REAL ESTATE-

Mountain View launches Saudi expansion with acquisition of Riyadh land plot: Egyptian real estate player Mountain View has acquired its first plot of land in a “strategic location” in Riyadh in partnership with Saudi developers Maya Real Estate Development and Investment and Al Saedan Real Estate, marking the first step toward Mountain View’s expansion into the kingdom, the company said in a statement.

Just the start, say Mountain View: The Riyadh acquisition will be followed soon by other land acquisitions in the kingdom, and it has its eyes on other neighboring markets, according to the developer.

TRANSPORT-

More details on the Metro Line 1 upgrades: The consortium of Orascom Construction, Hitachi, and French firm Colas Rail will start working on developing Metro Line 1 in October and for a 64-month period, according to a statement (pdf) from Orascom Construction. The development will come with a EUR 800 mn price tag, which will be funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and the French Development Agency.

Who’s doing what? Orascom Construction and Colas Rail will modernize the electric power supply, catenary, and electromechanical systems in stations, tunnels, and on the rail track. Meanwhile, Hitachi Rail will modernize the signaling, control, and telecom infrastructure.

ICYMI: The consortium inked an agreement with the National Tunnels Authority last week to take over the development project.

ENERGY-

Electricity thieves, beware: The Electricity Ministry has increased the fine for electricity theft — it will be calculated based on the household’s average consumption over the past 12 months according to the highest consumption bracket, according to a decision issued by the Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency.

Remember: Following the latest increase, the higher end of electricity tariffs for households sits between EGP 0.68 and EGP 2.23 per kWH.

LOGISTICS-

Progress on the Galala Marina: The Red Sea Ports Authority is set to ink the final contract with local marine retail chain nauTix for the management, operation, and upgrading of the Galala Marina this month, a source close to the agreement told Enterprise. The Transport Ministry is currently reviewing the contracts ahead of giving them the greenlight, the source added.

Remember: The Red Sea Ports Authority signed an MoU with nauTix in July. The MoU grants the company a 15-year renewable contract for managing the marina, with a USD 10 mn investment planned over the next decade. The Transport Ministry will receive 60% of the income after two years.

** Read more: We dove into all things Galala Marina and Egypt’s goals to become a global yacht hotspot in a HardHat published earlier this summer.

ENERGY-

HBS to pump USD 65 mn into gas production in 2024: Tunisian-owned oil and gas company HBS International plans to invest USD 65 mn in gas development and production in the southwest El Alamein area of the Western Desert this year, Asharq Business reports, citing an unnamed government official. The company is aiming to increase its gas production by 167% to 40 mn cubic ft per day by next October, up from 15 mn cubic ft per day currently.

This is good news for the Oil Ministry: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced last month that the oil minister hasbeen tasked with meeting with foreign energy players with the aim of boosting local production starting early 2025. After months of blackouts and then coughing up USD 1.2 bn to put a temporary halt to outages over the summer months, the government has been noticeably more proactive in its efforts to try to get local energy production rates back on the up.

The Oil Ministry is hoping that incentives can persuade energy players to up production and investment: Last week, the government announced its intention to commit to monthly payments to foreign oil and gas companies in addition to offering foreign companies higher prices for the gas that they produce from their concessions on the provision they increase output

INVESTMENT-

Mubasher has big plans for next year: Mubasher Capital plans to launch six new investment funds next year, the firm’s regional head of investment Abdel Moneim Omran told Al Borsa. The set of funds will include a healthcare fund, an education-focussed fund, a real estate-focussed fund, a shariah-compliant investment fund, and a fund that tracks EGX indexes. The company also has plans to launch regional funds over the coming two years.

Also in the pipeline: Mubasher plans to launch two funds this year that include a gold fund with Evolve Investment Holding — it is waiting for the greenlight from the Financial Regulatory Authority after submitting a request to launch the fund — and a USD fixed-income fund.

HEALTHCARE-

El Sisi directs gov’t to add 8.5 mn individuals to national health ins. program: An additional 8.5 mn beneficiaries of Takaful and Karama and informal workers in the construction sector will be added under the national health ins. umbrella per a directive from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi covered in a statement from the presidency. The additional workers are expected to cost the state some EGP 10 bn per year, with the government considering how to include more irregular workers in coming phases of the ins. program’s expansion.

Remember: Improving healthcare is a key aim of the new Madbouly cabinet for the coming three years, with the government planning to expand health ins. coverage to reach 85% of the population by 2026-2027.

LABOR-

Workers at Samnoud Textiles continue their strike in a bid to push the company to institute the government-mandated minimum wage, Ahram Online reports. The company rejected the workers’ demands Thursday, instead offering one-time bonuses of between EGP 100-200 — an offer that workers, in turn, rejected as insufficient to address soaring inflation and the rising cost of living. The company’s management has requested an exemption from the requirement from the relevant state authorities and is waiting for a decision from the Complaints Committee of the National Council for Wages.

Remember: The National Council for Wages announced that it would be raising the minimumwage for private sector workers from EGP 3.5k to EGP 6k a month starting May.

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