LNG imports to continue into winter with upcoming tender for 20 shipments

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

French state’s Business France to co-host forum to promote Egypt-France trade, investments with GAFI

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the first day of the workweek. Kicking off the week is news that at least USD 1.1 bn worth of agreements and MoU’s were signed at the China-Africa Cooperation Forum that wrapped Friday, an LNG import tender stretching into winter, confirmation of new electricity price hikes, and more. We’ve got a packed issue today, so let’s jump right into it.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Inflation to creep down for the sixth consecutive month? State statistics agency Capmas is expected to publish August’s inflation figures on Tuesday, but analysts seem to split on which way the reading will go. The more optimistic of analysts see inflation continuing on its deflationary path, but some point to fuel price hikes that came into effect at the very end of July as potentially leading to a noticeable uptick in inflationary pressure that could — at least temporarily — push us in the other direction.

#2- The countdown to the EFG Hermes London Conference is nearly over: EFG Hermes will be offering up its insights into “what is shaping and moving the region” and exploring important investments in our part of the world in its annual conference in London that kicks off tomorrow and runs until Thursday.

#3- Egypt-Iraq investments, trade, partnerships incoming: An Egyptian delegation, led by Industry and Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir, is set to land in Iraq tomorrow to finalize a number of strategic partnerships between companies from both countries, regional media reported late last month. Egypt is reportedly looking to boost its trade with Iraq by 41% y-o-y to reach USD 1 bn in 2025.

We’re hearing more and more about local companies wanting to enter the Iraqi market: Just last week, we heard that Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) is getting ready to expand in the country. TMG isn’t the only real local real estate giant looking to enter Iraq though, with Sawiris-owned Ora Developers inking an agreement at the start of the year with the Iraqi government to develop a new 120k unit residential city in Iraq — dubbed Ali Al Wardi New City. And it’s not just real estate companies interested in the country, with local companies from several industries making their interest in the Iraqi market known to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani during recent visit to Egypt.

#4- Kouchouk to address AmCham Tuesday: Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk will be speaking at AmCham’s monthly luncheon on 10 September. The event — which will be moderated by Grant Thornton Managing Partner Kamel Saleh — will be held at Cairo’s Nile Ritz Carlton from 1-4pm. Register to attend here.

#5- Technology conference Tech Invest 5 is scheduled for Tuesday, with a long list of experts in the field set to attend — including CIT Minister Amr Talaat and Information Technology Industry Development Agency CEO Ahmed Elzaher. The event will bring together over 200 tech companies, 50 investors, and 20 incubators and accelerators. The conference is taking place next Tuesday in New Cairo. Get your ticket for the one-day event on 10 September here.

PSA-

WEATHER- The hot weather persists in Cairo today, with a high of 36°C and a low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a bit cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 32°C and a low of 25°C.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

** Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy delivered every weekday before 7am Cairo time — without charge.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Business France and the General Authority for Freezones (GAFI) will soon be holding the Egypt Business Forum to promote bilateral trade and investment, according to an Investment Ministry statement. The forum hosted by the French state’s Business France — which will take place in Paris on 30 September and in Marseilles on 1 October — will host French companies and the Egyptian companies they work with to discuss their experience of operating in Egypt and host several high-level figures from the public and private sectors, including Investment Minister Hassan El Kahtib, GAFI head Hossam Heiba, Elsewedy Electric CEO Ahmed El Sewedy, Shift EV CEO Aly El Tayeb, and SCZone head Walid Gamal El Din.

Keep your eyes peeled for investment and cooperation news: Already on the agenda is an MoU signing between Elsewedy Electric and Business France and another between GAFI and Business France, but the forum will surely bring up more announcements that we will keep you updated on in future issues of EnterpriseAM Egypt.

For more information on each day’s program and to register, click here. Registration closes 24 September.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

As is usually the case on Sundays, the global business press is light on big announcements with several business stories fighting for space on the digital front pages alongside US election coverage, Gaza, and Ukraine coverage.

Even the business news is US election news today, with the Biden administration reportedly readying a proposal for a new national security-focused US sovereign wealth fund that would allow the US to invest in areas like energy, tech, and certain critical supply chains as the country seeks to counter competitor countries’ (read: China’s) hold on key raw materials and technologies. While details remain fuzzy, reports suggest that policymakers are discussing targeting investing in emerging technologies with high barriers to entry and the production of synthetic critical minerals, among others.

