Good morning dearest reader and happy THURSDAY. We are happy to be joining you on this long weekend — which is set to be our last one for the summer, until late September when we down tools for Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND - Stay in Sahel, people: Our forecast today expects more heat, with the mercury hitting 39°C in the morning and cooling down to 26°C at night. We can expect the temperature to stay at 39°C and drop to a cooler 25°C tomorrow, while on Saturday, the temperatures will rise even further to 40°C and dip to 25°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.
If you — like us — are dreading the hot weather but want to stay busy, how about spending the weekend literally under the sea?
As one of the best scuba diving locations on the planet, one of Egypt’s biggest attractions is its rich and diverse diving industry. Our Enterprise Guide for the week will have you covered with everything you need to know before getting started with diving in Egypt — from the certifications you’ll need to the biggest and best training centers.
Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.
LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS- Despite its brevity, this week was packed with news on the economy, M&A , and energy fronts, along with big updates from the manufacturing sector.
THERE WAS A SINGLE STORY ON THE MACRO FRONT- Foreign direct investments more than doubled in 2022 to USD 11.4 bn as a result of more cross-border M&A and an increase in greenfield projects, according to the latest UN World Investment Report (pdf).
AND ON THE IPO FRONT- Second Qalaa Holdings IPO: Qalaa Holdings wants to take its printing subsidiary public on our bourse. T he company is close to complying with the EGX’s listing requirements and will begin trading through a direct listing. T he company plans to submit its registration documents to the EGX and the Financial Regulatory Authority by October, and will then have six months to start trading.
THERE WAS A LOT MORE M&A ACTIVITY-
#1- Al Ahly Momkn is getting interest: Tana Africa, Lorax Capital Partners, and US-based Ultra Capital have been reportedly bidding for a 25% stake in the state-owned e-payments company. .
#2- Meanwhile, Maersk is mulling ownership of the Zafarana wind farm: Danish shipping giant Maersk has made an offer to the government to acquire the 545-MW Zafarana wind farm for the purpose of using the energy created in its own green hydrogen projects.
#3- Sidpec news resurfaced, too, as the merger with Ethydco is happening. Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals Company’s (Sidpec) board has signed off on the company’s all-share merger with the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco), after approving Baker Tilly’s company assertion. Sidpec, which currently owns 20% of Ethydco, has been in the process of acquiring the remaining shares in the company since last year. The firm said that it plans to finalize the merger by the end 3Q 2023.
#4- MTI joins with B Investments to invest in pharma sector: EGX-listed firm MM Group for Industry and International Trade(MTI) is set to acquire a 40% stake in B Investments subsidiary B Pharma for some EGP 205 mn.
AND MORE ENERGY UPDATES-
#1- ACWA ♥️ Sohag: Renewable energy giant ACWA Power inked a land allocation agreement with the Ministry of Electricity to establish a 10-GW wind farm, which is set to be one of the largest in the world.
#2- GREGY, one of five proposed Egypt-Europe interconnectors being considered, is looking for a bankroller: Egypt is in discussions with Greece on where they can get the funding to complete the 3-GW Egypt-Greece Interconnector . Among the options: a EUR 1.5 bn soft loan from the EU, funding from Greece in exchange for power at a reduced cost, or private sector in exchange for returns on the transmitted electricity The 3 GW link will stretch from Wadi El Natrun, across the Mediterranean and directly to mainland Greece.
#3- SolarizEgypt is shopping for USD 40-50 mn in solar PV projects across our continent by the end of 2023, as part of their expansion plans that look to add 80 MW to their clean energy portfolio.
CAPITAL MARKETS-
Beltone wrapped up huge capital increase: Investors have subscribed to 100% of Beltone Financial’s EGP 10 bn capital increase, which sees global institutional investors taking stakes in the investment bank. The increase was 98% covered during the first phase of subscription which ended last week. The remaining shares were bought during a second subscription phase, which closed on Wednesday.
DEBT WATCH-
#1- New Urban Communities Authority’s (NUCA) EGP 15 bn securitized bond issuance is done and dusted. It is the largest securitization this year, thus far, and is the maiden issuance in a EGP 30 bn program.
