Author Archives: enterpriseam admin

** #2 Maait confirms Egypt is considering RMB-, JPY-denominated bonds next year: Finance Minister Mohamed Maait confirmed our exclusive report from Sunday, telling Bloomberg in an interview yesterday that Egypt is considering JPY- and RMB-denominated bond issuances in 1Q2019, alongside USD offerings, in a bid to diversify its sources of funding and attract new investors […]

** #3 LEGISLATION WATCH- Welcome to the great licensing binge of 2018. While committees have been at work for weeks now, the House of Representatives convened for its first general assembly of the new legislative season only yesterday. Licensing and regulation are clearly high on the minds of our elected representatives, whether it’s in the […]

REGULATION WATCH- Supreme Media Council announces temporary licensing regs for news websites that set permit fees at EGP 50k every five years: News websites whose capital exceeds EGP 100k will have to pay a EGP 50,000 licensing fee every five years, according to new regulations the Supreme Media Council announced yesterday. Applicants for news website […]

** #4 Metro ticket prices could rise again, and the House is not happy: A fresh round of ticket price hikes for Cairo Metro riders could be coming soon to help sustain the “costly but necessary” maintenance of the rails, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat hinted on MBC Masr (watch, runtime: 04:09). The minister said the […]

** #5 Are the Russians finally going to life their ban on direct flights to the Red Sea? A Russian aviation security delegation will reportedly be in town this week to inspect security measures at Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada airports, sources at the Sharm airport said yesterday, according to Al Masry Al Youm. No […]

** #6 The author of a forthcoming book critical of Egypt’s economy is said to have been arrested for allegedly “publishing false news,” Reuters reports, citing security officials and the author’s wife. Abdel Khalek Farouk is the author of “Is Egypt Really a Poor Country?”, draft copies of which have allegedly been seized from his […]

IPO WATCH- Nozha Group considering IPO: Real estate and education investment holding firm Nozha Group is considering an IPO and is currently shopping for investment bankers to lead the transaction, CEO Abdallah Elmaghrabi told Al Mal. Elmaghrabi did not specify a timeframe for the offering or disclose which banks are in the running for the […]

M&A WATCH- Suez Cement to hire financial advisor for valuation of white cement plant: Suez Cement’s board of directors signed off on the hiring of an independent financial advisor to come up with a fair value report on the Helwan Cement-owned white cement plant that it had agreed to sell to Emaar Industries, according to […]

** #7 IFLR MENA awards 2018: Mona Zulficar wins lifetime achievement; Sharkawy & Sarhan Egyptian law firm of the year: The International Financial Law Review (IFLR) held its Middle East 2018 awards in Dubai last Wednesday. Mona Zulficar, the founding partner of Zulficar & Partners, became both the first Egyptian and the first woman to […]

EARNINGS WATCH- Dairy products and juice producer Juhayna reported net profits of EGP 120 mn in 3Q2018 (+83% y-o-y) on revenues of EGP 1.9 bn (+15%), the company said in its earnings release (pdf). The company pointed to tight cost discipline as a key factor in its bottom-line performance.