{"id":562341,"date":"2021-05-20T03:50:54","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T03:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/05\/20\/this-morning-its-a-big-day-for-capital-markets-as-efg-gets-aib-acquisition-nod-idh-starts-trading-and-global-shares-slump\/"},"modified":"2021-05-20T03:50:54","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T03:50:54","slug":"this-morning-its-a-big-day-for-capital-markets-as-efg-gets-aib-acquisition-nod-idh-starts-trading-and-global-shares-slump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/05\/20\/this-morning-its-a-big-day-for-capital-markets-as-efg-gets-aib-acquisition-nod-idh-starts-trading-and-global-shares-slump\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: It\u2019s a big day for capital markets as EFG gets AIB acquisition nod, IDH starts trading and global shares slump"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends, and welcome to a pleasantly busy news morning <\/strong>to start this last business day of the week.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY HERE AT HOME <\/strong>is that EGX-listed EFG Hermes has just taken a major step toward becoming a universal bank after cabinet approved yesterday the firm\u2019s acquisition of a controlling stake in Arab Investment Bank in partnership with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt. The acquisition, when concluded, would be a most welcome landmark for the SFE, establishing it as a broker of meaningful options for public-private partnership. We have the rundown in this morning\u2019s news well, below, and expect to have more details on the multi-bn transaction in this afternoon\u2019s edition of EnterprisePM.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a big day for the EGX as shares of LSE-listed Integrated Diagnostics Holding <\/strong>(IDH) begin trading <\/strong>under the ticker IDHC.<\/strong> The consumer healthcare giant\u2019s technical listing is the first of its kind in Egypt and makes it the second company to debut on the Egyptian bourse this year, after higher education outfit Taaleem<\/a>, which ended nearly two-year-long IPO drought.<\/p>\n

Also worth knowing about: Most of the government\u2019s covid-19 restriction measures have<\/strong> been extended<\/strong> until the end of the month \u2014 and the decision will require all schools to go back online at the beginning of June<\/strong>. The announcement comes as daily infections have been inching down slightly over the past three days, but remain above 1k. We have chapter and verse in this morning\u2019s news well, below.<\/p>\n

Flights from Riyadh are back on: <\/strong>The first two commercial Saudi Airways flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Egypt since Saudi lifted its covid-19 travel ban landed<\/a> in Sharm El Sheikh yesterday.<\/p>\n

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MARKET WATCH-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Global markets are looking a bit choppy this morning <\/strong>after US shares extended losses to a third straight day on Wednesday. The tech-fueled selloff followed slumps in Asia and Europe earlier in the day and was accelerated as \u201cthe latest minutes from the Federal Reserve reinforced fears of a potential pullback of crisis-era support measures should the economic recovery continue,\u201d the Financial Times<\/a> reports. Futures suggest the Nasdaq, Dow and S&P will all open in the red<\/strong> this afternoon, and major Asian indices are solidly in the red right now, from the Kospi and Hang Seng to Shanghai and the Nikkei. Look for a mixed open in Europe. The Wall Street Journal<\/a> has more.<\/p>\n

BTC has taken traders on a \u201cwild ride\u201d over the past 24 hours:<\/strong> The cryptocurrency rallied 33% yesterday afternoon after plummeting 31% earlier in the day, only to fall again this morning in an extension of the turbulence since China\u2019s clampdown on crypto and Elon Musk\u2019s tweet on BTC triggered a sell-off, Bloomberg<\/a> reports. Although crypto is known for being volatile, it\u2019s rare for this level of volatility to be seen \u201cin a single session,\u201d the business information service says. BTC was trading at just under USD 38k at dispatch time, and CNBC<\/a> has a look at what\u2019s fuelling the rollercoaster \u2014 and what could be next.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the final day of Renaissance Capital\u2019s<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>annual MENA Investor Conference<\/a><\/strong> and<\/a>HC<\/a><\/strong>Securities\u2019 virtual event<\/a><\/strong>on Egyptian equities (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias <\/strong>is in Cairo today<\/a><\/strong> for talks with FM Sameh Shoukry. This is the last step of a regional tour that has seen Dendias visit Israel, Palestine and Jordan in the past two days. The talks come as Egypt continues to lead an international effort to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.<\/p>\n

Second Egypt-France-Jordan meeting on Gaza coming up:<\/strong> President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah will hold a second meeting \u201cin the coming days\u201d to discuss events in Gaza, according to a joint statement<\/a>. The three leaders met yesterday to focus on bringing Israel and Hamas to the negotiating table and end the current conflict, the statement said. El Sisi pledged<\/a> on Tuesday USD 500 mn in reconstruction aid to the residents of Gaza during his visit to Paris.<\/p>\n

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-<\/strong><\/p>\n

An updated version of the government\u2019s Egypt sustainable development strategy,<\/strong> Egypt Vision 2030, will be published next month<\/strong>, Planning Minister Hala El Said said<\/a>. The strategy will be updated to account for the effects of covid-19, the minister said, without providing further details.<\/p>\n

The IMF will complete by the end of June a second review of targets set under Egypt\u2019s<\/strong> USD 5.2 bn standby facility.<\/strong> The facility was approvedin June 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Check out our full calendar on the web<\/strong> for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.<\/p>\n

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** CATCH UP QUICK<\/strong> with the top stories from yesterday\u2019s edition of EnterprisePM:<\/p>\n