said in a statement (pdf) yesterday.

About the project: The complex is set to include a 20k-capacity stadium, a 400-room hotel, and 800 residential and commercial units. It will take three years to complete, the statement said, without saying when construction is expected to begin.

Al Masry SC is seeking partners: “We are currently scouting for investors and high-end developers and hospitality management firms” to join the project, Zilla Capital’s head of marketing, Yasmin Khafagy, told Enterprise.

MOVES

Ahmed Mohamed Ashmawy El Feky has been appointed chairman of Holding Company for Food Industries subsidiary Middle Egypt Flour Mills (CEFM), succeeding Bakry Hassan Ebaid, according to a bourse disclosure (pdf).

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LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

Last night’s talk shows gave us a little bit of this — and a little bit of that.

FinMin gives big thumbs up to CBE for easing import restrictions: The Central Bank of Egypt’s new rules for facilitating FX for imports is a welcome move for the Finance Ministry by helping to clear the backlog of goods held up at ports, FinMin advisor Mona Nasser told Al Hayah Al Youm. The ministry has in the past several weeks been conducting a sweep of imported shipments held up at customs to decide how to handle them on a case-by-case basis. The ministry recognizes that there are some hurdles beyond importers’ control — such as difficulties securing letters of credit or delays in finalizing import procedures — the importers “should not be punished for,” Nasser said (watch, runtime: 3:01). Under the Customs Act, goods that remain at ports for a certain period of time are deemed “abandoned” and typically sold at auction at a significant markdown. 

Anything COP-related is getting fast-tracked out of customs: The government will facilitate the entry of any goods or equipment coming in for use at COP27, Nasser told Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 3:40). Items coming in for the climate summit spend no longer than a day in customs, she added.

Also on the airwaves last night:

  • GEM update: Construction on the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has been completed and so far it holds some 56k artifacts, including the entire Tutankhamun collection. (Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 6:49)
  • More detainees released: Another 36 pre-trial detainees received a presidential pardon today. El Hekayah (watch, runtime: 4:51)

FACT CHECK- Your vehicle must be equipped with a first aid kit, a warning triangle and a fire extinguisher, in accordance with traffic regulations and any rumors saying otherwise are untrue. What’s changed? You can purchase them from from the Interior Ministry — or from a third party seller. (El Hekaya | watch, runtime: 2:53)

EDITOR’S NOTE- This story was amended on 26 September, 2022 to correct Finance Ministry advisor Mona Nasser’s comments on how the Finance Ministry sees the problems importers are currently facing. 

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Driving the conversation on Egypt in the international press this morning: The Associated Press is the latest global media outlet to highlight the impact that Egypt’s economic and currency crisis is having on ordinary people.

High fares and sparsely-populated neighborhoods have meant that relatively few commuters have been riding the USD 1.24 bn light rail since it opened in July, leading the government to slash fares to boost passenger numbers, according to the National.

The annual date harvest season is the subject of a photo essay in the National.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

InGame Sports gets cash + in-kind support in pre-seed round

Egyptian gaming startup InGame Sports has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round led by international VC Openner. The company said it had received the equivalent of USD 1 mn in “cash, in-kind resources and grants,” but declined to disclose how much money it had raised when asked by Enterprise yesterday. Multinational data provider Sportradar is providing the company with free access to its services and a grant as part of the round, co-founder and Managing Partner Mohab El Tawila (LinkedIn) told us.

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

  • Egypt received a shipment of 42 wind turbine blades from Italy for the 262.5-MW Ras Ghareb wind farm. (Statement)
  • Alexandria Mineral Oil Company will pay out EGP 710.3 mn in dividends after shareholders yesterday approved plans to pay out EGP 0.55 per share for FY 2021-2022. (Statement, pdf)
  • The Suez Canal Authority wants to expand the Ismailia marina to host 60 yachts from 12 currently under government plans to draw more foreign yachts to the country. (Statement)
  • Emirati waste management company Bee'ah and local firm Green Planet for Sustainable Environmental Solutions will provide waste management services in Sharm El Sheikh. (Statement)
  • Etisalat customers now have access to streaming platform TOD under an agreement signed with Etisalat subsidiary Evision. (Hapi Journal)

PLANET FINANCE

Powered by
EFG Hermes - https://efghermes.com/

Salik IPO more than 49x oversubscribed: Dubai’s toll gate operator pulled in over USD 50 bn of orders during the subscription period for its market debut, according to a statement (pdf) to the Dubai Financial Market. The company is offering a 24.9% stake (1.9 bn shares) at AED 2.00 (USD 0.50) per share to raise USD 1 bn. Trading is set to begin this Thursday, 29 September.