A similar proposal has been endorsed by Trump, raising hopes among the proposal’s advocates that such a plan could muster the bipartisan support needed to see Congress pass it into law before the close of the Biden presidency.

OVER IN THE OIL MARKET NEWS- OPEC+ has delayed planned production hikes for an additional two months after the price of Brent crude fell to its lowest levels this year on the back of weak Chinese demand and the suggestion that some Libyan oil could soon come back on the market.

WHILE IN BIG TICKET M&A NEWS- BlackRock’s USD 12.5 bn agreement to buy Global Infrastructure Infrastructure Partners finally earned the greenlight that would see the sprawling global asset-manager portfolio of infrastructure assets rise to a cool USD 150 bn.

AND IN AI NEWS- Apple’s new iPhone will be armed with Arm, with Arm’s most recent V9 chip design used in the iPhone 16 set to drop tomorrow being talked up as Apple’s special ingredient to realize its AI ambitions.

Beauty unveiled amidst ancient wonders: Celebrate the beauty, nature, and cultural legacy of 30 nations as Miss Elite 2024 returns to the enchanting shores of Somabay from 2-14 September. For the fourth consecutive year, Somabay is hosting this prestigious international beauty pageant, celebrating women’s beauty and intelligence on a global scale. Experience the fusion of antiquity and modern elegance by attending the Grand Finale on 13 September at Mazeej Soma Beach Platform.

Egypt issues tender for 20 LNG cargoes, stocking up more shipments through winter

Our LNG imports may extend to Winter: The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has issued a tender for 17 shipments of liquified natural gas for its floating import terminal at Ain Sokhna, as well as 3 more cargoes for delivery to Jordan’s Aqaba, in one of the state-owned firm’s largest ever tenders, a government source told Enterprise. The 20 shipments are expected to be delivered from October through December, with the tender set to close on 12 September.

And it looks like they will continue after this: “We will need to import another 17-20 shipments in 1Q 2025,” the source added.

We weren’t expecting LNG imports to continue for such a long time: The government originally laid out a USD 1.2 bn plan to import fuel to power energy plants to bridge the supply gap until the end of summer, and made orders to import around 21 shipments of LNG with the assumption that demand will decline during winter and there will be no need to import until the weather starts heating up again next year.

Remember: Power cuts are set to return next week after an eight-week hiatus, before ending for good by the end of the year.

Imports at this time are rather uncommon for Egypt: “Egypt has really been the surprise on the global LNG market,” Columbia University researcher Anne-Sophie Corbeau told Bloomberg. “The production has totally collapsed. This is the problem, and there is no way around that: either you reduce demand or you increase net imports.” Egypt’s extended demand for LNG caused a rise in European natural gas prices, which rose as much as 4% on Friday, the business news service added.

The move isn’t just about filling a supply gap: The government apparently resorted to this solution to avoid two potential problems:

Any possible arbitration claims from liquefaction plant operators: The government will direct more of the local gas production to the two liquefaction plants in Idku and Damietta, while directing more LNG imports for local consumption. This should help avoid any possible arbitration claims by the liquefaction plants’ operators after the quantities of gas supplied to them declined recently.
Keeping foreign energy players happy so the investments keep coming in: The government will direct more domestic natural gas production to export and will allocate the export proceeds to international oil companies as part of the government’s efforts to encourage new foreign investments and pay arrears owed to the foreign companies.

On the topic of restarting LNG exports: The government is planning to resume gas supplies to its Idku plant as early as 4Q 2024, Asharq Business reports, citing a source from Shell — a shareholder in the Idku plant. The government is looking to supply Egyptian LNG (a joint venture between EGAS, EGPC, Shell, and Petronas) with some 7.2 mn metric tons of natural gas annually, the source added.

The country still has a long-term objective to become a net LNG exporter once again: The government does not want to resort to long-term contracts despite the current favorable prices amid hopes of new natural gas discoveries that could put Egypt once again to the global export map, along with expanding renewable capacities, the source explained.

Our long-awaited electricity rate hikes are here, capping off a busy summer of subsidy reform

Your electricity bill for August just went up: The Electricity Ministry has finally put out its revised electricity price hikes for households, businesses, and the public sector. The new tariffs are broadly in line with what we expected based on leaks from within the government, and will see prices rise by 14-40% across the board, with the highest increases concentrated among higher consuming households.

You may already be paying the higher rates: Those in higher consumption households using prepaid meters may have already felt the pinch of higher prices, while others will see the new rates reflected on their bills in September.

