TAQA Arabia rings the bell at the EGX today

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What We're Tracking Today

THIS MORNING: Taqa Arabia shares start trading on the EGX today

Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the start of a new week. The news cycle is easing us into the first full work week after two shorter weeks thanks to public holidays — and we likely have another two short weeks ahead.

THE BIG STORY here at home: It’s more privatization murmurs, as a local media report claims state-owned real estate player El Mostakbal is the latest firm to be added to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s pre-IPO fund. We have all the details in the newswell, below.

AT LONG LAST, YBG IS CLEARED: A criminal court in Cairo has acquitted pre-revolution finance minister Youssef Boutros-Ghali of profiteering and other charges that he misused the powers of his office. The politically motivated charges date to June 2011, when YBG was sentenced in absentia to a 15-year prison turn in what became known as the “customs case,” which centered around allegations he had authorized the use of some 100 cars in a customs warehouse. Youm7 has the story. It’s the second acquittal for Boutros-Ghali, who late last fall was cleared in the so-called “license plate” case.

Dr. Youssef is one of the good guys, folks — a loyal civil servant who overhauled the state’s finances, built international belief in Egypt’s finances, and launched a valiant bid to make it cool to pay your fair share of taxes. News website Cairo24 quotes YBG as saying he plans to soon come home to Egypt — it would be good to see him back home and able to contribute once again to public life.

PSA#1- For our friends in Sahel — consider staying on dry land today and tomorrow. The national weather service is warning that winds of 50-70 km per hour could whip up rogue waves up to 4 meters high along the Mediterranean coast today and tomorrow. The capital is in for highs of 35°C across the week paired with high humidity, with the mercury heading into the 40s at the weekend.

PSA #2- more public holidays are just around the corner to mark Islamic New Year (Tuesday, 18 July) and Revolution Day (Sunday, 23 July). We still don’t know if we’ll get two three-day weekends, or one four-day break running Thursday, 20 July-Sunday, 23 July.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

The EGX’s first debut of 2023 starts trading today: Taqa Arabia shares will begin trading on the EGX today under the ticker TAQA after the Financial Regulatory Authority last week gave the Qalaa Holdings subsidiary the green light (pdf). The energy distribution company’s shares will begin trading at the nominal price of EGP 0.50 apiece.

Reminder: Taqa is selling shares to public investors via a direct offering, rather than going the conventional IPO route.

We have a valuation: Taqa Arabia shares have been valued at EGP 8.90 a piece, handing the company an EGP 12 bn (USD 393 mn) valuation, according to a regulatory filing (pdf) last week.

About the company: Taqa Arabia is one of the country’s leading energy distribution and utility companies, with operations spanning gas transmission and distribution, power, renewable energy, and water. The company has EGP 676.2 mn of capital split between 1.352 bn shares. Qalaa indirectly owns about 55% of the company, with the remaining shares reportedly split between at least 300 other shareholders.

Advisors: EFG Hermes is quarterbacking the transaction, while Zulficar & Partners are providing counsel. Baker Tilly is the independent financial advisor and PwC is the auditor.

MACRO WATCH- Egypt added another USD 130 mn to its foreign reserves in June: Reserves inched up to USD 34.81 bn in June from USD 34.66 bn in May, according to central bank figures. This is the ninth consecutive month that foreign reserves have increased, albeit very modestly each time.

ELECTIONS 2024-The Republican People’s Party agreed by vote to enter the 2024 presidential election and will nominate their candidate within the coming few days, according to a party statement last week.

IN THE HOUSE-

MPs are back — and then gone again: The House of Representatives reconvenes following a three-week Eid break, with sessions scheduled for today, tomorrow, and Tuesday before it breaks for three months for the summer. MPs are today set to hold discussions and vote on:

Amendments to the Investment Lawaimed at boosting FDI;
Two draft bills greenlighting the USD 565 mn redevelopment of East Port Said port that were approved by the House Economic Affairs Committee last week (more on that in Also On Our Radar, below.)