Advisors: Our friends at EFG Hermes and HSBC are joint bookrunners alongside Citigroup, while Emirates NBD, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch are global coordinators.

The Dubai market is hoping fresh listings can make it one of 2022’s only bright spots for global equities as soaring inflation and rising interest rates pause IPOs elsewhere. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s shares jumped as much as 23% on their trading debut in April. The July listing of Dubai business park operator Tecom Group didn’t fare as well, dropping 17% on its debut after being oversubscribed.

ALSO IN THE UAE- Financial services firm Rothschild will move its equity advisory practice for Asia to Dubai to capitalize on the region’s IPO boom, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Gulf IPOs have enjoyed a record-breaking year while listings in Hong Kong have followed a similar trajectory to other areas of the world, with proceeds falling 78% y-o-y amid volatility in the financial markets. Rothschild is currently one of the advisors on Americana Group’s IPO debut of KFC and Pizza Hut on the ADX and Tadawul.

REMEMBER- Abu Dhabi has also transformed itself from a reasonably sleepy IPO backwater into one of the region’s hottest markets, up 18.1% YTD thanks to a run of successful transactions including the USD 2 bn offering of petrochemicals firm Borouge in June.


Analysts are starting to talk about a fresh financial crisis in Asia: Asian currencies are feeling the heat of the Fed’s aggressive tightening cycle, leading analysts to speculate about a new financial crisis in the region if the greenback continues its relentless rise, Bloomberg writes. Both the Japanese JPY and the Chinese CNY have fallen heavily against the USD this year, a trend that could drag down other currencies in the region and trigger mass outflows if it keeps up. “The CNY and JPY are big anchors and their weakness risks destabilizing currencies to trade and investments in Asia,” said one analyst. “We’re already heading toward global financial crisis levels of stress in some aspects, then the next step would be the Asian financial crisis if losses deepen.”

Down

EGX30

9,895

-0.4% (YTD: -17.2%)

None

USD (CBE)

Buy 19.44

Sell 19.54

None

USD at CIB

Buy 19.46

Sell 19.52

None

Interest rates CBE

11.25% deposit

12.25% lending

Down

Tadawul

11,161

-2.6% (YTD: -0.5%)

Down

ADX

10,026

-0.7% (YTD: +18.1%)

Down

DFM

3,409

-0.7% (YTD: +6.7%)

Down

S&P 500

3,693

-1.7% (YTD: -22.5%)

Down

FTSE 100

7,019

-2.0% (YTD: -5.0%)

Down

Euro Stoxx 50

3,349

-2.3% (YTD: -22.1%)

Down

Brent crude

USD 86.15

-4.8%

Down

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 6.83

-3.7%

Down

Gold

USD 1,655.60

-1.5%

Down

BTC

USD 18,716

-1.1% (YTD: -59.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.4% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 725.14 mn (24% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 17.2% YTD.

In the green: Abu Qir Fertilizers (+3.4%), Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (+3.0%) and Eastern Company (+2.0%).

In the red: GB Auto (-3.2%), Credit Agricole Egypt (-3.1%) and Madinet Nasr Housing and Development (-2.6%).

Shares in China and Hong Kong are an island of green in a sea of red this morning as last week’s sell-off continues in earnest in Asia. Both the Nikkei and the Kospi are down more than 2% while the ADX is 1.3% lower. Shares in Europe and the US will follow them later today, according to stock futures.

DIPLOMACY

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to a statement. The two followed up on the Egyptian-Chinese strategic dialogue held in January 2020 and discussed bilateral relations, and regional and international issues.

AROUND THE WORLD

The IMF has never been this busy: IMF lending to struggling economies has climbed to a record high, with total loans — including those not yet disbursed — already at over USD 268 bn, the Financial Times reports. The fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war, the pandemic and a surge in interest rates globally have forced at least five countries into default, with others expected to follow.

That’s not including countries — like Egypt — that are in negotiations with the Fund: Egypt, Tunisia, Ghana and Bangladesh are among the countries in talks with the IMF for emergency loans, leaving the Fund needing to sign off on tens of bns of USD in fresh lending.