The new price tags per kWh for households-

For a consumption less than or equal to 100 kWh/month:

The first 0-50 kWh/month will be charged EGP 0.68, up 17% from EGP 0.58.
The next 51-100 kWh/month at EGP 0.78, up 15% from EGP 0.68.

For a consumption higher than 100 kWh/month and less than or equal to 650 kWh/month:

The first 0-200 kWh/month at EGP 0.95, up 14% from EGP 0.83.
The next 201-350 kWh/month at EGP 1.55, up 24% from EGP 1.25.
The next 351-650 kWh/month at EGP 1.95, up 39% from EGP 1.40.

For a consumption higher than 650 kWh/month and less than or equal to 1k kWh/month:

The tariff will be EGP 2.10 from the first kWh, up 40% from EGP 1.50.

For a consumption higher than 1k kWh/month

The tariff will be EGP 2.23 from the first kWh, up 35.2% from EGP 1.65.

We’ve been waiting for this shoe to drop for a while: The government announced in May that electricity prices would be rising by an average of over 20% in July, after the last hike in January saw prices rise between 7-27% across all consumption categories. Those plans were put on ice in June, however, with an anonymous government official telling Enterprise that the government was putting off the planned hike until the electricity crisis that had resulted in daily blackouts for much of the first part of the summer was resolved.

The household hike structure is more progressive than the last go-around: As expected, this round of price hikes saw rates rise by a greater margin on the highest-paying tax brackets. This contrasts with January’s price hikes, which saw prices rise highest in the lowest kWh tier — by 20.8% — in contrast to the highest category, which saw a 13.8% hike.

Still, this price increase will disproportionately hurt low-consumption households, who continue to be the most impacted by the rising costs of subsidized goods as the government looks toward phasing out in-kind subsidies in exchange for an IMF-approved cash-based subsidy regime.

As promised, rates for industry went up as well: Rates for industry increased to between EGP 1.74 and EGP 2.34 per kWh across high, medium, and low consumption industries, up from between EGP 1.10 and EGP 1.50 per kWh/month listed previously as average prices..

Low-voltage uses for industries were not spared price hikes, contra expectations: Despite prior indications to the contrary, tariffs on low-voltage uses for industries also increased in the most recent round of price hikes. Low-voltage energy uses for non-irrigation uses will see rates rise to EGP 2.34 kWh, up 56% from EGP 1.50. This comes after a government source told Enterprise that the state aimed to exempt low-voltage industries from price hikes due to the deleterious effect they could have on small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Remember: The cost of electricity production has soared after float, becoming more of a burden on the state budget, especially after a dip in domestic natural gas production pushed the country from being a net exporter to a net importer of LNG in recent months.

Our energy subsidies are being watched closely by the IMF: Adjusting energy prices is part of the structural reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund under our USD 8 bn loan program in a bid to “create space for more productive spending,” the Fund said in a statement announcing the completion of the third loan review in July. “Restoring energy prices to their cost recovery levels, including retail fuel prices by December 2025, is essential to supporting the smooth provision of energy to the population and reducing imbalances in the sector,” it said. The government is working on a plan to phase out electricity subsidies over the course of the next four years.

Egypt inks over USD 1.1 bn worth of agreements and MoUs at Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

Chinese investments galore: The three-day Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which wrapped on Friday in Beijing, saw the government sign a raft of contracts and MoUs with Chinese companies totaling over USD 1.1 bn. The agreements include a host of new industrial facilities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) and investments in the telecommunications sector aimed at building new factories alongside data, training, and R&D centers.

The state is also readying up fresh pieces of land to accommodate Chinese investor appetite in the country: The government will allocate more land to Teda Investment Holding — the company behind the China-Egypt TEDA trade zone — in the Suez Canal area. It has also offered to grant the company land on the Mediterranean coast in the New Alamein City to help it expand and attract new manufacturers.

REMEMBER- Chinese investors have been loving Egypt as of late: We took a deep dive into growing Chinese industrial investments in an Inside Industry last month, highlighting recent projects, future plans, and government efforts to attract more Chinese capital across various sectors.

