INVESTMENT-

#1- EKH may be interested in getting in on the state’s privatization program: Our friends at EGX-listed investment company Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKH) have taken an interest in and are open to investing in stakes in companies being offered up by the state asset sale program, EKH chairman Loay Jassim Al Kharafi told Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly yesterday, according to a cabinet statement.

That’s not all: EKH wants to set up electricity distribution stations under build-own-transfer agreements with the government. The investment company also has its eyes set on completing work on its hotel project in Arish and other touristic investments in the city. EKH is also gearing up to soon run trial operations at a new USD 120 mn factory for producing MDF wood.

#2- SEII to invest USD 20 mn in Egypt this year:Saudi Egyptian Industrial Investment (SEII) is set to invest some USD 20 mn into Egypt’s market this year, with a particular focus on industrial projects, Al Borsa reports, citing company CEO Ahmed Ata.

STARTUPS-

#1- Sawari Ventures looks to invest USD 150 mn in local startups: Cairo-based venture capital firm Sawari Ventures is setting up a new USD 150 mn fund for Egyptian startups, the company’s managing partner Hany Al Sonbaty told Al Arabiya Business. The fund will be primarily interested in investing in fintech, edtech, and healthtec companies, Al Sonbaty added.

#2- Fincart to open up regional HQ in KSA: Local shipping and financing solutionsprovider Fincart plans to open its regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia during the second quarter of the year, CEO Mostafa Masry told Al Mal. The startup also aims to launch operations throughout the whole of GCC by 2025 and in Morocco, Kenya, and Ethiopia later down the line, Masry said. The startup will soon close a funding round, which will be spent on improving its tech infrastructure and marketing.

Fincart? The startup connects small businesses with local and international shipping companies, helping them scale up operations and has plans to work with fintech firms and banks to provide financing to small and micro enterprises.

CAPITAL MARKETS-

Another gold investment fund from Evolve? Evolve Investment Holding wants tolaunch another gold investment fund during the first half of the year, CEO Sameh El Torgoman told Asharq Business. The company launched the country’s first gold fund with Azimut in May 2023 and launched another — dubbed Beltone Evolve Gold — with Beltone Securities Holding last month.

ENERGY-

Tamar gas field to expand production 60%: Chevron’s Tamar gas field in Israel — which also supplies gas to Egypt and Jordan — will increase daily production to o 1.6 bn cubic feet per day, from a current 1 bn cubic feet per day, Reuters reports, citing the American oil and gas giant.

DEBT-

Marakez’s District 5 is getting a EGP 1.2 bn loan from NBE and Banque Misr: Fawaz Alhokair Group’s real estate and mall developer subsidiary Marakez is seeking a long-term, syndicated loan of EGP 1.2 bn from the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr to fund its New Cairo project District 5, Al Mal reported, citing sources it says are in the know. The loan agreement is expected to be signed in March.

MINING-

Shalateen’s gold deliveries to the central bank up 14% in 2023: The state-owned Shalateen Mineral Resources Company has delivered 720 kg of gold — worth EGP 1.3 bn (USD 42 mn) — to the Central Bank of Egypt in 2023, Asharq Business reported, citing an anonymous government source. The 14% y-o-y increase is below half of the targeted 32% increase to 830 kg announced by the company’s chairman in July.

Looking ahead: The company now targets to boost its 2024 deliveries by around 40% to reach 1 ton of gold, the source added.

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