The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending Egypt USD 200 mn to “finance the modernization of selected gas infrastructure facilities.” The EBRD loan “will be extended to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and its subsidiary Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) to fund the introduction of state-of-the-art technologies to recover waste heat from gas turbines used to drive gas compressors. The recovered heat will be used to produce additional energy, which will drive new electric compressors and replace fuels on-site. The introduction of new technology will lead to a reduction of over 250,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year.” Oil Minister Tarek El Molla says “the EBRD will also provide technical assistance in addition to the USD 200 mn loan, which will contribute to the upgrading of gas metering systems throughout the Egyptian gas transmission network, a key step towards an efficient and cost conscious use of energy.”

IPO WATCH- Al Tawfik Leasing Co. (AT Lease) shares officially start trading on the EGX today, making it the single company of its kind to be listed on the Egyptian bourse. The final price was set at EGP 6.6 per share. AT Lease’s institutional offering, valued at EGP 95.04 mn for 14.4 mn shares, was 40.16x oversubscribed, sole coordinator and bookrunner Pharos Holding said in a press release (pdf), “with a total of EGP 3.8 bn orders received from Egyptian financial institutions, investment funds, and HNWI.” The retail tranche of 4.8 mn shares was covered 28x and valued at EGP 31.68 mn, with EGP 887 mn-worth of orders received. AT Lease listed 24% of its shares on the EGX in order to expand its shareholder base, “provide an orderly and fair mechanism of new shareholders’ exit and entry through the capital market, and diversify funding sources for the purpose of cost and risk reduction,” Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Tarek Fahmy said.

M&A WATCH- UAE-based hospital group NMC Healthcare is reportedly in talks to acquire Alameda Healthcare, sources told Al Mal. Fahad Khater’s Alameda owns shares in the Dar Al Fouad and As-Salam International Hospitals in Egypt. The transaction could be executed through share-swap through which NMC would take over Alameda and its shareholders would get shares in NMC. Zaki Hashem & Partners are reportedly the legal advisors to NMC, Al Mal reports, adding that no financial advisors are on board yet.

A subsidiary of El Sewedy Electric was awarded the tender to provide electricity transmission lines connecting Borg El Arab with Marsa Matrouh, according to a bourse disclosure. The lines will be 255 km long, El Sewedy added. The company said the project will be developed over six months.

The Agricultural Exports Council is looking to hire Spanish or Dutch inspectors to examine Egyptian cargo for residual pesticides before it’s shipped for export, council head Abdel Hamid El Demerdash tells Al Borsa. Negotiations are ongoing with labs from both countries that have already submitted offers and an agreement will be signed soon, he added, explaining that the newly-hired lab will work in conjunction with local inspectors to ensure the quality of exported Egyptian produce. A single sample will cost between EGP 1,400-1,500 to examine, he also said. The news comes one day after Saudi Arabia declared a temporary ban on imports of Egyptian guavas due to above-average levels of pesticide residues.

Egyptian quarantine authorities have not received official notice of Saudi’s guava ban, Agricultural Ministry spokesman Hamed Abdel Dayem said yesterday. Saudi Arabia had banned Egyptian peppers last December — prompting the UAE and Kuwait to follow suit — and then slapped a separate ban on Egyptian strawberries in July, after both products were found to contain high levels of residual pesticides. Since then, the Agriculture Ministry has been imposing more stringent quality assurance measures on exports to the GCC and had said in July that guava shipments would be subject Global Good Agricultural Practices standards as of this season. A fact-finding mission from Saudi is reportedly visiting the country soon to determine whether or not to lift the ban on strawberries and peppers.

The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) purchased 180k tonnes of Russian wheat in an international tender yesterday. GASC refused to disclose additional detail on the transaction, but traders tell Reuters’ Arabic service that the authority purchased 120k tonnes at a total cost of USD 207.5 per tonne and another 60k tonnes at a total cost of USD 209.6 per tonne.

UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash suggested yesterday that Arab countries need to band together under the joint leadership of Cairo and Riyadh to fend off Turkey and Iran’s attempts to force their geopolitical ambitions on the region. On his Twitter feed yesterday, Gargash says that Arab nations refuse to be led by Tehran and Ankara, who are only looking to “expand their regional influence” and “fulfill sectarian and partisan goals” at Arab populations’ expense, calling for unity and coordination between Arab states and leaders. Bloomberg also has coverage.