{"id":606407,"date":"2023-09-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/09\/15\/a-week-full-of-privatization-economy-updates-plus-there-was-plenty-of-diplomacy-to-go-around\/"},"modified":"2023-09-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T00:00:00","slug":"a-week-full-of-privatization-economy-updates-plus-there-was-plenty-of-diplomacy-to-go-around","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/09\/15\/a-week-full-of-privatization-economy-updates-plus-there-was-plenty-of-diplomacy-to-go-around\/","title":{"rendered":"A week full of privatization + economy updates. Plus: There was plenty of diplomacy to go around"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, ladies and gents, and welcome to another packed edition of the <\/strong> Enterprise Weekend Edition <\/strong> to match the relatively busy week that has come to a close. <\/p>\n

ARE YOU STILL STRUGGLING WITH PROPERTY REGISTRATION? <\/strong> Worry not \u2014 we have a step-by-step guide on how to register property and explain the ins and outs of this often dreaded, but necessary, process \u2014 straight from a lawyer\u2019s mouth. <\/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- <\/strong> There was no single big theme in the news this past week, which was filled to the brim with updates on the privatization front, economy, and diplomacy.<\/p>\n

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

#1- Gov\u2019t could be putting up more of Telecom Egypt for sale\u2026: <\/strong> The Madbouly government is considering divesting another 10%<\/a> of Telecom Egypt (TE) to investors before the end of the year.<\/p>\n

#2- \u2026while QIA might soon be snapping up TE\u2019s stake in Vodafone Egypt: <\/strong>The Qatar InvestmentAuthority (QIA) could wrap up talks by the end of September to acquire<\/a> a portion of Telecom Egypt\u2019s 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt.<\/p>\n

#3- The government has received five offers from investors <\/strong>interested in acquiring the<\/a><\/strong>580-MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm<\/a><\/strong>, one of whom has been given two months to make a decision on whether to go ahead with the purchase. While no names have been disclosed, the government\u2019s preferred bidder is most likely emerging markets-focused private-equity outfit Actis.<\/p>\n

#4- Investors want a piece of Sinai Manganese: <\/strong>Several local and international investors are reportedly eyeing a stake<\/a> in state-owned manganese producer Sinai Manganese. The company, which has been earmarked for a stake sale, is being shopped around by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), whose pre-IPO fund has been restructuring some companies ahead of share sales to strategic investors, via the EGX, or a mix of both. <\/p>\n

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

#1- Inflation hit another all-time high of 37.4% in August <\/strong> up from 36.5% the month before. August\u2019s figures<\/a> marked the third consecutive month of record-breaking highs and surpassed most analysts\u2019 expectations last week. <\/p>\n

#2- <\/strong> The CBE added another USD 50 mn to FX reserves in August: <\/strong> Net foreign reserves in August reached USD 34.93 bn<\/a>, up from USD 34.88 bn in July. This is the 11th consecutive month that foreign reserves have seen a modest increase.<\/p>\n

#3- <\/strong> The IIF thinks the EGP is overvalued by some 10% <\/strong> compared to its \u201creal effective exchange rate,\u201d the group said in a note<\/a>. Analysts at the Institute of International Finance (IIF) blamed record inflation, diminishing inflation amongst trading partners, and the fixed exchange rate for the overvaluation, which they say could widen to 20% by the end of 2024.<\/p>\n

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

#1- Private-sector players spoke with the AIIB this week: <\/strong>Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) officials virtually joined Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk, and a number of private sector players to discuss<\/a> how the Beijing-backed multilateral lender can benefit private-sector players ahead of the bank\u2019s annual meeting in Sharm El Sheikh later this month. <\/p>\n

#2- China could set up as much as USD 12 bn worth of chemicals-focused industrial facilities: <\/strong> Some 10-15 Chinese companies have shown interest<\/a> in establishing a specialized industrial zone for chemicals with investments worth USD 7.5-12 bn in CNY over the next 3-4 years.<\/p>\n

#3- NOSI gunning for Heliopark: <\/strong>State-owned National Organization for Social Ins\u2019 (NOSI) offered Heliopolis Housing and Development (HHD) EGP 15 bn to buy 100%<\/a> of the land allocated to the Heliopark project. HHD shareholders will consider the offer later this week.<\/p>\n

