**#1 FinMin mulls tapping Asian liquidity with issuance of JPY-, CNY-denominated bonds: The Finance Ministry appears to have revived plans to hold a foreign currency-denominated bond issuance, according to remarks by Finance Minister Mohamed Maait in an interview with state-owned daily Al Ahram. The Finance Ministry had earlier suggested it may back away from FX-denominated issuances as the global selloff in emerging markets assets prompted concerns about Egypt’s foreign debt position. The Madbouly government had said this summer that it would revisit the bond issuance this fall and has since made debt-control a key fiscal policy.

Ministry dusts off plan for JPY- and CNY-denominated bonds: The ministry appears to be reviving a plan to issue international bonds in the Japanese and / or Chinese currencies. Maait suggested Asian markets are liquid and would have appetite for Egyptian issuances. The plan was first proposed in January 2017, with sources saying at the time saying the ministry had reached out to the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation for a guarantee on JPY-denominated bonds.

Roadshow in the GCC for longer tenor bonds: Maait also hinted that the ministry could be taking a longer-tenor bond offering to the Gulf Cooperation Council markets. He implied that the ministry was planning a road show there, though he gave no details on the timing. Issuing longer tenor bonds is a key plank of the government’s debt control strategy.

Analysts see central bank leaving rates on hold when it meets a week from Thursday: Where once the orthodoxy was that the central bank would cut rates heading into the fourth quarter, now the pundits see rates left on hold — and you can thank the Emerging Markets Zombie Apocalypse, as we’ve been arguing for some time now.

What they’re saying: Leaving rates where they are preserves Egypt’s global competitiveness in the battle for hot money amid a global sell-off in EM assets, Pharos’ Radwa El Swaify told Al Shorouk. With headline inflation seen easing to 13% in September, from 14.2% in August, the MPC could move to cut rates by 100 bps in the final quarter of the year, according to El Swaify, who notes that the scenario hinges on an improvement in global economic conditions. CI Capital’s Hany Farahat and Beltone Financial’s Alia Mamdouh hold similar views, suggesting the CBE will keep rates high to mitigate outflows from government bonds and treasuries as well as to curb rising inflation. Annual Inflation had inched up last month after easing slightly in July from a 14.4% high in June increases to the costs of fuel, power, and transportation in July, as the government continued to gradually phase out subsidies.

**#2 Gamal, Alaa Mubarak are detained (again) along with Hassan Heikal, Yasser El Mallawany: A Cairo Criminal Court ordered the arrest of Gamal and Alaa Mubarak and seven others in the latest long-drawn out saga of what the local press likes to call the “stock market manipulation” case. The sons of ousted President Hosni Mubarak and their co-accused were detained on Saturday on charges of insider trader in the sale of Al Watany Bank of Egypt to the National Bank of Kuwait, Reuters reports. Other defendants in the case include Former EFG Hermes Co-CEOs Hassan Heikal and Yasser El Mallawany. The trial has been adjourned to 20 October.

Surprise arrest comes despite court panel report exonerating defendants: The surprise arrest comes despite a report by a panel of experts appointed by the Cairo Criminal Court to give their views on the case, which appears to recommend most charges against the defendants be dropped. The report concludes that the trades made by the defendants during the sale of Al Watany complied with capital market regulations of the time. The panel reportedly includes Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, deputy head of the Financial Regulatory Authority Reda Abdel Moaty, and the former deputy head of the EGX Mohsen Adel. You can catch part 1 (pdf) and part 2 (pdf) of the report courtesy of Al Mal.

It is still unclear why the court disregarded the report. El Watan reporter Haitham Boraai told Masaa DMC that the court concluded that the report was somehow incomplete (watch, runtime: 4:52).

The story is topping coverage of Egypt in the foreign press, with a number of publications questioning the timing of the surprise arrests given that the trial has been proceeding without incident. The Associated Press’ Hamza Hendawi is noting that the arrests came after some local press outfits warned the Mubaraks against seeking a role in public life after Gamal Mubarak recently became more publicly visible. Others, including the Wall Street Journal, are stressing the brothers’ notoriety before the 2011 uprising.

**#3 Gov’t signs >USD 1 bn in exploration agreements with Shell, Petronas, others: The Oil Ministry signed a deep-water oil and gas exploration agreement with Royal Dutch Shell and Malaysia’s Petronas worth around USD 1 bn, according to an Oil Ministry statement on Saturday (pdf). The agreement would see the two companies drill eight wells in the West Nile Delta area. The government also signed a second USD 10 mn agreement with Rockhopper, Kuwait Energy and Canada’s Dover Corporation for exploration in the Western Desert, a ministry statement said.

