State wraps sale of historic hotel group to a unit of TMG

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What We're Tracking Today

Egypt’s central bank is meeting today —- analysts see rates remaining unchanged

We’ve nearly made it through another workweek, friends, though we’ll admit to more than passing curiosity about what the central bank will decide when it meets later today to review interest rates. In the meantime, our report this morning brims with news of investment, so there’s that to keep us occupied in the meantime.

We can all be forgiven for hoping the end-of-year news slowdown kicks into effect on Sunday, but we also have our fingers crossed for news on the foreign exchange front. It’s going to be a nail-biter — but at least we’ll be doing this together, right?

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s interest rate day: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets later today, according to our poll of analysts. Seven of the nine we spoke with think the CBE will leave rates on hold thanks to cooling inflation and unchanged US interest rates.

The UN will vote on boosting Gaza aid: A UN Security Council’s vote on a UAE-drafted resolution to ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza has been pushed to today. Talks are dragging between Egypt and the United States on authorizing the UN to be the sole inspector of aid going into the enclave — Israel has a choke-hold on the flow of supplies right now. The vote was first scheduled for Monday.

The curtain falls on GFF: El Gouna Film Festival wraps after six days of showings including a special spotlight on Palestine — Windows on Palestine — in collaboration with the Palestine Film Institute.

Movies aren’t your thing? Try a play. Art and friendship clash in Kenoma Theater’s Fann — an Egyptian adaptation of renowned playwright Yasmine Reza’s Art — at Downtown’s Rawabet Art Space. You can catch the play today, tomorrow, or Saturday. Buy your tickets here.

HAPPENING SOON-

Cameron in Egypt: British Foreign Minister David Cameron is traveling to Jordan and Egypt this week to push for a “sustainable ceasefire.” He will meet with his Jordanian counterpart in Jordan before heading to Egypt where he will visit Arish to oversee British aid being sent to Gaza. The foreign ministry didn’t say yesterday when Cameron was scheduled to touch down.

PIJ leader to visit? A leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad is scheduled to visit in the coming days, Reuters writes, noting the group holds a number of Israeli hostages. His visit will follow Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was here yesterday for “intensive talks on a new ceasefire to let aid reach Gaza and free more hostages.”

BEFORE YEAR-END?

#1- Mubarak HQ developer: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is set to finalize a contract with a consortium that will be in charge of developing the site of the former National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in Downtown Cairo.

#2- ADQ’s USD 800 mn acquisition of stakes in the three oil and petrochemical companies Elab, Ethyco, and EDC.

#3- e-Finance’s acquisition of a retail-focused digital payment player,which received the board’s approval earlier this month.

#4- Credit rating agency license award: The FRA has previously said it would award a license to operate a new credit rating agency. Three consortiums have applied.

EGX WATCH-

Faster access to funds after capital subscription? The EGX is in talks with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to cut the time it takes for listed companies to access the capital they raise through subscription, where they can have it in as little as 10 days compared to the current 30-day range, EGX Chairman Ahmed El Sheikh said yesterday, Asharq Business wrote on X.

More of this please: It is effectively unheard-of in Egypt that investors locking up funds through subscription to a capital increase find their new shares listed and admitted to trading on the EGX quickly. More often, investors see their cash sit in limbo, generating float for the issuer (not the investor) for weeks and (or months) on end as corporate and regulatory procedures grind on. One exception was the Beltone’s landmark EGP 10 bn capital increase, which saw 5 bn new shares land on the EGX roughly after a week of closing the subscription.

EGX has more in the cards: The FRA is considering the introduction of key reforms and instruments to the bourse in a bid to boost trading performance. (See reports here, here, and here.) The basics:

Trading fractional shares of income-generating real estate assets — such as malls — rather than as securities or assets of REITs.
A hedged index, the launch of which aims to offset the risk of loss in case of rapid price fluctuations in securities.
A unified short selling systemthrough the Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry (MCDR).

