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PHARMA-
El Ezaby is on a big expansion push this year: El Ezaby plans to set up 120 new branches in Egypt by the end of the year, which will bring its total presence in the country to 450 branches, CEO Ammar Aklan told Al Borsa. The pharma group has already opened 34 new branches since the beginning of the year, Aklan added.
Remember: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt snapped a 49% stake in El Ezaby last year, with the investment going towards plans to double its branch count to 600.
ENERGY-
Shell Egypt to drill three wells in West Delta: Shell Egypt will begin the 11th development phase of the West Delta Deep Marine offshore concession in 3Q 2024, Shell Egypt said in a press release (pdf). The new phase entails the drilling of three development wells in a move to maximize “the value of the rig mobilization at the site”, the statement read. The project will be carried out alongside the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, and Petronas.
DEVELOPMENT FINANCE-
Ten of the world’s largest multilateral development banks have teamed up for new co-financing platform, dubbed the Global Collaborative Co-Financing Platform, to enable them to “ channel additional capital for development scale and impact.” The platform will create a secure platform for registered co-financiers, allowing them to share their project pipelines, boosting efficiency and transparency in the process.
The banks in question: The World Bank Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Council of Europe Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and the New Development Bank are the ten multilateral development banks behind the project.
DEBT WATCH-
#1- The National Authority for Tunnels wants to borrow EGP 16.3 bn for the Sokhna-Matrouh line: The authority is reportedly seeking a syndicated loan from local banks, led by the National Bank of Egypt, to complete the civil works on line 1 of the Sokhna-Matrouh high-speed rail link project, Asharq Business reports, citing three sources it says have knowledge of the matter.
Remember: The 2k km high-speed rail line links Cairo, Aswan, the North Coast and the Red Sea. The Sokhna-Matrouh connection will feature a passenger line able to carry more than 30 mn people a year as well as a freight line.
The details: The Finance Ministry has already secured the loan guarantee, according to one of the sources. The agreement will be final before the end of 2Q of this year, the two other sources confirmed to the news outlet.
#2-Palm Hills Development is in talks with three banks over an EGP 1.7 bn loan to finance its Palmet Mall project in West Cairo, it said in a disclosure (pdf) to the EGX.
