Author Archives: enterpriseam admin

M&A WATCH- Beltone to launch acquisition bid for West African consumer finance provider Oragroup: Beltone Financial’s board approved in principle on Saturday launching a bid to acquire a significant interest in African banking and financial holding company Oragroup, which serves 400k customers in 12 countries, mostly in West Africa. (You can check out the company’s […]

INVESTMENT WATCH- Saudi Arabia’s Zadna is planning to invest EGP 2 bn to produce and sell Egyptian dates and olives, Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil said in a statement. The company has already begun planting palm trees on a 1,000 feddan plot in the Bahariya Oasis and will soon begin building a facility to […]

INVESTMENT WATCH- ExxonMobil is eyeing expansion opportunities in Africa, now that oil prices are on the rise again, according to the Africa Report. “The company wants to reinvest in Africa, partly to compete against Eni and Total and to not leave them to dominate the continent,” says OCP Policy Center research associate Francis Perrin. “ExxonMobil […]

State-owned Banque Misr has reportedly tapped Citigroup to arrange a USD 500 mn syndicated loan, sources close to the matter tell Reuters. Banque Misr Chairman Mohamed El Etreby said earlier this month that the bank had hired an international institution to manage a USD 500 mn facility it was looking to secure by 3Q2018 to […]

EARNINGS WATCH- SODIC reported a net profit after tax and minority interest of EGP 212 mn in 1Q2018, with a net profit margin of 41%, the company said in its earnings release (pdf). Net contracted sales grew 9% y-o-y to EGP 1.2 bn, largely driven by a pickup in sales of non-residential developments, as the […]

OC’s US arm wins contract for Arizona airport Sky Train: Orascom Construction announced on Thursday that its US subsidiary, the Weitz Company, won a tender from Bombardier to design and build the second phase of the expansion of the PHX Sky Train guideway and maintenance facility at Arizona’s Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “The scope […]

CABINET WATCH- Egypt’s trade deficit narrowed by 11% y-o-y to EGP 26.8 bn in 9M2017-18, from EGP 30 bn in the same period last year, said Planning Minister Hala El Said during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, according to an official statement. Non-oil exports for the nine-month period rose 12% y-o-y to EGP 17.5 bn, up from […]

LEGISLATION WATCH- “Community dialogue” on rent control coming soon: The House Housing Committee will start holding within days a series of “community dialogue” sessions on potential amendments to legislation governing rent control, MP Ismail Nasr El Din said, according to Ahram Gate. The committee will then open debate on the bill before deciding if and […]

LEGISLATION WATCH- New Foreign Campuses Act widens Higher Education Ministry's oversight: The draft of a new act, which sets the rules for foreign universities opening campuses in Egypt, appears to give the Higher Education Ministry sweeping oversight powers, according to a leaked copy of the act published by Al Ahram. Under the new law, the […]

From the department of laws that will never be followed — Supreme Media Council bans use of anonymous sources: The Supreme Media Council issued a directive to all media outlets on Saturday banning the use of anonymous sources. The directive, which offered little explanation for the move beyond cutting down on fake news, claims that […]