Egypt postpones Telecom Egypt’s stake sale amid market volatility

Newsletter

21 Mar 2023

Egypt postpones Telecom Egypt’s stake sale amid market volatility. The Egyptian government has decided to put off the sale of a stake in Telecom Egypt until the global markets’ conditions stabilize. This came after the Madbouly government stated earlier that it will finalize the sale of a 10% stake in Telecom Egypt (TE) to a Gulf investor this week. Moreover, it was reported that the government named financial and legal advisors to manage the sale of a minority stake in the company. Egypt was offering to sell a 10% stake in the operator, with the sale being managed by local investment banks CI Capital and Ahly Pharos. (Asharq Business, Al Borsa & Hapi Journal)

FRA approves National Paints Holding’s bid for Pachin
EGX-listed Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) now have 10 working days to respond to Dubai-based National Paints Holding’s (NPH) takeover bid after the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) last sunday approved the offer. The 10-day mandatory tender offer (MTO) started yesterday, giving shareholders until 2 April to decide whether to sell their shares. (Al Mal)
It is worth noting that NPH has offered to purchase at least 75% of Pachin’s shares for 34.00 EGP a share, valuing it at some 816 million EGP
The company upped its offer earlier this month from its initial 29.00 EGP bid in November in response to a number of competing bids. Shareholders owning at least 75% of the company’s shares will need to agree to sell for the acquisition to go through. Also, Compass Capital and Eagle Capital have submitted bids for the company in recent months, with Compass offering to purchase 51-90% of its shares for 30.00 EGP apiece and Eagle mounting a takeover bid for 29.00 EGP per share. (Al Mal)
Infinity Power acquires 100% of Lekela Power
Infinity Power has completed its acquisition of Africa-based wind power platform Lekela Power, making Infinity Power the largest renewable energy company in Africa. The company now has a combined operational portfolio of 1.3 GW with a pipeline of 13.8 GW. (Al Mal)
EKH acquires 13% additional stake in Bawabet Al Kuwait Holding
Egypt Kuwait Holding Company (EKH) has acquired an additional stake of 13.12% stake in Bawabet Al Kuwait Holding Company for 66.4 million USD, bringing its total stake in the latter to 84.79%. The deal was executed under Boursa Kuwait’s rules of over-the-counter (OTC) trading system. It is worth mentioning that Bawabet Al Kuwait owns 59.82% of Alexandria Fertilizers Company, hence, the deal raised EKH’s direct stake in Alexandria Fertilizers to 69.42% from 61.57%. (Hapi Journal)
El Nasr Housing and Development and Maadi for Development and Construction want to bring in strategic investors
Through capital increases rather than selling stakes from existing shareholders. The two companies are part of the list of 32 state-owned companies in which the Madbouly government plans to sell stakes over the next year. The two real estate players have received several offers in the past but the companies are currently re-evaluating the financial valuation of their assets and conducting a revised internal fair-value study. (Enterprise)
GAFI wants to hand out 1,000 golden licenses over the next two years and is set to launch a roadshow during 1H 2023 to drum up foreign direct investment
Golden licenses are fast-tracked, single-approval licenses for industrial and infrastructure projects in sectors that are deemed to be of developmental priority. These licenses, the first of which was awarded in December, have been awarded to 13 companies so far. (Al Borsa)
Egypt could soon become Africa’s biggest wind generator by 2030
It is expected that South Africa will slip to become the 28th biggest wind energy producer in the world, from 25 currently, giving way to Egypt to rise to the 25th spot. Egypt’s wind power generation jumped 13% y-o-y in 2022 to 6.1 GWh, and there’s more to come with private companies currently constructing or developing some 2.8 GW of fresh wind capacity, while the government is set to add 252 MW of wind capacity in the Gulf of Suez. (Reuters)
Zoomcar plans to expand its fleet in Egypt
Zoomcar, an India-based self-drive and car-sharing platform, is planning to expand its car fleet in Egypt. The move will contribute to boosting growth in Egypt’s peer-to-peer car-sharing sector, as well as income diversification. It is worth noting that Zoomcar was launched in 2021 with total investments of 25 million USD. (Arab Finance)
CBE confirms mothers’ right to open banking accounts for minor children
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued directives for banks, confirming that mothers have the right to open current or savings accounts for their minor children. The directives confirm mothers’ authority in opening banking accounts for their minor children in case the deposited cash is provided by them as a donation for their kids. This comes in line with the CBE’s efforts to facilitate banking transactions for women to achieve financial inclusion in society. (Al Mal)
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has directed the government to raise the personal income tax exemption threshold to 36,000 EGP from 24,000 EGP currently
Companies account for the majority of what the government collects under the tax, charging and remitting it as wage taxes on every person they employ. This is more than we expected: The government said earlier this month that it plans to raise the exemption threshold to 30,000 from 1 April. (Hapi Journal)
The government is targeting 5.0% growth in FY 2023-2024, down from a 5.5% projection at the end of last year
This came from Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, who shared some of the key targets in the upcoming budget during a meeting with President El Sisi. The ministry is now looking at a 2.5% primary surplus in 2023-2024, up from its 2.0% forecast in December, and a 6.4% budget deficit. The deficit is expected to widen to 6.8% of GDP this year from 6.1% in FY 2021-2022. (Al Mal)