DEVELOPMENT FINANCE-

We’re getting USD 349 mn from the AfDB before year end: The AfricanDevelopment Bank (AfDB) plans to lend out some USD 349 mn to fund public and private projects in Egypt before the end of the year, bringing the bank’s total spending on the country to USD 730 mn for the year, the lender’s country manager Abdourahmane Diaw told Asharq Business. AfDB has earmarked USD 148 mn of the new sum for on-lending to MSMEs and companies operating in agriculture, renewables, desalination, and logistics.

PUBLIC FINANCE-

UPDATE- Here’s how much our Deutsche Bank-Bank ABC loan is going to cost us:The Finance Ministry is paying 11.1% interest on its seven-year USD 500 mn loan from Deutsche Bank and Bank ABC, according to a House of Representatives document Al Borsa says it has seen. Kuwaiti ins. company Dhamanis guaranteeing 5.75% of the interest.

MANUFACTURING-

#1- ICON is setting up another project in Saudi: A subsidiary of local building materials manufacturer Industrial Engineering for Construction and Development (ICON) will build a SAR 40 mn (USD 10.7 mn) light gauge steel (LGS) factory in Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk, the company said in a press release (pdf). The 31k m2 factory will kick off trial operations in 2H 2024 and aims to cover the Saudi and Gulf markets’ needs of LGS for prefabricated buildings when fully operational. ICON earlier this year secured a SAR 106 mn contract for the production and delivery of prefabricated buildings for the Saudi mega city Neom project.

#2- India’s Platinum Industries breaks ground on PVC factory: Plastics manufacturer Platinum Industries began construction on its 10k sqm PVC and CPVC factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) yesterday, the SCZone said in a statement. The company will invest some USD 6 mn in the first phase and USD 4 mn in the second phase of the project, which aims to produce 30k tons of PVC annually when fully operational in 18 months time. The factory intends to meet local market needs and export some 70% of its production to regional markets.

We’re seeing a lot of investments from our new BRICS buddy: Indian companies have committed around USD 3.3 bn to projects in the SCZone, Indian ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte said. Much more may be to come, with India’s Ocior Energy inking preliminary contracts to set up a USD 4 bn green hydrogen plant last August.

ENERGY-

#1- Mitsubishi extends maintenance contract for our power plants: MitsubishiPower has inked agreements with the Madbouly government extending the 16-year long-term service agreement for the maintenance and management of six gas turbines at the Sidi Kerir, El Atf, and Cairo North power plants, according to a press release from the company. The Japanese International Corporation Agency-funded agreement will help improve power supply stability, efficiency, and reduce maintenance downtime and costs for the plants, according to a Electricity Ministry statement.

INVESTMENT-

More German investments incoming? Fifteen German companies have expressed interest in a number of Egyptian sectors including infrastructure, energy, and green hydrogen, during a meeting with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly earlier this week. They also hinted at future cooperations with local players to set up factories for the manufacture of factory machinery, medical supplies, and medicine.

TRANSPORT-

From Abu Dhabi to Sphinx Airport:Budget airlineWizz Air completed its first flight from Abu Dhabi to Cairo’s Sphinx International Airport yesterday, CNN Business Arabic reported. The airline is operating four flights a week between the two airports.

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