Happy hump day, dear readers: We have another packed issue for you this morning, with new budget figures out ahead of Finance Minister Mohamed Maait’s statement to MPs today, a handful of M&A and investment announcements, and good / bad news on the regional diplomacy front.

But before we get to that…

We’re only six days away from meeting with some of you at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, taking place at the Four Seasons at the Nile Plaza on Monday, 15 May.

We’re proud to announce that our friend Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO of Concrete is joining us for the forum. Are you? Mohamed Talaat Khalifa will be speaking on how he was able to grow his company’s exports. He is joined on stage for that discussion by Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe, who’ll tell us what needs to be done to put Egyptian goods on the global map.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more names…

They’re not the only ones: Among the top execs, bankers, and development finance folks speaking at the conference are: Tarek Kamel, CEO of Nestle Egypt; Omar Elsahy, general manager of Amazon Egypt, Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt; Mark Wylie, CEO of Beyti; Hassan Massoud, associate director and head of private equity (Southern Mediterranean) at the EBRD; Hossam Abou Moussa, partner at Apis; Yassir Zouaoui, partner at McKinsey; Shady William, managing director of IDG; Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman, Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica; Abdallah Sallam, CEO of Madinet Masr; Kareem Abou Ghaly, chairman and CEO of Pasta Regina; Helmi Ghazi, deputy CEO of HSBC Egypt; Nadia El-Tawil, investment officer at AfricInvest; Mostafa Bedair, CEO of Giza Seeds and Herbs; Nada El Ahwal, CSO of Transmar; and Mohamed El Gebely, team leader at USAID Trade.

Topics and live interviews will include:

  • Why exports and FDI are the way forward and what lessons have worked from around the world;
  • How to attract foreign partners and figure out what they are looking for;
  • What are the fundamentals to creating an export and / or FDI strategy;
  • What it takes to secure a place in a multinational’s supply chain.
  • How industrial clusters could expedite exports, FDI and possibly be an avenue for SME development;
  • What are the industries of tomorrow around which we can export and bring in FDI.

Tap or click here to explore the full agenda.

** Have you confirmed your attendance? Invitations have been sent out over the past few weeks. If you have yet to confirm your attendance and would still like to join us, please reply to the invitation with an RSVP.

WHAT THE GOV’T WANTS THE MARKET TO KNOW THIS MORNING: The privatization program is alive and kicking.

#1- We can expect to see offers coming this month for stakes in two military-owned companies: Bottled drinks firm Safi and fuel retailer Wataniya will start receiving offers from strategic investors this month, the Madbouly cabinet said in a statementyesterday. Major local-international consortiums have voiced interest in the companies, he said, without providing further details.

Remember: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is reportedly looking to sell at least 10% — and potentially up to 100% — of the two firms to strategic investors.

CI Capital has been promoting the companies for almost two months: The investment bank reportedly kicked off a roadshow in mid-March. Little is known about who it has been in talks with or the level of appetite.

#2- Other undisclosed things are happening: The state is currently finalizing a number of agreements with unnamed buyers, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said, without providing details. The PM reiterated the government’s commitment to the privatization agenda, and said that details of these transactions will be announced soon.

Remember: The government wants to raise USD 2 bn from selling state-owned assets by the end of June, and is aiming to offload stakes in at least 32 companies by March 2024.

32 becomes 33? The government has added El Nasr Company for Intermediate Chemicals to its list of companies earmarked for privatization. It joins the government’s 545-MW wind farm facility in Zafarana to be offered to investors, cabinet said yesterday.

AND- Arab League to weigh in? The Arab League’s economic council is calling on its agencies to establish funds to purchase Egyptian state-owned assets, Al Borsa reported yesterday, citing the council’s secretary-general economic affairs advisor.

The statement comes after the international community has criticized us for not moving faster on privatization and reforms given the ongoing FX crunch, including (Fitch Ratings | S&P Global | Moody’s) and investment banks (Morgan Stanley | JPMorgan).

ALSO- Lamees El Hadidy — the queen of late night talk and a knowledgeable commentator on business and economy issues — pushed cabinet on air last night to accelerate the privatization process. We have the details in Last Night’s Talk Shows, below.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Private-sector players are preparing to sell up to USD 200 mn in green bonds, the Planning Ministry said yesterday. The ministry didn’t disclose the issuers or give an indication of when the sales will take place.

