{"id":601434,"date":"2019-02-28T03:38:47","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T03:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/02\/28\/what-were-tracking-on-28-february-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-02-28T03:38:47","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T03:38:47","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-28-february-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/02\/28\/what-were-tracking-on-28-february-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 28 February 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Longtime readers know we have a soft spot for Qalaa Holdings\u2019 USD 4.3 bn Egyptian Refining Company<\/b> \u2014 and for Ahmed Heikal, who with his team kept the project on track despite a literal tsunami (it\u2019s a long story), the global financial crisis and the events of 2011 and 2013. Well, guess what? They flipped the switch earlier this week and ERC has made its first ultra-low-sulfur diesel.<\/b> The refinery, which will reach full commercial operations by the third quarter of this year, has successfully produced diesel with sulfur at 1.5 parts per mn (ppm) \u2014 if you\u2019re keeping track at home, Euro V diesel is the cleanest burning in the world and has tolerance for up to 10 ppm sulfur. The start of production at ERC isn\u2019t just good for Qalaa\u2019s financials \u2014 it\u2019s good for the air all of us breathe in the capital city <\/b>and beyond: It will cut Egypt\u2019s present-day sulfur emissions by about a third and reduce Cairo\u2019s carbon footprint at the same time.<\/p>\n

And what about the financials? <\/b>Qalaa tells us that ERC\u2019s cash flows could start to feel the impact of production in June when all units begin ramping up.<\/p>\n

Tap or click here to take a tour of ERC<\/a><\/u><\/b> in this video produced by Qalaa, including some very cool drone footage (runtime: 6:52).<\/p>\n

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The Sawiris brothers are two of just six Africans who have made it onto <\/b>Bloomberg\u2019s Bn\u2019aires Index<\/a><\/u><\/b>. The business information service estimates that Nassef (#230 in the world)<\/a><\/u> is currently worth USD 6.76 bn while Naguib (#334)<\/a><\/u> is worth just over USD 5 bn.<\/p>\n

Global economy looking better: <\/b>Global economic activity in February was \u201cslightly above\u201d what was expected in December and January, Bloomberg<\/a><\/u> reports, with some suggestions from Goldman Sachs\u2019 chief economist \u201cthat sequential growth will pick up from here.\"<\/p>\n

A day of drama on Capitol Hill: <\/b>The Donald\u2019s long-time lawyer Michael Cohen made an abrupt u-turn yesterday when he testified in front of Congress, accusing his former paymaster of being involved in \u201ca criminal scheme to violate campaign finance laws.\u201d Cohen, who previously pled guilty to campaign finance violations, alleged that Trump paid USD 130k in illegal hush-money to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with Agent Orange. The WaPo<\/a><\/u> and NYT<\/a><\/u> have more.<\/p>\n

Trump and North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong Un are meeting again today in Hanoi<\/b>, Vietnam, for talks. A diplomatic breakthrough could be in the cards \u2014 their official agenda for the day includes a \u201cjoint agreement signing ceremony,\u201d the NYT reports<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

In global miscellany worth knowing about this morning: <\/b><\/p>\n