Blumberg Grain seeks resolution with Egypt: Prime Minister Sherif Ismail has tasked the Justice Ministry’s Arbitration and International Disputes to assess Blumberg Grain’s demand for the government to disburse the remainder of what is owed for the first phase of the shouna development project, Al Borsa reports. A source told Al Borsa that Blumberg Grain has submitted an official request to settle its dispute with the Supply Ministry and to receive what it is owed for the first phase. We noted in February that “the government failed to get phase one of Blumberg Grain’s shouna program up and running in time for the harvest and was forced to then rely on what state investigators said were ‘unscrupulous’ private storage facilities, the operators of which were later investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office.” However, Al Borsa says that Blumberg could resume its operations in Egypt if the dispute is settled and its representatives have already met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during his most recent trip to the US. Blumberg Grain has reportedly refused to fall under the jurisdiction of the Supply Ministry and asked for the only oversight over its operations to be from the Armed Forces’ Engineering Authority. Sources added that the Justice Ministry’s representatives are reviewing Blumberg Grain’s request and will move forward with a response “within days.”
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CIB has agreed to sell a 13.7% stake in CI Capital, CI Capital CEO Mahmoud Attalla said yesterday, according to Reuters. Attalla said agreements were reached to sell 10% to one local investor and 3.7% to another, without naming either of the buyers. CIB had completed the sale of 74.75% of CI Capital’s shares to a consortium of investors in March for EGP 710.16 mn. Attalla said CI Capital aims to increase its assets under management by 25% to EGP 10 bn this year and is planning a capital increase in 1Q2018. “CI Capital also plans to launch a company in the fourth quarter of this year that will focus on funding microfinance projects, Attalla said.” Head of Brokerage Karim Khadr said the investment bank is also in talks with a Saudi partner to execute transactions for foreign clients there directly and expects the agreement to close within a month. A similar agreement in the UAE is also expected to close in 4Q2017, Khadr adds, according to Al Borsa. He notes that CI Capital has applied for licences to allow it to execute trades in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Attalla added that CI Capital is also looking to expand to South Africa within two years.
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IPO WATCH- Green Valley Group is looking to list on the EGX in the upcoming period, Chairman Sayed El Sammak told Al Mal. Green Valley plants, processes, and exports peanuts and owns agricultural, cleaning and sizing, processing, financial, and trading subsidiaries. There is no exact date for the planned listing, but El Sammak says it would be by 2018 at the least, and that the company is nearing an agreement with EFG Hermes to run the transaction. The company will use the proceeds of the capital increase to expand its investment in land reclamation and purchase land in East Owainat. According to Al Mal, the El Sammak family are the largest shareholders of Green Valley. Other shareholders include Saudi investors Abdul Monem Al Rashed and Walid Abunamay, who control 23% and 11%, respectively, and Catalyst Partners, which holds 3% of Green Valley’s shares.
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M&A Watch- The Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) greenlit Cleopatra Hospital’s acquisition of 46.32% of Cairo Specialized Hospital on Sunday, Al Mal reports. The transaction will bring Cleopatra’s total holdings in Cairo Specialized Hospital to 99.04% from 52.72% today.
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M&A Watch- Qalaa Holdings announced it completed the sale of 100% of its stake in ASEC Cement Algeria to an unnamed Algerian investor for an estimated USD 60 mn. Qalaa Holdings says it indirectly owned 37% of ASEC Cement Algeria’s shares.
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M&A Watch- Shalakany Law announced it assisted Engie as the sole sell side legal advisor in the transaction to sell its Egyptian E&P assets to Neptune Oil & Gas. Private equity-backed Neptune had agreed to acquire a majority stake in Engie’s E&P assets globally for USD 3.9 bn on Thursday, Reuters reported, with the expectation that the deal, which includes assets in Egypt, Algeria, Germany, and the North Sea will close in 1Q2018. Aly El Shalakany, the lead partner from Shalakany acting on the transaction, said: “We are very pleased to have successfully assisted Engie, a long standing client of the firm, with this strategic disposal, which marks a key step in its shift away from oil and gas to more regulated businesses in the power sector.”
