The government will not issue permits to companies to import natural gas from Israel until the arbitration cases between Egypt and Israel are resolved, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said, according to Reuters. The government will sign off on agreements to import from our eastern neighbor only once the disputes are resolved and under the condition that the agreements “add value,” El Molla say. “Delegations [from Israel] are healthy as it means there are discussions and negotiations, but they have to meet the conditions put by the government as that is only fair,” he says. “In 2015, the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Egypt to pay USD 2 bn in compensation after [an agreement] to export gas to Israel via pipeline collapsed in 2012 due to attacks by insurgents in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula,” the newswire notes.

Dolphinus Holdings, a company owned in part by industrialist Alaa Arafa, has long been interested in importing natural gas from Israel’s Tamar gas field, as we have previously noted on multiple occasions. Israel said last year that it could settle for less than half the total fine imposed in the case brought by Israel Electric, which Egypt has sought to overturn since December 2015.

Speaking on upcoming local projects, El Molla said that the EGPC plans to open a new bid round for onshore oil blocks, according to The National. “EGPC’s onshore bid round will be before year end, nine to ten blocks will be offered from the Western desert and Eastern blocks,” he said.

Separately, El Molla also said that the government aims to finalize contracts with local and foreign companies that were awarded five gold mining concessions by year’s end. Four firms, including two foreign companies, were awarded the five blocks in the Eastern Desert and the Sinai peninsula in the first tender for new gold exploration since 2009 last January. There are no plans for offering new concessions until the contracts for this year’s tender are finalized, El Molla says. Egypt’s largest gold producers, including Centamin, Aton Resources, and Thani Stratex, had all refused to participate in the bid round citing concerns over the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority (EMRA)’s insistence that production sharing agreements were the way to go. Former head of EMRA Omar Taima had challenged them saying the bid round was “successful,” despite no participations from major companies.

Egypt signs USD 3.2 bn expansion of financing agreement with global banks: Egypt has signed an expanded financing agreement with global banks, secured as part of a repurchase (repo) transaction in 2016, CBE Governor Tarek Amer said on Monday, according to Bloomberg. The agreement expands the one-year repo to USD 3.2 bn from USD 2 bn, said Amer, who did not state whether the duration has changed. The USD 2 bn in repo funding was secured last November against USD-denominated sovereign bonds issued in a private placement and are listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Finance Minister Amr El Garhy had hinted last month that an expansion in the agreement would be contingent on the haircut, or discount, anticipating the latter might drop to 25% this year from 30% last year. Those terms have yet to be announced by the CBE. The move comes as Egypt looks set to make USD 14 bn in foreign debt payments this year.

Foreign holdings of Egyptian T-bills fell for the first time since the EGP was floated in November 2016 as maturing notes exceeded new purchases, Ahmed Feteha writes for Bloomberg. He says the drop in holding could suggest that demand for Egyptian debt is peaking. “The flow of new money and the appetite to renew maturing notes may be waning due to seasonal factors,” Samy Khallaf, head of the Finance Ministry’s public debt division, said noting that overseas investors held EGP 330.0 bn worth of T-bills, down from EGP 333.6 bn a week earlier. “We’re still seeing purchases from foreign investors, but maturities this quarter are larger than the previous one … We’re also entering the holiday season so it is normal to see lower activity from foreign funds,” Khallaf explained. This comes as the CBE sold EUR 692.9 mn in one-year T-bills yesterday, Reuters reported. The EUR-denominated T-bills carried an average yield of 1.499%. The average yield on Egypt’s three- and seven-year treasury bonds rose in yesterday’s auctions.

Some foreign money managers who have been bullish on Egypt’s debt see the play waning given the potential that the CBE may cut interest rates this coming Thursday. High rates today have made Egypt’s bonds one of the most attractive emerging market debts, and political concerns loom in their minds, writes Ira Iosebashvili for the Wall Street Journal. “The [carry] trade is a little bit exhausted,” said Jan Dehn, head of research at Ashmore Group, which owned Egypt’s local currency bonds earlier this year. “I think it’s on its last legs,” he added. Jim Barrineau, co-head of emerging-market debt at Schroders, said concerns over high inflation pushed him recently to sell Egyptian local currency bonds his firm had invested in earlier this year. “It was a very good trade,” Barrineau said. “Better to sell now than … when everyone is trying to get out at once.” Y’all go enjoy your negative rates in Europe, okay?

