MINING-

#1- Centamin strikes gold: LSE- and TSX-listed gold miner Centamin’s maiden drilling expedition in its Eastern Desert Exploration (EDX) block has delivered “encouraging” results, the company said in a statement to the London bourse yesterday. “These results underpin Egypt's emergence as an attractive exploration jurisdiction which Centamin is uniquely positioned to leverage,” said CEO Martin Horgan.

ICYMI- Centamin last month raised its estimate of gold reserves at its flagship Sukari mine to 5.8 mn oz — up 10% from previous projections.

#2- Egyptian-Saudi mining cooperation: Egypt and Saudi Arabia will work to boost mining cooperation under an MoU inked between the two countries, according to an Oil Ministry statement. The agreement also seeks to promote the role of the private sector in both countries working in the mineral resources sector.

PRIVATIZATION-

Gov’t studies proposals on what to do with Egyptian Iron and Steel land: The Public Enterprise Ministry will conclude studies on how to dispose of the land to the south of Cairo where the now-liquidated state-owned Egyptian Iron and Steel was built within three to six months, Public Enterprise Minister Mahmoud Esmat told Al Arabiya and Asharq Business. The land may be used to build for residential projects in partnership with investors and some of it may be allocated to bridges or roads, Esmat said. The ministry last week received several offers for the land from private sector players — including from a local university — the minister added.

Remember: Egyptian Iron and Steel was liquidated three years ago in a bid to pay off some of its EGP 9 bn in outstanding debt.

EMPLOYMENT-

Cabinet doubles down on sending workers abroad: Prime Minister MoustafaMadbouly ordered the establishment of a ministerial task force to set a plan for increasing the number of skilled workers abroad, a cabinet statement read yesterday. The move is part of the government’s efforts to help 1 mn Egyptians access labor markets in developed countries by 2030 by providing specialized training programs that was unveiled in a new report (pdf) from the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center.

LEGISLATION-

Reforming Egypt’s tourism legislation: The Madbouly government is currently looking into reforming laws governing tourism, a cabinet statement said yesterday. These include issuing a new law regarding the establishment of a tourism chambers and an adjacent union, a draft law dealing with foreign tourists, and preparing the general framework for a draft law regulating tourism companies.

TRADE-

Local currency-dominated trade with Pakistan in the works? Pakistan is open to trading with Egypt using local currencies — with a particular focus on wheat — its Trade Minister Jawhar Ijaz told Asharq Business, the outlet said on X.

FINTECH-

Fintech startups may soon be allowed to enter the ins. sphere: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) is looking into handing fintech startups licenses to offer ins. services, FRA Deputy Chairman Islam Azzam told Asharq Business. The authority has not yet determined the minimum capital requirement for such licenses, Azzam added.

ICYMI- The FRA earlier this week set the minimum issued and paid-up capital needed for fintech startups to receive two-year licenses for non-bank financial services (NBFS) at EGP 15 mn. These services include mortgage finance, MSME finance, leasing, factoring, and consumer finance.

MANUFACTURING-

Production at Ecab’s Saudi facility set to kick off by mid-2024: Local cable manufacturer Ecab plans to begin operations at its Saudi facility by mid-2024, CEO Said Abdelwahab told Zawya yesterday. The USD 10 mn factory in Jeddah will produce ethernet cables and server cabinets.

FINANCIAL SERVICES-

El Hazek to get financing for construction projects: Local construction company ElHazek Construction is borrowing EGP 1.3 bn via a financial leasing agreement with a syndicate of lenders to finance the capital expenditure of two of its subsidiaries, Abu Dhabi Islamic Finance (ADIFinance) — the leasing subsidiary for Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt — said in a statement(pdf) yesterday. The syndicate is led by UE Finance and includes ADIF Finance, Aur Leasing, AT Lease, and Cairo Leasing Corporation.

It’s been a good start to the year for El Hazek, which closed an EGP 1.7 bn MoU to build the final stages of its Madinat Masr’s Taj City project as well as the latter’s new company headquarters.

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