ENERGY-

#1- New USD 660 mn supply chain company for Alexandria's petrochemicals industry: The Oil Ministry has announced the establishment of Alexandria for Supply Chain Company — a USD 660 mn joint venture aimed at setting up a permanent offshore facility at the Dekheila Port in Alexandria, according to a statement.

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The details: The new company is a collaboration between the state-owned entities Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding, Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals, and Egyptian Natural Gas Company alongside private sector player Gama Construction. The company aims to import 1.1 mn tons of liquefied ethane gas a year, ensuring a steady supply of raw materials for the petrochemical industry in the region.

Remember: Plans to establish a company to facilitate ethane imports emerged in then-unconfirmed reports back in June after Sidpec was forced to shut down operations due to a “lack of feed gasses,” a result of high temperatures, increasing electricity consumption prices, and cuts to the regional gas supply.

#2- Assiut refinery set for a major expansion: The government is reportedly planning to set up a new atmospheric distillation unit at its Assiut oil refinery in 2027, with investments exceeding EGP 10 bn, an unnamed government official told Asharq Business.

What we know: The new unit will have an annual capacity of 5 mn tons of crude oil and also include a facility for producing butane cooking gas. The expansion is part of a broader plan to upgrade the Assiut refinery, which currently has an annual capacity of 4.5 mn tons.

HEALTHCARE-

Updates on China’s CSCEC planned medical city: The General Organization for Teaching Hospitals and Institutes has inked an MoU with Chinese state-owned construction firm China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) to design and construct its planned medical city off the Ain Sokhna Road that we first heard about back in March, according to a ministry statement.

The details: The project will house around 300 clinics, research centers, central laboratories, a blood bank, and other services — it will have a total capacity of more than 4.2k beds. Establishing a residential area to house staff and a hotel to cater to medical tourism is also part of the plan.

Remember: Egypt has been trying to position itself as a medical tourism hub to attract FDI and to open fresh FX revenue streams from patients from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe coming here for treatment.

EGX-

EGX speeds up capital increases: Cabinet has issued an amendment to the Capital Market Law that reduces the minimum subscription period for capital increases to 15 days from 30, according to an EGX bulletin. The amendment also allows the subscription period to end once all existing shareholders have fully subscribed to their allotted shares.

DEBT-

#1- Creditors pressure Ibn Sina Pharma to offload assets: Ibn Sina Pharma plans to sell EGP 900 mn worth of assets to settle part of its outstanding debt after banks demanded that the pharma distributor reduce its debt-to-equity ratio, Al Shorouk reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The company’s net debt climbed to EGP 4.1 bn in 1Q 2024, up from EGP 3.9 bn a year earlier, as it worked toward a “debt optimization strategy [that relies] on spontaneous financing,” it said in its latest earnings release (pdf). Meanwhile, net debt-to-equity stood at 2.7x in 1Q 2024, down from 2.9x in the previous quarter.

#2- EEHC seeks loan to pay off gov’t dues: The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) is reportedly getting a 5-year EGP 20 bn syndicated loan, led by the National Bank of Egypt, Al Shorouk reports, citing banking sector sources. Guaranteed by the Finance Ministry, the loan will be used to pay off the company’s debt to the government.

TECH-

Mobi Egypt to set up data center in KSA: Telecom infrastructure company Mobi Egypt plans to set up a data center in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Saudi ICT solutions firm Al Rajhi Telecom, AlMal reports, citing Mobi Egypt Chairman and CEO Emad El Fakharany. Mobi Egypt aims to capture 20% of the Saudi telecom infrastructure services market, he added. The company also wants to grow its annual business volume — which currently stands at EGP 500 mn — by 30% next year.

BANKING-

Remittances made easy: Customers can now receive and disburse transfers in both USD and EGP across 20 Banque du Caire branches, under a partnership between the bank and Western Union Egypt’s official agent IBAG, according to a press release (pdf).

TOURISM-

Meta-powered tourism: A virtual reality project by tech giant Meta and the Tourism Ministry will soon be launched at the Egyptian Museum in Downtown Cairo and the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, according to a ministry statement. The project will see the museums use VR to recreate the original appearances of select artifacts, allowing visitors to view these simulations through specific apps on their smartphones.

More to come? The Tourism Ministry and Meta are also discussing ways to leverage metaverse technology to promote local tourism destinations.

AVIATION-

Almost daily flights between Istanbul and Cairo: AJet — the low-cost carrier under Turkish Airlines — has launched flights between Istanbul and Cairo for the summertime, the airline said in a statement. Flights will operate five days a week — the first flight took off on Friday.

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