TL;DR

Salman’s visit expected to herald bns in loans, investments. (What We’re Tracking)

Egypt’s outstanding debt to IOCs up to USD 3.2 bn at the end of March. (Speed Round)

GASC cancels third rice tender + Supply Ministry bans domestic trading on imported wheat. (Speed Round)

EGP still losing ground against the greenback, trading at EGP 10.20. (Speed Round)

Domty to raise prices up to 11% due to a devaluation-spurred rise in production inputs. (Speed Round)

Spain’s Gamesa awarded EPC contracts for two wind farms on Red Sea. (Energy)

EBRD backs plan to establish dry port, logistics center in Sixth of October. (Infrastructure)

UAE firms look to Egypt as GCC property market cools. (Real Estate + Housing)

MB Engineering complete internal roadshow, IPO x29.5 oversubscribed. (Real Estate + Housing)

By the Numbers

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Saudi King Salman begins a five-day state visit to Egypt today with the expectation that he will announce a number of investment and financing agreements, with sources saying Saudi Arabia will sign a USD 20 bn agreement to finance Egypt’s fuel needs for the next five years and USD 1.5 bn to develop Sinai. The domestic press has also reported that Saudi companies will make announcements of c USD 4 bn in new investments, while Ahram Online says the king is expected to announce a USD 120 mn loan to upgrade Cairo’s Kasr El Aini Hospital and a further USD 100 mn in financing for a 650 MW expansion of the West Cairo Power Station. Al Borsa has more on the Kasr El Aini facility here.

Al Shorouk adds that Saudi companies will invest nearly EGP 36 bn in 10 new companies, citing as its source the Egyptian-Saudi Business Council’s deputy chief, Abdallah bin Mahfouz. Jusoor Co. will reportedly invest EGP 3.8 mn to develop dry ports and increase shipping activities in the Suez Canal, bin Mahfouz said. A holding company will be established to raise Egyptian exports to USD 2.6 bn from USD 1.3 bn and develop logistics centers to support commercial activities between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Saudi companies are also set to announce new investments in healthcare and poultry.

Salman will visit the House of Representatives on Sunday, Ahram Online reports, saying the Saudi monarch “may give a speech during what [deputy speaker of the house Soliman Wahdan] described as an ‘historic visit’ to parliament.” Al Mal confirms the report, citing the kingdom’s ambassador to Cairo.

Oh, and we’re going to bet that the king’s visit will snarl traffic even more than on your average Thursday. Abandon all hope, ye who cannot walk to work.

ON THE HORIZON

Orascom Development Holding expects to announce its FY2015 results on 14 April after which it will hold an analyst call at 1:30 pm CLT, according to a statement. Participating: New CEO Khaled Bichara, CFO Eskandar Tooma, and Chief Hotels Officer Abdelhamid Abouyoussef.

Egypt has been officially invited to the 13th Organization of Islamic Cooperation summittaking place 10-15 April in Istanbul, Turkey.

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SPEED ROUND

Egypt’s outstanding debt to international oil companies (IOCs) increased to USD 3.2 bn at the end of March, up from USD 3 bn in December, an Oil Ministry official told Reuters. The newswire notes that the ministry had targeted reducing the arrears to IOCs to USD 2.5 bn by the end of 2015 with an aim to pay them off completely by the end of 2016.

Insha’allah, bokra: EFSA hasn’t finished its review of CI Capital’s sale to Beltone Financial, according to a report by state news agency MENA picked up by Al Borsa. Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority chief Sherif Samy is quoted as saying the authority is still working with the parties to the acquisition to finalize both the paperwork and to complete its review of the data room.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) cancelled a tender for an unspecified quantity of rice for the third time “after offers it received did not comply with its specifications or shipment dates,” according to Reuters. The government says it will seek direct contracts to buy rice from abroad if prices are not reduced. Some traders are saying GASC’s price terms are unrealistic: “they might as well ask for the rice for free if it’s any cheaper. They won’t find anyone to sell directly to them,” one Cairo-based trader told Reuters. The newswire says “the government’s failure to stock up earlier in the season has left it at the mercy of traders, some of whom have been unwilling to sell to the state and are choosing to stockpile instead as domestic [rice] prices are rising daily.” Al Mal has coverage in Arabic.

