AM — Gov’t to announce 20 companies in the pipeline for stake sales to strategics and on the EGX

Good morning, wonderful people, and a very happy THURSDAY. Don’t relax just yet — it’s already shaping up to be a very busy news day.

DRIVING THE CONVERSATION here at home this morning: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s announcement that stakes in no less than 20 state-owned companies will be offered to strategic investors, on the EGX, or both within the next year. We should get the names of those companies next Wednesday. Madbouly also announced fresh help from the government for real estate developers and more one-stop golden licenses for industry players.

AND- The unicorn in the room: A whopping USD 200 mn investment from our friends at Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Investments has put homegrown super-app MNT-Halan on its way to unicorn status. More on all those stories below.

WEEKEND WEATHER– It’s staying cold (and wet in some parts): Expect daytime highs of 19°C and nighttime lows of 9°C in the capital, according to our favorite weather app and the Egyptian Meteorological Authority. Our friends in Alexandria would be wise to keep their umbrellas handy, with light to medium rainfall forecast along the North Coast and in several other parts of the country through the start of next week.

IT’S INTEREST RATE DAY-

The Central Bank of Egypt is expected to raise interest rates when it holds its first policy meeting of the year later today. Analysts we polled last week forecast the Monetary Policy Committee to hike rates by 100-200 bps. The median estimate in a Reuters poll is also for a 150-bps hike. The central bank raised interest rates by 800 bps last year to support the EGP and curb inflation in response to the economic crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine and tightening financial conditions globally.

The Fed went with the Slightly Smaller Rate Hike we’d all come to expect: The US Federal Reserve yesterday raised rates by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.5-4.75%, it said in a statement following its two-day meeting. The US central bank had led the markets to expect the relatively smaller hike as it switches to a more moderate pace of monetary tightening in response to signs of cooling inflation and slowing growth. The Fed made four consecutive jumbo 75-bps hikes followed by a 50-bps hike last year, in a bid to temper record high inflation.

What now? The Fed is staying hawkish in tone, vowing “ongoing increases in the target range… in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2% over time.” The jury’s out as to whether that’s just talk or if we can expect another hike at the Fed’s next meeting on March 21-22. Bloomberg Opinion’s Robert Burgess makes a good argument for why he thinks the Fed is now done with tightening, explaining how a “sufficiently restrictive” policy rate may already have been reached.

The ECB is also deciding on rates today: Europe’s central bank is set to hike rates by 50 bps to 2.5% during its meeting today despite a drop in eurozone inflation in January as energy prices eased, Reuters reports. Analysts see the drop in headline inflation doing little to ease the pace of monetary tightening, as a closely watched gauge of underlying inflation that excludes volatile items held steady at 5.2% last month.

ALSO HAPPENING TODAY-

PM Madbouly in Senegal: PM Moustafa Madbouly is in Senegal’s Dakar to participate in the two-day Dakar Financing Summit for African infrastructure development, which kicks off today, according to a cabinet statement. The electricity, housing, and transport ministers and reps from local infrastructure firms are also attending the summit, which will give Egyptian private-sector firms the chance to participate in African infrastructure projects and advertise local projects to foreign investors, said Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad.

A second World-Bank backed wheat buy: Traders need to submit their bids directly to state grain buyer GASC by midday for its second international grain tender this month and the second to be financed by the World Bank. GASC is seeking 30-60k tons of wheat for delivery in late February or March, according to its website.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES-

The tougher economy is now starting to be felt by top management at some US firms, after weeks of stories of employee layoffs sweeping tech and other sectors.

• Struggling Intel slashes exec pay: Intel’s CEO is having to take a 25% pay cut as the company struggles amid economic headwinds. The company reported heavy 4Q losses on Friday, triggering a sell-off that wiped USD 8 bn from its market cap. More losses are expected to follow in 1Q 2023, Bloomberg reports.
• More than 10% of senior staff at Fedex will be laid off as part of cost-cutting measures that have already seen the company cut some 12k jobs since June, according to Reuters.

Subscribe to Enterprise

COME TO OUR NEXT ENTERPRISE FORUM-

We’re excited to unveil our next C-level event: The Enterprise FDI + Exports Forum, where we will take a deep dive into two of the most critical topics affecting our community.

Exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses — than in the wake of the float of the EGP. We think we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for FDI and all the benefits that will come with it for our nation.

