{"id":551607,"date":"2022-07-03T13:58:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T13:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/07\/03\/tonight-we-have-a-light-rail-retail-portion-of-ghazl-el-mahalla-delayed-also-house-is-still-not-done-with-the-competition-act\/"},"modified":"2022-07-03T13:58:25","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T13:58:25","slug":"tonight-we-have-a-light-rail-retail-portion-of-ghazl-el-mahalla-delayed-also-house-is-still-not-done-with-the-competition-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/07\/03\/tonight-we-have-a-light-rail-retail-portion-of-ghazl-el-mahalla-delayed-also-house-is-still-not-done-with-the-competition-act\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: We have a light rail + Retail portion of Ghazl El Mahalla delayed. ALSO- House is still not done with the Competition Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the three-day holiday behind us, the countdown to the Eid break begins,<\/strong> ladies and gentlemen. Friday will be Wa\u2019fa day, with the first day of Eid falling on Saturday. It is customary for us to get three working days off, so we\u2019re expecting a very short week next week. But before we check out\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/a> THE BIG STORIES TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

#1-<\/strong> Habemus, light rail: <\/strong>President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated the first phase of thelight<\/a>rail transit system<\/a>(LRT) connecting Cairo, the New Administrative capital and 10th of Ramadan in a ceremony today at the Adly Mansour station (watch, runtime: 47:00<\/a>). The 103.3 km network runs primarily through East Cairo\u2019s new desert cities connecting El Salam, by way of the Adly Mansour transit station, to Al Obour, Al Shorouk, Badr, Rubiki, 10th of Ramadan and Belbeis. Adly Mansour\u2019s Cairo Metro Line 3 station was also inaugurated.<\/p>\n

In attendance was European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti <\/strong>who\u2019s in Egypt for a four-day visit this week, according to a statement (pdf)<\/a>. Cairo Metro Line 3 received EUR 600 mn in funding from the EIB for construction \u2014 making it the largest single transport project backed by the EIB in Africa, according to the statement. Vigliotti is set to meet with government officials and private sector representatives to talk future EIB investments in Egypt\u2019s energy and food security, as well as green projects ahead of the COP27 summit in November, according to a separate statement (pdf)<\/a>. This marks her first high-level visit to the country since the covid pandemic began in 2020.<\/p>\n

#2- The deadline to subscribe to the retail portion of Ghazl El Mahalla\u2019s IPO has been <\/strong>extended to 14 August<\/strong>, according to a notice<\/a>on the bourse today. This follows reports last week that the delay was likely due to weak demand for the retail portion. The note also confirmed that the club will now allow investors to purchase up to 15 mn shares, up from 2 mn currently, in a bid to attract institutional investors<\/p>\n

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<\/a> HAPPENING NOW- The House of Representatives voted to approve an <\/strong>agreement<\/a><\/strong> signed <\/strong>with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF)<\/strong> at the end of March which could see USD 10 bn of fresh Saudi investment in the economy. The PIF and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) have already identified<\/a> the companies \u2014 both private and state-owned \u2014 that the Saudi wealth fund will invest in.<\/p>\n

Will the reforms to competition rules make it to the House before the recess? <\/strong>\u201cHopefully\u201d: <\/strong>The House is still not done with committee level discussions on the proposed amendments to the Competition Act that would give the Egyptian Competition Authority sharper teeth at regulating M&As, House Economic Committee Ahmed Samir said. Somehow, he is hopeful that the debate will be out of committee and the legislation will be put up to a vote in a plenary session this week.<\/p>\n

Plenary sessions are expected to continue tomorrow and Tuesday<\/strong> as the current legislative cycle draws to a close. Speculation<\/a> is growing among MPs that recess could begin later this week though there\u2019s still a chance that our elected representatives will have to postpone their annual Sahel getaways until after Eid.<\/p>\n

On the legislative agenda this week:<\/strong><\/p>\n