MANUFACTURING-

A USD 80 mn Egyptian-Indian pharma project brewing: The Madbouly government is in talks with unnamed private Egyptian and Indian pharma companies to establish a USD 80 mn pharma raw materials plant, Public Enterprises Minister Mahmoud Esmat said yesterday. The project will work to meet local demand and boost exports, Esmat said, without elaborating further.

We already reportedly have new pharma factories in the making: State-owned pharma manufacturer HoldiPharma plans to build five new factories at a cost around EGP 2.5 bn in partnership with private-sector firms, including an unnamed Indian manufacturer that will act as technical expert, Asharq Business reported last month.

DEBT-

Kom Ombo solar plant receives USD 123 mn in financing: Saudi renewable energy developer ACWA Power yesterday inked a USD 123 mn financing package to develop the 200 MW Kom Ombo solar power plant, according to a company statement. The financing package has been in the works since 2021.

Where is the money coming from? Multilateral lenders including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (USD 36 mn), Green Climate Fund (USD 34.5 mn), the African Development Bank and affiliated funds (USD 24.4 mn), the Arab Bank (USD 14.8 mn), and the OPEC Fund for International Development (14.6 mn).

ENERGY-

#1- Chevron to issue lease tender for drilling ship for East Med exploration: USenergy major Chevron is preparing to issue a tender to lease a drilling ship for natural gas exploration off Egypt, Cyprus, and Israel, Reutersreported Monday, citing a statement by the multinational corporation. The firm will potentially issue the tender during 2Q 2023, it said, without disclosing when it expects to begin drilling. This comes on the heels of a Reuters piecelast week which claimed that the company had already issued the tender.

#2- The FX crisis is making it harder for EGPC to pay its dues to international companies: The total receivables that the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) owes to international oil and gas companies has more than tripled to USD 3 bn from USD 850 mn in mid-2020 — the Oil Ministry’s last report of the figure — amid the ongoing FX crunch, Meesreports.

#3- Egyptian-German JV to build two solar plants in Al Wadi El Gedid: A joint venture between Egypt-based Smart Engineering Solutions (SES) and German solar company Frenell will build two solar plants utilizing concentrated solar technology, Al Mal reports. The companies will establish two facilities with a combined 70 MW of power at a cost of some EUR 340 mn, the newspaper says, citing SES CCO and co-Founder Ahmed Naguib. The German partner will fund the project, according to the news outlet.

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