CABINET WATCH- The Madbouly Cabinet officially signed off yesterday on the state privatization program, according to a statement. The statement provides no further details on the program, including the size of the offerings, or the timeline. The cabinet had announced on Tuesday that five already-listed state companies will pilot the privatization program with additional stake sales. A source had told us last month that Eastern Tobacco will likely pilot the program in September with a 4% stake sale.
Ministers approve new wheat shipments as GASC drops AOS as wheat supplier: The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has removed Dubai-based trader AOS from its list of approved suppliers, according to Reuters. The cabinet approved yesterday the purchase of 120k tonnes of wheat from two other traders to replace the shipments AOS had been contracted to provide. A GASC official said yesterday the two shipments have already arrived in Egypt, but did not disclose which trading firms supplied the cargoes, according to the newswire. GASC had canceled a wheat shipment from AOS in June after repeated delays in delivery. The company had been given two extensions for delivering the wheat but had failed to meet both deadlines, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy said at the time.
Other decisions taken during the weekly meeting:
- Beginning negotiations with a Hassan Allam-led consortium to arrange a USD 4.4 bn loan to finance the 6 GW Hamrawein “clean coal” power plant whose contract the consortium won last month;
- Approving a EGP 2.5 bn direct order agreement with state-owned vaccine manufacturer Vacsera to supply serums and vaccines;
- Reducing the minimum GPA requirement for North Sinai students’ enrolment in university.
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EXCLUSIVE- FinMin backtracks on massive tax breaks to SMEs for joining the formal economy: The Finance Ministry has formed a committee to revisit the draft SMEs Act, which lays out incentives for small businesses to join the formal economy, a government source told us this week. The committee wants to do away with the tax breaks and exemptions offered to SMEs in the current form of the draft law, the source said. “After further studying, international case studies have shown that offering tax breaks to those who don’t already pay taxes does not incentivize them to begin filing tax returns,” the source added.
Instead, the ministry will be guaranteeing a host of other non-tax incentives, the source added. This would include improving the business’ access to utilities, to end clampdowns by the authorities on unlicensed businesses, and facilitate funding for them through the central bank’s SME initiative.
There will be penalties for those that do not register with the tax authorities after the law has passed, the source warned. He did not name what these penalties could entail.
As for how the law would define SMEs, the source noted that the law will use the CBE’s definition, but will contain provisions that will allow the Finance Minister to amend it when need be. The CBE defines “micro enterprises” and businesses whose top line is less than EGP 1 mn. “Very small” businesses are classified as those making EGP 1-10 mn, while “small” businesses are defined as having a top line of EGP 10-20 mn. Medium enterprises are defined as those making annual revenues of EGP 20-100 mn.
Background: Tax exemptions had been at the root of the law back when it was drafted under former Finance Minister Amr El Garhy. Small businesses earning more than EGP 1 mn a year (and less than a ceiling that has yet to be determined) pay a nominal 1% tax on their revenues under new legislation now in the drafting stage, sources from the ministry told Enterprise. Small businesses earning anything below that amount will be divided into three tiers and charged a flat tax based on their top line.
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Aur Capital, Wadi Degla set up real estate private equity JV: A subsidiary of former Investment Minister Ashraf Salman’s private equity outfit, Aur Capital, and Wadi Degla Real Estate signed yesterday an agreement to set up a real estate private equity JV, according to a joint statement (pdf). The agreement will see Aur Capital acquiring an undisclosed stake in Wadi Degla through a capital increase and a share swap in the new firm. Ownership will be split 70/30, with Wadi Degla holding the balance. The JV is expected to invest some EGP 10 bn over the course of the next five years. Arab Legal Consultants acted as legal counsel on the transaction.
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Gov’t inks contract with OC-led consortium for USD 650 mn, 500 MW Gulf of Suez wind farm: The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) signed a USD 650 mn agreement with a consortium comprised of Orascom Construction (OC), Engie, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation to build a 500 MW wind farm in Ras Gharib, OC announced in an emailed statement (pdf). “With this milestone in place, the required steps and documentation leading to the start of construction, including financial close, are expected to be complete by 3Q or 4Q2019,” OC says. Cabinet’s economic group had approved the project’s contract back in April. The consortium is also working on another USD 400 mn, 250 MW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, which it expects to deliver by 2H2019.
