INFRASTRUCTURE-

Al Kharafi + Samcrete to build new water infrastructure in Fayoum: Al Kharafi & Sons and Samcrete have been awarded several contracts under the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development-backed (EBRD) Fayoum wastewater treatment project, according to the lender’s website.

Al Kharafi has been chosen to design and build a new wastewater treatment plantwith a 35k cbm/d capacity under a EUR 23.9 mn contract. The project is expected to finish by the end of April 2025.

Samcrete was awarded two contracts worth a combined EUR 36.6 mn to build new sewage networks and pump stations in the governorate. One contract will finish in October 2024 and the other in December 2024.

COMMODITIES-

Cheaper wheat: GASC could pay as little as USD 250 a ton for its upcoming wheat purchase, traders said yesterday. In its latest international wheat tender launched yesterday, two Russian grain traders offered to ship 235k tons of wheat for USD 250 on a FOB basis. Several Romanian suppliers bid USD 260-263, higher than GASC’s USD 250 asking price. If accepted, this would be almost 10% cheaper than the state grains buyer’s last tender less than a month ago.

A year is a long time in the commodity markets: Wheat prices have almost halved from a year ago, helping to ease the pressure on Egypt’s import bill. As the world’s largest wheat importer, Egypt was among the most vulnerable countries to the fallout from the war in Ukraine, which temporarily cut off wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine, its two biggest suppliers.

REAL ESTATE-

ODE starts deliveries at new O West phases: Orascom Development Egypt (ODE) has begun delivering residential units at the Whyt and Tulwa phases of its O West project in Sixth of October, the company said in a statement (pdf)yesterday. The company expects to deliver more than 350 villas in Whyt and 1,650 apartments in Tulwa this year, it said.

O West has become a key money-maker for the company: The development became ODE’s largest contributor to new sales in 2022, rising 44% to EGP 5.7 bn, according to its 4Q earnings release (pdf). Revenues from O West rose by two-thirds to EGP 2.9 bn, accounting for more than a quarter of the company’s total revenue.

TELECOMS-

Mobile network quality improves in 1Q 2023: The number of areas across Egypt affected by mobile voice quality issues dropped 7% y-o-y in 1Q 2023, while the number experiencing mobile data quality issues was down 31% y-o-y, according to the quarterly complaints report (pdf) from the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

More fines handed out: During the quarter the NTRA ordered the country’s four telecom providers — Telecom Egypt, Orange Egypt, Etisalat Egypt, and Vodafone Egypt — to pay a combined EGP 32 mn in fines for failing to meet standards, up 64% from the EGP 19 mn handed out during the same period last year.

FINTECH-

Mastercard to roll out card tokenization in Egypt: Mastercard is working to provide all issuing banks across the country with the payment infrastructure needed to offer card tokenization services, the firm said in a statement. The joint project between Mastercard, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), and the Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) will see every payment card get a unique identifier or ‘token’ that can be used to make in-person and online transactions, eliminating the need to share sensitive customer data like account numbers.

LOGISTICS-

#1- Bahri + Suez Canal Authority to pour USD 50 mn into new joint-stock maritime transport firm: Saudi Arabia’s state-owned National Shipping Company (Bahri) and the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) are investing USD 50 mn to establish an Egyptian joint-stock company for maritime transport, Al Mal reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. The two companies plan to finalize procedures for the new company by the end of August.

#2- Khazenly wants to make it easier for merchants to do business overseas: B2B logistics startup Khazenly has launched a new cross-border service designed to make it easier for Egyptian merchants to sell their products overseas, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. ‘Cross borders’ is an integrated service that helps companies with local fulfillment, foreign-exchange transactions, permits and licenses, and product returns, it said.

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