Sri Lanka has begun talks with its creditors on a restructuring agreement that the country hopes will pave the way to unlocking its USD 2.9 bn IMF bailout by mid-December, the Financial Times reports. The bulk of Sri Lanka’s USD 50 bn debt is owed to private creditors, while the country also owes money to countries including Japan, China, and India. Debt restructuring is a key condition of the bailout package Sri Lanka agreed with the IMF several weeks ago, after it defaulted on its external debt in May amid the country’s worst economic crisis in over seven decades.

MEANWHILE- One LNG cargo is better than nothing, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will have left the Gulf disappointed yesterday having failed to secure new long-term gas supplies as the country heads into winter without Russian hydrocarbons. After visiting the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia over the weekend, Scholz left with a single 137k cbm LNG shipment, which Adnoc will deliver early next year. The Emirati company also signed an MoU to make more deliveries next year but it’s not clear how much gas it’s going to ship or over what time frame.

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How are private + international schools keeping up with costs as a cap on tuition fees remains in place? Recently appointed Education Minister Reda Hegazy decided to maintain the 7% tuition increase cap on private schools, dashing operators’ hopes that the government would loosen the regions on tuition fee hikes this year amid rising inflation and a weakening EGP. Some of these schools will likely make losses this year, their operators told us, citing the cap as the main cause of financial strain.

REFRESHER- Private schools have faced a strict cap on tuition fee increases for the past four years, after parents lobbied the Education Ministry to end what they called unjust increases. Those that charge more than EGP 10k per year have been limited to raising costs by 7% per year on their 2015-2016 fees, which the government deemed their baseline year, meaning the actual increase increment has remained steady each year, EduHive CEO Karim Mostafa explained to Enterprise. Private schools with tuition fees below EGP 10k per year have a 10-25% cap on their annual tuition fee increases, Private Schools Owners Association Chairman Badawy Allam told Enterprise.

The middle ground: The ministry agreed to let schools calculate the annual increase based on last academic year’s fees, rather than the baseline year, in an effort to help education operators who are feeling the pinch of inflation and facing higher costs, Mostafa told us. “They did meet with us, and they saw our point. But it’s still not enough, especially with the FX rate on the rise,” he said. Sources we spoke to previously were hopeful that the cap for costlier private and international schools may be revised within a year or two — possibly pushed up to 10%, or even scrapped completely.

Schools may request exceptions to the tuition rise cap, which the ministry grants or rejects on a case-by-case basis. El Alsson, for example, has had its request approved once in recent years, because the institution recently purchased a new campus on pricey land, has faced soaring building costs, and has gone through two EGP devaluations, El Alsson Executive Director Karim Rogers told us. But the process of applying for this exception is quite lengthy, requiring the submission of audited financial statements, balance sheets, and a hefty amount of paperwork. Other school operators, such as Mostafa, find the procedure — which begins with the school district office before moving on to the ministry for final approval — to be tedious, and the raises they receive can be modest and not worth the effort, he says.

It’s better than nothing, but the increase in fees schools are charging falls far below the increase in costs — the biggest of which is their FX expenses, including expat teachers’ salaries. FX payments “account for some 70% of our budget,” Mostafa said. Schools wrapped up last year when the FX rate was at EGP 15.75 per USD 1, several international school managers told us. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has allowed the currency to depreciate gradually since March, falling nearly 24% to stand at around EGP 19.54.

There have also been other sources of greater cost burdens for school operators, including an increase in ins. pay at a 15% annual rate for five years starting January 2020 — a total increase of 75% — as stipulated by the Social Security Act, school operators said in a letter to officials that was seen by Enterprise. The operators also cited an 833% increase in the cost of renewing expat work permits, a 25-fold increase in the price of new work licenses for non-Egyptians, a 300% increase in fees charged for renewing permits for international school books, and an obligatory 1% of annual revenue that schools now need to pay to the government’s Support Education fund.

Schools still recognize that it’s tough times for everyone and have been more accommodating to parents: Schools are allowing parents and guardians more flexibility with their payments, several sources we spoke to said. “We don’t give them a hard time like we used to when it comes to following up on fees,” which are paid in installments, Rogers said. Under government regulations, private schools are required to collect fees over four equal installments starting September, with no penalty or interest for late payments. The Education Ministry has also warned private schools against collecting additional fees under different guises, such as enrollment or acceptance fees, or charges for school uniforms, supplies, or “donations.”