Want to join the conversation? Drop us a line on events@enterprisemea.com.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Some key news triggers this month:

• PMI: S&P Global will publish January’s PMI on Sunday, 5 February.
• Foreign reserves: The central bank will release January’s foreign reserves figures next week.
• Inflation: The CBE and Capmas will publish inflation data for January the week after next.

The House of Representatives will reconvene on Sunday, 12 February.

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

Get ready for the details on 20 companies in the privatization pipeline: The government will next week reveal the names of at least 20 state-owned companies in which it plans to offer stake sales over the next year, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said at a press conference yesterday (watch, runtime: 15:05 or read the cabinet statement.) The state offering program will include both stake sales to strategic investors and listings on the EGX, he reiterated.

A rough timeline: Some companies will be sold within the next two to three months, some will take five months, and others will wait until the end of the year, Madbouly said. He emphasized that all the companies named next week are set to be offered within the yearlong timeframe. Other details – including the percentages that will be offered in each company — will be disclosed on a case-by-case basis depending on where each sale stands in the planning process, he added.

Some potential candidates: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s pre-IPO fund wants to raise as much as USD 6 bn through strategic stake sales, with names including bottled drinks firm Safi and fuel retailer Wataniya reportedly already included, alongside Banque du Caire (BdC), Misr Life Ins., and Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab). Those last three were all named as being ready to list by the EGX in its 2022 annual report (pdf), in addition to the Egyptian Drilling Company. The bourse also listed Enppi, Midor, Assiut Oil Refining Company, eMethanex, Ethydco, El Wady for Phosphate Industries and Fertilizers, Misr Ins, and Alexbank as candidates.

This is as ambitious as we’ve seen gov’t be on privatization plans: The state has long been eyeing offerings for a number of its majority-owned companies, and last year planned to sell shares in as many as 10 state-owned companies on the bourse, either via IPOs or secondary stake sales. Those plans were derailed after the war in Ukraine triggered turmoil in the financial markets. The government now appears to be building back bigger, with Madbouly noting that all the sales planned for this year will be primary offerings, either to strategics, on the EGX, or both.

Why the optimism? Market conditions are now much improved: The benchmark EGX30 is up 12.4% YTD, racking up its best performance in years on the back of the October devaluation of the EGP. Our USD 3 bn loan agreement with the IMF — which includes a pledge to up private sector participation in the economy — and the push to bring in more FDI amid an FX crunch are also lending momentum to the government’s privatization plans.

Some insight on the strategy when it comes to public and strategic sales: Strategic stake sales and offerings on the EGX have complementary goals: upping the involvement of both individuals and the private sector in the management, development, and ownership of state-owned entities, Madbouly said. He noted that strategic investors come on board to expand businesses and increase their capital — creating jobs in the process — and pointed out that the bulk of gains made by foreign investors here is reinvested in the country. “The foreign investor is interested in the success of the entity in which he invests, and looks forward to its growth,” Madbouly said.

Don’t expect a flurry of IPOs: As some of the talk shows have pointed out in recent days, IPOs take time — and with Ramadan coming up fast, we shouldn’t expect to see new listings on the EGX in the immediate future. Indications thus far have been that strategic stake sales will likely precede IPOs of state-owned companies on the bourse.

That’s no bad thing: With no IPOs now in the market, cabinet should have a bias toward stake sales to strategics, retaining modest stakes that they could monetize in a later IPO after the new strategic partner improves corporate and financial performance at the asset. There will be a post-Ramadan window lasting until early June in which to go to market with IPOs before the summer slowdown. The next window would then be in September.

REMEMBER- The state is looking to reduce its involvement in certain sectors of the economy as part of its recently unveiled state ownership policy, which aims to more than double the private sector’s role in the economy to 65% and attract USD 40 bn in private investment by 2026. Public share offerings and stake sales to strategic investors will be a key part of seeing that policy through.

The state answers real estate players’ pleas: Real estate developers are now entitled to a 20% deadline extension on their projects, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said at yesterday’s post-cabinet meeting press conference (watch, runtime: 15:05 or read the cabinet statement.)

