MANUFACTURING-

#1- Sumitomo Electric broke ground on the first phase of its new pigtails cable factory in Tenth Ramadan City, the Trade and Industry Ministry said Thursday. Sumitomo plans to invest USD 100-150 mn in the project initially, Sumitomo Egypt Managing Director Ahmed Magdy previously told Enterprise. The factory is expected to produce cables for 1 mn cars per year and provide 3.5k new jobs, according to the statement. The factory is expected to be the company’s largest in the world.

#2- Pyramids Tires will open two new production lines at its USD 350 mn tire factory by Decemberthis year, the company’s chairman reportedly told Al Mal. The lines will produce 600k tires for light transport and 15k ties for pivot irrigation each year.

EDUCATION-

Lighthouse Education plans acquisitions after reaching first close: Education investment platform Lighthouse plans to acquire stake in two primary schools before the start of the next academic year, CEO Mahmoud Khalifa was quoted as telling Al Borsa. The state-backed fund reached a first close of more than EGP 550 mn in 2021 and is aiming to reach its second close before the end of 2024 and increase its capital to EGP 1 bn, he said.

Refresher: Lighthouse Education was established in 2021 with financial backing from a number of state-owned financial institutions including Misr Ins. Holding, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, Banque Misr and United Bank. The fund was launched to channel investment into private K-12 schools.

TOURISM-

Egypt back on the tourist map: Some 4.5 mn tourists visited Egypt in the first four months of 2023, with April itself accounting for 1.35 mn of the inflow, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa told Al Shorouk. The figures are just below the 4.9 mn touriststhat came to Egypt in the first six months of 2022 as the sector began to rebound after the Covid pandemic lockdowns. The ministry is targeting 15 mn arrivals this year and 19 mn in 2024, Issa added, as the government looks to reach their goal of attracting as many as 30 mn tourists to the country by 2028.

PHARMA-

Rameda Pharma has acquired 11 cardiometabolic products from an unnamed local pharma manufacturer, it said in a statement (pdf) Thursday. The move will allow Rameda to tap into five therapeutic areas that have a combined market value of EGP 2.2 bn and have experienced a three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37%, compared to 11% growth in the overall pharma market. Rameda plans to complement its new cardiometabolic portfolio “with up to seven new product launches in this area before the end of FY 2023,” said CEO Amr Morsy.

LOGISTICS-

Global marine ship-fueling firm Peninsula receives bunkering services license: Oil Minister Tarek El Molla has awarded the second license to international ship-fueling firm Peninsula to provide services at Egyptian ports in the Mediterranean, according to an Oil Ministry statement. This is the second company to be granted a license after Minerva Bunkering, which began operating in Egypt last week.

AGRICULTURE-

FAO, Japan, and Netherlands to help us up our agriculture game: The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is set to collaborate with the Irrigation Ministry on the implementation of three agricultural projects that will be funded by Japan and the Netherlands following agreements inked last week, according to a ministry statement. The projects aim to modernize our irrigation technologies, enhance water productivity, and support small farmers in Upper Egypt, the statement reads, without disclosing timelines or the value of the agreements.

EDUCATION-

Egyptian universities + SDGs: Thirty-seven Egyptian universities have been included in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023, which assesses some 1.6k institutions worldwide against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the Higher Education Ministry said yesterday. Greater provision of technical support, education regarding international publishing, scientific promotion committees and information made available through the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, have supported Egypt’s rankings, said Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour.

The rundown: Aswan University (101-200) took the overall top spot for Egyptian universities for the third consecutive year, followed by Ain Shams University (201-300) at #2 and Cairo University (301-400) at #3. Four institutions — New Valley University, Sohag University, British University in Cairo and Sphinx University — were included in the rankings for the first time.

Tags: