{"id":627838,"date":"2018-06-13T04:25:48","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T04:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/06\/13\/what-were-tracking-on-13-june-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-06-13T04:25:48","modified_gmt":"2018-06-13T04:25:48","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-13-june-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/06\/13\/what-were-tracking-on-13-june-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 13 June 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a relatively quiet day in Egypt<\/strong>, but there\u2019s plenty of global business and economic news to keep you on your toes as we slide into the last 48 hours of Ramadan.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Our good friends at Zooba have signed a franchise agreement that will see at least 20 branches of the capital city\u2019s iconic casual dining chain open in the GCC.<\/strong> The agreement will see Khobar-based SADF Trading and Development Co.<\/a> open 20 branches in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over the next seven years, according to an emailed statement (pdf)<\/a>. \u201cWhen we opened our first branch in Zamalek back in 2012, a Zooba in every major city in the world was the dream; today marks the first step towards making that dream a reality,\u201d the statement reads. No further details were provided on the agreement or when and where the first branch outside of Egypt will be inaugurated.<\/p>\n

We look forward to the end of Ramadan so that we may order Zooba\u2019s hawawshi<\/strong> at 8am for a late breakfast. Yes, for breakfast. Zooba\u2019s hawawshi, not Wheaties, is the breakfast of champions<\/a>. Order it extra crispy (you may thank us later).<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still waiting for news of the incoming Madbouly cabinet. <\/strong>As of a few minutes before dispatch time, there was plenty of speculation in the domestic press on who was in and who was out, and absolutely nothing new to report. Government sources had primed the media to expect Prime Minister-designate Mostafa Madbouly to unveil the new Council of Ministers before the holiday long weekend.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Abraaj could file for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands as early as this week<\/strong> ahead of a court hearing for a liquidation petition filed by Kuwait\u2019s Public Institution for Social Security and scheduled for 29 June. While the date for the filing is yet to be set, \u201ca court-supervised provisional liquidation would allow Abraaj to restructure debt, negotiate with creditors and sell assets\u2026[and] allow a moratorium on the holding company\u2019s unsecured claims,\u201d sources close to the matter tell Bloomberg<\/a>. The company has been battling allegations it used investor funds for corporate purposes and is trying to restructure in a bid to settle debt obligations<\/a>. Management had met with creditors last week, and there\u2019s a USD 125 mn bid for the firm\u2019s asset management arm in the works. The Financial Times<\/a> quotes one person \u201cclose to the process\u201d as suggesting that Abraaj has \u201cno other option\u201d but to file for provisional liquidation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the Kuwaitis who are gunning for Abraaj: <\/strong>The salmon-colored newspaper reports that Auctus Fund (probably this outfit<\/a>) has also applied in the Cayman Islands for the winding up of Abraaj\u2019s asset management arm. It is also claiming that a debt of just over USD 100 mn (about the same amount the Kuwaiti pension fund says it is owed) is yet to be repaid.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Fed day:<\/strong> The US Federal Reserve\u2019s Federal Open Market Committee<\/a> will conclude its two day meeting today, wand the wags see an interest rate hike in the works in view of data showing<\/a> inflation is still meeting Fed expectations and financial markets remaining calm despite rising global trade tensions. Emerging market central banks are keeping a close eye on what the Fed does; the Central Bank of Egypt next reviews rates on 28 June.<\/p>\n

Trump and Kim Jong were in the same room and the world didn\u2019t end. <\/strong>US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met yesterday in Singapore in what the US State Department<\/a> has described as an \u201cepochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities.\u201d The two leaders agreed to turn over a new leaf in their diplomatic relations, with Trump promising to suspend joint US military exercises with South Korea and Kim reaffirming his commitment to the \u201ccomplete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.\u201d<\/p>\n

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo will take the lead on future talks<\/strong>, which will focus on implementing the outcomes of yesterday\u2019s summit (The New York Times sums them up nicely here<\/a>). The next meeting will be held \u201cat the earliest possible date.\u201d Egypt\u2019s Foreign Ministry welcomed the positive developments from the summit<\/strong> in a statement yesterday<\/a>, which was hailed as a step forward in defusing global tensions.<\/p>\n

Emerging markets pioneer Mark Mobius is drooling over DPRK: <\/strong>The longtime Templeton boss, who has since gone on to found Mobius Capital Partners, is excited about investment prospects that would be opened up if North Korea became part of the global financial system. It\u2019s not just a \u201cbuild-from-the-ground-up\u201d frontier play, he says: \u201cThe most exciting thing is the opportunity to have a bridge between South Korea, China and Russia. Because then you would be able to have railroads and roads going north through North Korea into these huge nations.\u201d (CNBC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Aramco wants to invest in global petchem projects, but does anyone want to invest in KSA infrastructure opportunities?<\/strong> State-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco is looking at downstream opportunities, Reuters reports<\/a> in an exclusive, writing that the oil giant is moving ahead with multi-bn USD projects in China, India and Malaysia and \u201caims to finalize new partnerships this year<\/strong>.\u201d But back at home, it\u2019s looking less likely that foreign investors are salivating about the chance to invest in Saudi infrastructure \u2014 Blackstone is said to be offering discounts<\/a> to convince investors to join its USD 40 bn infrastructure fund, an \u201cinitiative hailed as an early success for President Donald Trump\u2019s mercantilist foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, alphabet soup: Meet the ESG ETF. <\/strong>Goldman Sachs and hedgie Paul Tudor Jones are spinning up an exchange-traded fund focused on impact investing, saying it will invest in companies that are \u201cdriving positive change.\u201d<\/a> Please don\u2019t get us started.<\/p>\n

In other miscellany this morning:<\/p>\n