The House committees also have a busy day ahead:

The Economic Affairs Committee will discuss requests on the role of consumer cooperative shops in mitigating inflation;
The CIT Committee will review Telecom Egypt’s near-term strategy with new CEO Mohamed Nasr El Din;
The Manpower Committee will review problems facing Kafr El Dawar’s Misr Spinning and Weaving Company;
The Industrial Committee will discuss measures to boost investment in Quesna’s industrial zone;
The Agriculture Committee will look into issues facing the sugar industry;
The Health Committee will review the shortage of doctors and medical equipment in public hospital;
The Local Administration Committee will look into efforts to simplify licensing measures for shops.

Tomorrow: MPs will discuss and vote in plenary session on a bill eliminating preferential tax treatmentfor some state-owned entities, as well as a bill setting up an EGP 1 bn disability fund.

US geopolitical positioning is the BIG STORY ABROAD this morning: The Washington Post, AP News, and Reutersare among the outlets looking at what’s at stake for US President Joe Biden as he jets out to the UK today ahead of the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Bloomberg and the NYT are focusing on what US officials described as a “candid” five-hour meeting yesterday between US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese VIce Premier He Lifeng in Beijing.

MARKET WATCH-

Another extension for the Black Sea grain pact? Turkey wants a further month-long extension of the agreement allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday during a joint presser with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to Bloomberg. The agreement has already been extended for two months and expires on 17 July. “The whole world is interested in the functioning of the grain corridor,” Zelenskiy said.

It seems unlikely: Russia has been threatening to withdrawfrom the agreement even prior to the initial two-month extension, saying that its own demands to facilitate Russian wheat and fertilizer exports under the pact have not been met.

REMEMBER- We’re one of the world’s largest importers of wheat and prior to the war sourced more than 20% of our imported wheat from Ukraine. Should the grain pact collapse, the resulting supply shock would also cause international prices to spike, raising the country’s import bill at a time when it’s facing significant pressure on its external position.

The end of the grain pact could reverse this trend: Global food prices continued to decline in June, driven primarily by drops in the prices of cereals and vegetable oils, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) reports. The FAO food price index — which measures the monthly change in the international prices of a basket of food commodities — fell 1.4% m-o-m to 122.3 points in June, continuing its downward trajectory from a peak of 159.7 (pdf) in March 2022.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the EnterprisePodcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We explored the lessons learned from the industries that have raised our export profile: Food and beverages, fertilizers and chemical products, and textiles and garments. We were joined on that panel by Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, CEO of Concrete, Shams Eweis, corporate affairs manager for North Africa and the Levant at Mars, and Tarek Hosny, head of investments and projects at Fertiglobe.

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

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications.

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Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists, while also working on and filing stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “reporter development program” in your subject line.

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SFE adds El Mostakbal for Urban Development to its pre-IPO fund -report

Sovereign fund to put Mostakbal City developer up for sale: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) will offer a 25-30% stake in real estate firm El Mostakbal Urban Development (Midar) to a strategic investor after recently adding the company to its pre-IPO fund, Asharq Business says, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The pre-IPO fund looks to bring strategics onboard to invest and help restructure state-owned firms before they go up for a public offering on the EGX.

REMEMBER- Midar was one of four state-owned real estate players on the government’slist of 32 state-owned companiesset to be sold in the rebooted privatization program. The company is developing the Mostakbal City compound in New Cairo, next to the New Administrative Capital.

The pre-IPO fund so far: SFE head Ayman Soliman was in Marchquoted as saying eight firms in the privatization program had so far been added to the fund. While the fund hasn’t confirmed any names, local media has reported that participants include Misr Technology Services, Egyptian Drilling Company,Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab), Banque du Caire, Misr Life Ins, and Salhia Investment and Development Company. Asharq’s source also says Ethydco — which could be up for private and public offerings after its planned merger with Sidpec — is also in the fund.

