Good morning, friends, and happy FRIDAY. It’s the last Friday before June — which means we’re inching ever closer to the real summer season. Use these last few weeks to tie up your loose ends in Cairo and open up your summer houses before the exodus to Sahel begins right around Eid Al Adha at the end of June.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

WANT TO START A CAREER IN INVESTOR RELATIONS ADVISORY?Enterprise Advisory (formerly known as Inktank Communications) is looking for smart, talented people to help us tell the stories of exciting companies. Enterprise Advisory is the region’s leading investor relations advisory company and works on investor and strategic communications issues that take you deep inside the c-suite. Our clients are in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond. Egyptian and foreign nationals alike are welcome to apply.

NEVER WORKED IN INVESTOR RELATIONS OR ADVISORY BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Advisory Development Program. The four-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran investor relations and advisory professionals, while also applying their knowledge in a practical setting. Those who successfully complete the program will be offered full-time positions on staff for a chance to work in a flexible and supportive — but still fast-paced — work environment that eschews micromanagement and rewards good work. Enterprise Advisory offers the chance to build a network of high-ranking individuals across some of the largest and most influential companies in the region through direct exposure to clients.

During the program, you’ll learn:

  • Finance for non-finance people;
  • How to analyze businesses, their business models, their strategic advantages, and their strategies;
  • How to take that information and then tell an audience of investors, journalists, and analysts a compelling and well-developed story;
  • How to frame individual companies’ stories within the wider macroeconomic environment.

Career switchers are very welcome.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “advisory development program” in your subject line.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS- It was quiet on the macro and privatization fronts for a change, but heavy on investment and green economy news.

THE BIG STORY- The fun tax is back: A raft of tax, duty and development fee hikes on things like dutyfree and entry to theaters, parks, and clubs were given the OK by the House Planning and Budgeting Committee after the government amended some of the hikes. The tax hikes — which were rejected by the House General Assembly and have been in limbo since December 2021 — now excludes provisions that would have impacted lower-income citizens, including a 2% development fee on finished durable goods and a 5% fee on local and imported soft drinks.

AND A LONE PRIVATIZATION UPDATE- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is among several companies interested in acquiring a stake in military-owned fuel retailer Wataniya. Adnoc is up against Saudi industrial oils giant Petromin and Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) and a separate unnamed Saudi company for at least 20-25% of Wataniya and bottled water company Safi.

INVESTMENT WATCH-

#1- A Chinese consortium offered to establish a USD 300 mn ironworks in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The two companies — state-owned Sinoma and private metals manufacturer Xinfeng — discussed the project with SCZone CEO Walid Gamal El Din.

#2- AstraZeneca plans to invest over USD 100 mn in Egypt over “the coming years.” The pharma giant expects to use its investment to increase production capacity at its Sixth Of October factory by 50% and further localize its supply chains.

#3- Private equity firm Ezdehar Management is launching a EGP 1 bn local-currency fund targeting struggling medium-sized businesses in 3Q 2023. The new fund has already set its sights on five to seven firms where it will target 20-25% stakes. F&B, healthcare, ins., education, and manufacturing are among its priority sectors.

#4- Egypt-Oman Investment fund could soon spring into action: The joint fund being set up by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) and the Oman Investment Authority (OIA) plans to start making investments in 4Q 2023. The two wealth funds will target companies and projects in the pharma, food, and renewables sectors.

#5- Fresh funds for Dawi: Primary care company Dawi Clinics is getting a EGP 250 mn investment led by Al Ahly Capital Holding (the National Bank of Egypt’s local investment arm) and with participation from existing investor the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund (EAEF). The fresh capital will finance the expansion of Dawi’s operations across the country.

WE’RE ANGLING FOR MORE-

#1- Foreign investors can now acquire year-long non-touristic residencies when proposing investment plans to the General Authority for Freezones and Investment (GAFI), according to a decision by the Interior Ministry. The residency can then be renewed for six-month or year-long periods depending on how long it takes to establish the business.

#2- Ministers have approved relaxing rules on freezones under government efforts to attract more private-sector investment. Amendments to the executive regulations of the 2017 Investment Act will allow Cabinet to exempt companies from having to comply with most of the rules currently in place for setting up freezones, including having a local component in manufacturing and export quotas.