One factor which may keep the bonds at play for investors are guarantees of repatriation, argues Iosebashvili. “One of the things we wanted to know was whether we can get our [greenbacks] back,” said Colm McDonagh, head of emerging-markets fixed income at U.K.-based Insight Investment. He said his firm holds Egyptian bonds, which it purchased in February.

EgyptAir is expected to announce today a USD 1.1 bn order for Bombardier C-Seriesjets, Boeing 787s: EgyptAir has reportedly been in advanced talks with Bombardier to buy 12 CS300 jets in a transaction worth c. USD 1.1 bn, people familiar with the matter tell Bloomberg. The order is expected to be announced today at the Dubai Air Show. The airline is also reportedly mulling other options to buy another dozen of the single-aisle planes, and EgyptAir is also expected to unveil an order for at least six of Boeing’s 787 carbon fiber Dreamliners, said people familiar with the discussions. Airbus SE has also been in talks to secure a commitment for its A320neo single-aisle jetliners, the people said. The purchases come as part of an expansion of EgyptAir’s fleet as tourism shows signs of recovery and the airline weathering the crash of EgyptAir flight MS 804 from Paris to Cairo. Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said last month that the government expected to pay about USD 3.3 bn of the costs the national flag carrier will incur in acquiring some 45 planes.

The EgyptAir contract would be a big win for Bombardier, which is locked in trade dispute with Boeing in the United States that saw the temporary imposition of a 220% duty on C-series jets sold into Amreeka.

And speaking of the tourism upswing, German tourists continued to book more holidays in Hurghada and Marsa Alam in October, German tourism portal FVW says, citing figures from reservations provider Traveltainment. Bookings to Hurghada rose 83% y-o-y, while Marsa Alam bookings surged 90% y-o-y during October. This is the third consecutive month to see a boom in bookings from German tourists; Marsa Alam enjoyed a particularly healthy y-o-y leap of 121% during September, albeit from a low base.

M&A WATCH- The main shareholders in food products producer Cook's Industries have appointed Arqaam Capital to advise on the sale of their stake in the company, sources told Al Mal. Cook’s, founded in Cairo in 1954, is owned by the heirs of founder Agamemnon Paraskevas. Al Mal says Arqaam is shopping Cook’s to GCC investors, with current shareholders looking to cash in on increased interest in the sector and export potential following the EGP devaluation.

INVESTMENT WATCH- Domty denied that it is planning to invest USD 25-30 mn in an olive packaging and processing operation with a company owned by Abdel Salam Alwadi, chairman of the Tunisian Olive Oil Association. Domty made the announcement in a regulatory filing on Monday (pdf) after a report in Al Mal surfaced yesterday quoting Alwadi as saying that his company signed an agreement to get 10k feddans for the proposed plant and Domty is expected to get another 3k feddans. The land was supposed to be allocated as part of the 1.5 mn feddan desert reclamation project, according to statements attributed to Alwadi.

MOVES- Elsayed Mohamed Aly has been appointed chairman and managing director of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB)-Egypt. Aly was formerly the chairman and managing director of Mashreq Bank-Egypt.

The Transport Ministry began implementing unified port fees nationwide last month on a trial basis, Transport Minister Hisham Arafat announced yesterday, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Arafat and Suez Canal Economic Zone head Mohab Mamish had agreed on the unification of fees back in June and follows a series of announced exits by major shipping firms who complained about Egypt’s port fees. The two had said the new fees would come into effect in October. Arafat and Mamish had also announced in August that the government will provide shipping companies with breaks on Suez Canal port fees as high as 50%. The breaks on fees will be proportionate to the volume of cargo shipped by the lines.

Separately, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree yesterday appointing himself as the new head of the Supreme Ports Council, Al Borsa reports. The council was previously headed by the transport minister, who will now become its deputy head. The decree also stipulated the inclusion of maritime experts, nominated by the transport minister, in the council. Other members include the heads of the Suez Canal Authority and Suez Canal Economic Zone, as well as representatives from the defense, interior, investment, and tourism ministries.

In other port news, the Suez Canal Authority is working on developing the port of Al Arish in North Sinai, Mamish told Al Ahram. He added that an unnamed French company is constructing a container terminal in East Port Said.

IPO WATCH- Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC took a step toward its previously hinted sale of least 10% of its fuel stations unit in a December IPO in the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said on Monday in an interview with Bloomberg. The move would make it among the first major state-owned energy IPOs in the region, beating out the planned listing of Saudi Aramco which may take place next year. ADNOC is seeking a valuation of between USD 10-14 bn. EFG Hermes reportedly joins Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint bookrunners for the offering, while Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank, HSBC and Merrill Lynch International will be coordinating the IPO.