AUTOMOTIVE-

Egypt to start manufacturing FAW EVs in less than a year: GV Investments’ automotive arm GV auto will start locally manufacturing Chinese state-owned auto manufacturer FAW Group’s cheapest EV model in 1Q 2025, GV Investments Chairman Sherif Hamouda told Bloomberg. The production will mainly target ride-hailing services, he added. The companies will spend up to USD 20 mn on industrial facilities.

Exports on the horizon: Production will “be scaled up over the next three to five years,” Hamouda said, pointing to the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Remember: GV Auto signed a partnership with FAW Group to locally manufacture, assemble, market, distribute and export EVs, earlier this month. The partnership is being backed up with an initial investment of EGP 3 bn.

TELECOM-

Vodafone’s eSIMs are one approval away: Vodafone Egypt is ready to introduce the local market to eSIMs and is only awaiting the greenlight from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority, Foreign and Legal Affairs director Ayman Essam told Asharq Business.

eSIMs? Unlike their physical older brother we’ve been putting in our phones over the years, eSIMs are a digital version of a SIM card that can be put in your phone by scanning a QR code or putting in a code. The newest Apple, Samsung, and Google phones are already eSIM-compatible and many believe it is only a matter of time before physical SIM cards are tossed into the dustbin of history.

There’s more: Vodafone is looking to build 700 new mobile towers in Egypt this year in order to improve the quality of its service, Essam told Asharq. The company has already invested over EGP 7 bn to develop its network in 2024, he told Al Mal.

COMMODITIES-

Government eyes three new markets for wheat imports: The government is looking into importing wheat from Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Sweden, in a bid to diversify its wheat across different continents, an unnamed government official told Asharq Business. Egypt commenced talks with the three potential exporters in late 2023 and it is expected to add the three nations to its list of accredited wheat suppliers in 2025 and 2026, the official added.

Remember: Egypt currently has 22 countries on its list of accredited wheat suppliers. Indiajoined the list in 2022 amid government efforts to diversify its supplies.

ENERGY-

Shell announces considerable gas finds: Two of Shell’s North East El Amriya concession gas fields — Mina West and Khufu — are believed to hold a combined 2 tn cubic feet of gas reserves, one government official told Asharq Business. Shell discovered the two fields last week.

PHARMA-

Pharma warehouses in the pipeline: The government wants to invest EGP 8 bn to set up six strategic warehouses for pharma and med supplies across six governorates including Cairo and Alexandria, Asharq Business reports, citing an unnamed government official. Work on the project is currently underway with delivery expected next year, the official said. The Madbouly government inked a contract with Orascom Construction and its wholly owned subsidiary Weitz for the project last June.

MANUFACTURING-

More investments, exports from Rubex: Plastic and acrylic manufacturer Rubex wants to invest some EGP 150 mn the upcoming fiscal year to help it increase sales and export volumes, chairman Magdy El Taher told Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly during his tour of the company’s factories yesterday, according to a cabinet statement. The company wants to increase exports to 30% of production from their current 20%.

TRADE-

In efforts to boost exports: The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) plans to send trade missions to Libya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar this year to promote Egyptian exports, FEI’s Mohamed El Bahy told Al Arabiya. The first mission is scheduled to visit Libya in late June.

EARNINGS-

Abu Qir Fertilizers’ top line fell 18.8% y-o-y to EGP 14 bn in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, on the back of lower export prices and a dip in fertilizer and ammonia sales, the company said in its earnings release (pdf). The company’s net income for the period fell 3.2% y-o-y to EGP 12.1 bn.

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