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- More expensive telecom services? Mobile network operators are reportedly in talks with the government over increasing their prices, Vodafone Egypt head Hany Mahmoud told Asharq Business.

#2- The financial derivatives market could be months away: The Financial Regulatory Authority aims to launch a derivatives market within the next few months, Al Borsa reports, citing the authority’s deputy chairman Islam Azzam.

RED SEA WATCH-

It doesn't look like global trade will be going back to normal anytime soon. Yemen’s armedHouthi group is warning Washington that it will target US battleships if Yemen is attacked, Bloomberg writes, citing statements from Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al Houthi.

Over 100 container ships have rerouted away from the Red Sea, taking the longer course around the Cape of Good Hope, and the Greek Shipping Ministry has instructed Greek-flagged vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Eden to avoid Yemeni waters.

Traffic through the Bab Al-Mandab strait was down 14% between 15-19 December compared with 8-12 December.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

No single story is dominating the global business press this morning. Reuters is out with an investigation looking at Tesla failures. The US press is obsessed with Agent Orange’s legal woes and how they could impact the 2024 race for the presidency.

The region’s first AI-powered space tech company: ADX-listed Bayanat and Yahsat will merge to give us Space42, the first AI-powered space tech company in the MENA region, according to an ADX disclosure. The merger will be executed via a share-swap, valued at AED 15 bn (c. USD 4 bn).

SPEAKING OF AI- Can it own patent rights? The UK Supreme Court doesn’t think so, ruling against a bid put forward by a computer scientist to register patents for inventions created by his AI system, Reuters reported.

Seven European nations pledge to have emission-free electricity by 2035: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and non-EU member Switzerland have all pledged to cut CO2 from their power grids by 2035 — around five years earlier than the rest of the EU’s target. (Bloomberg | Reuters)

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In detail: TMG inked the final agreement with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) and the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH), giving its subsidiary Icon Investments 39% ownership and full management rights of a group of seven historic hotels — branded under the umbrella of Legacy Hotels.

TMG will become majority owner: The agreement will eventually see TMG's Icon hold a 51% stake in the hotels, bringing the transaction’s value to USD 800 mn, to be financed through Icon’s internal resources and an upcoming capital increase, TMG said in a statement (pdf). An “international strategic investor” will acquire a USD 882.5 mn minority stake in Icon via a capital increase, giving it an indirect stake in the hotels. This will result in “one of the largest foreign direct inflows into Egypt in the last several years.”

Sound smart #1: SFE CEO Ayman Soliman has long advocated that buyers be given the right to up their stakes through the injection of fresh capital that gives companies the cash they need to grow.

What’s in the portfolio? Seven historic properties, including the Cairo Marriott Hotel in Zamalek, Marriott Mena House next to the Giza Pyramids, Steigenberger Hotel El Tahrir Cairo, Steigenberger Cecil Alexandria, Sofitel Legend Old Cataract Aswan, Mövenpick Aswan, and Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor.

The sale will help bring in some desperately needed hard currency into the country, with the full value of the transaction set to be paid in USD.

A bigger stake and higher price tag: The initial transaction agreement announced in July saw Icon taking a 37% stake in the company for USD 700 mn.

Where is the money going? The state will use USD 150 mn in proceeds from the transaction proceeds to overhaul and develop the seven hotels, TMG CEO Hisham Talaat Moustafa told Asharq Business (watch, runtime:1:24). “The purpose of this investment into Legacy is to develop and upgrade these hotels to bring their operational efficiency to higher levels, enabling them to attract higher quality of tourism to Egypt,” the TMG statement said.

Icon's’s portfolio post acquisition: With this new batch of hotels under its belt, Icon now owns 15 hotels across Egypt and around 5k rooms.

ADVISORS- Talaat Moustafa made a point of thanking our friends at EFG Hermes (including EFG Holding Group CEO Karim Awad) as well Hani Sarie-Eldin, Sarwat Abdel Shaheed, Mohamed Abou Sho ka, and Ernst & Young.