There’s more: The government will also consider projects finished when they are 85% complete, down from a previous 90%, Madbouly said. This will enable developers to complete the remaining 15% of construction at their own pace without being fined for late delivery. Developers will also see a reduction in the interest rate they pay on installments for state-owned land. They will now pay 1% above the central bank lending rate, down from a prior 2%

Refresher: Real estate players have been demanding state support as they battle the economic headwinds that the rest of the business community is presently facing. Developers had asked for 9-12 month extensions on their projects and to exempt them from penalties for late delivery. They’re also seeking government support in the form of financing facilities to help keep the sector afloat, according to a number of real estate players we spoke to last month.

Cabinet rolls out approvals for four more golden licenses + 13 oil agreements: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and his ministers took steps towards granting more golden licenses and oil agreements at this week’s cabinet meeting, according to a statement.

More golden licenses to come: The cabinet granted four unnamed companies — in the logistics, vaccine manufacturing, auto parts manufacturing, and hotel sectors — initial approval to obtain golden licenses. The companies will get final approval once they act on unspecified comments from cabinet members at the meeting.

Golden licenses? The license allows investors to obtain a single approval that covers everything from establishing a project, including land allocation and building licensing, through to its operation and management. Golden licenses were late last year awarded to nine big-ticket projects including a USD 5.5 bn green ammonia plant in Ain Sokhna. Check out our guide on golden licenses here.

More oil exploration to come: The cabinet approved 13 draft oil agreements for oil exploration in the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, and the Mediterranean. The exploration rights will go to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), EGAS, and a number of unnamed international companies once legislative procedures are completed.

REMEMBER- EGPC and Brenco just got the green light from the House to explore for oil offshore North Sinai.

Our friends at Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Investments will acquire 20% of Egyptian super app MNT-Halan after investing USD 200 mn in the firm, according to a statement (pdf) out yesterday. The company is also in talks with international investors to raise another USD 60 mn in primary capital, MNT-Halan said.

Unicorn status: The new investments put the company on track for a valuation of more than USD 1 bn. Reuters also had the story.

We know one of the investors in talks: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is intending to invest USD 40 mn in the company, pending approval, according to the lender’s website. The IFC is expected to make a final decision on the investment on 9 April.

If that’s not enough: MNT-Halan also announced completion of two securitizations totaling USD 140 mn through its subsidiaries Tasaheel Microfinance Company (Tasaheel) and Halan Consumer Finance (Halan), with the CIB. Tasaheel closed a USD 100 mn issuance backed by its loan book on Tuesday, an MNT-Halan representative told Enterprise — following its USD 150 mn issuance in June last year. Halan raised USD 40 mn by securitizing its loan book several weeks ago, marking its first securitization, the representative added.

More to come: At this point, MNT-Halan has the capacity to further securitize up to USD 250 mn, the company said — less than the original USD 600 mn securitization program it announced in June. The re-cast is due to fluctuations in the EGP exchange rate, a company representative told Enterprise.

Advisors: White & Case, Shearman and Sterling, Lexence, and Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy all served as legal advisors on the investments. Arqaam Capital served as advisors to GB Auto on the transaction. CIB served as the sole financial advisor, general arranger, underwriter and custodian of the securitizations with National Bank of Egypt serving as underwriter. Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy served as legal advisors for the securitization. Eterna Partners served as communications advisors.

Global and regional investors have been keen on MNT-Halan for a while: The company raised USD 120 mn in 2021 from international investors. Development Partners International, Apis, and Lorax Capital Partners all participated in the round.

REFRESHER– MNT-Halan came into existence in 2021, after Netherlands-based payments company MNT, the parent company of asset-based lender Mashroey and microfinance player Tasaheel, entered into a share swap agreement with Egyptian fintech / delivery / ride-hailing company Halan to create super-app MNT-Halan.

EDITOR’S NOTE- This story was updated on 2 February, 2023 to correct advisor roles.

Auto sales slump continues in December: Auto sales fell 73% y-o-y in December as import restrictions continued to weigh on the sector. Some 7.9k vehicles were sold during the month, compared to almost 29.3k in December 2021, according to figures released by the Automotive Marketing Information Council (AMIC). This is the lowest since at least the start of 2018, according to our internal trackers.

It was a rough 2022 for the industry: Total sales volumes fell more than a third in 2022, dropping from 290k vehicles in 2021 to 184k last year. Sales of passenger vehicles were down almost 40% y-o-y while bus and truck volumes also fell by a third. AMIC figures reflect data contributed by member distributors, who include most (but not all) industry participants.