The Elab transaction is scheduled for this quarter, Asharq’s sources said, without giving further details. Elab was previously said to have been earmarkedfor a listing as soon as June.

Is the privatization program on the precipice of seeing some movement? Planning Minister Hala El Said recently promised big news on the privatization front , saying the government had met its targets and would make news of transactions public after the Eid holiday. The government had been targeting asset sales of USD 2 bn by the end of June. It has so far raised only USD 153 mn that we know of, through the Pachin acquisition and a sale of 10% in Telecom Egypt. The International Finance Corporation last month came on board to advise on the privatization efforts.

In the frame: Recent unconfirmed reports in the local press suggest there’s been progress in talks over Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt, one of the Siemens-built power plants, Egyptian Chemical Industries (Kima), Ethydco, and a number of state-owned hotels.

Egypt’s oil and gas exports decline on lower prices, production in 4M 2023

Egypt’s oil and gas exports fell more than 50% y-o-y in the first four months of 2023, according to Capmas data out on Thursday. Revenues from natural gas, crude and petroleum products exports totaled USD 3.17 bn in the January-April period, down from around USD 6.6 bn during the same period last year, the figures show.

Lower receipts from LNG exports were the biggest contributor to the dip: Natural gas revenues halved to USD 2.1 bn during the four-month period, according to the figures. Receipts from crude and petroleum product exports were also significantly down y-o-y, falling 54% and 57% respectively.

What’s going on? It’s a mixture of prices and production. Natural gas prices have plunged since spiking last year on the back of the war in Ukraine, hitting gas revenues in Egypt, which sells LNG on the spot market rather than under long-term arrangements. Local production has also declined in recent months and has only partly been compensated by rising imports from Israel, a veteran insider told us.

It wasn’t just the oil sector: Hard currency revenues from non-oil exports also fell even as a series of currency devaluations made Egyptian goods and services more competitive internationally. Revenues fell 14% to USD 11.4 bn during the January-April period, with finished and semi-finished goods both declining in USD terms.

Remember: The value of the EGP has halved against the USD since March 2022 after the central bank devalued the currency three times in response to the FX crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine.

But the trade deficit still narrowed due to falling imports: The country’s trade deficit narrowed to USD 10.6 bn from USD 14.5 bn as the FX crunch hampered the ability of importers to bring goods into the country. Non-oil imports fell 30% y-o-y to USD 21.2 bn in the four-month period, offsetting the impact of lower export revenues on the country’s balance of trade.

NO LNG EXPORTED IN JUNE -EL MOLLA

The LNG slowdown continued in June: Egypt didn’t export any LNG in June, according to Oil Minister Tarek El Molla, who is quoted as telling Reuters last week that production was being earmarked to satisfy peak summer demand. Trade sources reportedly told the newswire that they thought the pause was due to falling domestic production.

Remember: Local gas consumption peaks between June and September because of air conditioning in the hot summer months.

Back in July? Egypt will resume LNG exports in July, El Molla told the newswire.

Shell to drill three new wells at its Egyptian Mediterranean WDDM concession. PLUS: Egypt wants USD 8 bn of oil and gas investment this fiscal year + 6 tn cubic feet in annual gas output by 2025

Shell to squeeze more out of West Delta Deep Marine: Shell Egypt and its partners will drill three new development wells in the offshore West Delta Deep Marine (WDDM) concession later this year, it said in a statement (pdf) on Thursday. The project is expected to provide an additional 200 mn cubic feet of gas per day and will cost more than USD 200 mn, according to Asharq Business, citing what it says is an unnamed government official.

New phase to come online next year: Drilling will start in late 2023, subject to regulatory approvals, with production expected to come on stream in 2024. The Burullus and Rashid petroleum companies — both joint ventures between Shell and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) — will handle the drilling and production of the new wells. Petronas is a 50% non-operating partner alongside operator Shell in the concession.