Sound smart #2- 10-20% of the proceeds from privatization transactions typically go to the state’s treasury, while the rest is returned to the ministry or agency to reinvest, a government source told Enterprise. If the selling price is settled in foreign currency, the central bank exchanges it for the ministry to use it as it wishes.

A recent example: The sale of a stake in Eastern Company, where the government now plans to use the bulk of the proceeds to invest in state-owned fertilizer plants.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The program so far: The government has so far secured about USD 5.6 bn from selling stakes in 14 state-owned companies, Madbouly noted.

What are those 14? A senior government official we spoke with listed them as follows:

The April 2022 acquisition by ADQ of state-owned stakes in five EGX-listed companies for a total of USD 1.8 bn — namely: CIB, Abu Qir, Mopco, Alex Containers, andFawry.
PIF’s USD 1.3 bn acquisition in August 2022 of stakes in Mopco, Abu Qir, E-finance, and Alex Containers;
USD 2.5 bn this year from the sale of stakes in Pachin, Telecom Egypt, Eastern, Al Ezz Dekhila, Legacy Hotels;
An imminent sale to ADQ will make up the rest of the USD 2.5 bn for 2023. The Abu Dhabi wealth fund is set to buy stakes in Ethydco, Egyptian Drilling Company, and Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene.

More companies could join the privatization program soon: The Madbouly government, alongside the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has been looking into 50 state-owned companies to determine which sectors would be more attractive and lucrative. The IFC sees potential in airports, communications, ins. and banking.

ALSO: Madbouly last month said that the government is looking to bring in private sector operators to run some of the nation’s airports. We expect to see infrastructure and financial services offerings added to the privatization program in 1Q 2024 after comments from Soliman said earlier this month.

A non-update on IMF talks: “Negotiations with the IMF haven’t stopped,” Madboouly said, explaining that the two sides are currently working on a “new [review] schedule” to be announced soon.

Not part of the discussion yesterday: There was no updated on ADQ’s acquisition of stakes in the three oil and petrochemical companies, the sale of Banque du Caire, United Bank, or AAIB, the Gabal El Zeit or Zafarana wind farms, or the Siemens power plants. We had a recap of some of the more interesting assets still out for sale in yesterday’s issue of Enterprise AM.

Acwa Power to invest USD 4 bn in a green hydrogen project in Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone

Another green hydrogen plant incoming: Saudi Arabia renewable energy giant Acwa Power will set up a green hydrogen plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) at a cost of at least USD 4 bn, according to a framework agreement inked with the Madbouly government yesterday.

In detail: Acwa will invest USD 4 bn in the first phase of the project, which will have a production capacity of 600k metric tons of green ammonia annually. The second phase of the project will add another 2 mn metric tons of green ammonia to the plant’s production capacity.

Who’s involved? The Saudi renewables player inked the agreement with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), the SCZone, the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company, and the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA).

Acwa is no stranger to Egypt’s renewables sector: Acwa, alongside our friends at Hassan Allam Holding, is expected to break ground early next year on a USD 1.5 bn, 1.1 GW wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, the largest in the Middle East. Acwa also has minority stakes in three plants in Benban.

Caveat: The agreement signed yesterday is a framework agreement, which is not (by definition) a binding contract. Acwa will likely continue to study the project before coming to a final investment decision or a timeline of the project implementation.

Egypt loves green hydrogen: The government signed several framework agreements for green hydrogen projects over the past year. We are still waiting for the green hydrogen strategy to be announced after it has been approved by the National Green Hydrogen Council last month. The long-awaited strategy aims to provide a regulatory framework for the local production of green hydrogen.

