THIS EVENING: valU concludes seventh bond issuance

Welcome, friends, to what we think will be the third-slowest news day of 2023, a target set to be eclipsed by Western Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

That doesn’t mean someone won’t be “taking out the trash”: That’s when corporate PR types figure folks like us (and our readers) are too preoccupied by visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads to pay attention to the news cycle.

The result? They try to release news they’d rather nobody notice on exactly a day like this. (Thursday / Friday afternoons before a long weekend — depending on where you sit in the world — are also popular choices to engage in some janitorial work of the same nature…)

THE BIG STORY so far today? That would be valU closing its seventh securitized bond issuance. The EFG Holding fintech platform closed the sale of EGP 953.1 mn worth of securitized bonds, the company said in a statement (pdf) today. The issuance, which is part of an extended EGP 9 bn securitization program, brings valU’s total securitizations to seven and follows an EGP 922-mn issuance in September.

Advisors: EFG Hermes acted as the sole financial advisor, sole transaction manager, book-runner, and arranger. Our friends at ALC-Alieldean Weshahi & Partners acted as legal advisor, Baker Tilly as auditor, and AAIB as the custodian bank.

Sound smart: The nation’s market for securitized bonds is booming, up 85.6% this year over 2022 as players in the fast-growing consumer finance industry (for the most part) tap the market for growth capital.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Dominating the conversation in the international press this afternoon is Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza. The IDF claims to have almost total control of Northern Gaza, specifically in Jabalia, where it continued to drop bombs overnight, according to Reuters. The Palestinian death toll has risen above 20k, with tens of thousands wounded and many are still lost in the rubble. Meanwhile, Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem are canceled this year, which the Associated Press says will impact the city’s economy, as tourism — usually during Christmas holidays — accounts for some 70% of its income.

Over in the Indian Ocean, the US is blaming Iran for a drone attack on the Chem Pluto, a Japanese owned chemical tanker with a Liberian flag, Bloomberg reports. Tensions between Washington and Tehran are continuing to rise, particularly as and the US holds Iran responsible for backing Yemen’s armed Houthi group in its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Egypt faces the prospect of mns in lost FX receipts — and businesses and consumers around the world are staring at spiraling prices and snarled supply chains as Yemen’s armed Houthi group shows no signs of standing down in the Red Sea.
• The Central Bank of Egypt left interest rates unchanged at its last policy meeting of the year on Thursday.
• European and international lenders have lined up USD 455 mn in financing for a second cargo terminal at Damietta port.

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?️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Tomorrow will be partly cloudy with a high of 23°C coming around midday, and dropping to a cool 15°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.