AM — It’s day three of COP27: World leaders talk energy, water, vulnerable communities

Good morning, friends. It’s another COP-filled morning, but we still have a surprising amount of Egypt business news for you to consume over your morning coffee (or tea, if you must).

BUT FIRST- A quick programming note on how we’re covering COP27 across our publications:

• EnterpriseAM is focused on the most relevant-to-Egypt aspects of COP with a flavor of what the regional and global conversations are. As usual, our focus outside of Egypt will be on emerging markets.
• EnterprisePM delivers an afternoon update on major developments out of Sharm and offer you longer takes on climate and climate-related issues — stuff that will make you feel smarter and more informed on the issues of the day.
• Enterprise Climate is going deep on climate finance, the loss-and-damage debate, the energy transition and other topics relevant to our regional audience — Enterprise Climate is a regional publication, covering the Arab world from Morocco to Oman.

Enterprise Climate launched our Climate CEO Poll this morning. Today’s guest: Mohamed Saad Eldin, regional chief of Signify. We’ll be running C-suite interviews on climate throughout COP27 (and probably for a few days beyond) in both Enterprise Climate and EnterpriseAM.

FROM THE DEPT. OF GOOD NEWS- Saad Eldin says Signify is looking at Egypt as an export hub from which the global maker of LED lighting (formerly known as Philips Lighting) can serve demand in Africa. We love it — and will take this occasion to remind everyone that the only way forward for our economy is to transform ourselves into a magnet for FDI and exports.

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MEANWHILE- EGP WATCH– The EGP fell again against the greenback yesterday, ending the day 0.2% lower to trade at EGP 24.37, according to central bank figures. The currency has now dropped 23.3% since the CBE’s move towards “a durably flexible” exchange rate at the end of October — and 54.4% since the initial devaluation in March.

AND- Global golf is coming to Egypt: The Asian Tour’s International Series is making a stop in Egypt this Thursday, 10 November, through Sunday, 13 November. The first International Series Egypt will take place at Madinaty Golf Club, with a generous purse of USD 1.5 mn on offer.

MORE OF THIS, PLEASE: Some of us (at least the one editing this morning…) prefer bashing fuzzy yellow balls, but we’re delighted for those of you who enjoy going for long walks while swatting small, white spheroids with weighted sticks. Hats off to the people at TMG for putting us on the map of a global sport.

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COP 27 TODAY-

It’s the second day of the world leaders’ summit in Sharm, with more national statements on the docket: The session is expected to start at 10:30 am CLT (11:30 am KSA / 12:30 pm UAE) and continue until the end of the day, according to the agenda (pdf).

Among those speaking today — according to the list of speakers (pdf):

• Arab leaders including Libyan President Mohamed Menfi, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Mohamad Najib Mikati, Tunisian Prime Minister Najla Bouden Ep Romdhan, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad I. M. Shtayyeh;
• European leaders, including European Council President Charles Michel, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen;
• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Today’s big roundtables include:

• Investing in the future of energy (pdf) — green hydrogen takes center stage
• Water security (pdf) — 75% of all natural disasters are water-related, and drought has caused more than a third of climate-related deaths and economic damage in the seven years ending 2018.
• “Vulnerable communities” (pdf) — in other words, all the ways in which the climate is kicking us off our land and out of our homes. 10 mn people displaced in Pakistan. 1.1 mn in Somalia. What do we think will happen here if Alexandria starts sliding into the sea?

AND THEN WHAT…? Don’t expect any big announcements or major breakthroughs after leaders are done giving their speeches today. The key issues at play (loss and damage, emission reduction targets etc.) are being negotiated by government delegations over the next 10 days so we’ll likely have to wait until 18 November for a final agreement to come out of COP27.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR-

NWFE funding agreements signed today: Egypt will sign today several partnership agreements and letters of intent with international finance institutions and development partners to implement projects under its Nexus on Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) program, the International Cooperation Ministry said in a statement yesterday.

Egypt will start producing green fuel today: The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) will announce “in the coming hours” the first production of green ammonia at Sokhna Industrial Zone.

REMEMBER– The SCZone is expected to sign a number of agreements with international companies to establish green hydrogen and ammonia plants at the summit. Initial agreements worth some USD 33 bn have been signed this year, the most recent of which was with Maersk for a huge USD 15 bn facility capable of producing 3 mn tons of fuel a year.