Sawiris’s Ora to invest USD 10 bn in new UAE real estate project alongside Q Holding

More on Ora’s mega UAE project: Sawiris-owned Ora Developers has partnered with Abu Dhabi investment firm Q Holding for a USD 10 bn real estate project project in the Ghantoot area between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Naguib Sawiris told Asharq Business. The 15 mn-sqm mega real estate project should be completed within the coming 10-15 years, he had previously said. The project is expected to make up to USD 15 bn in sales, he said.

It has been busy at the Ora HQ: The firm recently acquired 175 feddans in New Cairo and 128 feddans in the North Coast, where it will be setting up new real estate projects that it will start selling off next year, and it also has plans to set up three new hotels – two in the North Coast and one near the Pyramids, Sawiris said earlier this month.

ALSO FROM NAGUIB-

The FX crisis’ impact on real estate sector: “The government should allow developers to sell units in USD” and provide incentives to accommodate developers during the ongoing currency crisis, as the FX component accounts for 35% of the building costs, Sawiris said. “Real estate developers sell properties at fixed rates despite growing costs, and therefore they end up accruing losses,” he separately told Al Arabiya Business.

Naguib didn’t miss the chance to talk up gold, reiterating that the precious metal will remain a safe haven especially during the current regional and global conflicts. The price of the 21-karat gold has witnessed new highs domestically this week, nearing the level of EGP 3k.

National Bank of Egypt is getting USD 100 mn from the EBRD to on-lend

NBE is getting USD 100 mn from the EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will be granting the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) up to USD 100 mn senior unsecured loan to be on-lent to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to an EBRD statement.

The beneficiaries: Half of the loan will be used for on-lending to MSMEs outside of Egypt’s two main urban centers, Cairo and Alexandria. Half of the financing is also earmarked for financing enterprises owned or led by women or youth.

Another agreement in the making? We may see another EBRD agreement in the coming days, as EBRD’s Egypt boss Khalid Hamza said on Tuesday that the multilateral lender could extend financing to “one or two banks” before the end of this year.

ICYMI: The EBRD has been loosening its purse strings this month, with a USD 50 mn loan to Elsewedy’s United Metals Company (UMC) announced two weeks ago and another two loans worth a combined USD 35 mn for aiBank approved last week.

Egyptian snackmaker Edita wants to invest 1 EGP bn to expand production capacity in 2024

Edita has big investment plans for 2024: Snackmaker Edita wants to invest more than EGP 1 bn to increase its production capacity in Egypt next year, Edita Chairman Hani Berzi told CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime: 2:35).

It has been a good 2023: The company’s sales saw more than a 20% y-o-y increase in 2023, he said.

No FX. No problem. Growing exports played a huge role in securing the needed hard currency to cover import costs, Berzi said, adding that Edita’s exports are expected to exceed EGP 1 bn by year’s end.

Remember: Edita posted EGP 1.2 bn in net income during the first nine months of the year, up 88% y-o-y, and sold EGP 8.8 bn worth of its snacks, up 70% compared to the previous period, driven by growth across all segments.

Egyptian edtech startup iSchool raises USD 4.5 mn in funding round

iSchool secures USD 4.5 mn from global investors: Egyptian edtech startup iSchool raised USD 4.5 mn in a funding round led by Irish VC VentureWave, it said in a statement (pdf). OneStop Capital UK, Webit Investment Network, and Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority’s Oraseya Capital also participated in the round.

iSchool? Since its inception in 2018, iSchool has raised some USD 5.9 mn. The startup offers gamified classes in English and Arabic for students between the ages 6-18 across 20 different countries, co-founder and CEO Muhammad Gawish (LinkedIn) told Enterprise. iSchool offers students one-on-one sessions on AI, app development, game development, and web development, with the aim of making technology education available to students who wouldn’t normally have access to it.

Where will the money go? The startup plans to use the funds to fuel its expansion across the GCC. The startup will also invest in product development, expanding its team, and launching new products, Gawish said.

Lots of expansion plans: iSchool currently has 582 employees in Egypt serving students in 20 countries. The startup wants to expand across the GCC — namely in Saudi, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain — through the coming year and start looking at sub-Saharan Africa in 2025, Gawish told us.