What’s going on? Car sales fell through most of 2022 thanks to import restrictions that made it practically impossible for distributors to bring fully built up vehicles, assembly kits and spare parts into the country and forced a number of global car manufacturers to suspend sales to Egypt. Sales are expected to pick up later this year after the central bank revoked import restrictions brought in last spring to conserve hard currency.

December in detail: Passenger car sales rose slightly on a monthly basis for the first time since June, but were down 75% y-o-y. Bus sales fell 49% y-o-y and were flat from November, while truck sales were 77% lower compared to December 2021.

Be patient: It will take time for local assemblers to place and receive kit orders and for importers of fully built-up units to be able to pay for their orders — so don’t expect to get your hands on a new car before mid-2023.

Another Greece-Egypt electricity interconnector is in the works: The US contractor McDermott has signed an MoU with Greek renewables company Eunice Energy Group to work on a 2-GW interconnector that will link Greece and Egypt’s electricity grids, according to a joint statement. The Greece–Africa Power Interconnector (GAP) will transit the Mediterranean between Crete and Marsa Matrouh and is expected to be completed before 2030.

Who’s who: Eunice Energy is leading the consortium of companies working on the project. McDermott is on board to provide engineering and construction guidance.

This isn’t GREGY: Elica — a 50/50 joint venture between big-time Greek infrastructure investor Copelouzos Group and Samaras Group — is working to get the 3-GW Greece-Egypt Interconnector (GREGY) project off the ground. The EUR 3.5 bn interconnector will run almost 1.5k km from Wadi El Natroun directly across the Mediterranean to mainland Greece.

A lot of renewables could be involved: The two countries have discussed a plan to add 9.5 GW of renewable power generation capacity in Egypt for export across the Mediterranean.

EFG Hermes led the EGX’s brokerage league table in January with a market share of 26.7%, according to EGX figures (pdf). Rounding out the top five were Commercial International Brokerage Company (9.7%), Pioneers (6.4%), Mubasher (5.9%),and Arabeya Online Securities Brokerage (4.9%).

Beltone Financial Holding has appointed our friend Tarek Yehia (LinkedIn) as its new investor relations head, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). Yehia was previously head of IR at EK Holding for over a year, following 12 years of IR work at Elsewedy Electric. He’s taking over at Beltone from Osama Rashad (LinkedIn).

The privatization program, a lifeline for real estate developers, and golden licenses to industry dominated the conversation on last night’s talk shows, as the pundits digested the torrent of news unleashed by Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly at his post-cabinet meeting presser. We have the full story on all the PM’s policy announcements in the newswell, above.

Thumbs up from the real estate sector: A move to consider real estate projects complete when they are 85% finished got cheers from some in the industry. Basel Shoeira, head of the real estate development chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, described the decision as a “positive step” to Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 13:55.) “More is needed but this is a first step that shows an appreciation of the challenges faced by the sector,” he said.

What more? “What is needed is that the government addresses [high] interest rates and fines imposed on real estate developers on deadline extensions [for projects],” he said.

There were warm words on how golden licenses will help cut red tape from Ali Hamza, vice chairman of the Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations (EFIA) told Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 5:39.)

Fresh incentives for industrial players? The government is currently reviewing a package of incentives for industry, Sobhi Nasr, who heads the legislative committee at the Federation of Investors’ Associations, told Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 4:43.) He declined to provide more details. We took a look at industrial incentives in the works in this week’s Inside Industry.

AND- Two is enough: The government is looking at introducing incentives for families who commit to having no more than two children in a bid to control a population surge, Masa’a DMC reports (watch, runtime: 3:26.) There is no official word on what kind of incentives the government is willing to offer, but they could come in the form of money transfers or a trust, Magdy Khaled, former assistant representative of the UN Population Fund, told the program (watch, runtime: 8:43.)

The exotic ingredients of ancient embalmers: Chemical analysis of containers found at an embalming workshop in Saqqara has for the first time revealed some of the ingredients that went into the ancient Egyptian mummification process. Published in the journal Nature, the Egyptian-German study based at the National Research Centre in Giza found that most of the ingredients used for embalming came from outside Egypt, while some came from as far away as Southeast Asia. “This points to the fact that these resins were traded over very large distances and that Egyptian mummification was somehow a driver towards early globalization and global trade,” the study’s lead author told Reuters. The news is everywhere in the foreign press this morning: WSJ | WaPo | ABC News.

