Egypt-Sudan electricity link gets a boost: Siemens Energy was awarded a contract to build two grid stabilization stations in Sudan that will help feed cross-border electric power to Egypt as part of the Egypt-Sudan Electric Interconnection Project. The stations come as Egypt has agreed to invest EGP 450 mn in the supplying and installation of power compensators to boost the link’s capacity to 300 MW.

Osool ESB Securities Brokerage is offering margin with the help of a EGP 350 mn loan from Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's ADILease, the local press reports. The MoU follows regulatory amendments by the Financial Regulatory Authority earlier this month which gave Egyptian factoring companies the green light to finance margin lending by brokerage companies. The move comes as a bid to allow brokerages access to new funding sources and stimulate trading on the EGX.

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

• Contact and Fawry have signed a partnership agreement (pdf) to allow clients of the consumer finance company to make installment payments through Fawry’s mobile app.
• Zack’s Fried Chicken is planning to invest EGP 12 mn to set up four new branches of Burger Joint, which it acquired earlier this year, according to Zack’s founder Hassan Abouzekry.
• The Central Bank of Egypt will provide an additional EGP 1 bn for onlending to the Agricultural Bank of Egypt for the provision of low interest loans to SMEs as part of a government project to support cattle farming.
• Pharos Energy’s revenue share of its Fayoum oil-producing concession could increase from 30% to 40% after the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation gave its preliminary approval to amendments to the terms of an earlier agreement.
• The Rixos Premium Magawish Hotel was inaugurated yesterday in Hurghada as part of development plans for the Magawish tourist village.
• The owner of the 10-storey building that collapsed last week in Cairo's Gesr El Suez neighborhood was arrested on charges of illegally adding four floors, causing the building's collapse.