Egyptian cabinet approves EGP 50 bn tourism initiative

Fresh incentives for hospitality sector: The Madbouly cabinet has approved a new EGP 50 bn tourism initiative that will see the government offer financial incentives to encourage hospitality players to increase their hotel room capacity. This came during the cabinet’s latest weekly meeting.

What’s being offered? The government will offer hotel companies payouts not exceeding EGP 2 bn depending on their size to build, set up, or acquire new hotel rooms. Companies can start receiving the funding as of 1 January, the initiative will run for a full year.

Tax breaks: Tourism projects established after the implementation of the 2007 Investment Law will receive an income tax break.

The FX fine print: To be eligible, a company will need to exchange 40% of their hard currency revenues through the banking system for a five-year period. The initiative only applies to hotels operating in Greater Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, the Red Sea, South Sinai, and the North Coast.

What’s next? The mechanisms under which the initiative will be implemented will be drawn up by the finance and tourism ministries, alongside the central bank.

ALSO APPROVED-

A better industrial land allocation system? A draft law better regulating the allocation and pricing of industrial land plots, a topic that has long been an issue for industrial players.
Fresh green funding: A EUR 500k green grant from the European Investment Bank to help realize the targets of the country’s Green Sustainable Industry (GSI) project.
Fresh German funding: A funding agreement with the German government that will target waste management and vocational training.
Goodbye, Libor? Amending our agreements with the Islamic Development Bank to use SOFR — a measure of the cost of borrowing collateralized by US Treasury securities — instead of the LIBOR.
Pushing back higher usufruct fees: A one-year postponement to the 15% increase on usufruct fees collected from companies operating in free zones, until the beginning of 2025.

Egypt’s Tamweel secures EGP 1.7 bn from securitization issuance

Tamweel Mortgage Finance closed a EGP 1.7 bn securitized bonds issuance arranged by CIB and Al Ahli Pharos, according to a company statement published yesterday. The issuance, which marks the third tranche of Tamweel’s EGP 4 bn securitized bond program, was backed by a portfolio of EGP 3.1 bn worth of receivables.

In detail: The bonds, which came in five tranches with tenors ranging from 25-108 months, received ratings ranging from AA+ to A- from the Middle East Ratings and Investors Service (MERIS).

Buyers: CIB, National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque du Caire (BdC), Suez Canal Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, EBank, and Bank ABC all subscribed to the issuance.

ADVISORS- CIB and Al Ahli Pharos acted as the transaction’s lead arrangers and promoters, while BdC was placement agent. Dreny & Partners was counsel, Baker Tilly was the issuance auditor, and CIB served as custodian.

DATA POINT- Companies have raised nearly EGP 83.1 bn from securitization so far this year, up almost 83% from 2022, according to data tracked by Enterprise.

Vodafone Egypt releases annual sustainability report

Vodafone is on top of its ESG reporting: Vodafone Egypt released sustainability report for the year ending March 2023(microsite | PDF) at an event hosted by the British Egyptian Business Association, according to a statement (pdf). The company is the first telecoms operator to voluntarily report on its sustainability efforts following the ESG approach metrics, it added. The investor relations team at Enterprise Advisory, a unit of The Enterprise Co., helped Vodafone Egypt tell their story.

Vodafone Egypt has also signed two MOUs with the Communication Ministry to implement a number of initiatives to drive the development of public university students’ skills in the IT sector, it said in a statement (pdf).

More inclusive ATMs: More than one out of every five ATMs in the country now support people with disabilities. Some 22% machines are now friendly to folks with special needs, more than double the 10% quota set by the Central Bank of Egypt, the CBE said in a statement. There are around 5k ATMs with features designed to accommodate disabled people.