New climate agreements with the IFC? The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is working on several climate-related agreements with Egypt, IFC VP Emmanuel Nyirinkindi told CNBC Arabia in an interview (watch, runtime: 3:58), without providing further details. “The IFC will announce in the coming weeks a new USD 2 bn for climate projects and other innovative projects,” he said separately.

The Enterprise Climate X Forum, our first industry-specific conference is taking place on Tuesday, 6 December. It’s a C-suite event for CEOs and top execs, investors, bankers and development finance folks.

In panels, live interviews and networking sessions, the Enterprise Climate X Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to build a climate-centered business — and how to make sure your business continues to have access to the funds it needs to grow. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? The Enterprise Climate X Forum is taking place with the generous support of our friends, including:

• Banking partners: HSBC | Mashreq | Attijariwafa Bank
• Telecom partner: Etisalat by e&
• Event partners: Hassan Allam Utilities | Infinity

DO YOU WANT TO ATTEND? The first wave of invites is going out today. If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, climate professional, DFI staff, investor or banker, please email us at climatexrsvp@enterprisemea.com to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

You’re going to love the venue when we unveil it next week.

Want to reach our audience? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, here.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

COP27 is continuing to take a back seat to the US midterms in much of the Western press this morning as Democrats and Republicans make their final pitches to voters before the polls open today. (Reuters | Associated Press | Washington Post | New York Times | Wall Street Journal)

The final forecasts: Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight makes Republicans the heavy favorites to take the House and has them edging the race for the Senate. Politico’s forecast is similar, giving the House to the GOP but saying that the Senate remains too close to call. Republicans only need to gain five seats in the House and one in the Senate to take control of both legislative bodies.

Markets are welcoming the prospect of a lame duck president: Shares on Wall Street rose sharply during trading yesterday as polls continued to predict strong gains for the Republicans in the House. The benchmark S&P 500 gained 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.9%, with Meta shares surging 6.5% on reports that the company is preparing to lay off thousands of workers. Reuters and the Financial Times have more.

Trump 2024 to launch next week? Former president Donald Trump said at a rally an hour ago that he will make a “very big announcement” on 15 November.

ALSO HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s the final day of the Techne Summit at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina: The hybrid event brings together entrepreneurs and investors from various sectors in the Mediterranean region.

The Senate Education and Telecommunications Committee will begin discussing the Digital Egypt Fund draft bill today. The draft bill, approved by the Cabinet last year, would set up a fund to support the Communications Ministry’s Digital Egypt initiative.

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

CORRECTION- In our coverage of CIRA Education’s future flow issuance yesterday, we picked up a statement that said that Arab International Bank (AIB) subscribed to the issuance and acted as custodian and an underwriter. It has come to our attention that AIB was not involved in the transaction and that Ahli United Bank was the custodian. We have since updated the story on our website.

COP27 got underway yesterday, with more pressing calls to action to prevent “climate catastrophe”: World leaders struck a serious and somber note with warnings of “irreversible” climate chaos and calls for cooperation and shared responsibility on the first day of the COP27 leaders’ summit yesterday. Inaugurating the conference, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said we’re in a “world of suffering,” calling on all countries to assume responsibility to tackle climate change “to the degree that they can” (watch, runtime: 19:50).

The message was clear: The status quo can’t continue. “Greenhouse gas emissions keep growing. Global temperatures keep rising. And our planet is fast approaching tipping points that will make climate chaos irreversible,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (watch, runtime: 10:15). “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.”

Developing countries are not holding back in their criticism of rich nations as the debate over climate reparations continues:

• Barbados PM Mia Mottley was most strident in her criticism: “We were the ones whose blood, sweat and tears financed the industrial revolution … Are we now to face double jeopardy by having to pay the cost as a result of those greenhouse gasses from the industrial revolution? That is fundamentally unfair.”
• Faustin Archange Touadera, president of the Central African Republic, agreed: “We should say clearly the rich countries ⁠— the top polluters ⁠— are the ones who are most to blame for endangering humanity.”
• As did Kenya’s new president, William Ruto, who spoke representing the African Group of negotiators: “Loss and damage is not an abstract topic of endless dialogue: it is our daily experience and the living nightmare of millions of Kenyans and hundreds of millions of Africans.” Noting that Africa contributes only 3% to global emissions, Ruto said that it “is therefore only fair and proper that this conference takes necessary measures to recognise Africa’s special needs and circumstances under the Paris Agreement” (watch, runtime: 14:01).

