{"id":603656,"date":"2023-08-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/08\/18\/start-saying-your-goodbyes-to-sahel-the-worlds-first-ever-green-methanol-containership-is-now-bunkering-at-east-port-said\/"},"modified":"2023-08-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T00:00:00","slug":"start-saying-your-goodbyes-to-sahel-the-worlds-first-ever-green-methanol-containership-is-now-bunkering-at-east-port-said","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/08\/18\/start-saying-your-goodbyes-to-sahel-the-worlds-first-ever-green-methanol-containership-is-now-bunkering-at-east-port-said\/","title":{"rendered":"Start saying your goodbyes to Sahel + The world\u2019s first ever green methanol containership is now bunkering at East Port Said"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends, and a very happy FRIDAY to us all. <\/strong> We\u2019re in the back half of the month, and some of us have already started taking our kids to school this past week \u2014 while the rest will follow suit soon enough. But for now, we hope you\u2019re in Sahel, or by the beach elsewhere, because\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2600\ufe0f <\/strong> THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- It\u2019s going to be another warm couple of days<\/strong>, with the mercury peaking today and tomorrow at 40\u00b0C. Things will cool off a little bit in the evenings \u2014 expect today\u2019s nighttime low to come in at 25\u00b0C, and tomorrow\u2019s at 24\u00b0C, our favorite weather app suggests.<\/p>\n

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. <\/strong> We\u2019ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.<\/p>\n

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS- Besides the litany of 2Q \/ 1H 2023 earnings releases, we had a week that was somewhat heavy on privatization and energy news<\/strong>, although there were few unifying themes throughout. <\/p>\n

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

The government is looking for a higher price for Gabal El Zeit wind farm: <\/strong> The Madbouly government is in talks with Actis in a bid to convince the UK-based emerging markets private equity giant to pay USD 600-800 mn<\/a> for the 580-MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm after the company had originally submitted an offer of USD 400 mn.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- Gabal El Zeit is among <\/strong>32 companies<\/a><\/strong> the government earmarked for <\/strong> privatization <\/strong>earlier this year, along with state-owned Zafarana wind farm. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) has provided Actis with full data on the wind farm so that it can conduct due diligence ahead of making a final offer. The government is now looking to finalize an agreement with Actis by the end of October.<\/p>\n

Agthia is out on Safi: <\/strong>ADQ-owned food company Agthia is no longer looking<\/a> to acquire military-owned bottled beverage firm Safi.Agthia was in May expected to be among the bidders for Safi, which is on track to sell a minority stake sale under the government\u2019s privatization program.<\/p>\n

AND- Misr Hotels Company isn\u2019t looking to offload a majority stake <\/strong>and has received no<\/a> offers<\/a> from local companies for an acquisition, the company said in response to claims that a number of unnamed local firms are looking to submit an offer to acquire a majority stake in the company.<\/p>\n

ENERGY- <\/strong><\/p>\n

Total gas output in Egypt <\/strong>fell 5% q-o-q<\/a><\/strong> in 2Q 2023 <\/strong> to 5.88 bn cubic feet per day (cf\/d), its lowest since 2Q 2020. Output was down 9% compared with the same period a year before, and nearly 1.2 bn cf\/d below the record of 7.07 bn cf\/d in 3Q 2021 as output in offshore and onshore fields fell.<\/p>\n

Zohr is among those reportedly producing less: <\/strong> Eni\u2019s giant Zohr field saw record output of 2.76 bn cf\/d in 3Q 2021 but output has now been effectively capped at 2.3 bn cf\/d. The Italian firm\u2019s flagship field saw output drop by 11% y-o-y in 2022 to 2.5 bn cfd and the government recently confirmed that the field is currently producing 2.3 bn cf\/d.<\/p>\n

Green hydrogen plant in SCZone could break ground in 2024: <\/strong>India\u2019s ReNew Power could<\/a> break ground<\/a> on its USD 8 bn green hydrogen plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone early next year. Technical studies are now in motion before a final investment decision is made, which is expected to come sometime between November and March.<\/p>\n

ALSO- The world\u2019s first-ever green methanol-powered container ship docked in East Port <\/strong> Said Port <\/strong>on Monday<\/a><\/strong> and began bunkering at the port yesterday <\/strong> . <\/strong>The vessel\u2019s inaugural journey began in Asia and is passing through the Suez Canal on its way to Europe.<\/p>\n

FOREIGN EXCHANGE- <\/strong><\/p>\n

USD-denominated pension certificates for Egyptians living abroad were rolled out this <\/strong> week. <\/strong>State institutions invited Egyptian citizens living abroad to purchase new USD-denominated pension certificates<\/a> as part of the government\u2019s efforts to attract new hard currency inflows and ease the deepening FX crunch. The pension schemes are designed to encourage expats aged 18-59 to make additional retirement savings by depositing FX in the Egyptian banking system.<\/p>\n

A little under a month to make good on payments for the state\u2019s expat car import <\/strong> initiative: <\/strong>Some 84k Egyptian expats who have registered for the expat car import initiative and received payment invoices will have to complete their payments<\/a> within a month from 13 August to obtain import approvals.<\/p>\n

The cabinet also reviewed recommendations for its plan to attract hard currency through <\/strong> the sale of Egyptian real estate <\/strong> to both foreigners and Egyptian expats. A number of draft laws aimed at encouraging foreign ownership of real estate will soon be sent to the cabinet, but details on the legislation are still scarce.<\/p>\n

THERE WERE ALSO A FEW UPDATES ON THE ECONOMY FRONT- <\/strong><\/p>\n

The budget deficit came in lower than expected last FY: <\/strong>Egypt\u2019s budget deficit narrowed to<\/a> 6.0%<\/a> in FY 2022-23, from 6.1% in the previous fiscal year. Preliminary indicators released last month suggested a deficit of 6.2%, while the Finance Ministry put the figure at 6.4% in a May estimate. <\/p>\n

AS WELL AS IN COMMODITIES- <\/strong><\/p>\n

The UAE is supplying us with wheat: <\/strong>Egypt signed a USD 500 mn agreement<\/a> to purchase wheat from Emirati agribusiness Al Dahra. The pact will see Egypt import USD 100 mn of milling wheat a year over a five-year period with financing provided by the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX). <\/p>\n

AND BANKING- <\/strong><\/p>\n

CBE rejected easing concentration risk rules: <\/strong> The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) declined a<\/a> request<\/a> by the Federation of Egyptian Banks to bring back exemptions that would exclude their largest clients from credit concentration limits until December 2024. The CBE exempted banks\u2019 50 largest clients from credit concentration limits in 2020 in response to the pandemic but that exemption expired at the end of last year.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

The National Dialogue continues: <\/strong>Participants will continue to hold sessions to agree recommendations to submit to President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in the coming weeks, Al Masry Al Youm<\/a> reports. While El Sisi previously said he would agree to all of the proposals handed to him, the board of trustees will in some cases submit conflicting recommendations for him to choose from, as we\u2019ve reported earlier, which will require him to make decisions based on proposals they submit. <\/p>\n

Investors will be able to make bids for industrial land from Wednesday 16 August <\/strong> through Wednesday 27 September <\/strong> under a new phase of the Industrial Development Authority\u2019s (IDA) investment map. Some 1.7 mn sqm of land across 14 governorates will be offered to industrial investors. The entire offering will take place on IDA\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

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

YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS- <\/strong><\/p>\n