MANUFACTURING-

A handful of newly announced Chinese factory projects are in the works: Six Chinese companies have inked land usufruct agreements with the China-Egypt TEDA trade zone in Ain Sokhna to set up factories there:

#1- A USD 500 mn chlor-alkali production facility: Chemicals manufacturer Befar Group will set up a USD 500 mn chlor-alkali production facility. Set to be the first green chemical facility in the country and globally, the facility in its first phase will harness wind and solar energy, electricity, and natural gas to generate steam as its energy source, according to SCZone head Walid Gamal El Din.

#2- A USD 300 mn glass production factory: Glass manufacturer China Glass Holding will set up a USD 300 mn glass factory. The factory will produce float glass and super-white galvanized glass, each with a daily production of 800 tons. The project will target the local market as well as exports to North Africa, the Middle East and Europe, with an export capacity of up to 240k tons annually, and projected export revenues of up to USD 120 mn annually.

#3- A USD 110 mn bromine extraction complex: Chemical producer Shandong Tianyi Chemical inked a framework agreement to set up a USD 110 mn industrial complex for extracting bromine using seawater desalination byproducts that are typically discarded into the sea.

#4- A USD 100 mn solar panel factory: Elite Solar will establish a USD 100 mn factory to annually produce N-type solar cells with a collective capacity of 2 GW. The project aims to create 600 jobs whilst bridging the gap in the nascent photovoltaic energy industry and attracting related industrial clusters.

#5- A USD 50 mn home appliance supply chain hub: Kaks Investment will set up a comprehensive USD 50 mn support zone for the home appliances supply chain. The zone will encompass component manufacturing, customs storage services, spare part distribution, assembly operations, sheet metal processing centers, injection molding, and foam production. It aims to deepen the local production of components for the home appliances industry.

#6- A USD 7.5 mn starch production facility: Dahui Glucose and local producer Tiba Starch is set to establish a USD 7.5 mn modified starch factory. The project aims to meet demand for modified starch in Egypt, the Middle East, and East Africa. It will produce 20k tons annually in its first phase before ramping up annual production to 50k tons.

AND- GWM looks serious about setting up an auto factory here: Automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motors (GWM) made a request to grab a 1 mn sqm plot of land for an auto factory it is thinking about setting up, which we first heard about last week. The facility would produce vehicles and spare parts for both the local market and export to neighboring countries and would be implemented in two phases, each with an annual production capacity of 60k vehicles. Should it make a formal decision to set up shop in the country, the government would allocate the required land and issue a golden license to expedite the project, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said.

Madbouly also urged GAC Motor, Henan Investment to invest in our auto industry: Prime Minister offered to give automobile manufacturer GAC Motor special incentives and a golden license to expand production to Egypt. He also discussed potential investments with Henan Investment Group — the investment arm of China’s Henan province — particularly in renewable energy and electric car industries.

PLUS- China Energy to speed up work on new facilities: China Energy pledged to expedite the establishment of factories and production centers for renewable energy technologies and to prioritize new energy projects, including green hydrogen and green ammonia. The company also announced plans to expand its operations in Egypt, including moving its North African headquarters here. China Energy currently runs 12 projects in the country with a combined value of USD 2 bn.

Remember: The company last October inked an MoU with the Electricity Ministry to start working on feasibility studies for a 2-GW pumped hydroelectric energy storage and a framework agreement with the SCZone to set up a USD 6.75 bn green hydrogen plant that could produce some 1.2 mn tons of green ammonia and 210k tons of green hydrogen each year.

COMMUNICATIONS-

Our communications industry in particular is attracting the attention of Chinese investors: The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and China inked five major MoUs with Chinese tech companies to boost cooperation in communications and information technology.

#1- FiberHome to set up shop in Om El Donia: Wuhan FiberHome International Technologies inked an MoU to set up a fiber optic cables factory that will produce 1 mn core kilometers of fiber, 500k communication terminal devices, and 3k base station antennas annually. These products will serve both the local market and be exported to the Middle East and North Africa. The MoU will also see it set up an R&D center for optical networks and green transformation technology, in addition to a training center with the ICT Ministry.

#2- Hengtong Group to build second factory in Egypt: Power and fiber optic cable manufacturer Hengtong Group inked an MoU to launch a USD 15 mn second factory in the SCZone. The company will produce fiber optic cables and FTTX network accessories, in addition to operating and maintaining submarine fiber optic cables. The factory is slated to produce 3 mn kms of fiber optic cables annually and export 40% of its production to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Hengtong will also establish a training academy for fiber optic communications technologies in partnership with the National Telecommunications Institute, launch a joint training program with Telecom Egypt, and work with Telecom Egypt to provide at least 2 mn housing units with passive access to fiber optic networks.