Output at WDDM has been on a slow decline for years: The WDDM concession at its peak in the late 2000s produced in excess of 2 bn cubic feet per day. Output has fallen gradually in the years since and last year totaled around 300 mn cf/d. Shell is forecasting a 491 bn cf shortfall in gas deliveries in Egypt between 2023 and 2025, largely due to lower WDDM production, it said in its annual report last year.

OIL MINISTRY WANTS USD 8 BN ANNUALLY OF UPSTREAM INVESTMENT-

A plan drawn up by the Oil Ministry hopes to draw USD 8 bn of investment into the oil and gas sector during the current fiscal year,Minister Tarek El Molla told Asharq Business on Thursday. The funds will go into exploration, research and development, and operation expenses, El Molla said on the sidelines of the OPEC+ meetings in Vienna.

We’ve heard this target before: El Molla was quoted in February as saying he expected to see some USD 8 bn invested in the sector this year.

And we know where some of it is coming from: El Molla’s statement comes on the heels of his announcement last week that multinational energy firms Eni, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP will deploy a combined USD 1.8 bn to drill 35 gas exploration wells in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta over the next two years.

Our annual production of natural gas is expected to hit 6 tn cubic feet by 2025, a source at the Oil Ministry told us. That’s more than double our annual production in 2021, which totaled 2.45 tn cubic feet, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The 2025 estimate includes gas derived from existing concessions, the 35 new exploration wells, and imports from Israel, our source told us, citing studies by multinational energy companies.

Egyptian talk shows note Giza Zoo’s closure for renovation until 2025

The talk show hosts and other animals: The nation’s talking heads brought us coverage of the future of the Giza Zoo and Orman botanical garden, as well as the latest from the House.

The Giza Zoo has closed its doors for 18 months: The Giza Zoo and adjacent Orman botanical garden have closed their doors until 2025 to undergo an EGP 1 bn renovation carried out by the National Authority for Military Production, Abnaa Sinai, and another firm dubbed Hedekty (My Garden), Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi said (watch, runtime: 1:40). The consortium will renovate, operate, and maintain the zoo and garden under a 25-year contract with the Agriculture Ministry. Following the renovations that zoo and the garden will become one, Mohamed Ragei, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s zoos department told El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 17:09).

Why the need for renovations? “The zoo was established in 1891 and its entire infrastructure has become inadequate and in need of revamping … Zoo standards have changed since then and cage designs need to change to better accommodate the animals,” Ehab Saber, head of the Agriculture Ministry’s veterinary services department, told Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 3:30)

Should investment incentives be made available for longer? MPs will this week discuss and vote on a number of investment incentives put forward by the Supreme Investment Councilin May. “I would have liked for these incentives to be made available for a ten-year period instead of three. It takes the investor one or two years to set up shop,” MP Mohamed Badrawi told Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 8:50).

AND- El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 4:29) and Salet El Tahrir (watch, runtime: 2:06) both interviewed climate experts to weigh in on the planet seeing its warmest days on record last week.

Guardianship, human rights in the headlines on a quiet morning for Egypt in the international press

In a quiet morning for mentions of Egypt in the international press,Reuters reports that Egyptian mothers are placing their hopes on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to reform the country's guardianship law. Also in human rights, the Guardian has a story on a book Lamisse Hamouda and her father have co-authored that chronicles his imprisonment in Tora prison.

AND- Marsa Alam’s first color festival was attended by some 6k tourists, according to Arab News.