Egypt pioneered green bonds in the MENA region, becoming the first sovereign to sell the climate-linked securities back in 2020. A few months later CIB launched the country’s debut corporate green bond issuance.

No offers yet for Ezz Dekheila Steel -Ezz Steel: Steel giant Ezz Steel has not made any offers to acquire additional shares in its subsidiary Ezz Dekheila Steel, it said in an EGX disclosure (pdf), following reports in the local media this week that it is in talks with two state-owned banks to acquire their combined 14% stake in the EGX-listed subsidiary. Ezz Dekheila Steel said that none of its shareholders have notified it of a potential stake sale in a separate disclosure (pdf).

PSA- CIB has discontinued its three-year,18-20% annual-rate certificates, replacing them with 19-17% certificates, according to its website. Savers will need to deposit a minimum of EGP 5 mn to lock in the 19% rate, EGP 2 mn for 18%, EGP 500k for 17.5%, and EGP 50k for 17%. Interest payouts are monthly.

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s budget day at the House: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and Planning Minister Hala El Said will deliver statements in the House for the draft FY 2023-2024 budget. We have more on what to expect from the budget in this morning’s Budget Watch, below.

UN sustainability agreement: The Madbouly government and the UN will ink the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2023-2027, according to MENA. The framework will guide the implementation of UN projects in Egypt over the next four years.

The Swedish embassy is hosting an event in Cairo on the prospect of hooking our electricity grid up to Europe’s, paving the way for significant energy exports.International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla, and representatives from the key private-sector infrastructure players working on Mediterranean energy projects will take part in panel discussions. The European Investment Bank and Alexbank will ink an undisclosed contract during the event.

SOUND SMART- There are as many as five proposed interconnector projects that would link our electricity grid to mainland Europe. Read about them all here.

Want to know how blended finance can promote inclusive development? That’s the subject of the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council and Creative Associates International’s conference today at the Conrad Hotel. The one-day event will bring together experts, policy makers and stakeholders for discussions on how a combination of public and private sector resources can boost growth across various sectors. Register your attendance here.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Tomorrow’s inflation print could remind us that inflation rates can, actually, go down: That’s according to a Reuters poll of analysts, whose median forecast is for headline inflation to fall to 31% from 32.7% in March.

What to thank: A “favorable base effect, a steady currency, and weaker commodity prices,” the newswire says.

It has been a while since we’ve known anything other than unrelenting inflation: Headline CPI has risen for nine consecutive months, rising from 13.2% to near-record highs on the back of a series of heavy currency devaluations.

Yes, but: Inflation could rise in the coming months especially if the country pushes through with further EGP devaluations which would hike prices even higher, Capital Economics said.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Car import scheme wraps up: The expat car import initiative will draw to a close on 14 May. The scheme was initially scheduled to end in mid-February but was extended for another three months in a bid to maximize FX inflows.

The latest tally: The Finance Ministry has now raised USD 713 mn from the scheme, up from USD 500 mn in mid-April, it said in a statement yesterday. That’s a little over a quarter of the USD 2.5 bn originally targeted by the ministry.

Endeavor Egypt is celebrating its 15th birthday at the GEM next week: The startup network heads to the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) next Friday, 19 May, to mark its 15th anniversary. 

THE REALIGNMENT-

Egypt-Iran normalization next? Egypt and Iran have been in discussions over normalizingrelations since March, officials from both sides have reportedly told the National. The latest meeting took place at the weekend, Egyptian officials said.

The Iranians said as much in March: Speaking a few days after their breakthrough agreementto restore ties with Saudi Arabia, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson spoke of the need to improve relations with Egypt. A few weeks later Cairo began allowing Iranians to get an entry visa on arrival in South Sinai.

Iraq as mediator: An Iraqi diplomat said two rounds of talks were held in Baghdad in March and April. “Both sides are putting out feelers and they are willing to move forward. There is no headway until now,” an Iraqi diplomat said.

El-Sisi-Raisi meeting soon? The two sides are looking into potentially setting up a meeting between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, the sources told the news outlet.

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

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