#3- ZTE to roll out Egypt-made products: Telecommunications equipment manufacturer ZTE inked an MoU that will see it locally produce a number of products, including fixed network terminals and optical network distribution products. It will also cooperate with ITIDA in establishing two training labs to provide professional training for up to 1.2k participants over three years.

#4- Tsinghua Unigroup to set up USD 300 mn technology investment fund: State-owned technology and semiconductor manufacturer Tsinghua Unigroup inked an MoU to set up a technology investment fund with an initial capital of around USD 300 mn, of which the company and its subsidiaries will contribute 60-70%. The agreement will also see the company setting up a data center, rolling out cloud services, studying the establishment of an R&D center for electronic chip design, and working on AI applications with a specific focus on developing a large language model for the Arabic language.

#5- Huawei Egypt to expand operations: Huawei Egypt will launch the Huawei Egypt Development Center this year under a new MoU. The center will focus on R&D in local industry solutions, developer training and certification, and building a cloud computing ecosystem. Huawei’s plans include supporting startups and SMEs with cloud services and resources, training 1.5k developers in 2025, and certifying 500 developers in collaboration with the ICT Ministry.

PLUS- CSCEC eyes airport development gigs: China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) expressed interest in collaborating with the government on airport development efforts and is exploring partnerships with international companies to operate new airports or terminals that will be built.

Egypt’s central bank holds interest rates steady for third consecutive meeting

CBE holds rates steady: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, it said in a statement (pdf), citing cooling domestic and global inflation, an uncertain local trajectory for commodity prices, and slow economic growth. “Current policy rates remain appropriate to maintain the prevailing tight monetary stance until a significant and sustained decline in inflation is realized,” the bank said.

Where rates stand: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept the overnight deposit rate at 27.25%, the overnight lending rate at 28.25%, and the main operation and discount rates at 27.75%.

ICYMI- Rates have been stable since March: The central bank held rates steady in its past two meetings in July and May after delivering a jumbo 600 bps rate hike in March.

This was expected: All eight analysts and economists we surveyed last week forecasted that the bank would hold rates steady as persisting inflationary pressures keep potential rate cuts at bay. Despite inflation being on a downward trend, “prematurely cutting rates could exacerbate the problem of core inflation,” banking expert Hany Abou El Fotouh told us.

What they said: The committee noted a “contained inflationary impact” as annual headline and core inflation eased for the fifth consecutive month in July. Real economic activity “remains below potential,” with real GDP growth softening to 2.2% in 1Q 2024 from 2.3% in 4Q 2023.

Remember: Annual urban inflation cooled to its lowest level since December 2022 in the last monthly data set, which showed annual inflation coming in at 25.7% in July, down 1.8 percentage points from 27.5% in June. Annual core inflation — which excludes volatile items such as food and fuel — slowed to 24.4%, down from 26.6%.

But a recent round of subsidy cuts may throw off disinflation: Some analysts see inflation picking up again in the coming months on the back of fuel and electricity price hikes introduced over the summer. IBIS Consultancy economist Ali Metwally sees inflation rising to somewhere in the range of 30-31% between August and September.

The bank’s long-term outlook: The MPC sees inflation hovering around current levels until 4Q 2024, before it declines significantly in 1Q 2025 “due to the cumulative impact of monetary policy tightening and favorable base effects.” However, the committee noted upside risks including tighter global oil supplies, escalating regional geopolitical tensions, and a greater-than-expected impact of fiscal measures. On the growth front, economic indicators for 2Q 2024 suggest that real GDP growth has started to pick up and is expected to gradually recover during fiscal year 2024-2025.

Some parts of the int’l press also picked up the bank’s decision: Bloomberg | Reuters.

Egypt’s foreign reserves continue their upward cruise, coming in at USD 46.6 bn in August

Net foreign reserves reached a new high of USD 46.6 bn at the end of August 2024, up USD 108 mn from July’s record figure of USD 46.5 bn, according to CBE data.

Here’s the breakdown, according to CBE data:

Foreign currency reserves remained essentially flat, edging up by 9 mn and staying in the USD 36.3 bn bracket in August.

Gold reserves rose by 379 mn to USD 10.3 bn, up from USD 9.9 bn in July.

Special drawing rights brought the count down, falling by USD 282 mn to USD 20 mn, down from USD 302 mn in July.