East Port Said expansion gets thumbs up from House committee. PLUS: Drive Finance loan + small-scale power plants + Ezz Steel earnings + Turkish healthcare investment + Gorilla Tech

INFRASTRUCTURE-

House committee approves two Suez container terminal projects: The House Economic Affairs Committee on Thursday approved the proposed USD 65 mn project to set up a new multi-purpose terminal at the East Port Said port, the Suez Canal Economic Zone said. The bill would allow the SCZone to hand a 30-year contract to Sky Logistics and Reliance Logistics to design, construct, manage, operate and maintain the terminal under a build-own-transfer framework. The second bill would allow Maersk’s Suez Canal Container Terminal to start work on the new container terminal at the port, which is expected to expand its capacity by 40% and cost USD 500 mn.

INVESTMENT-

Turkish healthcare firm to deepen local manufacturing footprint: Turkish consumer healthcare company Hayat is planning to invest USD 210 mn to establish three new production lines here, the Trade and Industry Ministry said Thursday. Hayat Egypt currently operates facilities in Egypt and has invested USD 550 mn in the country in total. The company, which owns the Molfix, Molped and other consumer brands, is among Turkey’s largest exporters.

Remember: A number of Turkish companies pledged to invest a combined USD 500 mn in Egypt earlier this year amid warming ties between the rival countries. Egypt and Turkey last week restored full diplomatic ties for the first time in a decade in a move that could pave the way for closer economic ties.

DEBT-

Drive Finance eyes fresh credit facilities to expand financing:GB Corp’s car finance arm Drive Finance has entered final negotiations with four private and state-owned banks to obtain credit facilities worth EGP 1 bn to support its factoring and consumer financing services, Managing Director Ahmed Osama told Al Mal. The banks in question are National Bank of Egypt, EG Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, he added. Drive, which is a subsidiary of GB Corp’s financing arm GB Capital, wants to increase its financing portfolio to EGP 3.5 bn by the end of 2023 and is looking to expand into seven Egyptian governorates.

ENERGY-

More companies handed licenses to establish small-scale power stations: The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera) has handed out permits allowing companies to establish electricity generators with a combined capacity of 31.5 MW, according to documents seen by Al Borsa. The permits were awarded to projects owned by DNM Textile For Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing, Green Egypt for Agricultural Investment (AGreen), Egypt Poultry, and Karm Solar SPV Mars for Selling and Distributing Electricity.

INDUSTRY-

FX woes see Ezz Steel post 1Q loss despite surge in revenues: Steel giant Ezz Steel recorded almost EGP 9 bn in FX losses in 1Q 2023, according to the firm’s latest earnings release (pdf). The losses contributed to the company reporting a EGP 2.5 bn net loss during the quarter — compared with EGP 1.2 bn in net earnings in 1Q 2022 — despite revenues surging almost 50% to EGP 27.8 bn. Ezz Steel continued to shift its focus towards exports during the quarter to secure the necessary FX to pay for imports.

TECH-

Gorilla Technology to launch multi-mn USD cybersecurity system for gov’t:UK-based data analytics firm Gorilla Technology has signed a three-year, USD 270 mn contract with the government to roll out a new cybersecurity system, according to a company statement. The system seeks to improve security by “enabling better decision-making, proactive threat detection, and quick response to emerging risks,” the statement reads.

A boon for Gorilla: The company’s shares more than doubled in value on the Nasdaq stock exchange on Friday following the announcement. The contract, which Gorilla said is the largest since its establishment in 2001, is set to put the company “on a path toward profitability by the end of 2024,” according to the statement.

Global VC funding fell off a cliff in 1H 2023. PLUS: ADQ, Bank of Montreal make a play for Sagard + Twitter wants to take Meta to court over Threads

Global VC funding drought in 1H 2023 despite AI boom: Global venture capital funding saw a 48% decline in the first half of 2023 to USD 173.9 bn, according to data from research firm PitchBook, reports Reuters. That’s despite investors plowing some USD 40 bn in AI startups over the past six months, sparked by the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT – which received a USD 10 bn investment from Microsoft – and similar products. The dip is all the more stark considering that VC funding hit a record high only two years ago, reaching USD 745.1 bn in 2021.