Talk shows discuss Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s presser and latest on privatization

Privatization was the one topic of discussion on the airwaves last night, as the nation’s talking heads recap what went down during Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s presser and the sale of a stake in seven state-owned historic hotels. Ala Mas’ouleety interviewed cabinet spokesperson Mohamed El Homsani (watch, runtime: 13:38) on the matter, while Yahduth Fi Masr spoke to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s Ayman Soliman (watch, runtime: 3:12). Al Hayah Al Youm also had coverage (watch, runtime: 4:46). We have the full story in the news well, above.

International press covers Egypt’s GERD and economy woes

The international press is focused on our Nile deadlock with Ethiopia this morning, after a fourth round of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia failed to reach a solution to the longstanding GERD dispute. The story got attention from Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Washington Post.

The economy also got a brief mention: Reuters is out with a piece looking at our various economic challengesand the decisions the government is expected to make — currency devaluation and interest rate hikes — now that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has secured a third term in office. Meanwhile, Bloomberg ’s sources see a bigger IMF package in our future.

Ahmed Ezz ups his stake in own company. PLUS: News from SODIC, Gorilla Technology, El Etreby

AHMED EZZ SNAPS UP ANOTHER SLICE OF EZZ STEEL: Steel magnate Ahmed Ezz purchased some 4 mn shares in Ezz Steel on Tuesday, a source familiar with the transaction told Enterprise following the release of an EGX bulletin (pdf). We believe Ezz purchased the shares from El Garhy Steel’s Gamal El Garhy at around EGP 80 apiece at a total cost of EGP 324 mn.

** Who owns what? The transaction brings Ezz’s majority stake up 0.7% to 66.4% and El Garhy’s stake down to 5.2% by our math. The Bank of New York Mellon owns 5.82%, according to the company’s shareholder structure (pdf) at the end of 3Q 2023.

SODIC JOINS FORCES WITH DELTA OIL: SODIC is teaming up with Delta Oil for Oil Recycling startup to set up an integrated ecosystem in the country to collect used cooking oil and pass it on to refineries that can turn the waste byproduct into biodiesel. (Al Mal)

** Want to know more? We spoke to Delta Oiland other local companies turning used cooking oil into EGP in our weekly Going Green deep-dive back in August.

GORILLA TECHNOLOGY SETTING UP SHOP IN EGYPT: British software company Gorilla Technology will set up a new distribution company in Egypt and invest some USD 100 mn to support growth across the region. (Asharq Business)

EL ETREBY GROUP TO BUILD NEW CITRUS EXPORT STATION: Agricultural crop exporter El Etreby will invest EGP 550 mn to establish a new citrus fruit export station in Sadat City set to begin operations in 2025. (Al Borsa)

Saudi Tadawul has risen 11% this year

Traders are feeling grumpy in Asia this morning. But first: A look at Tadawul, which is closing the books on a year that sees international institutional investors finally giving a second look to one of the world’s most compelling equities markets.

Saudi’s Tadawul is piquing the interest of fund managers from across the globe, with its benchmark index rallying 11% this year on the back of its economic diversification program, Bloomberg reports.

Diversification has helped change investor perceptions. Banks and petrochemical players are now joined on the bourse by listings from healthcare, retail, and power companies as well as (most recently) the broadcaster MBC. A string of IPOs since January 2022 has seen IPOs worth USD 11.5 bn go to market.

There’s also simply a lack of alternative EMs in which to invest: China’s economic slowdown and Russia’s exclusion from the MSCI index have played to the advantage of KSA, and Egypt belongs to domestic and retail investors right now thanks to a currency overhang.

One stumbling block to Tadawul’s growth: The market is still geared for local investors, with foreign ownership limits set at just under 50% for most stocks. Passive inflows alone would deliver USD 7.3 bn in additional inflows if those were scrapped, Arqaam Capital’s Elia Alchaar told Bloomberg.

