CAPITAL MARKETS-

Pachin to delist from EGX: The board of directors of Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin), now owned by Dubai-based National Paints Holding, has approved plans to voluntarily delist its shares from the EGX, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The company offered to buy back the shares from objecting shareholders for EGP 39.80 per share.

Refresher: Dubai-based National Paints Holding’s (NPH) acquired more than 80% of the formerly state-owned company in a mandatory tender offer in May.

ENERGY-

The cabinet is getting heat from MPs as blackouts get worse: Several MPs have raised concerns to Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and his government about the continued rolling blackouts, which in some areas have started lasting longer than the scheduled one-hour outage. MPs criticized the lack of an official explanation about why the blackouts are now lasting longer, despite previous pledges that the outages would end by the middle of September. “These blackouts also come just a few days before the new school year starts on the first of October and nobody knows whether these blackouts will continue next month,” said independent Rep. Mahmoud Qassem.

REAL ESTATE-

Qatari Diar launches St. Regis Residences: Qatari real estate developer Qatari Diar has launched its USD 1 bn St. Regis Residences project, a luxury mixed-use development located at the St. Regis Hotel, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday.

ENERGY-

Capricorn goes ahead with big investor payout… Oil and gas firmCapricorn Energy is sticking with plans to pay out a total of USD 575 mn to shareholders this year, it said in its 1H 2023 results. The company paid a USD 450 mn special dividend in May and expects to issue another USD 100 mn special dividend in October. Shareholders will gather on 5 October to vote on the USD 100 mn payout.

…despite a rise in receivables outstanding from Egypt: The company had some USD 144.2 mn in receivables outstanding from Egypt by the end of 1H, up from USD 97 mn at the start of 2023. Some USD 113.3 mn of that is overdue.

Remember: Capricorn’s new leadership is scaling back the company’s operations to focus only on Egypt and putting a new focus on dividend payouts. Its former board was ousted earlier this year by activist investors who torpedoed plans for a merger with Israel’s NewMed Energy.

SMES-

#1- SME development authority x KfW: German development bank KfW will provide EUR 12 mn in financing to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency to provide financial and technical support to micro projects working with renewable energy or energy efficiency, the agency said in a statement yesterday.

#2- SME development authority x Tamweely: Microfinance player Tamweely has inked a EGP 150 mn financing agreement with the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency to fund projects in rural villages in four governorates, the agency said in a stateme nt yesterday. The agreement will finance 6k projects in 30 villages in Kafr El Sheikh, Beni Suef, Minya, and Aswan, according to the statement.

ALSO- Tamweely has applied to the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) for a fintech license and approval for its new sharia-compliant financing product for MSMEs, Al Masdar reports, citing CEO Ahmed Khorshid. Tamweely will launch its new product upon getting the green light from the regulator.

TRANSPORT-

Cairo to Cologne: Nile Air is set to launch a new route to Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany, next month, according to Al Mal. The airline will start the new route in October, and will operate two flights a week.

LEGISLATION-

Nuclear safety: Egypt will join the International Atomic Energy Agency’s convention on nuclear energy safety after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ratified the move in the Official Gazette.

TECH-

Talaat hits Silicon Valley to talk semiconductors, outsourcing: Communications Minister Amr Talaat was in California at the weekend for talks with tech industry leaders on localizing semiconductor chip manufacturing and boosting tech outsourcing projects here, according to a ministry statement. Talaat talked about bringing chip manufacturing to Egypt with Jodi Shelton, CEO of the Global Semiconductor Alliance. He also discussed outsourcing with top execs from chipmakers and tech firms including Qualcomm, Broadcom, Dell, and Cisco.

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