Also on the commodities front: Supply Minister Khaled Hanafy has issued a decree banning domestic trading of imported wheat, reports Reuters, a move meant to reduce smuggling a couple of weeks before the harvest season. “The ban includes domestically trading imported wheat except by official permission from the department of distribution and monitoring at the Supply Ministry,” the statement says, according to Al Mal. Obtaining permission requires notifying the department of distribution of the quantities of wheat, their origin, the location of their storage, and present receipts for their sale to mills or traders.

The EGP continued to lose ground against the USD on the parallel market yesterday, with Reuters estimating the rate at EGP 10.20 to the USD, a figure that matches with legwork by Al Borsa and Al Mal. As we noted yesterday, the weakening of the EGP after a period of calm earlier in the week may have been a result of an increase in demand resulting from the CBE’s auction, as importers seek to collect as much FX as possible to cover LCs.

Investors sank more than USD 1 bn in the last week of March into U.S. exchange-traded funds that buy emerging market equities and debt, according to data crunched by Bloomberg. Egypt recorded a net inflow of USD 2.5 mn, split almost evenly between equity and debt. The business information service reports that “March’s total of USD 9.09 bn was the most in records going back to the start of 2014 and more than made up for losses of USD 5.29 bn in the first two months of the year.” Meanwhile, the Financial Times notes that Egypt — which it described as the “most overvalued market” based on its price to forward earnings ratio — has led emerging markets in March with a 21.7% surge. After a “freefall as developed world investors rushed for the exits … the subsequent recovery [in global emerging markets] has been so strong that, by one metric at least, emerging markets equities are already looking dangerously overvalued,” the FT said.

Egypt’s largest cheese maker will raise prices by 11% between April and May on the back of a devaluation-fueled rise in the price of production inputs, Al Mal reports, citing a Beltone Financial research report. Beltone spoke with Domty Chairman Mohamed El Damaty, who said the price hike will be phased in with a 6% jump in April and a 5% rise in May. Beltone’s report is said to note that the market’s ability to absorb the price hike is uncertain, pointing out that Juhayna’s sales lagged when it hiked prices amid pressure on the cost of inputs.

SODIC will only participate in affordable housing projects if land is allocated at “suitable” prices, CEO Magued Sherif tells Daily News Egypt in an interview. Sherif added that the company will consider the possibility of participating in the new administrative capital projects once land is offered. SODIC currently owes NUCA EGP 360 mn and is beginning the second phase of its Caesar project on the North Coast while offering new phases of the SODIC West and Eastown projects, the newspaper quotes Sherif as saying.

Former deputy prime minister Ziad Bahaa-Eldin had more than a few things to say about the government program presented to Parliament, according to Ahram Online. Bahaa-Eldin argues that the program, which we covered in detail last week, was no more than a list of socioeconomic programs and megaprojects, with only three pages each dedicated to security and democracy. “It … suggests that the state continues to view the economy from a purely technical perspective, unrelated to politics,” he said. To say nothing of the fact that the program makes little mention of financing, returns, and governance for the projects. The government wants to reduce the deficit, which requires raising taxes and slashing  subsidies, but also promises additional spending on social endeavors like housing and health. “Add the proposed megaprojects to this spending, and I don’t see how these contradictory targets can be achieved.” In sum, the project “reflects a lack of coordination and agreement between ministries and various state bodies—the exact thing we most need today.”

Prime Minister Sherif Ismail led what appears to have been a quiet Cabinet meet yesterday. Cabinet approved the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company pursuing an MoU with Siemens to rehabilitate regional control centers including Cairo, Alexandria, and the Canal, as well as instating a new control center in the Delta. Ministers also signed off on an extension of a program to install security cameras in South Sinai and the Red Sea governorates and earmarked USD 2.3 mn in funding for a project that will see the General Company for Research and Groundwater 12 groundwater wells in the Congo.

Egypt’ benchmark EGX30 fell nearly 2.6% yesterday amid selling pressure that Al Mal is attributing to the “Italian Crisis” and fallout from the Panama Papers, saying the latter had “exposed the corruption of a number of Egyptian businessmen.” Mada Masr has done the legwork, saying that “so far, Alaa Mubarak is the only Egyptian that has emerged out of the Panama Papers’ long list of global political figures, presidents, governments, celebrities and criminals.” The outlet nevertheless notes that Pan World Investments, a British Virgin Islands company whose beneficial owner was allegedly Alaa Mubarak, had invested in a private equity fund whose other limited partners included a who’s who of Egyptian business leaders from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mada is naming names here if you’re really interested, but tarring a list composed almost entirely of honest people for investing in private equity isn’t something we’re terribly interested in doing this morning.

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Italian officials appear to be downplaying the Regeni case. Italian judicial sources said on Wednesday afternoon that emails sent to Italian newspaper La Repubblica by an anonymous “Egyptian security source” claiming Italian student Giulio Regeni was tortured to death by at the hands of Egyptian security operatives have “no relevance” to the investigation, Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata reported, according to Mada Masr. The emails, which accuse a senior security official of ordering Regeni’s abduction and subsequent torture for refusing to give information on his research into labor unions, are “full of inaccuracies,” according to ANSA. A team of Egyptian prosecutors has already headed out to Rome to present its findings on the case tomorrow, according to Al Shorouk.

The Regeni case will not affect bilateral programs between Egypt and Italy, an official at the Italian embassy in Cairo told Al Mal. He added that the third phase of the Egyptian Italian debt for development swap program is ongoing and will directed towards financing projects domestically.

Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives have postponed a trip to visit the European Parliament indefinitely as a direct result of Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni’s warning to Egypt that Italy would adopt measures both immediate and proportionate if it does not play ball on the Guilio Regeni case, Al Mal reports.

Meanwhile, the Italian Embassy’s Development Cooperation Office in Egypt said on Wednesday it would provide a EGP 82 mn loan to Egypt’s micro-enterprises, according to the office’s director Marco Platzer, Al Mal reports. In a lecture on microloans organized by the Nohoud Organization on Wednesday, Platzer said the Italian Development Cooperation Office has relieved Egypt of nearly USD 225 mn of its foreign debt since 2001 with the implementation of various projects.

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MOVES- The Central Bank of Egypt appointed Maged Fahmy as new head of the Industrial Development & Workers Bank of Egypt on Wednesday, Al Borsa reports. Fahmy replaces Said Al Qaseer, who is now chairman of the Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit. Fahmy previously held posts at the Egyptian Arab Land Bank and the Suez Canal Bank before moving to become president of the Export Development Bank of Egypt. He’s currently a non-executive board member of the Housing and Development Bank

BRIEFLY NOTED- Other Egyptian stories making news today:

• UAE digital services company SocialEyez has acquired Egyptian digital marketing agency BSocial for EGP 10 mn, Al Borsa reported on Wednesday.
• Egypt’s devaluation “effectively wiped out QAR 7 bn of QNB’s assets and QAR 5 bn of its deposits,” Reuters notes in its report on Qatar National Bank’s 1Q2016 earnings statement.
• The Interior Ministry has withdrawn an arrest warrant for Khaled ElBalshy, the head of the Press Syndicate’s freedoms committee, Egyptian Streets says.

Among the international headlines this morning that either carry implications for Egypt or that are simply worth noting in brief:

• The USD 160 bn Pfizer-Allegran merger is kaputt after the US Treasury issued rules to limit tax inversions. Pfizer will pay Allergan USD 150 mn in breakup fees.
• Israeli gas priced out of the market? The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) is importing LNG shipments from BP at USD 4.9 per mmBtu. Globes says this price is cheaper than the USD 5.7 per mmBtu the IEC pays for gas from the Tamar field, even when transportation and regasification costs are taken into account.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Seeking Alpha’s Callum Turcan writes an overview of natural gas developments in Egypt focusing on Eni’s Zohr and BP’s offshore operations. On a sanguine note, Turcan writes: “with Egypt’s natural gas production set to surge, the start-up of these massive offshore developments could mark the end of rolling blackouts and shuttered industrial operations with the beginning of something new.”

The Wall Street Journal is running with “Actress’ Plight Puts Spotlight on Police Conduct in Egypt,” which argues that the arrest and alleged abuse of aspiring singer-actress Mirhan Hussein (think Star Academy, pre-revolution) and the brutal murder of Italian grad student Giulio Regeni “are pushing the issue [of police misconduct] into the open.”

The foreign press has finally caught wind of Egypt’s House of Representatives looking to put the kibosh on Facebook once and for all, a notion we’ve (not so gently?) mocked in the past week and a bit. Parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel-Al has called for new legislation to “control the excesses” of Facebook and after MP Gamal Abdel Nasser wrote in a statement this week that “people who use Facebook to write highly dangerous things to our national security should be arrested,” according to the Washington Post.