SPEAKING OF IPOs- Low-cost airline Flynas has tapped Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Saudi Fransi Capital for a potential IPO in Riyadh next year. (Bloomberg)

AND- PureHealth shares made their debut on the ADX yesterday, closing up 84% at AED 6.00 after opening the day at AED 3.26. Selling shareholders raised some AED 1 bn in the heavily oversubscribed sale. It was the second-largest IPO in the UAE this year after ADNOC Gas.

ADVISORS- FAB was lead manager and lead receiving bank of the transaction.

Asian shares are selling off this morning, with indexes across the region following New York into the red. A late selloff on Wall Street set the tone for this morning’s selling: The three big Wall Street benchmarks all posted yesterday their biggest daily losses since October. Shares in Europe look set to dip at the opening bell later today, putting them on track to trim the gains they’ve made in the past 10 days, futures suggest.

But: Futures suggest the Santa rally could resume later today in New York and Toronto.

EGX30	24,838	-1.0% (YTD: +70.1%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.83	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	19.25% deposit	20.25% lending
Tadawul	11,703	+0.1% (YTD: +11.7%)
ADX	9,482	-0.1% (YTD: -7.11%)
DFM	4,014	+0.4% (YTD: +20.3%)
S&P 500	4,698	-1.5% (YTD: +22.4%)
FTSE 100	7,716	+1.0% (YTD: +3.5%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,534	0.0% (YTD: +19.5%)
Brent crude	USD 79.70	+0.6%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.45	-1.8%
Gold	USD 2,048	-0.2%
BTC	USD 43,402	+2.3% (YTD: +163.8%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.0% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 2.9 bn (10.7% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were net buyers. The index is up 70.1% YTD.

In the green: Alexandria Containers and Cargo Handling (+3.7%), E-finance (+1.6%) and Telecom Egypt (+1.4%).

In the red: Edita (-3.2%), Credit Agricole (-2.8%) and B Investments Holding (-2.6%).

Magda Greiche, executive shareholder of Dr Greiche Glass: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Magda Greiche (LinkedIn), executive shareholder of Dr Greiche Glass.

My name is Magda Greiche and I am an executive shareholder of Dr Greiche Glass, a family-owned glass processing company, where I’ve been working for the past 15 years. Dr Greiche Glass provides products for the construction, automotive, home appliances, and furniture industries as well as private clients. The company was established by my father in 1983. It was later managed by my mother for over 20 years before she handed CEO responsibility to my brother in 2020.

Our edge is our variety: I think what keeps us number one is our variety of processing, which allows us to address different industries. The second thing is our consistency and constantly striving to produce quality glass that is safe, while maintaining design. Despite the challenges we’ve faced, we’ve managed to keep growing and maintain our position as a market and regional leader in the industry.

My days are very normal: Within the business, I am the head of the architectural glass division, leading operations, sales, and management. I work from our 10th of Ramadan headquarters or from our Cairo office and split my time between meetings, emails, or site and client visits. I make sure that I take at least half an hour for lunch, often with my brother or my mother. It’s a time when we catch up on important issues, but some days I don’t have time.

Family-run businesses have an added layer of complexity: Working within a family business can be challenging if the proper governance, structure, and clarity regarding roles and responsibilities are not in place, because what you do at work you take home. Yet, it’s something I believe can help companies to grow in a healthier and faster way.

There’s always something happening: When it gets too overwhelming, I take a couple of minutes to be mindful and remind myself of my priorities. Pens, paper and calendars are always the best ways to remain organized. I write to diffuse all my thoughts, so that when I look at them, I let go of what’s not important and refocus on the key issues for the rest of the day.

I start my days at 6:30am and the first thing I do is drink my coffee and take time to organize and reflect on my day. Then, I move on to shaking off these thoughts with a workout and afterwards, comes what I call the learning part of my morning, reading the news or checking Enterprise. I think morning routines are great, but they’re also very limiting, because you can get obsessed. Occasionally, it’s good to break the routine or adapt it so it doesn’t become controlling.

A work-life balance is really impossible: You have your personal life, work, health, friends, and family and you want to invest in them all the time, but we can’t have a balance of everything. Instead, it’s a conscious decision as to where you’re going to focus your next hours or your day.