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EARNINGS WATCH- GB Auto swung to a net loss of EGP 154.5 mn on revenues of EGP 2.96 bn in 1Q17 compared a net profit of EGP 28.6 mn a year ago. GB Auto CEO Raouf Ghabbour said that while the market was paralyzed during January and February, “March gave us a sign that consumers might be willing to adjust to new price levels. A targeted round of promotions during the month saw volumes pick up to c.50% of what they’ve been historically — a huge lift from figures coming out of January and February.” The company’s motorcycles and three-wheelers, tires and financing businesses, among others, all performed well. The company’s full earnings newsletter is here (pdf).
Property developer MNHD reported a surge in both its top and bottom line, with 1Q17 net income up nearly 500% to EGP 407 mn on revenues of EGP 752 mn. ““In our first full quarter post the float of the Egyptian Pound, we are seeing strong signs that demand for real estate remains resilient as evidenced by our ability to continue driving revenue and net profit growth period-on-period,” said MNHD CEO Ahmed El Hitamy. “Egypt’s favorable demographics and consumers’ continued confidence in property as a safe investment have negated fears that the market would be adversely affected post the float. On the contrary, now priced at a discount compared to regional peers, Egypt’s real estate offerings are becoming increasingly attractive to Egyptian expatriates alongside strong local demand.” MNHD’s earnings release is here in full (pdf).
Also reporting earnings:
- Oriental Weavers recorded a 128% y-o-y increase in net income to EGP 235 mn in 1Q2017. The company’s net sales increased by 73% y-o-y to EGP 2.52 bn. Oriental Weavers says it is moving ahead “with plans to add eight to ten state-of-the-art weaving looms to meet international demand” and expand its product range.
- Amer Group reported a slight decrease of 5% y-o-y in consolidated net profit to EGP 64 mn in 1Q2017, with revenues increasing by 11% y-o-y to EGP 603 mn, according to the company’s earnings release.
- Porto Group Holding reported a 193% y-o-y increase in consolidated net profit to EGP 83 mn in 1Q2017. Revenues rose by 123% y-o-y to EGP 426 mn.
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President Abdel Fattah El Sisi addressed a range of economic and political issues yesterday and took questions from audience members as he inaugurated yesterday development projects in Qena. El Sisi reiterated the importance of pressing ahead with economic reforms such as the EGP float and the introduction of new taxes and said the short-term difficulties citizens face are the price we will pay for long-term benefits.
The state is struggling to keep up with spikes in the consumption of basic commodities including wheat, he said, but is working to keep price increases under control. The president also said that the government should provide citizens with the full truth on the state of the economy to keep them in the loop with and understand all related developments.
The president also ordered the Interior Ministry and Armed Forces to regain control of illegally acquire state lands by the end of the month, saying governors are responsible for ensuring these violations do not happen in the first place.
On the political front, El Sisi called for comprehensive regional cooperation to ensure sustainable development in the area. You can watch the ceremony and Sisi’s remarks in full here (runtime 2:57:46).
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The Canadian Embassy in Cairo issued a statement yesterday denying changes to Canada’s policy on refugee protection claims from Egypt and other countries, saying the information is “fake and inaccurate.” The embassy’s statement comes after a policy announcement on what appears to as to be the legitimate site of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) said claims for refugee protection from Canada filed in Egypt and other countries are eligible for expedited processing. We’ll poke into this further today, as the TLD for the website in question (.gc.ca) comes back as entirely legitimate on first glance when you run a Whois. We’re presuming the issue is that someone, somewhere has mistaken the IRB’s statement as meaning that an Egyptian can apply for refugee status from Egypt, which by definition isn’t the case.
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