Al Jazeera picks up on the dismal state of Egypt’s medical education system, which has sunk to such lows that it has spawned not only a black market for organs but a baffling “patient for hire” phenomenon. “Six years of study plus a year of residency and we still don’t know anything,” says Dr. Rami Said. A lack of government funding has pushed students to pay patients to be examined in preparation for their exams. And in a bizarre case of the blind leading the blind: “Sometimes the student doesn’t know anything at all, so we explain everything … The things they should have learned in medical school, we teach them,” says one such patient.

Egypt has had little to do with the fallout between the Oromo ethnic community in Ethiopia and the ruling regime despite statements in the Ethiopian press to the contrary, according to Al Monitor. After almost 1,000 Oromo people took part in a ceremony in Cairo celebrating the second anniversary of the Oromia Media Network (OMN), which opposes the ruling regime in Ethiopia, Ethiopian media accused Cairo of supporting the opposition to weaken Ethiopia. A government official who coordinates African affairs told Al-Monitor that “Egyptian authorities have nothing to do with the ceremony … a group of Ethiopian activists applied for a security approval for the ceremony, which they obtained, similarly to any other foreign communities wishing to hold activities in Cairo.”

THE MACRO PICTURE

International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde called once again this week for countries to press on with structural reforms as part of a “three-pronged” approach to boost growth, according to the FT (paywall).

We have Fed minutes, folks. Policy makers last month debated an April interest-rate hike, with several officials opting against the move because it would send the wrong signal and others saying it could be necessary, Bloomberg reports. The minutes showed that the cautious outnumbered those seeing action last month, “supporting market perceptions that the Fed will not move until its June meeting at the earliest,” according to the FT (paywall). “Many participants expressed a view that the global economic and financial situation still posed appreciable downside risks to the domestic economic outlook,” according to the minutes, which Bloomberg has a handy annotated version of.

WORTH READING

You’ve probably intuited by now that we’re of the view that an IMF facility would shake loose FDI. And Christine Lagard is certainly in favour of folks signing up for structural adjustment programs, as we note in The Macro Picture, above. But a study released on Wednesday by the IMF economists shows that structural reforms are actually a mixed bag in terms of outcome, especially in the short term. The effectiveness of reforms often hinged on “the economic context and whether or not they were accompanied by fiscal stimulus.” The reality was often that “in the short term their impact is likely to be more modest because they take time to pay off,” said Romain Duval, one of the study’s authors. Investment catalyst? Probably. Panacea? No.

WORTH WATCHING

“God only knows.” A reporter asks the Governor of Suez if he regularly visits orphanages, with the governor deferring to an orphan to answer the question for him, which in hindsight was perhaps not the best idea. (Watch in Arabic via the Glocal, running time: 32 seconds)

DIPLOMACY + FOREIGN TRADE

What do Swiss companies want from Egypt? Swiss companies “are doing business in far more complex security environments” than Egypt’s, Switzerland’s ambassador to Egypt said in an interview with the Daily News Egypt, and are more concerned with “access to foreign exchange, compliance with bureaucracy, and availability of well-qualified workers,” Ambassador Markus Leitner is quoted as saying. The wide-ranging interview also notes that import restrictions “are sending conflicting signals to potential foreign investors about the openness of the Egyptian market.”

Nasr to chair Arab Fund: International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr was unanimously voted as the chair of the Board of Governors at the Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development, Al Ahram reported.

In a meeting with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Wednesday, Russian presidential envoy to the Middle East and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov stressed the need for Russia to resume tourism cooperation with Egypt, Al Shorouk reports. Bogdanov says both sides discussed the need to resume cooperation in the fields of tourism, transportation and aviation in in the immediate future.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi meet with United Nations Development Program head Helen Clark on Wednesday, presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef said, according to Al Masry Al Youm. The two discussed the Egypt 2030 development plan, among other issues.

ENERGY

Spain’s Gamesa awarded EPC contracts for two wind farms along the Red Sea
Gamesa has secured two new EPC contracts to construct two wind farms with a combined capacity of 160 MW. On aggregate, Gamesa has been contracted to install a total of 80 of its G80-2.0 MW turbines, “the optimal model for the desert conditions, corrosive atmosphere and high temperatures typical of the Egyptian market.” (Read)

Edison to increase investments in Abu Qir concession, use gas to produce electricity
Edison will increase its investments in the Abu Qir concession to increase gas production, Al Borsa reports. The gas will be sold under a new framework allowing private companies to directly sell to the private sector to generate electricity, reducing the cost on EGPC, said Oil Minister Tarek El Molla. The second phase of the Abu Qir concession has an estimated cost of USD 220 mn, adding 150 mcf, 4,000 bbl of condensates, and 1,500 bbl of crude daily. An Edison spokesperson had previously announced the company was considering “reducing its stake in the Abu Qir concession, but keeping the majority and remaining in Egypt as long-term operator.”

