The Egyptian authorities are looking to attract more tourists from South America and Asia, as well as to accelerate the return of European visitors to the country

Newsletter

20 Apr 2022

For our top talks today, the Egyptian authorities are looking to attract more tourists from South America and Asia, as well as to accelerate the return of European visitors to the country, according to the Deputy Tourism Minister Ghada Shalaby. This move comes as an attempt to reduce the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the Egyptian tourism sector as visitors from both countries made up around 30% to 40% of total arrivals to Egypt, Shalaby said. The North African country aims to attract Latin American markets in the longer-term, such as Brazil, which marks a new market for Egypt, Shalaby highlighted. The country also targets arrivals from other markets, including India, Pakistan, Morocco, Alegria, and the Gulf States such as Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait, she added.

Moreover, Ghada Shalaby referred to ongoing and planned talks with Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, and Estonia on bolstering visits.
The recently resumed daily Cairo-Moscow flights are projected to help Egypt to regain some of what it has lost, she remarked. The deputy minister also pointed out that Russian investors could boost their activity in the Egyptian tourism sector after passing a new law that aloe foreign investment in south Sinai. Regarding the Grand Egyptian Museum, she mentioned that its official opening is expected to take place in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022. In the second half (H2) of 2021, Egypt’s tourism revenue reached 5.8 billion USD, up from 1.8 billion USD in the same period of 2020, according to data by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). (Bloomberg)
The Egyptian government has allocated up to 8 billion EGP to disburse the new increases in wages during the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal year (FY) 2021/2022, according to the Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait.
The government has also dedicated a sum of 2.6 billion EGP to support the budgets of all state bodies. These decisions came as per the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to disburse the new increase in wages as of Wednesday, April 20th. In March, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said that the government decided to apply the increase in minimum wages set for FY 2022/2023 as of April 1st, instead of July 1st, with an allocated amount of 8 billion EGP to the state’s budget. (Arab Finance)
Moving to our EGX and companies talks, Alpha Oryx Limited, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), announced that its acquisition of a 18.6% stake in the Commercial International Bank Egypt (CIB) (COMI) will not negatively impact the bank’s management or the interest of its depositors.
Alpha said that the acquisition is a milestone to the company and its related parties. “The company together with its related parties plans to work closely with the management of the bank to identify opportunities for synergies and growth,” the Emirati company noted. It is worth noting that Alpha Oryx acquired a 18.6% stake in CIB in consideration of 987.48 million USD. (EGX)
Vodafone Egypt has subscribed in a capital hike at nominal value in e-payment platforms Bee and Masary, raising its stakes in each of the companies to 9.99%.
Bee and Masary are owned by Ebtikar Holding for Financial Investments, which is a joint-venture between MM Group for Industry and International Trade (MTI) (MTIE) and B Investments Holding (BINV). Ebtikar’s stake in Bee and Masary reached 90.01% and 63.64%, respectively. It is worth noting that MTI holds a 40.5% stake in Ebtikar. (EGX)
EgyptAir has decided to resume flights to the Libyan city of Benghazi on Monday, after an 11-year suspension, the Middle East News Agency (MENA).
A direct daily flight of a Boeing B737-800 will be operated between Cairo and Benghazi, EgyptAir said. A member of the Star Alliance, Egyptair is a state-owned carrier operating passenger and freight services to 70 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. (Arab Finance)
Egypt renewable energy solution company Infinity has launched seven electric vehicles (EV) charging stations in the Delta region.
The new plants are the company’s first EV charging stations in Delta. They include 20 charging points and are situated in key locations in in Shebeen El-Kom, Mansoura, and Damietta. They are the first EV charging stations in the three cities. Charging plants were built in accordance with the EU standards and are compatible with type 2 cables. They are provided with 22-kilowatt twin sockets. The new plants come in harmony with the government vision for building integrated and strong system for EV in the local market. It is worth noting that Infinity operates more than 90 EV charging stations, including 300 charging points, in Cairo, Alexandria, Hurghada, Ismailia, and Ain Sokhna, among others. (Arab Finance)
Export Development Bank of Egypt’s (EBE) (EXPA) rights issued was subscribed at a coverage ratio of around 78.3% in the first phase.
The first phase saw subscription in 156.596 million shares at nominal value of 10 EGP per share. Around 43.403 million shares will be offered in the second phase. Last December, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approved the publication of the disclosure on the decisions of EDBE’s board of directors regarding raising the bank’s issued and paid-up capital to 5.27 billion EGP from 3.27 million EGP. EDBE is an EGX-listed bank that offers banking and financial services, which encourage the export activities of the agricultural, industrial, commercial, and services sectors. (EGX)
Barbary Investment Group (BIG) (BIGP) reported a consolidated loss attributable to the parent company of 1.96 million EGP in 2021, down from 3.954 million EGP in 2020.
Operating revenue skyrocketed to 11.102 million EGP in the full year ended December 31st 2021, from 753,913 EGP the year before. Meanwhile, the company’s standalone net loss after tax declined to 1.925 million EGP in 2021, from 3.813 million EGP in 2020. BIG is an Egypt-based holding company that provides automotive auto parts, products of the original equipment manufacturer, and aftermarket spare parts. (EGX)
The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) has issued a three-year operating Digital Signature permit for El Delta Electronic Systems, the Egyptian multiple-services provider.
El Delta Electronic Systems has been granted the permit through ITIDA’s E-Signature Root CA Licensing Department on April 17th to provide digital signature services in Egypt. The licensed company has obtained the permit after fulfilling the technical conditions of the terms of awarding licenses for the provision of digital signature services agreement No. 1 of 2021. (Arab Finance)
Accordingly, the company will be able to provide a wide-range of services, including registration services, issuance of digital signature certificates, digital signature tools, Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) services, E-seal and time-stamp services for both individuals and businesses.
The services will be offered through El Delta Electronic Systems’ extensive network of service outlets, and its partnership with Telecom Egypt. This comes as part of ITIDA’s efforts to support digital transformation in Egypt as per the objectives of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology’s Digital Egypt strategy. It is worth noting that ITIDA plans to expand the digital signature services in Egypt, seeking to link government services to the private and civil sectors. (Arab Finance)