{"id":564085,"date":"2021-08-08T13:39:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T13:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/08\/08\/cbe-egx-confirm-thursday-holiday-solid-2q-aramco-earnings-tokyo-2020-is-over-china-to-ship-2-bn-vaccines\/"},"modified":"2021-08-08T13:39:52","modified_gmt":"2021-08-08T13:39:52","slug":"cbe-egx-confirm-thursday-holiday-solid-2q-aramco-earnings-tokyo-2020-is-over-china-to-ship-2-bn-vaccines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/08\/08\/cbe-egx-confirm-thursday-holiday-solid-2q-aramco-earnings-tokyo-2020-is-over-china-to-ship-2-bn-vaccines\/","title":{"rendered":"CBE, EGX confirm Thursday holiday; Solid 2Q Aramco earnings; Tokyo 2020 is over; China to ship 2 bn vaccines;"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.<\/strong> After an uncharacteristically busy first week of August, it seems we\u2019re right back down to the summer slowdown with a dearth of news today. That said, capital markets topped headlines in the local press.<\/p>\n

But before we dive in, here\u2019s the good news- Central bank, stock market confirm Thursday holiday:<\/strong> The CBE and the EGX this morning followed the cabinet<\/a> by announcing that staff will take Thursday, 12 August as holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year. Check out their statements (pdfs \u2014 here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY- Our hot securitization market just keeps getting hotter, <\/strong>with EFG Hermes Corp-Solutions could raise up to EGP 700 mn from a securitized bond issuance in 4Q2021, upping its 2H2021 target from a previous EGP 500 mn. EFG Hermes Corp-Solution now joins SODIC, Contact Financial Holding, Edge Holding, Raya\u2019s Aman, Tamweel Holdings and NUCA\u2019s Al Taamir for Securitization in big ticket securitization transactions this year. We break it down further in today\u2019s Speed Round.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING NOW- <\/strong>Shoukry is in Manama for talks with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid <\/strong>Alzayani.<\/strong> Egypt\u2019s Foreign Ministry sent out a tweet<\/a> this morning of the two ministers meeting in the Bahraini capital. Shoukry arrived in Bahrain last night<\/a> carrying a letter to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.<\/p>\n

FOR TOMORROW-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tomorrow is Islamic New Year.<\/strong> The nation will take Thursday, 12 August as holiday to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n

Russian flights return to the Red Sea tomorrow:<\/strong> Hurghada International Airport is due to<\/a>receive tomorrow<\/a> its first flight from Moscow in six years as Russia\u2019s flight ban finally comes to an end.<\/p>\n

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DRIVING THE INT\u2019L BUSINESS NEWS AGENDA THIS MORNING-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Strong corporate earnings keeping stock market volatility at bay:<\/strong> A stellar season for corporate earnings is shoring up the stock market in a month which some analysts warned<\/a> would be marked by volatility. The spread of the delta variant, combined with the seasonal drop-off in trading volumes that usually makes August a turbulent time in the financial markets, have had some worried about what is over the horizon, but a blockbuster US earnings season that is on course to break records has investors optimistic that the more pessimistic projections won\u2019t come to pass. Analysts are now projecting that S&P 500 earnings will rise 90% y-o-y in 2Q2021, smashing previous estimates for 53% growth, according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The spike in earnings isn\u2019t just because last year was terrible: <\/strong>2Q earnings are also so far outpacing those in 2019\u2019s second quarter, before the world came to a grinding halt. One analyst told the WSJ that big US companies currently hold strong pricing power, as pent-up demand, savings made during the pandemic, and stimulus checks combined to make consumers more likely to accept price rises.<\/p>\n

It was also a good quarter for Saudi Aramco<\/strong>, which posted its biggest quarterly profit since the end of 2018, according to Bloomberg<\/a>. The oil giant reported 2Q net income of USD 25.5 bn, propelled by a surge in oil prices which are up by around 40% year-to-date.<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>near four-fold hike<\/a><\/strong> in earnings will ease the pressure on Aramco<\/strong>, which may now be able to keep up with competitors including Shell and BP in raising its annual dividend<\/a>, already the highest in the world at USD 75 bn. That would mark a rebound from the covid-induced slump that in June forced Aramco to raise USD 6 bn<\/a> on the debt markets in order to pay its annual dividend.<\/p>\n

TikTok owner ByteDance is tiptoeing toward a <\/strong>Hong Kong IPO<\/strong> despite Beijing\u2019s escalating crackdown on its tech industry, the Financial Times<\/a> reports, citing three people familiar with the company\u2019s plans. The company shelved<\/a> its plans for a US listing back in March under government pressure, but after addressing regulatory concerns it is now planning to go public on the Hang Seng either in the final quarter of this year or in early 2022.<\/p>\n

Also making international headlines:<\/strong><\/p>\n