Natural gas production down to 3.8 bcf daily
Egypt’s natural gas production fell to 3.8 bcf per day this month from 3.85 bcf per day in March, Al Borsa reports. Production levels will settle at 3.8 bcf per day until the end of the fiscal year after additional wells are brought on stream, say sources within EGAS. Production levels have fallen constantly since 2013 due to companies reducing their development operations, he added. (Read in Arabic)

INFRASTRUCTURE

Government to implement USD 400 mn worth of expansions in Damietta Port
The Transport Ministry is building a USD 400 mn multi-use station at the Damietta Port, Al Masry Al Youm reported. The station will be used to accommodate large shipping vessels to increase the productivity of the port, the head of the Damietta Port Authority said. The project involves building a new pier and will be completed in 18 months. (Read in Arabic)

EBRD backs plan to establish dry port, logistics center in Sixth of October
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Egyptian National Port Authority are backing plans to establish a dry port and a logistics center in Sixth of October, head of Alexandria Port Authority Reda Al Ghandour said in a statement on Wednesday, AMAY reports. EBRD intends to make the Alexandria Port an important component of the project and one of its main distribution points. (Read in Arabic)

Vinci consortium awarded phase three of Cairo Metro’s third line
The National Authority for Tunnels has awarded an EGP 10.8 bn tender for work on phase three of Cairo Metro’s third line to a consortium led by France’s Vinci, according to an official statement. (Read in Arabic)

MANUFACTURING

Lacto-Misr studies building EGP 200 mn infant formula factory
The Lacto-Misr Company is studying building an infant formula factory in the industrial zone in Abu Rawash over an area of 120k sqm and a total cost of around EGP 200 mn, said the company’s head of marketing Tarek Shebeta. The factory will increase the company’s production of infant formula to 10 mn containers annually. The company is projecting EGP 200 mn in sales this year, and EGP 525 mn next year following upgrading the machinery in its existing factory in 10 Ramadan, he added. (Read in Arabic)

REAL ESTATE + HOUSING

UAE firms look to Egypt as GCC property market cools
Piggybacking on CityScape, the Daily News Egypt has a fairly solid roundup this morning on the plans of high-profile UAE developers Capital Group Properties (whose outdoor billboards have taken over Cairo of late), Mohammed Alabbar’s Eagle Hills and HMG Properties. (Read)

GAFI to offer 10.5 mn sqm in Tenth of Ramadan, Al Sadat, Borg Al Arab
The General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) will offer nearly 10.5 mn sqm meters of land in Tenth of Ramadan, Al Sadat, Badr and Borg Al Arab Industrial City on behalf of the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) as stipulated in the 2015 Investment Act, an unnamed source told Al Borsa on Wednesday. The New Urban Communities Authority is reportedly expected to install primarily facilities (electricity, water, and sewage) by the end of 2016 over 4 mn sqm in Tenth of Ramadan, 2.1 mn sqm in Burj Al Arab City, 2.4 mn sqm in Al Sadat City, and 2 mn sqm in Badr City. (Read in Arabic)

TOURISM

Tourism Development Authority to launch promotional campaign in Italy next week
The Tourism Development Authority (TDA) is moving forward with the launch of an online and social media promotional campaign for Egypt’s tourism in Italy despite the increased tensions between both countries over the Giulio Regeni case. The campaign was supposed to launch in early March but was put on hold, said the head of international tourism division at the TDA Mohamed Abdel Gabbar. The move comes two days after the Italian Association for Responsible Tourism threatened to halt activities to Egypt if the Regeni murder is not solved. (Read in Arabic)