Sound smart: Special drawing rights — also known as SDRs — are international reserve assets created by the IMF. While they are not a currency, they are a form of international money that can be used by countries to supplement their official reserves. They are primarily used for IMF transactions, such as repaying loans or increasing quotas.

This is a good sign after a rocky start to August: A global market meltdown in early August saw foreign investors sell some USD 600 mn worth of local debt instruments as they poured their capital into safe-haven assets. However, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly was at pains to emphasize that these hot money outflows represented no more than 7-8% of foreign investors’ holdings of our debt instruments and that they had been paid out in market liquidity, not the CBE’s FX reserves.

Remember: With this latest data release from the central bank, Egypt’s net foreign reserves have increased by almost USD 11.3 bn in the six months since the government announced the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement, which gave the central bank the buffer it needed to float the EGP, helping attract FX liquidity back to the official banking system and paving the way for more international funds. In February — the month immediately before the float — foreign reserves stood at USD 35.3 bn.

FRA issues new regulations for listing and delisting on the bourse, and updates SPAC regulations

FRA issues new regulations for listing on the EGX: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved a number of regulations for firms looking to delist from the Egyptian stock exchange, as well as new regulations for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), according to a statement.

New delisting rules: Should a company decide to delist voluntarily from the bourse, the value of shares owned by the affected shareholders and/or those objecting to the delisting can now be decided based on the fair value of the delisted shares. The value of the shares will now be determined based on the highest of the following values:

The fair value — determined by an independent financial advisor registered with the authority;
The average value of the shares over the three-month period before company’s general assembly is invited to meet to make a decision on delisting;
The highest closing price in the month before the company’s general assembly is invited to meet to make a decision on delisting.

ALSO- SPACs will be allowed to open temporary accounts for acquisitions: SPACs will be allowed to hold temporary accounts for the purpose of conducting acquisitions. SPACs will have two years from their listing date to complete an acquisition, which can be a full buyout, a controlling stake, or an absolute majority in the target company’s capital or voting rights. Failure to do so would mean that the SPAC would either reduce its capital by the value of shares listed or re-offer the same shares to qualified investors.

What’s a SPAC again? A special purpose acquisition company is a type of shell company used by investors to acquire firms. SPACs raise money from the public in an IPO and then use the proceeds to merge with or acquire an appropriate company. Check out our explainer for more on how SPACs work.

Our first local SPAC could be on the way soon: Impact investor Catalyst Partners applied in July for a SPAC license, as it looks to set up its own special purpose acquisition company, dubbed Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME), which will target fintech firms and NBFS players, with plans to acquire three firms upon receiving the license.

NBFSs register solid increases across the board in 2Q 2024, FRA says

Non-banking financial services continued their strong performance in 2Q 2024, according to the Financial Regulatory Authority’s (FRA) latest report (pdf). All activities showed solid performance during the quarter, with the value of mortgage financing more than tripling, and the value of factoring contracts, consumer financing, and SME financing notching noticeable increases.

#1– The value of mortgage financing granted during the period increased 206.7% y-o-y to EGP 6.4 bn, while the number of beneficiaries rose by 125.3% y-o-y to just over 2.3k.

#2– The volume of factoring contracts rose 43.7% y-o-y at the end of June to some EGP 24.5 bn.

#3– SMEs financing increased 43.5% y-o-y during the quarter to reach EGP 65.2 bn, but financing was distributed to 3.8 mn beneficiaries — a 2.3% drop y-o-y. Lending to micro projects took the lion’s share with EGP 56.2 bn.

#4- Consumer finance companies increased the total value of loans they offered by 16.7% y-o-y to EGP 12.1 bn. The loans were distributed to 963.9k customers — a 12.9% increase y-o-y. Around 28.5% of the financing went toward purchasing electronics, while 23.4% went toward financing car purchases.

#5- The value of finance leasing contracts increased 10.2% y-o-y to EGP 25.8 bn in 2Q 2024. In the same period, the number of contracts signed fell 42.1% y-o-y to 285 contracts.

IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin weighs in on where we are six months post-Ras El Hekma

Amr Adib’s interview with UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda and IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin stood out on last night’s talk show circuit, alongside coverage of Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathy Khalifa’s visit to the border with Gaza.