The days of easy money are over: VCs are becoming more selective against a backdrop of rising interest rates, fewer IPOs, and a lack of alternative ways to make exits. Latin America has seen the biggest fall in VC funding with an 86% slump, while funding fell 69% in Europe and 65% in the US.

ADQ + Bank of Montreal to snap up stakes in Sagard: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Canada’s Bank of Montreal will acquire minority stakes in alternative asset manager Sagard, according to a joint statement seen by Reuters. The transaction will see Canadian ins-focused financial holding firm Great-West Lifeco increase its existing minority stake in Sagard. It is expected to close in 3Q 2023, pending regulatory approvals.

Musk calls copycat on Threads: Twitter plans to take legal action against Meta, accusing the company of hiring ex-Twitter employees to develop rival app Threads, BBC News reports. Meta denies the claims. More than 30 million people signed up to Threads in the 24 hours following its launch last week.

EGX30	17,102	-1.6% (YTD: +17.2%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.84	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	16.25% deposit	17.25% lending
Tadawul	11,598	+0.1% (YTD: +10.7%)
ADX	9,604	0.0% (YTD: -5.9%)
DFM	3,962	+0.0% (YTD: +18.9%)
S&P 500	4,399	+0.3% (YTD: +14.6%)
FTSE 100	7,257	-0.3% (YTD: -2.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,237	+0.3% (YTD: +11.7%)
Brent crude	USD 78.47	+2.9%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.58	-1.0%
Gold	USD 1,933	+0.9%
BTC	USD 30,190	-0.4% (YTD: +82.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.6% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.67 bn (about 24% below the trailing 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 17.2% YTD.

In the green: EFG Holding (+2.1%), Qalaa Holdings (+1.7%) and Edita (+1.3%).

In the red: Ibnsina Pharma (-4.0%), Egypt Kuwait Holding (-3.9%) and Elsewedy Electric (-3.5%).

El Sisi congratulates Greek PM + Sierra Leone president on re-election

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi phoned Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to congratulate him after his center-right New Democracy party was reelected for another four years, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Ittihadiya also issued a statementcongratulating Julius Maada Bio for securing his second term as president of Sierra Leone.

ALSO I THE DIPLO SPHERE-

El Sisi x Meloni: El Sisi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discussed bilateral relations, the global food crisis, and combating illegal migration in a call on Thursday. (Statement)
Egypt re-elected to FAO council: The country was voted to remain in the council governing the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for another three-year term, ending in 2026. (Statement)

More than 20 people killed in one of Sudan’s deadliest airstrikes yet. PLUS: Fresh protests against judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv

An airstrike that hit the Sudanese city of Omdurman killed at least 22 people and wounded others in “one of the deadliest air attacks” the three-month civil war has seen so far, the Associated Press reports citing data from the country’s Health Ministry. The Sudanese Armed Forces took responsibility for the attack, saying that it killed 20 members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, while the RSFcondemned the attack, saying that it had killed more than 31 people and destroyed homes. More than 3k Sudanese have been killed and nearly 3 mn have so far fled their homes as a result of the civil war.

AND-Israeli protesters hit the streets again: Tel Aviv yesterday witnessed its biggest protests in weeks against the controversial push by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government to overhaul the justice system, which is up for a vote in parliament this week, Reuters reports.

CALENDAR

JULY

12-13 July (Wednesday-Thursday): Finance Ministry to pay out first batch of export subsidies under sixth phase of subsidies program.

15 July (Saturday): Deadline for EGAS + EGPC bid rounds for gas exploration and development of mature oil fields.

15 July (Saturday): Rollout of the fourth phase of the Egyptian Tax Authority’s e-receipt system.

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

18-19 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): Egypt Mining Forum, Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo.

19 - 20 July (Wednesday - Thursday): Gov’t to pay out subsidies to second wave of applicants under its sixth export subsidy program.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

25-26 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day.