#2- IFC is doling out a five-year USD 50 mn shariah-compliant facility to ADIB. This Murabaha facility is slated for financing SMEs and to support their adoption of sustainable development-focused initiatives .
#3- EFG Hermes closes EGP 472.5 mn securitized bond issuance for PHD: Real estate developer Palm Hills Development (PHD) has closed a EGP 472.5 mn securitized bond issuance. EFG Hermes acted as sole financial advisor, bookrunner, and underwriter on the sale. The three-tranche issuance carries tenors of 13, 36, and 84 months, rated AA+ through A by Middle East Rating & Investors Service. This issuance brings PHD’s total issued securitized bonds to EGP 1.1 bn in 2023.
MANUFACTURING-
#1- French rail manufacturer Alstom plans to invest some EUR 300 mn in Egypt over the next three years to establish two factories in Borg El Arab to produce electrical systems and metro and monorail rolling stock.
#2- More investment into the local fertilizer sector could be on the way: The General Authority for the Economic Zone of the Golden Triangle has received three offers from local and international investors to establish fertilizer complexes in the ‘Golden Triangle’ in Red Sea governorate. The three facilities would require a combined USD 1.6 bn of investment, he said.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

The National Dialogue returns: The National Dialogue will continue its sessions on Tuesday, 25 July. The dialogue kicked off in May, holding three weekly sessions discussing political, economic, and social issues. Sessions have been on pause since the Eid Al Adha break.
The US Federal Reserve interest rate meeting on 25-26 July has the world biting its nails in anticipation of whether the FOMC intends to raise the rates, after keeping them steady for the first time in 15 months in their meeting in June. Some 92% of industry experts predict that rates will rise by 25 bps, Forbes reports, citing CME Group data . This comes as the Fed reports that the inflation rate has “cooled” and the road towards recession averted.
Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.
YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS-
- The Forbes Middle East’s 2023 list of top women behind tech brands in the region got plenty of clicks. ( Forbes)
- News of MM Group’s acquisition of B Investments subsidiary B Pharma for EGP 205 mn also captured a lot of attention. ( Disclosure, pdf)
- Former a16z partner Ben Evans’ brilliant blog on AI and the automation of work, which is among the more nuanced pieces we’ve read in a while, was another crowd puller.
- Egypt’s performance on the World Investment Report — which saw us double our FDI in 2022 — was another crowd-puller. ( Report)
- The FRA’s adjustments to its fintech license regulations also continued to grab attention. ( Statement)
AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-
Among the biggest news driving headlines this week: Russia pulling out of the Black Sea grain pact. The move threatens to spark renewed volatility in global food prices, after the Kremlin pulled out, claiming that “the part of the Black Sea agreement that concerns Russia has not yet been fulfilled.”
El Niño has also captured a lot of attention: Global temperatures soaring to new records continued to make waves across the foreign press .
China’s 2Q growth figures were a big disappointment . The nation’s growth saw minimal improvement due to slowing exports, dwindling retail sales, and a challenged real-estate market. GDP grew at a meager 6.3%, while q-o-q growth clocked in at 0.8%. Unemployment rose to 21.3% in June, an increase from 20.8% in May. These factors suggest that policymakers will push to strengthen the economy to recover just six months after the covid-19 restrictions were removed.
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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.
Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.
Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.
** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.
TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.
Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-
Get ready for the New Alamein Festival 2023: Tamer Hosny will take the stage for El Alamein Festival’s first concert at El Alamein Arena on Friday, 21 July at 8pm. You can book your tickets now on Tazkarti.
HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-
Dress to the nines for a night of fine music. Hisham Kharma will be having a concert at the Cairo Opera House on Wednesday, 26 July at the Open Air theater starting 8:30pm. Tickets are available on TicketsMall website.
Cairokee Empire returns: Cairokee is hitting the stage with two mega-concerts at New Cairo’s Manara Arena on Thursday, 27 July and Saturday, 29 July. Tickets are available on Tazkarti here and here.


