ENERGY-

#1- The government’s Pharos Energy bill has risen to USD 37.3 mn: LSE-listed oil and gas company Pharos Energy ’s receivables owed by the Egyptian government rose to USD 37.3 mn by the end of 2023, up from USD 24.2 mn a year prior, it said in an operations update (pdf).

But Pharos Energy is in no hurry to redeem its chips: The company intends to refrain from retrieving its USD-denominated receivables due to the exchange rate volatility.

Remember: The company owns a 45% working interest in its El Fayum and North Beni Suef oilconcessions, after selling a 55% stake in each back in 2021. The company plans to start development drilling in its North Beni Suef well in the second half of the year.

#2- Schneider mulls solar power projects in South Sinai: French electrical equipmentmanufacturer Schneider Electric discussed potential electricity, water abstraction and greenhouse projects that rely on solar power with officials from the South Sinai governorate, according to statements from both parties (here and here). Schneider Electric also proposed setting up a center at the Sharm El Sheikh City Council to provide training on solar energy solutions.

AUTOMOTIVE-

Tata Motors links up with MM Group for local distribution: EGX-listed MM Group forIndustryand International Trade (MTI) has inked a partnership agreement with the Indian automaker Tata Motors to handle the retail and service of its commercial vehicles in Egypt, according to a statement (pdf) from MTI yesterday.

This isn’t MM Group’s first automotive rodeo: MTI already has partnerships with automakers Jaguar, Range Rover, Maserati, and Bentley.

FINTECH-

Valu + Bosta + PayTabs Egypt partner to bring new payment installment feature to the market: Buy-now, pay-later solutions provider Valu has partnered with local logistics startup Bosta in a strategic agreement to introduce PayTabs Egypt’s installment-on-delivery (IOD) service to Egypt for the first time through the Valu app, according to a joint press release (pdf).

REAL ESTATE-

Heliopolis Housing wraps agreement on New Heliopolis project: State-owned realestate developer Heliopolis Housing and Development (HHD) has inked an agreement with Middle East for Investment & Touristic Development — the developer behind the North Coast’s Seashell — to team up for a project in New Heliopolis, HHD said in an EGX disclosure (pdf) yesterday. The project will be completed in 10 years and see HHD capture an expected return of EGP 39.7 bn.

EGP 150 bn in revenue overall? Asharq Business reported a day earlier that HDD is in talks with one of Egypt’s biggest real estate developers for a project that will generate EGP 150 bn in revenue, citing an unnamed official at HHD.

MANUFACTURING-

HMD Global doubles down on made-in-Egypt Nokia handsets: HMD Global — the Finish manufacturer behind Nokia — has inked a cooperation agreement with the local phones-manufacturer SICO Technology to use the latter’s factory in Assiut to produce Nokia handsets, HMD said in a statement picked by Al Mal. HMD started manufacturing Nokia phones in Egypt in 2022.

The game plan: HMD wants to make 3 mn phones a year in SICO’s factory, with plans to produce smartphones that support 5G in the future, according to Al Borsa. The agreement with SICO entails that 43% of production inputs be locally sourced.

** You can check out our Inside Industry rundown of the localization of our smartphone industry here.

ALSO- HMD also signed an agreement with MNT-Halan to offer installment plans for the Nokia phones.

LOGISTICS-

Egypt-Italy ro-ro line to launch in 1H 2024: The Transport Ministry signed severalagreements with the Italian government yesterday to kick off operations of a ro-ro shipping line during the first half of this year, according to a ministry statement. The line will link Damietta Port with Italy’s Port of Trieste in Italy and aims to facilitate the transport of perishable agricultural commodities to European markets.

MICROFINANCE-

ADIB microfinance arm gets FRA license to operate 13 branches: Arzaq, the microfinance arm of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has secured a license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to launch its sharia-complaint microfinance services in 13 branches across ten governorates, the lender said in a press release (pdf). The microfinance firm plans to up their branch count to 60 across the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt by the end of 2024.

ICYMI- ADIB announced in August that it has secured a license to launch a sharia-compliant microfinance firm from the FRA. The lender at the time said the new company would offer financing of up to EGP 220k to small and micro enterprises and will launch with EGP 25 mn of paid-up capital.

AVIATION-

Hainan Airlines is back: China’s Hainan Airlines touched down in Cairo for the first time in ten years yesterday, Al Borsa reports. The Chinese state-owned airlines announced its intention to reactivate the route with Egypt last month with three weekly flights connecting Cairo and Shenzhen.

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