GREEN ECONOMY + WATER SECURITY-

ON THE GREEN ECONOMY FRONT- The government is now targeting increasing its renewable energy generation capacity to cover 60% of the country’s electricity needs by 2040, following a target to hit 40% by 2030. Meanwhile, Energy China should sign a framework agreement within two months to build a green hydrogen plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). The facility is expected to produce some 1.2 mn tons of green ammonia and 210k tons of green hydrogen annually upon completion.

WATER SECURITY- The African Development Bank mobilized USD 2.2 bn to improve Egypt’s water security under the government’s Nexus for Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) program, up from the initially targeted USD 1.4 bn.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Expect some more movement onthe privatization front: National Investment Bank subsidiary NI Capital recently said it has been preparing to sell stakes in seven state-owned companies as part of the government’s privatization program, two of which are expected to be complete before the fiscal year wraps at the end of June. This timeline means we have five weeks remaining for the sales to materialize. Those in the pipeline include companies in the oil, petrochemicals, and transport sector, NI Capital CEO Mohamed Metwally said at the time.

The potential contenders: We already know some of the oil and petrochemical players that the state has flagged for privatization: ‎The Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco), Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab), Helwan Fertilizers Company, Chemical Industries Development Company, the Egyptian Polypropylene and Polypropylene Company, and the Egyptian Drilling Company were all named by the government in February when it announced its rebooted privatization plans.

We could also see more news from the National Dialogue, which meets for sessions three times a week to discuss more than 100 political, economic, and social issues. Some 800 individuals have been invited to participate.

The IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum will kick off at the Nile Ritz Carlton on Monday. The Oil Ministry-hosted event will bring together officials and industry insiders to discuss energy security, natural gas investment and affordable energy access.

The Egyptian-Rwandan Investment and Trade Day will also take place on Monday at the Helnan Landmark Hotel in Cairo. Importers, exporters, and investors will discuss boosting investment and trade between the two countries

Earnings season wraps: The deadline for listed companies to report and publish their 1Q results is Tuesday, 30 May.

The House of Representatives will reconvene on Sunday.

El Re7la’s Fintech Industry Retreat starts Thursday, 1 June in Hurghada: The event will bring together leading entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators from the local fintech scene for three days of networking, discussions, and industry masterclasses.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS-

  • Ayman Ismail’s LinkedIn profile got some love after his appointment as the chairman of Swvl’s audit committee.
  • Some of you wanted a refresher on the raft of tax hikes, duties and development fees that came back from the House of Representatives limbo this week. (Enterprise)
  • Lynx MD and co-founder Mohamed Hanafi’s morning routine also got a lot of attention. (Enterprise)
  • A handful of you wanted to check out Maadi’s Hai Tian Dumplings after our recommendation in EnterprisePM. (Google Maps)
  • Dawi Clinics’ investment round led by Al Ahly Capital and the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund also got some clicks. (Statement, pdf)

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

The US continued to dominate headlines with its debt ceiling impasse: Rating agency Fitch warned last week that the US could lose its AAA credit rating due to the ongoing standoff over the debt ceiling. Republicans and Democrats both said that talks have been productive but several issues remain unresolved.

Greek elections also got attention: The center-right party of Greece’s incumbent prime minister got a larger-than-expected share of the vote during national elections, though still fell short of a parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party received more than 40% of the vote, coming within five seats of a majority. Mitsotakis intimated that he wouldn’t look to form a coalition with another party and instead will seek a majority in a fresh vote, likely to take place in late June.

Clashes in Sudan continued, despite ceasefire: Clashes between Sudan’s warring factions could be heard in Khartoum and elsewhere in the country late last week, in spite of a week-long ceasefire aimed at facilitating aid delivery and establishing a lasting truce. The ceasefire has provided some respite from the ongoing conflict, but there are limited signs that aid efforts have ramped up significantly. More than 1.3 mn people have now been displaced by the conflict.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- It’s a very mixed outlook for this weekend’s weather,with today being mostly cloudy despite the mercury rising to 35°C, and hovering around 23°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us. Saturday will see the mercury rise to a sweltering 38°C during the day, before falling to 22°C at night.

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