National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr offer new 3-year CDs

Newsletter

03 Apr 2023

NBE, Banque Misr offer new 3-year CDs. State-run banks the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr have started selling a new three-year certificate of deposit (CD) at an annual interest rate of 22% to be paid in the first year, 18% for the second year, and 16% for the third one. The lenders also offered another three-year CD with a fixed annual interest rate of 19%. The two banks decided to issue the new CDs after the CBE raised interest rates by 200 basis points in its second meeting during 2023. (Bloomberg Asharq)

The devaluation of the EGP against the USD that some had been predicting to come alongside the rate hike still expected, according to Bloomberg.
The EGP is still changing hands at around 30.96 to the USD according to the official central bank rate. The currency has been holding steady at that rate for the past three weeks, but 12-month non-deliverable forwards are pointing to about EGP 40.00 to the greenback, while the parallel market sees the USD changing hands for 35-36 EGP.
A bill allowing informal industrial projects to obtain temporary licenses of up to three years was also ratified by the Sisi administration.
The law gives the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) the power to provide informal industrial establishments with one-year licenses to operate while owners legalize their businesses. The Trade Ministry will be able to extend these licenses by up to two more years on the IDA’s recommendation. Both laws were greenlit by the House last month. (Bloomberg Asharq)
The Suez Canal Authority has raised fees for oil ships transiting the waterway.
Tankers carrying crude oil and petroleum products now have to pay a 25% surcharge while their empty counterparts are paying an extra 15%, up from an additional 5% for both laden and ballast vessels. Also, a package of wage and pension hikes is now in effect after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi signed the bill into law. The 165 billion EGP package includes 10 billion EGP to raise public-sector wages and pension payouts, and 85 billion EGP to cover debt service for the final quarter of the current fiscal year. (Bloomberg Asharq)
Egypt officially becomes member of BRICS’ NDB.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has ratified the agreement on establishing the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS bloc and the document of Egypt's accession to the 100 billion USD bank. Egypt holds about 1.2 billion USD of the bank’s subscribed capital, equivalent to a 2.27% stake, according to the NDB’s website. The other shareholders outside the group, UAE and Bangladesh, currently own less than 2%each of the bank's shares. (Ahram Gate)
A Gulf sovereign fund and a Chinese company are reportedly looking to buy a minority stake in Elsewedy Electric.
The potential buyers are currently in talks with their advisors to look into how they might go about the transaction. The company is majority owned by members of the Elsewedy family, with the remainder in freefloat. (Shorouk News)
Dubai-based National Paints Holding (NPH) has upped its offer for EGX-listed Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) in response to Eagle Chemicals’ new bid last week.
The Emirati firm is now offering to purchase at least 75% of the state-owned company for 37.75 EGP per share, up from its earlier offer of 36.00 EGP per share, the statement reads. This is 0.75 EGP per share higher than Eagle Chemicals’ most recent 37.00 EGP bid. NPH’s new offer values the company at 906 million EGP, according to our calculations. Everything else in the NPH offer is unchanged. (EGX)
Saudi Arabia will become a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, allowing it to eventually become a full member of the China-led trade and security alliance.
In contrast to its increasingly fractious ties with the Biden administration, Saudi’s relationship with China has warmed significantly in recent months, with the two sides heralding a “new era” in bilateral ties at a joint summit in Riyadh in December. China followed it up by brokering a major agreement between KSA and its arch foe Iran. Egypt and Qatar also recently became dialogue members of the SCO. (Financial Times)
Madinet Masr aims to invest 3 billion EGP in 2023.
The investments will be mainly directed to construction works in order to meet the delivery dates. The real estate developer is eying cooperation with key developers and companies specialized in partial ownership of properties in the coming period. The company is planning to issue new securitization of units this year, expecting the process to take place by the end of the year. (Hapi Journal)
IsDB to finance 1st phase of Egypt’s high-speed railway with 344.5 million USD.
The first phase extending over 660 kilometers will connect Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea to Marsa Matrouh and Alexandria on the Mediterranean with the aim of providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transportation systems. Egypt’s high-speed railway is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. (Arab Finance)