The part I enjoy most about my job is product development, especially when we have sophisticated projects or clients with uncommon requirements that need bespoke solutions. It’s a time when we try to bring people together, locally or from abroad, and often allows us to discover new talent in the market.

The glass industry is moving towards combining tech and the environment: Like everything else, glass is becoming smart. Around the world there are manufacturers working with their clients to develop smart glass solutions for vehicles or buildings and home appliances, where glass plays an interactive role in preserving and generating energy and enhancing privacy.

Design also remains important: Clients want the places they live in to be spacious and to have a lot of light in terms of their construction, meaning they want gigantic pieces of glass. This is where I think we are more advanced than others in the market, as Dr Greiche Glass has a new sheet of glass that is six meters in length.

I have just earned my executive MBA from IMD Business School in Switzerland — a really refreshing experience that exposed me to a diversity of thoughts and perspectives — so I’ve been considering what I’m going to do next in the company. I’m in the process of deciding between taking on a bigger role at Dr Greiche Glass beyond the construction sector or taking on entrepreneurial ideas linked to the glass industry on behalf of my family.

Switching off is all about taking time for myself: I am a very resilient female leader and an introspective person who can spend a lot of time on my own, yet I know how to balance that with sociability. Outside of work, I need to recharge on my own, but I also meet up with friends, usually for a couple of hours because I sleep very early. When I’m not working, I love to travel and can spend hours wandering around the streets of a city, contemplating architecture.

I’ve been given so much advice over the years, but the piece that stays fresh with me is from one of my professors at IMD, Anand Narasimhan. He said, “we do not learn from the experiences we live. We learn from reflecting on those experiences.” Sometimes we just live, we may think of our goals, but we don't reflect on what we have done. I think reflection is where the most learning and the most self growth happens.

CALENDAR

DECEMBER

14-21 December (Thursday-Thursday): El Gouna Film Festival.

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

2024

JANUARY

1 January (Monday): Egypt to join the Brics.

1 January (Monday): Private-sector minimum wage to rise to EGP 3.5k and minimum pension rate to rise to EGP 1.3k.

7 January (Sunday): Coptic Christmas (national holiday).

9 January (Tuesday): B Investments’ general assembly (pdf) to look into capital increase ahead of Orascom Financial Holding (OFH) acquisition.

17 January (Wednesday): A delegation of Egyptian companies to visit Istanbul.

25 January (Thursday): Revolution Day / Police Day (national holiday).

FEBRUARY

11 February (Sunday): Deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Programin El Gouna.

25 February 2024 (Sunday): Deadline to bid for 23 blocks in an international oil and gas tender.

MARCH

20 March (Wednesday): End of sugar export ban.

APRIL

9 April (Tuesday): Eid El Fitr (TBC) (national holiday).

25 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC) (national holiday).

MAY

1 May (Wednesday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC) (national holiday).

5 May (Sunday): Coptic Easter.

6 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim (national holiday).

29 May (Wednesday): Virtual launch of Chicago Booth Executive Program.

JUNE

15-19 June (Saturday-Wednesday): Eid El Adha (TBC) (national holiday).

30 June (Sunday): June 30 Revolution Day (national holiday).

JULY

7 July (Sunday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Tuesday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

SEPTEMBER

2-5 September (Monday-Thursday): Egypt International Airshow, El Alamein International Airport.

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

OCTOBER

6 October (Sunday): Armed Forces Day.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

Q1 2024: Opening of the newly developed Pyramids Plateau in Giza.

February-May: The Grand Egyptian Museum could officially open to visitors.

June 2024: Gov’t expects to finalize sale of Beni Suef combined-cycle power plant.

1H 2024: Gov’t expects to finalize sale of four water desalination plants.

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

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.

2024: Standard Chartered Bank to open a branch in Egypt.

2025

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to start operations.

2027

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

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

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