But at the end of the day, schools have bills to pay, while parents can opt for cheaper schools: “We have to fulfill our own financial commitments,” Rogers told us. Since El Alsson moved to its new campus in 2017, it has yet to breakeven, he said. The bottom line is that private and international schools are private businesses, which are designed to create financial returns, Mostafa said. “We pay our taxes, and we pay ins.,” he said, contrasting private education providers with players in other sectors that get government support or more leeway to adapt to market dynamics. “We have not received support when we bought our lands and built our schools, much like restaurants or hotels,” he said. “The Tourism Ministry would not force a price cap on room hotels, and if their running costs increase, they have flexibility to implement the prices that work for them. We need to be treated like other sectors. If a real estate developer faces rising building costs, the company has the right to increase its prices accordingly.”

Private school owners are entitled to 15% of their earnings under the Education Act, which is designed to encourage investment in education. But the ministry’s decision to implement the cap is essentially blocking the law from taking effect, Mostafa points out, with private school margins rarely reaching 15%.

In a bid to make ends meet, operators have already been cutting costs, but that’s only going to go so far: “What expenses can we eliminate? We can't turn off electricity or water, and we're spending our money on salaries, books, and education supplies,” Rogers said.


Your top education stories for the week:

  • Egypt will build nine new nonprofit universities in governorates including Alexandria, Assiut, Menoufia and Ismailia. (Official Gazette)
  • Emirati fertilizer company CFC Group will establish two technical schools to train industrial workers at a total investment cost of EGP 70 mn.
  • Egyptian Modern Education Systems could open a private university in the new capital.
  • Twelve public middle schools will start offering Chinese classes. (Statement)
  • Stanford University again topped Bloomberg Businessweek’s ranking of the 117 best business schools worldwide in 2022-2023.

CALENDAR

OUR CALENDAR APPEARS in two sections:

  • Events with specific dates or months are right here up top
  • Events happening in a quarter or other range of time with no specific date / month appear at the bottom of the calendar.

SEPTEMBER

September: Central Bank of Egypt’s Innovation and Financial Technology Center to launch incubator for 50 fintech startups.

September: Meeting of the Egyptian-German Joint Economic Committee.

September: A delegation from Germany’s Aldi will visit Egypt to look at potential investments.

September: Government to launch an international promotional campaign for Egyptian tourism.

13-27 September (Tuesday-Tuesday): UN General Assembly, New York.

25-27 September (Sunday-Tuesday) A delegation of executives at Egyptian real estate companies visit Saudi Arabia to present developers with potential investments in Egypt’s real estate sector.

25-29 September (Sunday-Thursday) FranEgypt will hold its first virtual expo on franchises in the country.

26–27 September (Monday-Tuesday): The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) at the Cairo Marriott Hotel.

27-28 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Egypt-Spain Multilateral Partnership Forum, Sofitel Gezira, Cairo, Egypt.

27-29 September (Tuesday-Thursday): Africa Renewables Investment Summit (ARIS), Cape Town, South Africa.

27-29 September (Tuesday-Thursday): HSBC Energy Transition Webinar series.

27-29 September (Tuesday-Thursday): The 14th edition of Creative Industry Summit, Cairo Business Park, New Cairo.

28-29 September (Wednesday-Thursday): The sixth edition of Arab Pensions and Social Ins. Conference in Sharm El Sheikh.

28-29 September (Thursday-Friday): The first edition of the World Food Security Conference in Cairo.

30 September (Friday): Winter opening hours for shops and restaurants begin.

OCTOBER

October: Air Sphinx, EgyptAir’s low-cost subsidiary to commence operations.

October: Fuel pricing committee meets to decide quarterly fuel prices.

1 October (Saturday): Start of 2022-2023 public school year.

1 October (Saturday): House of Representatives reconvenes after summer recess.

1 October (Saturday): 2022- 2023 academic year begins for public universities.

4-8 October (Tuesday-Saturday): The Chemical and Fertilizers Export Council of the Trade and Industry Ministry is organizing a trade mission to Kenya.

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

8 October (Saturday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, national holiday.

10 October (Monday): The CEO Women Conference.

10-14 October (Monday-Friday): Gitex Global, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubai, UAE.

10-16 October (Monday-Sunday): World Bank and IMF annual meetings, Washington, DC.

15 October (Saturday): Cairo Metro will launch a global tender for maintenance work on the power stations and overhead catenary system of Line 1.

