{"id":557949,"date":"2021-09-14T14:30:14","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T14:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/09\/14\/tonight-aldar-and-adq-submit-mto-for-90-of-sodic-will-biden-withhold-some-of-our-military-aid\/"},"modified":"2021-09-14T14:30:14","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T14:30:14","slug":"tonight-aldar-and-adq-submit-mto-for-90-of-sodic-will-biden-withhold-some-of-our-military-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/09\/14\/tonight-aldar-and-adq-submit-mto-for-90-of-sodic-will-biden-withhold-some-of-our-military-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: Aldar and ADQ submit MTO for 90% of SODIC + Will Biden withhold some of our military aid?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the tail end of hump day. <\/strong>Another really busy news day has kept us occupied rather than gazing longingly at the clock as we count down the hours to Apple\u2019s launch tonight of its new crop of iPhones.<\/p>\n

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

<\/a> #1-<\/strong> A consortium of UAE\u2019s <\/strong>Aldar Ventures and sovereign wealth fund ADQ has submitted <\/strong>a mandatory tender offer for 90% of upmarket real estate developer SODIC<\/strong>, according to an ADX disclosure (pdf)<\/a>. The all-cash offer saw the consortium \u2014 which is 70% owned by Al Dar and 30% owned by ADQ \u2014 up its offer to EGP 20 per share from a previous range<\/a> of EGP 18-19, and values SODIC at EGP 7.1 bn. The MTO is awaiting approval by the Financial Regulatory Authority, after which company shareholders will have 10-30 working days to respond.<\/p>\n

The transaction would be great news for Egypt and the industry if it goes through<\/strong>, marking as it does the entry of a respected foreign strategic investor with a high competitive metabolism and proven systems.<\/p>\n

#2- Is the Biden administration about to withhold a portion of its military aid to Egypt? <\/strong>That\u2019s the contention in a Politico<\/a> story out this morning that quotes an unnamed US official as saying Secretary of State Anthony Blinken plans to take the \u201cunprecedented step\u201d of not signing a waiver that would have allowed some USD 300 mn in military assistance to be released despite \u201chuman rights concerns,\u201d the political news outlet noted. The story claims \u201csome \u2014 but not most\u201d of the funding will be withheld and that \u201cthe money that is being sent will also have restrictions on its use,\u201d positioning the move as a \u201ccompromise\u201d that may still \u201cdisappoint some lawmakers and activists worried\u201d about human rights here.<\/p>\n

#3- The Suez Canal Bank and AAIB are looking to snap up almost 90% of an <\/strong>EGP 323 mn maiden securitized bond issuance<\/a><\/strong> by EFG Hermes <\/strong>buy-now-pay-later platform Valu<\/strong>, Suez Canal Bank Chairman Hussein Rifai tells us this afternoon. The two banks submitted offers worth EGP 145 mn each. ValU, EFG Hermes\u2019 consumer finance subsidiary, kicked off<\/a> its EGP 2 bn securitization program with an EGP 323 mn bond issuance, as we noted this morning.<\/p>\n

#4- It\u2019s the final afternoon for EK Holding shareholders to convert the trading currency of their shares <\/strong>to EGP from USD <\/strong>\u2014 while still being allowed to collect their dividends in USD. Word in the market is that the offering has been well-received.<\/p>\n

^^ We\u2019ll have more on all of these stories <\/strong>in tomorrow\u2019s edition of Enterprise AM<\/p>\n

HAPPENING NOW- The newly renovated tomb of King Djoser in Saqqara is open to the <\/strong>public as of today. <\/strong>After undergoing renovation and restoration work since 2006, the tourist site was inaugurated yesterday<\/a> and opened its doors to visitors today.<\/p>\n

SMART POLICY #1- We\u2019re officially getting a <\/strong>private sector minimum wage<\/a><\/strong> next year, <\/strong>with the official gazette (pdf)<\/a> earlier this week publishing a decision by planning minister Hala El Said mandating a 2.4k minimum monthly wage for private sector employees as of January 2022. This is in line with public sector wage hikes: The minimum wage for public sector employees will rise to EGP 2.4k from EGP 2k<\/a> from the beginning of FY2021-2022.<\/p>\n

The Caveat: <\/strong>Companies who claim they can\u2019t afford to pay the minimum wage can apply for an exception. They\u2019ll have until October to submit a request \u2014 we hope very, very few of them are granted.<\/p>\n

SMART POLICY #2- The government plans to use AI to manage customs and tax <\/strong>procedures by the start of next year, <\/strong>the Finance Ministry said in a statemen<\/a>t<\/a>, in a bid to improve operational efficiency and crack down on tax evasion. The Oil Ministry has also said it is looking to digitize its petrol transport process, and has already begun implementing the SCADA system to oversee transport and distribution, it said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- No single story has captured the imagination of the global <\/strong>business press. <\/strong>The Financial Times<\/a> is looking at Amazon\u2019s push into the healthcare industry, while CNBC<\/a> is leading with Boris Johnson\u2019s \u201cpandemic plan for fall and winter,\u201d which will include booster shots for folks over the age of 50. Business Insider<\/a>, meanwhile, notes that Apple wants you to \u201cupdate your iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch after it fixed a software flaw that let hackers spy without anyone clicking a link.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a> WAIT, WHAT? SPYWARE? Yup. Apple has pushed out an emergency software update for <\/strong>iPhones<\/strong> after they uncovered a \u201czero-click\u201d ransomware attack that runs through iMessage, according to a report by University of Toronto\u2019s Citizen Lab<\/a> seen by the FT<\/a>. Pegasus, a spyware tool from Israel\u2019s NSO Group, allegedly allows hackers to access iPhones remotely without the user clicking on a malicious link, with the infections taking place \u201csince at least February 2021.\u201d NSO sells its exploits to governments worldwide and was the topic of controversy after Pegasus helped authorities hack the mobile phones of heads of state, diplomats and military chiefs worldwide including in Egypt<\/a>. The story is everywhere <\/strong>from Sky New to the New York Times<\/a> and TechCrunch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How do I update my iPhone? <\/strong>Update iOS 14.8 can be downloaded as normal from Settings > General > Software Update and it took us around 15 minutes to install.<\/p>\n

AFTERNOON MUST-READ: <\/strong>Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company<\/a><\/strong>documents show<\/a><\/strong>, the latest in the Wall Street Journal\u2019s deep dive into stuff El Face would rather you didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

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