“Egypt’s Luxor utters relief at seeing flocks of Chinese tourists” –Xinhua
A feature by Chinese state news agency Xinhua portrays Luxor as welcoming an influx of Chinese tourists and quotes former Minister of Tourism Hisham Zaazou as having recently said that flows of Chinese tourists to Egypt leapt 35% after Chinese President Xi Jinping visit to Cairo in January. “‘The number of Chinese tourists increased from 65,000 to 135,000 in 2015,’ Zaazou said, adding that he believes the number could rise to between half a [mn] and a [mn] shortly, once flights from China to Egypt increase,” Xinhua reports. (Read)

TELECOMS + ICT

BDO Esnad projects 30% growth in outsourcing services in 2016
Business Process Outsourcing provider BDO Esnad is projecting a 30% growth in its activity this fiscal year and is planning additional investments to increase its capacity to 400 employees from 300, company CEO Sameh Montasser tells Al Borsa. The expansion strategy aims to grow the company’s reach into Arab and European markets, he adds, noting that the company offers its services to clients in Iraq, Libya, and Jordan, as well as operating 50% of financial and accounting outsourcing services domestically. (Read in Arabic)

AUTOMOTIVE + TRANSPORTATION

Could we already have the tools to solve Cairo congestion?
Entrepreneurs in Egypt already have the tools to make car use “smarter, more environmentally friendly, and more socially acceptable” when it comes to dealing with congestion, said Ismail Zohdy a smart mobility analyst for Booz Allen Hamilton in an interview with Wamda. Social media, and Tweet analysis specifically, could help drivers avoid certain roads at certain times and gamification could reward people for driving less overall, or at less congested times of day.  “I’d say our future is to integrate all of these tonnes of data sources together in order to come up with the best solution,” Zohdy said. (Read)

BANKING + FINANCE

MB Engineering complete internal roadshow, IPO x29.5 covered
Electrical panel maker MB Engineering’s IPO on the small-cap bourse NILEX was covered x29.5 after bids were received for 162.5 mn shares, Al Borsa reported. Catalyst Partners, which sponsored the offering, said it was a success for small and medium enterprises. Sigma Capital was the lead manager of the offering, while Mubasher and Arabeya Online were assistant lead managers, Mubasher says. As far as we know, this offering is the first to involve a domestic roadshow to retail investors.

Sharm El Sheik to host African Bank Conference in 2017
Representatives of the African Development Bank and the Central Bank of Egypt met with South Sinai Governor Khaled Fouda on Wednesday to talk about the African Bank Conference set for 2017 in Sharm El Sheikh, Al Shorouk reports. The exact date of the conference is yet to be announced. The gathering will be attended by African presidents, prime ministers, and central bank governors. (Read in Arabic)

LAW

Youssef & Partners law firm begins operations in Egypt
Youssef & Partners law firm announced it is beginning operations in the Egyptian market as a full-service firm. The firm’s flagship practice is “commercial and treaty arbitration, and high-end and diverse litigation, with a focus on complex and high value disputes.” The firm is founded and led by Karim A. Youssef (Yale, LL.M., J.S.D.). (Read)

EGYPT POLITICS + ECONOMICS

NileSat pulls official Hezbollah broadcaster Al Manar
The Egyptian Satellite Company (better known as NileSat) has pulled Al Manar off its satellite broadcast system, saying the Hezbollah-backed outfit and an affiliated satellite radio station violated NileSat’s code of conduct for broadcasters by airing material that would “spread sectarian strife and sedition” in the countries its signal reaches. Lebanon’s Hezbollah party condemned the move as a “flagrant violation of freedom of opinion and expression and an attempt to mute the resistance,” according to a report by Al-Mal. NileSat’s move came on the eve of a visit to Cairo by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Reporting on NileSat’s decision, the Associated Press notes that “Hezbollah’s influence over Lebanese politics has prompted Saudi Arabia and its allies to retaliate through media and political sanctions.” The Arab League designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization last month.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Recycled news: Egypt to ink EUR 1 bn arms deal with France later this month
You can expect a few days’ of English-language headlines about deepening military ties between France and Egypt after DefenseNews picked up a story from France’s LaTribune that we had noted last month. French naval contractor is reportedly set to sell two Gowind corvettes in a package up to EUR 400 mn, while Thales Alenia Space and Airbus are looking to supply an EURO 600 mn military satellite communications system. The comms system has been on-again-off again news for years, while we first noted the Gowind sale last summer. Egypt acquired four Gowinds in 2014 and agreed last year to buy 24 Rafale fighter jets and two Mistral helicopter carriers. French President Francois Hollande is expected to sign agreements worth north of USD 1 bn when he visits Cairo later this month. You can check out the original La Tribune piece here in French, while DefenseNews’ piece is here in English.

Egypt to sign contract for more Russian President-S Defense Systems
Russia and Egypt are expected to sign a contract in April or May to supply Egypt with another batch of the advanced President-S onboard defense systems, the general director of Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET) said Wednesday, according to Sputnik. “We expect to deliver 28 systems this year in line with the 2015 contract, but now we are preparing an agreement for 30 additional units, as the need of Egyptians in these systems is very high. I hope that this agreement will be signed in April-May this year,” KRET CEO Nikolai Kolesov told reporters. (Read)

SPORTS

“Egypt shows interest in hosting 2020 FIFA Futsal World Cup” –KingFut
Egypt is one of a record 13 countries that have expressed interest in hosting the 2020 FIFA Futsal Cup, reports leading football site KingFut. Other bidders include Croatia, Czech Republic, Costa Rica, Iran, Japan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Netherlands and New Zealand. Futsal typically sees five-a-side teams squaring off on a smaller, indoor court.

ON YOUR WAY OUT

Madinet Nasr Housing and Development will issue a bonus share of 0.337 shares for every existing share, the company said in a bourse statement. The company will provide the bonus shares by increasing its capital by EGP 125 mn to reach EGP 500 mn. Reuters has coverage in English.

El Sewedy Electric announced it will pay an EGP 2 dividend per share in two instalments, reports Reuters. The first instalment of EGP 1.00 per share will be paid following a formal approval, while the second is due before September 30.

Recently deposed Central Auditing Organization head Hisham Geneina was fined EGP 20,000 on Tuesday by the Cairo Criminal Court for defaming former Justice Minister Adel Abdel Hamid in an article published in Al Wafd in September, 2013, Al Wafd reports. Ahram Online has the story in English.

The Consumer Protection Agency has referred the La Poire-owned On the Run chain of convenience stores to to prosecution, Al Mal and Al Borsa report, alleging the chain sold expired products.

Cyprus agreed on Wednesday to extradite alleged hijacker Seif El Din Mustafa to Egypt, Reuters reports. A Cypriot government official said the extradition would likely take “weeks,” during which Mustafa will remain in custody. Egypt’s Prosecutor General had requested Cyprus extradite the hijacker after authorities described Mustafa as “disturbed,” according to Al Masry Al  Youm.

When it rains it pours: Apparently Townhouse Gallery’s Downtown HQ has partially collapsed, but no injuries were reported, according to Mada Masr.

CALENDAR

07 April 2016: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman visits Cairo.

07-10 April 2016 (Thursday-Sunday): Cityscape Egypt Conference, Cairo International Convention Centre, Cairo

10 April 2016 (Sunday): ITIDA Market Intelligence Workshop Series: Digital Transformation and New Models of Innovation, ITIDA Main Hall, Cairo.

10-15 April 2016 (Sunday-Friday): 13th Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit, Istanbul, Turkey.

11 April 2016 (Monday): The Egypt CIO Summit 2016, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

13-16 April 2016 (Wednesday-Saturday): Cafex, Cairo.

17 April 2016: German economic delegation visits Cairo.

31 March-22 April (Thursday-Friday): The Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF), various locations, Cairo.

25 April 2016 (Monday): Sinai Liberation Day (national holiday)

26-28 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, The Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

01 May (Sunday): Easter Holiday / Labour Day (national holiday)

02 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim (national holiday)

02-03 May (Monday-Tuesday): The Middle East Investment Summit 2016, Ritz-Carlton DIFC, Dubai.

10 May (Tuesday): Business News Foundation’s Third Annual Energy Conference: Energy and Sustainable Development, InterContinental Hotel Citystars Cairo. Register here.

16-17 May (Monday-Tuesday): Egyptian-Bahraini committee meets, Cairo.

25-26 May (Wednesday-Thursday): The Middle East and North Africa Solar Conference and Expo MENASOL 2016, Hyatt Regency, Dubai.

02-03 June (Thursday-Friday): The first annual EBRD Research Symposium on The Economics of the Middle East and North Africa, EBRD headquarters, London, UK.

06 October (Thursday): Armed Forces Day (national holiday)

27 November 2016 (Sunday): 2016 Cairo ICT Conference Group

04-06 December 2016 (Sunday-Tuesday): Solar-Tec Conference, Cairo International Convention Centre, Cairo