Developing countries have fought to get “loss and damage” on the agenda for the summit for the first time this year: Low- and middle-income nations are demanding that rich countries provide more financial support to help them weather the impact of climate change after they broke a pledge to provide USD 100 bn a year to the developing world. Wealthy countries have refused to agree to discuss compensation for more than a decade and were accused of “bullying” poorer countries to strike it from the COP27 agenda.’

Some in the West recognize the problem: Global leaders have a “credibility problem” when it comes to taking action on climate change, said former US Vice President and long-time climate advocate Al Gore (watch, runtime: 14:50). Developed nations’ continued pursuit of Africa’s gas resources is “fossil fuel colonialism,” said Gore, which will lead to “climate chaos and bns in stranded assets, especially here in Africa.”

The idea has gotten a mixed reception among developed countries:

• Scotland and the Netherlands both said yesterday they would step up climate funding to the developing world;
• But ex-UK prime minister Boris Johnson said that the UK does not have the money to pay loss and damage.

THE BUSINESS OF CLIMATE-

Highlights from the second day of the conference:

• Sahel green hydrogen plant: A Belgian consortium presented to Egyptian authorities a feasibility study on establishing a 500-MW green hydrogen plant on the Mediterranean coast. (Cabinet statement)
• AstraZeneca to help lower emissions in Egypt’s health sector: A MoU was signed between the General Authority for Healthcare (GAH) and AstraZeneca to look at lowering emissions in the healthcare sector. (Cabinet statement)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY-

President El Sisi used the opening day of the conference to hold several meetings with global leaders:

• El Sisi x Sunak: El Sisi discussed economic and trade ties with the UK in his first meeting with new UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, according to readouts from Ittihadiya and the UK government. Sunak’s office said the two talked about green hydrogen and private investment — and that the prime minister expressed “deep concern” over the fate of imprisoned political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah (more on this in Egypt in the News, below). “The Prime Minister said he hoped to see this resolved as soon as possible and would continue to press for progress,” the statement read.
• El Sisi x Macron: El Sisi discussed the crises in Ukraine and Libya with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Macron said following the meeting that he had also discussed Abdel Fattah with El Sisi, and that the president “committed to ensuring that (the) health of Alaa Abdel Fattah is preserved,” according to AFP.
• El Sisi x Meloni: Energy, climate, immigration and human rights were on the agenda for talks between El Sisi and the new Italian prime minister, according to a statement from Meloni’s office picked up by Reuters.
• Madbouly x De Croo: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly discussed green hydrogen and clean energy with his Belgian counterpart, cabinet said.

Want more from COP27? Head over to this morning’s issue of Enterprise Climate.

Bidayat invests in Azza Fahmy Jewelry: Mediterranean-focused investment fund Bidayat has acquired an undisclosed minority stake in artisanal jewelry company Azza Fahmy, fashion magazine Women's Wear Daily reports.

There are few details on the financial side: Azza Fahmy CEO Fatma Ghaly remained tightlipped on the financial terms of the transaction, saying only that it was executed through a capital increase in the company via new shares issuance. This gave the investment fund a “significant minority stake.”

But the company is clear on where it wants to go: The luxury brand plans to open two new flagship stores in the first half of 2023 and expand internationally, including eventually making its debut in the US.

Bidayat is run by former Egyptian trade and industry minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid, who is now chairman of fashion giants Valentino in Italy and Balmain in France, as well as CEO of Qatari luxury goods investment vehicle Mayhoola. It is a sub-fund of the Swiss-based Alsara Investment Group, which has recently embarked on a string of partnerships with high-profile fashion brands, buying a stake in Swiss eyewear start-up Akoni Group and acquiring a majority share in puffer-jacket brand Khrisjoy, and Adorisa and lately luxury Egyptian handbag brand Okhtein.

Rachid has big plans for the company: Bidayat wants to add five or six new locations in the Middle East, Turkey and southern Europe every year, Rachid told the magazine. There is “serious potential” for the firm to expand the region before looking to markets further afield such as the US, China and the rest of Europe, he said.

Bidayat was not the first with an eye on Azza Fahmy: Several investors have been eyeing stakes in the female-led family business in the past years, Ghaly said, yet Bidayat was selected due to Rachid’s experience in the industry and expertise in digital, distribution and brand-building.

Advisors: Alliance Law Firm acted as Bidayat’s legal advisor, with BonelliErede in association with Bahaa-Eldin Law Office for Azza Fahmy.

LISTEN- We spoke to Fatma during Season One of our Making It podcast back in 2019. You can listen to the episode here.