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

#1- Egyptian Mortgage Refinance Company (EMRC) issued EGP 472 mn in securitized <\/strong> bonds<\/strong>. The three-tranche issuance<\/a> was rated between AA+, AA and A by the Middle East Ratings and Investors Service (MERIS). The issuance is the first in a planned three-year, EGP 3 bn, program.<\/p>\n

#2- The Finance Ministry is looking to secure USD 1.5-2 bn <\/strong>in fresh loans<\/a><\/strong> by 4Q 2023 <\/strong> that includes a planned USD 500 mn CNY-denominated panda bond issuance and a second JPY-denominated samurai issuance worth USD 500 mn.<\/p>\n

M&A WATCH- <\/strong><\/p>\n

#1- Beshay Steel sold a minority stake to NSPO: <\/strong> Military-owned conglomerate the National Service Projects Organization (NSPO) acquired minority stakes<\/a> in three private-sector steel companies owned by Beshay Steel Group. Beshay Steel sold up to 24% stakes in each of the three companies to the NSPO for around EGP 10 bn. <\/p>\n

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

#1- ADES is seeing strong demand from investors for its landmark IPO: <\/strong> Egypt-born regional oil and gas services driller ADES Holding\u2019s initial public offering (IPO) on the Saudi stock exchange was reportedly oversubscribed<\/a> within hours of the company releasing pricing on its shares. <\/p>\n

KSA\u2019s biggest debut so far this year: <\/strong> The company set the price range for the offering at between SAR 12.50 - 13.50 (USD 3.33- 3.60) per share, valuing the company at as much as SAR 15.2 bn (USD 4.05 bn) and raising up to SAR 4.5 bn (USD 1.2 bn) from the offering.<\/p>\n

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

#1- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi led a delegation to New Delhi last Saturday to join G20 <\/strong> leaders <\/strong> for the 2023 leaders summit<\/a>. Egypt was among the non-G20 countries invited by the hosts India to attend the events this year. <\/p>\n

El Sisi held one-on-one meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der <\/strong> Leyen <\/strong>and European Council President Charles Michel to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.<\/p>\n

El Sisi and Erdogan also met face-to-face for the first time: <\/strong> Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hailed \u201ca new era\u201d for relations between Egypt and Turkey in his first-ever meeting<\/a> with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi following the decision to restore diplomatic ties in July. <\/p>\n

#2- Ethiopia completed the fourth and final phase of filling the reservoir of the Grand <\/strong> Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)<\/strong>, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a social media post this week<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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

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

WE HAVE JUST THREE SLEEPS until we see some of you at the Enterprise Finance Forum, which takes place 18-19 September (Monday and Tuesday) <\/strong>at the St. Regis Hotel on the Nile Corniche.This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only events, where CEOs, bankers, investors, founders, and corporate leaders will meet to discuss the trends shaping the future of banking, finance, NBFIs, and fintech \u2014 and of their clients.<\/p>\n

You won\u2019t want to miss this one: <\/strong> Join Basel El Hini <\/strong>(chairman, Housing and Development Bank), Hazem Hegazy <\/strong> (CEO and vice chairman, Al Baraka Bank), Ibrahim El Missiri <\/strong> (CEO, Somabay), Lamyaa Gadelhak <\/strong> (partner, Baker McKenzie), Ashraf Sabry <\/strong> (founder and CEO, Fawry), Dalia Wahba <\/strong> (CEO, Hassan Allam Utilities) and many others for talks on everything from how banks are transforming, to calling the future giants in fintech. <\/p>\n

Tap or click here to view the FULL AGENDA with SPEAKERS.<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

** We are honored to count some of the region\u2019s most important financial institutions as <\/strong><\/p>\n

our partners for this special event. <\/strong>The Enterprise Finance Forum could not take place without the support of our partners including Banque Misr, Al Baraka Bank, FABMISR, HSBC, Mashreq, Banque du Caire, CI Capital, Global Corp, Visa, Hassan Allam Utilities, the IFC, and Post for Investment. <\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll be wrapping up the Enterprise FInance Forum as monetary policy decisions come <\/strong> into the spotlight both here at home and across the pond: <\/strong><\/p>\n