Has the Egyptian economy emerged from the bottleneck after Ras El Hekma? “The Egyptian economy got a breather following the agreement and the IMF’s approval of the first and second reviews of Egypt’s USD 8 bn loan program, alongside the investment and trade agreement signed with the EU. It’s possible to build upon this chance until the situation stabilizes and citizens begin to feel the effect of these positive changes,” Mohieldin said (watch, runtime: 55:34). “The country needs several things to build upon this chance and move forward, including boosting investment and exports and reducing the debt service bill, which will prevent Egypt from needing to return to the IMF again,” Mohieldin added, noting that “Egypt’s relationship with the IMF, which began in 2016 and will end in 2026, will be successful in line with the IMF’s expectations.”

“A complete state exit from the market may take decades, and until this full exit is completed, no one will be allowed privileges at the expense of another,” Mohieldin said. “All private, Arab, or foreign companies in Egypt, as well as public sector companies, should be subject to a competitive system, meaning that the private sector is able to compete with state-owned companies.”

Mohieldin also expressed his support for the government’s plan to replace in-kind subsidies with cash-based subsidies, saying that “Egypt has the infrastructure under the Communications Ministry to identify beneficiaries by name, address, and phone number.” Mohieldin pointed to Brazil’s successful establishment of an integrated system for distributing cash-based subsidies to the actual beneficiaries, a program he said Egypt could learn from.

AND- Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Ahmed Fathy Khalifa’s visit to the Gaza border featured prominently on the airwaves, including on Ahmed Moussa’s program on Ala Mas’ouleety, with Moussa saying that that “the visit is a message to anyone that thinks of infringing upon Egypt’s sovereignty as well as a message of reassurance to the Egyptian people” (watch, runtime: 2:24). “Egypt is capable of deterrence, but maintains peace,” Moussa added, noting that “no one dares to threaten Egypt’s national security, not even Israel” (watch, runtime: 2:33). Moussa also hosted former head of military intelligence Nasr Salem, who noted that “Israel’s desire to maintain its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor means adding fuel to the fire” (watch, runtime: 31:30).

In context: Lt. Gen. Khalifa’s visit comes amid a sharp uptick in tensions between Egypt and Israel following the latter’s insistence on maintaining its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Egypt and Gaza, despite Cairo’s strenuous objections. It also follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusations that there has been weapons smuggling from Egypt into the strip via the Philadelphi Corridor, claims which Egypt has branded as lies.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Energy eyes EGAS exploration tender. PLUS: Egyptian Air Force to receive two C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifters

ENERGY-

Mubadala wants a piece of our new oil and gas tender: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala’s energy-focussed arm — Mubadala Energy — expressed interest in participating in the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company’s (EGAS) recently launched tender during coverage a meeting between Oil Minister Karim Badawi and a Mubadala delegation, according to an Oil Ministry statement.

Remember: EGAS opened up bids for 12 new oil and gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta late last month. The offering includes 10 offshore and two onshore areas, with details available on the Egypt Upstream Gateway platform.

DEFENSE-

Egypt to receive two new tactical airlifters from Lockheed Martin: Egyptian Air Force will see the delivery of two C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifters from US defense giant Lockheed Martin through a foreign military sale with the US Air Force, making it the 23rd country to get its hands on the new airlifters, Lockheed Martin said in a statement. The sale was announced during the inaugural Egypt International Airshow, which took place last week in El Alamein.

Ultra-rich families are set to control USD 9.5 tn by 2030

The (ultra) rich get (ultra) richer: The wealth controlled by ultra-rich families is expected to hit USD 9.5 tn by 2030, up 73% from today’s USD 5.5 tn, Bloomberg reports, citing estimates from consultancy Deloitte. Family offices — private investment firms for the wealthy — are growing fast, with their numbers projected to rise by one-third to over 10.7k over the same period.

What’s driving the growth? Wealth inequality is concentrating “more money in the hands of the very rich,” while it is increasingly becoming easier to set up family offices, the outlet reports. More family offices are popping up, and some are rivaling hedge funds in size and talent. These firms are taking on bigger roles in markets with some acting as activist investors.

Uh, Enterprise, what are activist investors? Activist investors are shareholders who use their equity stake to influence a company’s operations, often pushing for changes to increase shareholder value.

Most family offices are small but mighty: The average family office manages some USD 2 bn with just 15 employees, and one-third of these firms are run by someone outside the family, according to the Deloitte report. “It can definitely be risky managing that much wealth,” Rebecca Gooch, global head of insights for Deloitte Private said. “Family offices really need to be careful about who they bring on board,” she added.