**#4 IPO WATCH- Update on the fall season. The public subscription notice for Sarwa Capital’s sale of up to 40% of the company’s shares on the EGX should be out soon, sources close to the transaction said on Thursday. Youm7, meanwhile, suggests that Sarwa should wrap bourse paperwork necessary for its offering within a week. CEO Hazem Moussa had previously pegged the transaction’s value at USD 120-125 mn. Hassan Allam Holdings and pharma manufacturer Rameda Pharma have reportedly also submitted their paperwork to the EGX ahead of their planned IPOs, the sources added. We had previously been told that Rameda was hoping to list 35-45% of the company to raise EGP 1.9-2.3 bn. We had also heard chatter last month that Hassan Allam was eyeing an October offering that may also include a global depository receipt program.

**#5 IPO WATCH- Gov’t expects EGP 2.8 bn in proceeds from sale of 20% stake in AMOC; HSBC confirmed as manager: The government is hoping to raise EGP 2.8 bn from the sale of a 20% stake of the Alexandria Mineral Oils Company (AMOC) on the EGX, according to a Finance Ministry statement on Friday picked up by Reuters. The ministry also confirmed our exclusive report from last week that HSBC has been tapped to manage the transaction. Talks are ongoing with HSBC to determine the best time for the offering, Minister Mohamed Maait said. AMOC is expected to pilot phase one of the state’s privatization program in October alongside Eastern Company, Maait said last week. EFG had also been tapped to manage Eastern’s 4.5% stake sale. Heliopolis Housing, Abu Qir Fertilizers, and Alexandria Containers & Cargo Handling are also in line to to sell shares this year. A second wave of companies is expected to follow in early 2019.

IPO WATCH- BPE Partners could be offering shares of real estate subsidiary Al Ismaelia on the EGX in 2020, founding partner and Managing Director Alaa Sabaa said. Al Ismaelia is carving out a niche for itself as the “Solidere” (the company, not the district) of Downtown Caio, where it is leading an urban renewal drive. BPE is also grooming SME finance subsidiary Ebtikar for an EGX listing within the coming two years. Sabaa said Al Ismaelia will spend EGP 150 mn over the next 12 months on work at six historic buildings in Downtown Cairo. The work will drive revenue growth until the company’s initial public offering. Al Ismaelia will begin putting the buildings up for rent as of next year, according to Sabaa. Al Ismaelia had previously done widely acclaimed work on the Viennoise building and rented it out to out friends at Sarwa Capital.

BPE is also in advanced talks to exit its investment in the Cairo Kidney Center and dissolve its midcap fund as it continues to prune its portfolio, Sabaa added. No further details on the transaction were provided.

INVESTMENT WATCH - French companies including Air Liquide and L'Oréal are looking expand their investments in Egypt, according to a an Investment Ministry statement. Air Liquide will invest as much as EGP 2 bn in the coming three years and L’Oreal has allocated some EUR 50 mn to build a Cairo-based facility that it hopes will become an export hub for the MENA region, the companies told Minister Sahar Nasr during a meeting in Cairo. Also on the list was Groupe SEB, which said it would invest more than EUR 30 mn in FY2018-19. A number of other companies — including Schneider Electric, Carrefour, NAOS, Mortimer Harvey, Edison, Sanofi, Credit Agricole Bank — also said they were eyeing potential investments, the ministry suggested.

LEGISLATION WATCH- Housing Ministry, NUCA committee to draft new legislation to govern real estate investment: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly established a new committee on Thursday tasked with drafting legislation regulating investment in real estate, according to a statement carried by Al Mal. The move aims to remedy the absence of a clear legal framework to manage and regulate relationships between different parties involved in the sector, according to the statement, which gives no indication of when we can expect to see a draft bill. The committee is made up of officials from the Housing Ministry and New and Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), as well as members of investor and business associations to represent the interests of the private sector.

Russia institutes tougher checks on outbound wheat: Russian watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Friday that it would institute new and tougher checks on wheat exports after a rise in complaints in the past three months from its major grain buyers including Egypt, Vietnam, and Indonesia, Reuters reports. Rosselkhoznadzor said checks of 5-10 days were needed for shipments bound for Egypt, Ecuador, Vietnam, Sudan, Venezuela and Israel, but noted that these were not new and were not aimed at limiting exports. Some traders said the new controls were excessive and could cause delivery disruptions on signed contracts.

Traders are also fearful that the move would usher in new trade restrictions. Traders had previously said Russia could consider restricting exports once they reach 30 mn tonnes of grain this season, which started on July 1. The country has exported 9.8 mn tonnes of grain so far.

MOVES- Ashraf Halim has stepped down as deputy CEO of Orange Egypt, he told Youm7. Halim was appointed as deputy CEO in July 2017 and was from 2011 the company’s chief commercial officer.

Egypt is Africa’s top investment destination, according to Rand Merchant Bank’s (RMB) latest edition of Where to Invest in Africa. According to the research, Egypt boasts the continent’s highest GDP and consumer market, followed by South Africa, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Kenya. That said, the research also finds that “efficient infrastructure is essential to uncovering opportunities and unlocking Africa’s growth potential,” says South Africa’s IOL (The full report is presently available only for RMB clients and is accessible here.)