COMPETITION-

Competition watchdog sues 14 aluminum firms, alleging price fixing: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has filed charges against 14 aluminum companies, accusing them of collaborating to inflate and fix the price of the metal, according to statement from the regulator picked by Al Borsa. The report provides no detail about the alleged market manipulation. Mohamed Hanafi, who heads the metals chamber at the Federation of Egyptian Industries, is quoted by the newspaper saying that the chamber has no information about the alleged price fixing.

TRANSPORT-

Thales + Orascom to revamp Cairo-Beni Suef rail signaling: Thales Group and Orascom Construction have signed a contract with Egyptian National Railways (ENR) to upgrade the signaling and communication systems of the 125-km Cairo-Beni Suef railway line, the Transport Ministry said Friday. The ministry didn’t disclose the value of the contract.

MANUFACTURING-

Kronospan to set up a USD 50 mn wood panel factory: Austria-based wood panels maker Kronospan plans to invest USD 50 mn to set up a multi-purpose wood panels factory in either Sadat City or 10 Ramadan, according to a statement from the Indus trial De velopment Authority. The factory will produce chipboard, MDF, and floorboards, among other products. No information was given on the timeline for the project.

SUEZ CANAL-

SCA inks new agreement with Maersk: The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) has signed an agreement with multinational shipping giant Maersk to collaborate on green transformation projects, tugboat construction, ship recycling, and workforce training, the authority said in a statement Thursday. The statement didn’t elaborate on how the two sides would work together on green projects, but said the agreement comes as part of the authority’s efforts to turn the shipping corridor into a “green canal” by 2030. The partnership on tugboat construction will be done via Maersk subsidiary, Svitzer, which is currently designing the world’s first methanol hydrogen fuel cell tug.

Remember: Maersk is stepping up its presence in Egypt. The shipping giant is planning to establish a huge green fuel production facility in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and is reportedly on course to purchase half of the government’s 545-MW Zafarana wind farm to help power it. It is also taking the lead on a USD 500 mn expansion project at East Port Said port through its Suez Canal Container Terminal subsidiary.

STARTUP-

Fintech startup HEDG closes pre-seed round: Cairo-based fintech startup HEDG has successfully raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from local and Saudi angel investors, according to a press release picked up by Wamda. The company did not disclose the amount raised or the currency.

HEDG? HEDG is a B2B savings management platform that provides workplace pension plans to private-sector SMEs and micro-enterprises.

TRANSPORT –

EgyptAir restructures subsidiaries: EgyptAir Holding Company’s regional airline subsidiary EgyptAir Express is being merged with EgyptAir Airlines, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette last week.

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