More Gulf M&A: Separate firms in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi look like they could enter a bidding war for a Maridive Oil and Service subsidiary, and Gulf investors including sovereign wealth funds have upped their minority stakes in EGX-listed education outfit CIRA Education.

PIF & CO TAKE STAKE IN CIRA-

Several Gulf-based funds — including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — now own 15% of EGX-listed CIRA Education, Al Mal quotes CEO Mohamed El Kalla as saying. PIF has bought stakes amounting to less than 5% of the company, El Kalla reportedly said, without disclosing the other Gulf funds who bought in or the sizes of the stakes they hold. The PIF and other investors have accumulated shares on the open market.

Owners: CIRA is 51.2% owned by Social Impact Capital — a vehicle belonging to the El Kalla family — with the remaining shares in freefloat, according to the company’s website.

REMEMBER- Gulf sovereign funds have pledged to invest bns of USDs in local firms this year as part of efforts to help shore up Egypt’s external position. Qatar has pledged to invest as much as USD 5 bn in Egyptian companies, while both the PIF and Abu Dhabi’s ADQ made their entry to the EGX in recent months, investing bns of USD in a number of locally listed state- and privately-owned companies. The PIF is reportedly still eyeing stakes in at least three high profile local firms. Gulf state neighbors have pledged over USD 22 bn in total to support the economy amid the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine.

GULF FIRMS WANT MARIDIVE UNIT-

Maridive Oil Services is mulling two separate bids from Gulf companies to acquire 100% of its subsidiary Valentine Maritime, the company said in an EGX disclosure (pdf). The company is studying a takeover bid (pdf) it received from Abu Dhabi’s Ancla Marine Ship Management in October, as well as one from Saudi Arabia’s Al Gihaz Holding. The company said it has “yet to receive final financial details” on the bids, without disclosing further details on the offers. Once all regulatory requirements and procedures are completed, the company will present the bids to the board, the statement said.

About Valentine Maritime: The offshore subsidiary — which is 100% owned by Maridive — specializes in oil rig and chartering services, and currently operates in India and the Gulf.

This isn’t the first time one of Maridive’s subsidiaries gets interest from Gulf players: The company was previously in talks with Jeddah-based Al Subaie Investment Group over the sale of its subsidiary Maridive Offshore Projects for USD 48 mn — but talks ended without an agreement.

Online butcher Brotinni raised USD 600k in a seed round, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. The funding round was led by Innlife Investments.

Egypt’s first “dark butcher”: Founded in 2020 by CEO Dalia Abou Omar (LinkedIn), the startup sells fresh meat and poultry as well as frozen ready-to-cook products for home delivery. The company recently inaugurated its first fulfillment warehouse, piloting the dark store / kitchen concept for the meat industry.

The company plans to expand in Egypt: Brotinni currently operates in Greater Cairo, and has plans to open more “dark butchers” to serve customers in other parts of the country, Abou Omar told Enterprise. Brotinni’s products are available across a number of online grocery stores and will soon be available via its website and app, which she says are set to go live by the end of November.

Better tech, bigger fleets: The funding will go towards “enhancing the startup's technology with regards to the vacuum seal bags it uses … and increasing the size of its fleet to ensure fast shipping and same-day delivery,” Abou Omar told us.

THERE’S A NEW TRANSPORT APP IN TOWN-

Mainstream transport group Family Corp. and Softec Technologies have launched Move, a transport app in Greater Cairo and Alexandria, they said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. They plan through their partnership to invest EGP 10 mn in the next two years in the two cities.

Move has three different functions:

• Move Commute: Commuters can book seats on scheduled bus routes with various subscription plans to make the commute more affordable. This service was launched as a soft launch in August.
• Move Schools: The app allows parents to monitor school transport, notifying them when their children are on the bus and alerting them of possible delays. It was launched in October.
• Move Courier: The companies will launch a courier service before the end of the year, allowing delivery drivers to optimize their routes and manage shipments.

State-owned, EGX-listed Egyptian Chemical Industries (Kima) has appointed Mahmoud Ibrahim as the company’s non-executive chairman following the resignation of Hisham Hassan, it said in an EGX disclosure (pdf) yesterday.

EGX-listed GMC Group Industrial Commercial and Financial Investments (GMCI) has appointed Ahmed Ibrahim as the company’s chairman, Mohamed Badran as deputy chairman, and Al Hossainy Moussa as managing director, according to an EGX filing (pdf) yesterday.

It was all COP all night long on the talk shows last night as the talking heads recapped the opening ceremony and the first day of the leaders’ summit.

President El Sisi’s opening address and his plea to end the war in Ukraine received coverage from everyone, including Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 10:59), Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 2:16) and Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 0:58) and others. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s speech in the summit was picked up by Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 2:45) and Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 2:45). Check out this morning’s COP Watch, above, for more on the summit.

Ahmed Moussa went full Moussa: Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa stayed true to character with breathless descriptions of the summit, declaring it a success on Day two because “everyone is here” (except the leaders of China, India and Russia) and talking proudly about Egypt’s notices in the foreign press (though we’re not sure he’s read many of the headlines) (watch, runtime: 10:33). El Hekaya’s Amr Adib was more measured in his coverage (watch, runtime: 23:07), highlighting attendance by top officials to the summit. “Everyone is in positive anticipation, they really want to do something,” he said, stressing the need for implementation.

El Sisi’s meetings with several world leaders got a lot of attention. Moussa was ecstatic with how the meeting with new UK PM Rishi Sunak went down, asking his viewers to check how assertive the Egyptian president’s body language was while they discussed the awkward subject of Alaa Abdel Fattah (watch, runtime: 4:41). Moussa wasn’t particularly sympathetic to Abdel Fattah’s case and called for authorities to hold him accountable. El Sisi’s meeting with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni got a mention from Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:17).

Movers and shakers:

• Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had a chat about how trade and logistics can reduce emissions. “We want to have trade not looked at as part of the problem, but rather a part of the solution,” she said (watch, runtime: 7:21).
• European Council President Charles Michel sat down for an interview with Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 10:09) and spoke about the intensifying energy crisis in Europe.
• World Food Program regional chief Corinne Fleische, was on Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 14:05).
• Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad was on with Moussa (watch, runtime: 5:57).

It should come as no surprise that the international press is once again laser-focused on COP27 and human rights this morning.

Alaa Abdel Fattah’s hunger strike continues to dominate the conversation The jailed activist’s sister, Sanaa Seif, flew to Sharm El Sheikh yesterday to press for her brother’s release on the day that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed “deep concern” about the situation during talks with President El Sisi. AFP, Reuters, CNN ,CNBC, Sky News and the New York Times all have coverage.

The international criticism keeps on coming: The Guardian reports that some attendees aren’t happy with the government’s restrictive firewall, which it claims blocks a host of websites required by delegates and journalists for the summit. Meanwhile, the New York Times writes disapprovingly about Egypt’s ambitions to become a regional natural gas power (toz, begad) and grouses about Coca-Cola being on board as a sponsor of the summit. The Wall Street Journal is the latest to write about the tight surveillance of conference attendees and apparent unfriendliness to climate protests.

In COP27 miscellany:

• The New York Times spotlights Sharm El Sheikh as the setting for this year’s summit.
• CNBC sat down for an interview with COP27 President Sameh Shoukry (watch, runtime: 10:20).
• The Washington Post is the latest to run a piece on Greta Thunberg’s decision to skip the summit.

Arabian Cement signs new PPA for solar plant: Arabian Cement signed a purchase power agreement with Amarenco SolarizEgypt for the 13.2 MW second phase of its solar plant at the its Suez facility, it said in a statement (pdf) Sunday. The second phase of the project will bring the solar plant’s total capacity to 20.6 MW, at an investment cost of between EGP 170-190 mn, SolarizEgypt managing director Yaseen Abdelghaffar told Enterprise Climate. The project should be completed and commissioned by September 2023.

Brokerages now have less power to act on behalf of their clients: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has abolished a rule that allows brokerage firms and other custodians to open trading accounts on the bourse and close out contracts using the power of attorney, Youm7 reported, citing a document it has seen from the regulator on the decree. The move aims to bolster the protection of traders’ accounts dealing with securities firms.

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

• Authorities have released 172k tons of poultry feed worth USD 77 mn from ports in the past five days in efforts to address shortages caused by import restrictions. (Agriculture Ministry statement)
• Banque Misr extended an EGP 750 mm long-term loan to Mountain View to finance the construction of its Mountain View Parkway project. (Company statement, pdf)
• Logistics and import/export firm Think Big Shipping and Logistics will start operations in 1Q 2023. (Zawya)
• Zemex dual-fuel microbuses manufactured by the Egyptian British Automobile Manufacturing Co have been pulled from the government’s vehicle swap scheme after the company was unable to fulfill deliveries due government import restrictions. (Al Borsa)