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Gov’t and OHC settle Haram City land dispute: The Madbouly Cabinet has signed off on a settlement with Orascom Housing Communities (OHC) over the disputed development of 1,380 feddans in the Haram City affordable housing project, government sources confirmed to Bloomberg. Under the settlement, OHC, which is majority owned by Orascom Development Holding Chairman Samih Sawiris, and the authority will partner to develop 1,000 feddans of the disputed land, said ODH CEO Khaled Bichara. “We expect to sign the final revenue sharing agreement with NUCA soon,” Bichara said, adding that the government will build its own social housing project on the remaining 380 acres.
Background: The dispute arose when NUCA provided only 620 feddans from an originally contracted 2,000 feddans, prompting a number if investors in the project (one of whom was involved in the East Mediterranean Gas arbitration case) to file an international arbitration suit. The investors were seeking compensation of as much as USD 100-200 mn, Sawiris tells Bloomberg. The arbitration case was dropped after Sawiris bought out the investors. The settlement with NUCA had been reached back in April and was awaiting government sign off.
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IPO WATCH- CIRA taps French law firm Gide to join White & Case as international counsel for planned share offerings: Cairo Investment and Real Estate Development (CIRA) has reportedly tapped French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel as joint legal council for its planned international offering, alongside White & Case, according to a source close to the offering. The firm is planning to relist 35% of the company’s shares on the EGX in a transaction that could come as early as October. Some 80-90% of the shares on offer would be reserved for an institutional offering, sources had told us previously. EFG Hermes is global coordinator and bookrunner for the transaction, while Zulficar & Partners is local counsel to the underwriter.
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The EGPC signed yesterday a USD 9 mn oil and gas exploration and production agreement with the Apache Corporation in the Western Desert, the Oil Ministry announced in a statement. The agreement also includes a USD 30 mn signing bonus to dig seven wells in the area.
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EARNINGS WATCH- Juhayna Food Industries reported a net profit of EGP 159 mn in 1Q2018, up from EGP 27.3 mn during the same period last year, according to a company earnings release (pdf). Revenues during the quarter were up 23% y-o-y to EGP 1.928 bn.
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We did it with tourism. Is it auto’s turn? Egypt’s auto market is expected to resume its recovery throughout this year, with auto sales projected to rise 18-25% y-o-y during 2018, Automotive Information Council (AMIC) senior official Rafaat Masrouga said, Al Mal reports. Masrouga estimates that between 160-170,000 vehicles are expected to be sold this year. He noted that even if sales meet the projections, it is far too soon to say if the industry has returned to its heyday. Auto sales rose 39% y-o-y in the first five months of the year, with Chevrolet and Hyundai capturing the largest market shares.
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Business associations press gov’t on lowering taxes, fees on manufacturing: A number of business associations have publically come out to urge the government to reduce fees and taxes for industry yesterday. The Union of Investors Associations (the commies that bleed green) is urging the Finance Ministry to end real estate taxes on industry land, Al Mal reports. If it refuses, the association will push for a plan whereby they pay taxes for land not in use by a factory, said the association’s head Mohamed Farid Khamis. Meanwhile, the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) is pushing the Industrial Development Authority to lower fees it charges industrialists for its services, said FEI investment committee member Hassan Mabrouk.
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LEGISLATION WATCH- Parliament approves legislation cutting ministerial, governor pensions: The House of Representatives’ general assembly approved on Tuesday a new law to reduce the pensions of ministers, governors, and their deputies, according to Egypt Today. Under the law, pensions for these positions will be reduced to 25% of their pre-retirement wages, down from an original 80%. The new law will be applied retroactively until 24 April, 2018, Al Mal reports.
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OTMT rebranding received regulatory approval: Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding (OTMT) has received regulatory approval to officially change its name to Orascom Investment Holding, according to a statement to the bourse.
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Egypt and the UAE will impose new regulations on the trade of agricultural products between the two countries, according to Al Mal. The regulations, which Agriculture Minister Ezz El Din Abou Steit and UAE Ambassador Gomaa Mubarak agreed upon yesterday, stipulate the six-month suspension of trade with exporters whose shipments are rejected for sanitary reasons. All exporters will be required to submit a phytosanitary certificate and a product lab analysis to the Agricultural Quarantine Authority. Repeat violations will result in the exporter bearing the shipment costs and facing suspension for another six months. The new regulations will be applied on fruits and vegetables shipments sourced from both countries. Several countries, including Saudi Arabia, have been imposing new regulations on shipments of Egyptian agricultural products after several shipments were found to contain high levels of residual pesticide.
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