{"id":558077,"date":"2021-09-23T13:36:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T13:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/09\/23\/tonight-egypt-began-selling-usd-dominated-bonds-today-is-mercedes-benz-resuming-assembling-in-egypt-also-us-pushes-egypt-to-improve-human-rights-record\/"},"modified":"2021-09-23T13:36:25","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T13:36:25","slug":"tonight-egypt-began-selling-usd-dominated-bonds-today-is-mercedes-benz-resuming-assembling-in-egypt-also-us-pushes-egypt-to-improve-human-rights-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/09\/23\/tonight-egypt-began-selling-usd-dominated-bonds-today-is-mercedes-benz-resuming-assembling-in-egypt-also-us-pushes-egypt-to-improve-human-rights-record\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: Egypt began selling USD-dominated bonds today. + Is Mercedes-Benz resuming assembling in Egypt? ALSO: US pushes Egypt to improve human rights record."},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, wonderful people, that\u2019s a wrap on another workweek. <\/strong>We hope this second day of fall has been good to you \u2014 and we\u2019ll leave it at that, because we have tons of news to dive into before we can suggest (below) what you may want to watch tonight or where you may want to go this weekend.<\/p>\n

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

<\/a> #1- Egypt has tapped the global bond market:<\/strong> Egypt has begun selling USD-denominated bonds today, with 6-, 12-, and 30-year tenors, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait tells us, confirming a story broken by Reuters this morning that has since been widely picked up<\/a>. Egypt is offering the 6-year bonds at a yield of 6.125%, while the 12- and 30-year bonds carry yields of 7.625% and 8.875%, respectively. Maait did not say how big the offering is.<\/p>\n

Piggybacking off the Fed:<\/strong> Maait hinted that the US Federal Reserve\u2019s decision<\/a> yesterday to push its expected tapering of its stimulus program to November made it the right time to go to the markets now before US bonds become more competitive.<\/p>\n

Advisers:<\/strong> HSBC, FAB, Citibank, Standard Chartered, and JP Morgan are advising on the sale.<\/p>\n

^^We\u2019ll have updates on <\/strong>demand for the bonds in Sunday\u2019s EnterpriseAM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Is Mercedes-Benz one step closer to resuming assembling in Egypt? <\/strong>Mercedes-Benz received a 20k sqm plot of land in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), which will be used as a logistics base that will distribute cars locally and for re-export, SCZone head Yehia Zaki tells us, confirming a story that first ran this morning in Al Borsa<\/a>. The logistics hub will also see the company warehouse and distribute components and spare parts, says Zaki. The company had signed the agreement for the logistics base back in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Does that mean assembly is back on the table?<\/strong> That\u2019s not clear yet,<\/strong> and Zaki would not comment on when it may actually happen. The company got our hopes up back in September 2019<\/a>, when it said it expected to produce its first locally assembled vehicle in years by the second half of 2020. Government sources told us last year<\/a> that local assembly would resume \u201csoon.\u201d The pandemic and the subsequent global chip shortage have created havoc for the global auto industry, and we haven\u2019t heard news of the company\u2019s plans to resume assembly in the months since.<\/p>\n

Background: <\/strong>The luxury carmaker shut down its local assembly in Egypt in mid-2015, saying at the time that Egypt\u2019s trade agreement with the EU \u2014 which saw tariffs on European cars to zero as of 1 January 2019 \u2014 would make it economically infeasible to continue its local assembly operations here long-term.<\/p>\n

IN OTHER AUTO NEWS- <\/strong>Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly met with the regional heads of Nissan, Skoda, and other big brand cars today with a view to enticing them to assemble vehicles here, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #3- Egypt and the US are looking forward to strengthening bilateral ties<\/strong>, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a meeting yesterday in New York City on the margins of the UN General Assembly, according to a statement<\/a> by the US embassy in Egypt. The pair discussed regional issues including Israeli-Palestinian relations, Libya, and Egypt\u2019s leadership of the fledgling Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum.<\/p>\n