Also making headlines:

• Five content creators were arrested after a comic video they made about a visit to a local jail went viral. (Reuters)
• Deadly fire in a Cairo hospital: At least three people were killed and 32 injured after a fire broke at a charity-run hospital in Cairo. (AP)

MANUFACTURING-

Hassan Allam Construction tapped to build Beko factory: Turkish retailer Beko has contracted our friends at Hassan Allam Construction to build its USD 100 mn home appliances factory here, according to a press release (pdf). Hassan Allam Construction will handle the civil, architectural, electrical and mechanical work on the 10th of Ramadan factory, which is expected to take 10 months to complete, the statement read.

REMEMBER– Beko broke ground in December on the USD 100 mn factory, its first in the Middle East. The factory is set to produce 1.5 mn appliances annually. Some 60% of output will be exported to the EMEA region, generating as much as USD 250 mn in annual export revenue.

ENERGY-

The US is taking its sweet time deciding whether we can export gas to Lebanon: Egypt is still waiting on a decision from the US on whether it will waive sanctions on Syria to enable it to export natural gas to Lebanon under a plan announced in 2021, a French official told reporters, according to Reuters. If approved, the World Bank board will loan USD 300 mn to finance the gas export operation over 18 months once a full assessment of Lebanon’s electricity sector is completed.

BACKGROUND: Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan signed an agreement in 2021 to alleviate Lebanon’s gas crisis. Under the plan, Egypt would ship gas to Lebanon via the Arab Gas Pipeline that runs through Jordan and Syria. There was one caveat: The US, which spearheaded the plan, must lift the sanctions it imposed on the Syrian government to make it possible.

Karim Khorshed, CEO and co-founder, Cequens Egypt: 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 Karim Khorshed (LinkedIn), co-founder and CEO at communications platform provider Cequens.

My name is Karim Khorshed and I am a serial tech entrepreneur. I began my entrepreneurial journey in 1997, and I currently serve as the CEO and co-founder of Cequens, a cloud customer engagement platform encompassing reach, acquisition, conversion, retention, and loyalty. Our solutions can be adapted and integrated with other existing customer systems, which helps companies to create stronger connections with their customers

We founded Cequens in January 2011. Despite the challenging time, we were able to not only survive but also scale our company. We now serve over 1k enterprises including global names like Google, Alibaba, and Telegram, and we operate from Egypt, the UAE, Pakistan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Morocco.

The most interesting trend in the industry right now is the increasing use of AI and machine learning, as well as communications platforms that are rapidly gaining momentum. This allows for a more tailored experience for businesses and their customers, which can improve customer satisfaction while reducing the operational costs for our clients.

I typically wake up around 7am and start my day by reading Enterprise. I also surf other media publications to stay updated with the most important developments across all markets. Afterwards, I develop a list of tasks to help me remain focused throughout the day.

My average day includes meetings with my leadership team and other stakeholders, as well as monitoring and analyzing the company and its overall performance.

The one constant in my chaotic day as CEO is a steady stream of caffeine [laughs]. Every day is a wild card holding a new challenge that needs to be tackled. I try to remain as focused and organized as I can — I write down my objectives and key results in order to make sure the team is aligned with the same goal and the company’s strategy. Thanks to the pandemic, we now work from home, and that helps a great deal with staying focused and getting things done as well.

My future plans include looking for tailored ways to scale up the company and the team further. I also want to share more of my experience with other entrepreneurs and help them navigate the startup world.

Despite the constant hustle, I try my best to maintain a healthy balance between work and play, but it’s very challenging. We have a long journey ahead of us to prepare the company to be ready for big steps to follow.

Whenever I have free time, I enjoy spending quality time with my spouse. We usually watch movies and TV shows — we can’t get enough of Friends. It’s just a great way to relax and disconnect from work. My day typically ends around 8pm.

There are many classic reads that I think are essential for entrepreneurs, such as The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries, and Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins. It examines the characteristics and practices of successful companies and offers insights and lessons for entrepreneurs looking to build stellar businesses.

If I could give someone trying to start their own business just one piece of advice, it would be to remain persistent — it is the only way to succeed. Being persistent will allow you to overcome obstacles and keep pushing towards your goals, despite any setbacks or failures.

The best piece of advice I was ever told was actually from my mom. She has raised us to believe that there is no challenge and that nothing is impossible. As long as we put our mind to achieving something, we can definitely do it.