{"id":581923,"date":"2023-03-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/03\/01\/cabinets-qatar-trip-ends-without-a-blockbuster-investment-announcement\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T00:00:00","slug":"cabinets-qatar-trip-ends-without-a-blockbuster-investment-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/03\/01\/cabinets-qatar-trip-ends-without-a-blockbuster-investment-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet\u2019s Qatar trip ends without a blockbuster investment announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Good morning, friends, and welcome to the first day of March<\/span>, where we have a ton of news for you on everything from FDI to a big boost for our burgeoning domestic smartphone assembly industry. (Yes, smartphone assembly \u2014 the industry is mushrooming, and the House of Representatives just slashed duties in a move that should make the export-focused industry even more competitive.)<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span>Do you want to attend our Enterprise Exports + FDI Forum <\/span>on Monday, 15 May at the Four <\/span>Seasons? As always, we\u2019ll get underway at 8:00am with a networking breakfast for senior execs, then tumble into a day of compelling (and, we hope, inspiring) on-stage interviews. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hit this link if you want to let us know you\u2019re interested in attending<\/a><\/span> <\/span>(or just to check the <\/span>event website and see what we\u2019re thinking). We\u2019ll soon start sending out invitations in batches. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you have an export success story you\u2019d like to share on stage <\/span>or with the community in <\/span>editorial content? <\/span>Drop a note to Patrick here<\/a><\/span> and let\u2019s talk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you want to become a commercial partner for the event? <\/span>Some of the biggest names in <\/span>business and finance are on board \u2014 are you? P<\/span>ing a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>.
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Madbouly\u2019s trip to Qatar ends with no sign of breakthrough in investment talks<\/span>:<\/span> One of <\/span>the big stories of the week has been Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly\u2019s trip to Qatar, which the business community has closely watched for signs that we could unlock as much as USD 5 bn in fresh investment from the Gulf country. The two days passed with no indication of where things stand with the Qatar Investment Authority, which has been said to be pursuing stakes in Vodafone Egypt and several port operators, among others.<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen a flurry of announcements from the private sector in recent weeks, but no blockbuster announcements out of the Gulf. <\/span>Almarai <\/span>bought out PepsiCo\u2019s stake in dairy and juice producer Beyti<\/a><\/span>, EK Holding <\/span>will invest USD 170 mn in Egypt this year<\/a><\/span>, and Stellantis, Nissan and Almansour have said they will separately invest a total of <\/span>USD 145 mn in auto assembly here<\/a><\/span> in the coming years. And, of course, there\u2019s Chimera, which is pushing heavily into our financial services industry, acquiring substantial stakes in everything from <\/span>Beltone<\/a><\/span> and <\/span>EFG Hermes<\/a><\/span> to <\/span>MNT Halan<\/a><\/span> and <\/span>GB Lease<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

But our Gulf neighbors have pledged bns in the past year \u2014 and little of that has materialized. <\/span>As <\/span>we noted<\/a><\/span> earlier this week, disagreements over stake sizes, uncertainty over the EGP, and GCC states\u2019 increasing emphasis on the need for reform are all said to be holding back investment from the sovereign wealth funds (and others) in Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Doha. <\/span><\/p>\n

Lamees El Hadidi openly discussed pressure on the EGP last night<\/span>:<\/span> The Kelma Akhira host highlighted the discrepancy between the official EGP rate of 30.68 and what she said is the rate of 32:50 in the parallel market. She also noted <\/span>last week\u2019s reports<\/a><\/span> that talks with Saudi Arabia on the sale of state-owned United Bank have stalled over how to value the lender following the EGP\u2019s devaluation. \u201cThey don\u2019t see the current exchange rate at banks resembling a fair rate with a necessity of another depreciation,\u201d she said, noting<\/span> <\/span>picking up on <\/span>Societe General\u2019s<\/span> recent suggestion that the currency may shed another 10% (<\/span>watch, runtime: 4:36<\/a><\/span>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Societe Generale now expects the EGP to fall to 37.00 by the end of the year<\/span><\/span>, emerging-market strategist Gergely \u00dcrm\u00f6ssy told Asharq Business yesterday (<\/span>watch, runtime: 1:40<\/a><\/span>). A 37.00 rate implies that the currency will lose another 20% of its value against the greenback over the next 10 months, having already lost almost half of its value over the past year in a series of large devaluations. The French lender is currently predicting the currency to <\/span>fall another 10%<\/a><\/span> by the end of this month to 34.00, and sees a \u201cheightened probability of another sharp devaluation in the near term.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Will cabinet accept lower valuations?<\/span> In an interview on <\/span>Kelma Akhira, former Blom Bank Egypt deputy managing director Tarek Metwally called on government negotiators to balance the need to lock in a good price with the imperative of simply getting new investment into the country (<\/span>watch, runtime: 8:12<\/a><\/span>). \u201cWhat we really want more than a high price is getting investors to pour into the country,\u201d Metwally said.<\/span><\/p>\n

MEANWHILE- Egyptian bonds were the worst performers among emerging markets yesterda<\/span><\/span> as foreign investors reacted to the prospect of higher interest rates in the US and an apparent stall in talks with GCC investors, according to <\/span>Asharq Business<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the beginning of a new month:<\/span><\/p>\n