31 July (Monday): Application deadline for the Smart Green Projects initiative.

31 July (Monday): Emigration Ministry’s Egyptians Abroad conference.

Late July-14 August: 2Q2023 earnings season.

AUGUST

August: Hassan Allam Utilities + Agility to open Yanmu East logistics park.

2 - 3 August (Wednesday - Thursday): Gov’t to pay out subsidies to second wave of applicants under its sixth export subsidy program.

3 August (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

10 August (Thursday): Shalateen Mineral Resources gold mining tender closes.

22-24 August (Tuesday-Thursday): BRICS summit, Johannesburg, South Africa.

SEPTEMBER

September: Sustainable Debt Coalition Initiative agreed at COP27 to launch.

September: IDH to open first branch in Saudi Arabia.

September: The Egypt-Germany trade and investment joint conference in Cairo.

September: JETRO’s second delegation arrives in Cairo.

9-10 September (Saturday-Sunday): G20 summit, New Delhi, India.

10-12 September (Sunday-Tuesday): The International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East, Sahara.

15 September (Friday): IMF to review USD 3 bn program.

15 September (Friday): Deadline for FX bureaus to comply with new capital requirements.

17-18 September (Sunday-Monday): Arab Security Conference and Exhibition, Nile Ritz Carlton.

17-19 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Sharm Rendezvous, Rixos Premium Seagate, Sharm ElSheikh.

19-20 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

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

21-23 September (Thursday-Saturday): Narrative PR Summit, Somabay.

25 September (Monday): Nasdaq deadline for Swvl Holdings Corp to increase its market value of publicly held shares to a minimum of USD 15 mn.

25-26 September (Monday-Tuesday): Egypt to host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s annual board meeting, Sharm El Sheikh.

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

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

28-29 September (Thursday-Friday) Medical Tourism Conference, Sharm ElSheikh.

OCTOBER

October: Deadline for ins. providers to link their databases with the FRA.

2-4 October (Monday-Wednesday): Sharm Rendezvous - Ins. Market, Rixos Premium Seagate, Sharm ElSheikh.

2-5 October (Monday-Thursday): ADIPEC 2023, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

9-11 October (Monday-Wednesday): Arabs Savings and Financial Literacy Conference, Four Seasons Hotel.

13 October- 20 October (Friday-Friday): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

Late October-14 November: 3Q2023 earnings season.

15-17 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Automotive Aftermarket Exhibition, Cairo International Convention Center.

26 October (Thursday): Daylight saving time ends.

29-31 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

29 October - 2 November (Sunday- Thursday): Cairo Water Week.

30-31 October (Monday-Tuesday): Intelligent Cities Exhibition and Conference, Dusit Thani LakeView, Cairo.

30-31 October (Monday-Tuesday): Global Business School Network (GBSN), American University of Cairo.

31 October - 1 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

NOVEMBER

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

9-15 November (Thursday-Wednesday): Intra-African Trade Fair, Cairo.

14-15 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Destination Africa, Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel.

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival, Cairo.

19-22 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

23 November (Thursday): Worldview Education Fair, Cairo. (Register here)

DECEMBER

10-11 December (Sunday-Monday): eGlobe Expo, St. Regis Almasa Hotel, Cairo.

12-13 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

12-14 December (Tuesday-Thursday): Food Africa Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

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

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Summer 2023: EGX to launch a shariah-compliant index.

1H 2023: GAFI roadshow set to launch to drum up foreign investment for golden licenses

1H 2023: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank intends to launch a digital consumer finance company

2H 2023: Egyptian government expected to sign agreements with a consultant for the EuroAfrica electricity interconnector.

2H 2023: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to hold a summit.

3Q 2023: E-Finance to launch in Saudi Arabia.

4Q 2023: EGX to launch its new futures exchange.

End of 2023: A Developments’ first phase of the Lazoghly development completed.

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

November 2024: Egypt to host the 12th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12).

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to initiate operations.

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