The US is pushing for Egypt to improve its record on human rights<\/strong> to \u201cfacilitate\u201d a \u201cstrengthened partnership,\u201d including through implementing measures arising from the country\u2019s first national human rights strategy, announced earlier this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More to come: <\/strong>Blinken and Shoukry agreed to meet again to discuss regional issues, human rights, security cooperation, and economic relations, the statement said without specifying a date.<\/p>\n

IN OTHER DIPLOMACY NEWS- Sweden wants to help our green transition.<\/strong> Swedish Trade Minister Ann Hallberg is town for meetings with cabinet ministers. She noted that a number of institutions are willing to fund Egyptian companies in the green economy during her meeting with Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. She also discussed support for smart city tech in Egypt\u2019s cities with Deputy Housing Minister Khaled Abbas, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> THE BIG STORY ABROAD- <\/strong>With Xi Jinping\u2019s ruling party reluctant to bail out China <\/strong>Evergrande, Beijing is telling local officials to make preparations for a \u201cpossible storm,\u201d <\/strong>the Wall Street Journal<\/a> reports in an exclusive. Traders\u2019 attention has been split between the Fed and Evergrande all week, and pundits who have suggested that we need not worry about a collapse of Evergrande may be mistaken. Beijing is now bracing for \u201csocial and economic fallout\u201d in the event Evergrande collapses.<\/strong> \u201cLocal governments have been tasked with preventing unrest and mitigating the ripple effect on home buyers and the broader economy, for example by limiting job losses\u201d in the event the country\u2019s second-largest home builder fails.<\/p>\n

What to watch for next: <\/strong>The world\u2019s most-indebted company has a big interest payment due today on its offshore debt, and regulators have \u201casked\u201d it to \u201cavoid a near-term default,\u201d Reuters<\/a> notes.<\/p>\n

<\/a> HAPPENING NOW- Global markets have (for the most part) taken in stride the Fed\u2019s <\/strong>signals on the tapering of stimulus<\/strong> this fall and an interest rate hike as early as next year<\/a>, which we covered earlier today in EnterpriseAM. European markets are all handily in the green<\/strong> this morning. Futures show North American markets following suit later today. The Dow and S&P both snapped four-day losing streaks yesterday after the Fed suggested it would start tapering before year\u2019s end and could hike interest rates next year.<\/p>\n

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SIGN OF THE TIMES- The UK is begging consumers not to \u201cpanic buy\u201d amid supply <\/strong>chain kinks<\/strong> that are being made worse by soaring natural gas prices. Officials are trying to reassure the public that the UK \u2018s not heading into a \u201c1970s-style \u2018winter of discontent\u2019 of strikes and power shortages<\/a>\u201d and empty store shelves.<\/p>\n

IS THERE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL in the Emirates?<\/strong> Dubai\u2019s jobs market is the<\/a>hottest it has been in nearly two years<\/a>, adding thousands of jobs thanks to employers including Amazon, Emirates Airlines and the hotel industry.<\/p>\n

Get your gadget freak on with the new iPad Mini. <\/strong>It\u2019s not an iPad Pro Mini and there\u2019s no separate keyboard for it (yet). But the updated design, crisp screen and blazingly fast processor is getting really solid reviews everywhere from the Wall Street Journal<\/a> to John Gruber\u2019s Daring Fireball<\/a>. Want to watch rather than read? Rene Ritchie<\/a> and MKBHD<\/a> have got you covered.<\/p>\n

Does your taste run more to Windows? <\/strong>You\u2019ll definitely want to check out Microsoft\u2019s powerful new Surface Laptop Studio<\/a>, which The Verge<\/a> tells us is being billed as the successor to the Surface Book. It features three pretty cool \u201cmodes\u201d for how you can use the screen and a nice new Surface Slim Pen 2, sold separately. CNBC<\/a> has a rundown on other announcements from yesterday\u2019s event, including a Surface Duo 2 smartphone that we have a hard time getting excited about.<\/p>\n

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** CATCH UP QUICK<\/strong> on the top stories from today\u2019s EnterpriseAM:<\/strong><\/p>\n