16-19 October (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo Water Week 2022, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

17 October (Monday): Fifth Egypt and UN-led regional climate roundtable ahead of COP27, Geneva, Switzerland.

18 October (Tuesday): The Egyptian-Swedish business forum, Stockholm, Sweden.

27 October (Thursday): European Central Bank monetary policy meeting.

27-30 October (Thursday-Sunday): Cairo ICT, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo.

Late October-14 November: 3Q2022 earnings season.

Late October: First Abu Dhabi Bank to complete full integration with Bank Audi’s Egyptian operations after merger.

NOVEMBER

1-2 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

1-2 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Arab League annual summit, Algiers, Algeria.

3 November (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

3-5 November (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Fashion Week.

4-6 November (Friday-Sunday): Autotech auto exhibition, Cairo International Exhibition and Convention Center.

6-18 November (Sunday-Friday): Egypt will host COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

7 November (Monday): The inauguration of the first line of the high-speed rail.

7-13 November (Mon-Sun): The International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

21 November-18 December (Monday-Sunday): 2022 Fifa World Cup, Qatar.

DECEMBER

3 December (Saturday): Dior Men’s pre-fall collection show in Giza.

13-14 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

13-15 December (Tuesday-Thursday): US-Africa Leaders Summit.

15 December (Thursday): European Central Bank monetary policy meeting.

22 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

December: The Sixth of October dry port will begin operations.

December: Egypt to expand Sudan electricity link capacity to 300 MW.

JANUARY 2023

January: EGX-listed companies and non-bank lenders will submit ESG reports for the first time.

January: Fuel pricing committee meets to decide quarterly fuel prices.

1 January (Sunday): Use of Nafeza becomes compulsory for air freight.

1 January (Sunday): Residential electricity bills are set to rise as per the government’s six-year roadmap (pdf) to restructure electricity prices by 2025.

7 January (Saturday): Coptic Christmas.

24 January-6 February: The 54th Cairo International Book Fair, Egypt International Exhibition Center

25 January (Wednesday): 25 January revolution anniversary / Police Day.

26 January (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 25 January revolution anniversary / Police Day.

FEBRUARY 2023

11 February (Saturday): Second semester of 2022-2023 academic year begins for public universities.

13-15 February (Monday-Wednesday): The Egypt Petroleum Show (Egyps), Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

23-27 February (Thursday-Monday): The eighth annual Business Women of Egypt’s Women for Success conference.

MARCH 2023

March: 4Q2022 earnings season.

23 March (Wednesday) — First day of Ramadan (TBC). Maghreb will be at 6:08pm CLT.

APRIL 2023

17 April (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

22 April (Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25 April (Tuesday): Sinai Liberation Day.

27 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC).

Late April – 15 May: 1Q2023 earnings season.

MAY 2023

1 May (Monday): Labor Day.

4 May (Thursday) National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

22-26 May (Monday-Friday): Egypt will host the African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh.

JUNE 2023

19-21 June (Monday-Wednesday) Egypt Infrastructure and Water Expo debuts at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

28 June-2 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY 2023

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day.

Late July-14 August: 2Q2023 earnings season.

SEPTEMBER 2023

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28 September (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

OCTOBER 2023

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

Late October-14 November: 3Q2023 earnings season.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2H 2022: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

2H 2022: IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum, Egypt. Date + location TBA.

2H 2022: The government will have vaccinated 70% of the population.

3Q 2022: Ayady’s consumer financing arm, The Egyptian Company for Consumer Finance Services, to release its first financing product.

3Q 2022: Swvl to close acquisition of Urbvan Mobility.

4Q 2022: Infinity + Africa Finance Corporation to close acquisition of Lekela Power.

4Q 2022: Electricity Ministry to tender six solar projects in Aswan Governorate.

4Q2022: Raya Holding subsidiary Aman and Qalaa Holdings’ Taqa Arabia to launch their fintech company.

4Q 2022: Saudi Jamjoom Pharma to inaugurate its EGP 1 bn pharma factory in El Obour.

End of 2022: Decent Life first phase scheduled for completion.

End of 2022: e-Aswaaq’s tourism platform will complete the roll out of its ticketing and online booking portal across Egypt.

2023: Egypt will host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in 2023.

1Q 2023: Adnoc Distribution’s acquisition of 50% of TotalEnergies Egypt to close.

**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 above between the actual holiday and its observance.

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