OUR ANALYST OF THE WEEK- Aya Samy, senior investment analyst at Misr Capital (Linkedin).

My name is Aya Samy and I feel very lucky that I started my career on the buy-side. It enhanced my experience and knowledge by putting me in a position where I was forced to learn everything about the sectors I covered. I graduated from Ain Shams Faculty of Commerce English, and began my career as an investment analyst in Mubasher, where I stayed for three years. I then moved to Ostoul Capital as a sell-side analyst before landing my current position at Misr Capital. We work the same way any analyst would, but don’t publish our reports publicly instead keeping them for Banque Misr’s portfolio and investment managers. I’m also not sector specific, which I enjoy more as it gives me more exposure to the market.

My favorite sector to cover is consumers. The names are recognizable to me and I can see the dynamics on the ground. Other sectors are harder to cover as they have limited data — which is something that affects my coverage by not giving me a clear picture. At the end of the day, each sector is quite different in terms of how one should analyze and judge it.

The best part of my job is there’s always more to learn and know. Sometimes I think that ‘khalas I know everything about this sector’, but then you find a new thread that leads to undiscovered territory. When I’m out with friends, whether they work in petrochem or finance, I realize that I know certain details and dynamics about their sectors, which makes me feel good about myself.

The worst part of my job is the same as everyone else… the stress [laughs]. Markets move so quickly and you have to be fast. Covering different sectors also means that I need to keep up with what seems like every new development in the news. I’ve started doing yoga and meditation to manage my stress. It helps keep my anxiety down and keep me grounded.

My theory of investment is to go for quality names that have room to grow, especially if they have reasonable valuations. Quality is proven historically so you can predict firms’ behavior. And of course, fundamentals are always key. Even if it’s not an immediate result, when you move based on fundamentals, the market will eventually correct itself and give you a return.

Sometimes I like to pick a theme that fits the macro picture, and invest based on that. If there’s a certain development happening in the news such as subsidies to a certain sector or if there’s a push by the state to develop a sector, I bet that it will affect firms’ valuations. Most of the time it does actually materialize.

One of the most important factors we look at before recommending an investment has recently become ESGs. In the past few years, we’ve been constantly applying ESGs in our investment criteria and assessing how compliant firms are by giving them ranks and scores. This came as international investors started increasingly giving weight to the environmental and social impacts of companies as well as their governance standards.

I think 2022 could be the year of Egypt on both the macro and capital markets front. There’s a lot of pent-up investment demand that will materialize once the uncertainty of the situation fades a bit. However, I can’t really say how the EGX30 will perform for the rest of the year. There’s a definite recovery after last year’s impact from the pandemic and the factors point to more recovery going forward. This last earnings season really highlighted this, with a ton of companies reporting great financials. Other good indicators are forecasted positive economic growth, the vaccine rollouts progressing, and the resumption of tourism.

I’m more of a numbers person. I just know how to work with them better.

The last great thing I watched was Behind Her Eyes. The plot was very surprising and kept me hooked. I’m more of a movie person though and my favorites are Good Will Hunting, Pretty Woman, Eat Pray Love. I think you can see a pattern forming… I’m very much into the classics.

The last great thing I read is Paper Palace. I honestly picked it up randomly because it was a New York Times Bestseller, but I enjoyed how it explored a life changing decision.

When I’m not on the clock, I love to cook and style food. I always imagine being a food blogger and getting to taste items off all of the new menus in Egypt. When I travel, I’m always on the hunt for new and authentic food from each country.

---

State-owned Egyptian Chemical Industries (Kima) reported losses of EGP 1.33 bn during 2Q2021, according to a company release (pdf). That’s about on par with the EGP 1.35 bn in red ink on the bottom line in the same quarter last year and came despite a 443% rise in revenues to EGP 1.4 bn in 2Q2021 from EGP 315 mn in the comparable period last year.

MARKET WATCH-

The EGX30 rose 0.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.7 bn (9.8% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 3.1% YTD.

In the green: Elsewedy Electric (+6.4%), TMG (+3.5%) and Pioneers Holding (+3.3%).

In the red: EKH (-1.5%), Rameda (-1.4%) and Speed Medical (-1.2%).