Egypt will take measures to set a program to encourage the participation of the private sector in state-owned assets

Newsletter

28 Apr 2022

For our top talks today, first, Egypt will take measures to set a program to encourage the participation of the private sector in state-owned assets, with investments worth 10 billion USD annually for a four-year period, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stated in a speech on national TV on April 26th. El-Sisi also directed the government to list military-owned companies on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) prior to the end of 2022. Moreover, he ordered the government to begin selling stakes in some of the state-owned companies in the EGX. On the other hand, the president assigned the government to hold an international press conference to reveal Egypt’s plan in dealing with the economic crisis. These comments were made on the sidelines of the annual event of the Egyptian Family Iftar. It is worth noting that the Egyptian military owns a number of companies that operate within different sectors, including industrial, consumer, and services. (Arab Finance)

Second, the Egyptian Minister of Transport Kamel El-Wazir and the Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Osama Rabie have discussed ways of cooperation between the ministry and the authority to build an Egyptian fleet of bulk carriers and auxiliary units.
The project is likely to be carried out in collaboration with relevant authorities, such as the Red Sea Ports Authority, and in partnership with the private sector’s companies, under the supervision of one of the global consulting offices. This step targets meeting the need of transporting Egyptian exports and imports through a national fleet as per the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. (Arab Finance)
Yesterday, Ezz Steel Company announced the reduction of its prices for the month of May by 830 pounds per ton,
bringing the price to 19170 pounds ex-factory land including value added tax. This reduction came in the wake of the drop in the prices of the main raw materials of iron ore and scrap, which is the main factor in the pricing of Ezz Steel, as stated by George Matta, head of the company's marketing sector. At the same time, the prices of semi-manufactured iron (billite) from Russia collapsed due to international sanctions and the inability to dispose of production, which puts the finished local product under unfair competitive pressures, especially after the abolition of protective fees last November. He added that the prices of Ezz Steel are dynamic, rising and falling with the economic cycles that the industry is witnessing, and that Ezz Steel previously reduced its prices by rates that reached 24% (3048 pounds), as the selling price decreased in October 2019 to 9577 pounds, after it was 12,625 pounds in April 2018. (Al Mal)
The Egyptian Medicines Authority and the Health Care Authority are seeking to reach a unified formula for drug coding in Egypt,
within the state’s plan to control the drug market and confront the phenomenon of the spread of unlicensed drugs, in addition to controlling expired quantities and packages periodically during inspection campaigns conducted by the Egyptian Medicine Authority. An informed source in the Egyptian Medicines Authority said that three proposals are being studied with a number of drug experts in Egypt. To tighten control and control over pharmacies, and to apply quality standards in storage areas. The ministry is seeking to develop a unified protocol for dispensing medicine in hospital pharmacies, and it will then be circulated in all governorates where health insurance begins to be implemented, explaining the work on conducting a database for all drug facilities with the participation of a sovereign authority. (Al Mal)
In the same time, the Health Care Authority announced, in a press statement, a contract with the company “E-Finance” to support the operation of programs for mechanization and digital transformation of medical services in the comprehensive health insurance system.
E-Finance revealed the development of applications and systems management, software downloads and deployment management, internal network monitoring, infrastructure and operating systems monitoring, technical support, generalization of the operation and support of system data in the Administrative Capital, in addition to other services according to the needs of developing medical services. (Al Mal)
Moreover, the International Monetary Fund said that emerging and middle-income economies across the Middle East, North Africa are witnessing a broad deterioration in their prospects due to limited policy space, with high levels of debt and inflation due to the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The IMF added that the debt will rise again in many countries in the region during the current year and remain above levels before the Corona pandemic in the medium term. It is expected that the total public financing needs in emerging and middle-income markets in the region will increase from 537 billion USD during the period 2020-2021 to 584 billion USD during the period 2022-2023. (Reuters)
By 2024, the Fund expects the annual budget interest expenditures of emerging market and middle-income countries to increase by about 4.5% of fiscal revenues as a result of the effects of monetary policies in advanced economies returning to normal conditions faster than expected.
According to the Fund's report, low-income countries in the region face very difficult prospects due to rising food prices, low vaccination rates and basic vulnerabilities in some countries. At the same time, oil-exporting countries are seeing brighter prospects. It is expected that the exceptional revenues resulting from the high oil prices and the successful vaccination campaigns will contribute to improving the position of financial and external balances and supporting the recovery. It is expected that oil revenues and external current account balances will rise on average by 5.3 percentage points and 7.2 percentage points of GDP, respectively, in 2022 compared to 202. (Reuters)
Moving to our EGX and companies talks, Egypt-based digital finishing and financing platform Shatablee has inaugurated its headquarters at the industrial zone in New Cairo.
This comes as part of the startup’s expansion plan set to be carried out in 2022. The headquarters is now ready to host customers and offer them seamless services. The headquarters has a dedicated office for Contact Financial Holding (CNFN) to immediately serve clients seeking to pay in installments. Moreover, Shatablee aims to record a business volume of over 1 billion EGP in the Egyptian real estate market during fiscal year (FY) 2022/2023. (Arab Finance)
Coldwell Banker Egypt will take part in Tiba Scape, the first Egyptian real estate exhibition in North America.
The company will showcase several projects through its network of clients which includes more than 100 developers. This comes in line with the company’s strategy that focuses on supporting the Egyptian real estate market, changing the concept of real estate marketing, creating new investment opportunities, and keeping up with the global development to achieve the goals of sustainable development and Egypt Vision 2030. Brought by the Canadian Pharaohs Group (CP Group), Tiba Scape will take place from May 26th until 29th in Ontario, Canada. (Arab Finance)
PepsiCo Egypt has celebrated the saving of around 60 million liters of water in 2021. The company plans to reduce water consumption in 2022 by 100 million liters as per its +pep strategy.
This move comes within the framework of the “She Feed the World” program launched in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Care International. The program targets empowering women and achieving equality between genders in the agricultural sector in line with PepsiCo’s strategy and Egypt Vision 2030. (Arab Finance)
And for our startups talks, Joi Gifts, the MENAPT-based online gifts marketplace, raised 1 million USD in a pre-Series B funding from Panthera Capital in addition to leading regional and international angel investors.
Launched in 2016, the startup offers a wide-range online gifting platform, allowing users to purchase and send tailored gifts, offering same-day delivery, and customized concierge delivery experience. Joi Gifts also introduced its Express Gift Delivery service earlier this year, offering customers in Riyadh, Dubai and Amman an extensive selection of gifts at their loved ones’ doorsteps in 90 minutes. The company has also invested in product innovation and offers customers the ability to send NFTs to their loved ones, while paying for them using just their credit cards. (WAYA)
Mkhdoom, Saudi-based logistics provider, raised 4 million Saudi Riyals in a seed funding round from Aljabr Company and angel investors.
The startup was founded in 2019 and currently serves over 1500 e-commerce platforms with last-mile delivery services. It received its license from Saudi’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in 2020. The company aims to use the new investment to expand within the Saudi Arabia, in addition to developing the platform, and improving the user experience in using logistics services in e-commerce. (WAYA)