MANUFACTURING-

#1- Aluminum Bahrain could establish bauxite plant in Safaga: The Public Enterprises Ministry is in talks with aluminum manufacturer Al uminum Bahrai n(Alba) to build a factory in Safaga to produce bauxite, the raw material for aluminum, C N N Arabic reports, citing Public Enterprises Ministry spokesperson Mansour Abdel Ghani.

#2- EgyptAlum might also set up shop in Safaga: State-owned, EGX-listed Egypt Aluminum (EgyptAlum) is planning to build a USD 1.9 bn plant in Safaga, according to the US news outlet. The factory will have an annual production capacity of 300k tons, 70% of which will be exported, and will include a bauxite production unit to lower production costs.

#3- Updates on the Emirates Global Aluminum plant: The Public Enterprises Ministry is also in talks with aluminum conglomerate Emirates Global Aluminum(EGA) to establish a new aluminum plant outside of the Nagaa Hammadi aluminum complex, Abdel Ghani said. The ministry is eyeing more than one location for the planned plant provided that it would be closer to shipping ports.

ICYMI- EGA has expressed interest in acquiring a stake in EgyptAlum via a capital increase, Public Enterprises Minister Mahmoud Esmat said in March. The proceeds from the equity investment would be allocated to building a new bauxite plant.

NBFS-

Belcash is now Seven: Belcash, Beltone Financial’s consumer financing arm, has rebranded to Seven as a part of the company’s broader efforts to revamp its NBFI offering, the company said in a statement (pdf) yesterday.

Data point: The company’s financing portfolio has reached EGP 1.3 bn, according to the release.

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