UAE’s Agthia eyes more Egyptian acquisitions following more than sixfold growth in net income: Emirati state-owned investment firm ADQ Holding’s food subsidiary Agthia has around AED 1.5 bn (USD 408 mn) of “firepower” to spend on potential acquisitions in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, CEO Alan Smith told Reuters, after the company reported strong growth in its 2021 financials (pdf). Agthia recorded a 535% y-o-y jump in its net income to AED 216 mn in 2021, on the back of a 49% y-o-y increase in revenues to register AED 3.1 bn. The Emirati food player acquired 75% of Atyab brand owner Ismailia Agricultural and Industrial Investments last year, following a series of Gulf acquisitions.

First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank could soon be one entity: The two UAE lenders are close to finalizing a potential merger, Al Arabiya reported yesterday citing sources with knowledge of the matter. If the merger goes ahead, it would create the largest banking entity in the region in terms of assets with more than USD 350 bn, the newspaper said. An announcement could be made by 2Q2022 or 3Q2022 if regulators approve the merger.

Higher crude prices could translate into fewer sukuk issuances in the Gulf in 2022, Bloomberg reported, citing a report from ratings agency Moody’s. The surge in oil prices on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the six oil-rich GCC countries won’t need as much financing through Islamic bonds, with Moody’s estimating overall issuances to fall to USD 160-170 bn from USD 181 bn last year.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 2.8% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.29 bn (27.1% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is down 13.0% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Construction (+1.2%), EFG Hermes (+1.1%) and ADIB Egypt (+0.1%).

In the red: MM Group (-8.6%), Heliopolis Housing (-5.5%) and CIB (-4.9%).