ALSO WORTH NOTING FROM PLANET FINANCE- The UAE is emerging as a standout among higher-rated emerging market borrowers as a global risk-off, worries about US growth, and lower US yields push investors to look at safer EM assets in search of returns, Bloomberg suggests. “Investors like the combination of twin surpluses, FX reserve accumulation, lack of political noise and a supportive local bid,” fixed-income portfolio manager at Arqaam Capital, Fady Gendy, told the outlet.

EGX30	31,030	+0.1% (YTD: +24.7%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 48.37	Sell 48.51
USD (CIB)	Buy 48.39	Sell 48.49
Interest rates (CBE)	27.25% deposit	28.25% lending
Tadawul	12,099	-0.2% (YTD: +1.1%)
ADX	9,448	-0.3% (YTD: -1.4%)
DFM	4,373	+0.04% (YTD: +7.7%)
S&P 500	5,408	-1.7% (YTD: +13.4%)
FTSE 100	8,181	-0.7% (YTD: +5.8%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,738	-1.6% (YTD: +4.8%)
Brent crude	USD 71.06	-2.2%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.28	+0.9%
Gold	USD 2,524.6	-0.7%
BTC	USD 54,130.50	+2.4% (YTD: +28.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.1% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 5.5 bn (41.7% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were net sellers. The index is up 24.7% YTD.

In the green: Elsewedy Electric (+2.1%), Madinet Masr (+1.4%), and Ezz Steel (+1.4%).

In the red: Edita (-3.7%), ADIB (-2.2%), and Orascom Construction (-2.0%).

CALENDAR

2024

SEPTEMBER

9-12 September (Monday-Thursday): The annual EFG Hermes London Conference.

9 September (Monday): Egyptian delegation to visit Iraq.

10 September (Tuesday): The fifth edition of technology conference Tech Invest will take place.

10 September (Tuesday): Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk to speak at AmCham luncheon, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

12 September (Thursday): Egypt’s tender for 20 LNG cargoes is set to close.

15 September (Sunday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

16 September (Monday): Egypt-UK Investment and Opportunities Forum, London.

24 September (Tuesday): Enterprise Finance Forum, Cairo, Egypt.

25-26 September (Wednesday-Thursday): The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) 2024 annual meeting, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

25-28 September (Wednesday-Saturday): Cityscape Egypt, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

29 September (Sunday): AmCham Egypt Real Estate Conference.

30 September (Monday): Ban on sugar exports expiration.

30 September (Monday): Portfolio Egypt 2024, Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo.

30 September (Monday): Egypt Business Forum, Paris.

OCTOBER

1 October (Tuesday): Egypt Business Forum, Marseille.

1-3 October (Tuesday-Thursday): Cairo Sustainable Energy Week, Cairo, Egypt.

6 October (Sunday): Armed Forces Day.

10-12 October (Thursday-Saturday): Egy Health Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

10-12 October (Thursday-Saturday): The FinExpo Conference and Exhibition, Cairo.

17 October (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

13-17 October (Sunday-Thursday): Cairo Water Week, Water and Climate: Building Resilient Communities, Cairo, Egypt.

20-22 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Mediterranean Offshore Conference (MOC), Alexandria, Egypt.

21-27 October (Monday-Sunday): The World Bank and IMF annual meetings.

NOVEMBER

4-8 November (Monday-Friday): World Urban Forum, Cairo, Egypt.

12-15 November (Tuesday-Friday): Arab African Investment and International Cooperation Summit, Aswan, Egypt.

21 November (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

26-28 November (Tuesday-Thursday): Egypt Energy Show, Cairo, Egypt.

30 November (Saturday): Deadline to apply for renewable energy projects under the peer-to-peer (P2P) system.

DECEMBER

26 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2H 2024: Gov’t to launch the Cairo Ring Road BRT buses.

3Q 2024: Egyptian-Armenian Joint Committee.

September 2024: Turkish-Egyptian Business Council meeting in Turkey.

First week of November: Egypt-Turkey high-level trade consultation mechanism.

November 2024: Egypt to host the World Urban Forum (WUF12).

End of 2024: The launch of the high-speed train line linking Ain Sokhna with Al Alamein City.

2025

July 2025: The first operational trail of Egypt-KSA electricity interconnection line.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to start operations.

2027

20 January-7 February: Egypt to host the African Games

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

End of 2027: Trial operations at the Dabaa nuclear power plant expected to take place.

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