PickAlbatros to invest 140 million USD in Morocco within 2 years

Newsletter

21 Sep 2023

PickAlbatros to invest 140 million USD in Morocco within 2 years. Pickalbatros Group is planning to invest 140 million USD in Morocco within two years. The investment aims to increase the company’s hotel capacity in Morocco by about 43% to 2,000 hotel rooms from 1,400 now. The group is mulling over directing investments specifically to Agadir within the framework of the great promotion for tourism in Morocco, which the country witnessed during the first half of 2023. Pickalbatros owns and manages more than 25 hotels in Egypt with a hotel capacity of more than 14,000 rooms, in the cities of Hurghada, Sharm El-Sheikh, and Marsa Alam. (Asharq Business)

Gold prices have slightly increased for 24-carat, 21-carat, and 18-carat gold, despite the government’s attempts to curb the recent surge in prices.
It is expected that international gold prices will likely continue to increase, given expectations of the Fed keeping interest rates steady this month. The government introduced new customs rule this year designed to attract Egyptians abroad to bring gold into the country. This came in response to unprecedented volatility in the domestic gold market that saw prices hit a record high as savers bought the precious metal to hedge against surging inflation and currency uncertainty. The 24 carat gold price on Tuesday stood at EGP 2,537, up 1% from last week. Year to date, the price of 24 carat gold is up 32.5%. (Al Mal)
Global oil prices hit fresh 10-month highs on Tuesday as the rally fuelled by Saudi-Russia supply cuts continued.
Brent prices reached USD 96 a barrel and US crude exceeded USD 91 before settling lower, continuing a near-four-month rally that has sent prices more than 30% higher. The Wall Street Journal raised the alarm on Wednesday, warning that rising energy prices will complicate the Federal Reserve’s efforts to reduce inflation and could result in interest rates moving higher than expected. It is worth noting that the Central Bank of Egypt is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets on Thursday. (Bloomberg)
Saudi wealth fund to up its stake in e-Finance.
The Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC), the investment arm of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is planning to increase its stake in state fintech player e-Finance to 28% from 25% currently. It is worth remembering that the Saudi wealth fund acquired 25% of the company last year for 7.5 billion EGP, becoming its single-largest shareholder and getting it two seats on the board. This was part of a wider USD 1.3 bn investment in state-held shares of EGX-listed companies. (Asharq Business)
The founders of EGX-listed clothing company Dice Sports and Casual Wear have submitted a preliminary offer to purchase 90% of the company.
A consortium consisting of Toma for Commercial and Industrial Investments and Maged Toma have offered to purchase 1.6 billion shares of the Egyptian company at 0.65 EGP per share through a mandatory tender offer, valuing it at more than 1.1 billion EGP. This is a 4.8% premium to its closing share price on Monday. Founder and CEO of the company Nagy Toma currently has a 21.1% stake, while Maged Toma, who sits on the company’s board, owns 8.7%. United Motors has a 7% share, while the rest of the company’s shares are in free float. (Al Mal)
Several local steel companies have expressed interest in acquiring state-owned steel manufacturer Delta Steel.
Al Gioshy Steel, El Garhy Steel, and El Marakby Steel are all reportedly in the running to acquire shares in the firm from the Holding Company for Metallurgical Industries. The holding company owns 100% of the firm. Al Gioshy Steel chairman Tariq Al Gioshy stated that the company has offered to partner with Delta Steel to develop, manage, and operate a smelting plant for billet production in exchange for a share of the company. Al Gioshy has not yet received a response. The government has reportedly appointed an advisor to advise on whether it should sell a portion of Delta Steel or fully exit the firm. (Asharq Business)
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) is providing Egypt 10 million USD to finance imports of vital food and agricultural commodities.
The loan is part of a 200 million USD trade finance facility with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) supporting food security in Egypt, which has taken a hit since the war in the Ukraine pushed up the global price of commodities. Our heavy reliance on imports of wheat, grain, vegetable oils and animal proteins has continued to push up the annual food inflation rate, which reached a record high of 71.4% y-o-y in August. (Arab Finance)
Emirati real estate tycoon Mohamed Alabbar’s Eagle Hills is reportedly in talks with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) to acquire an undisclosed real estate developer.
The talks are still in early stages, with no offers made so far. Eagle Hills is looking to expand its Egypt footprint, reportedly bidding for contracts to redevelop state-owned property in downtown Cairo and moving forward with a new luxury residential development on the North Coast. (Al Borsa)
The investment and logistics arms of Egypt Post will acquire a 40% stake in Egyptian logistics platform Roaderz.
Post for Investment and Post for Distribution will both acquire shares in the company, which did not disclose the transaction value. The move is part of Egypt Post's strategy to expand its portfolio in the financial services and logistics sector to bolster Egypt's economy while generating returns on its investments via its logistics and investment arms. The acquisition also seeks to provide impetus to Egypt's e-commerce sector while bolstering delivery infrastructure. (
AUC receives 85 million USD grant to develop higher education.
The grant is in support of the 'USAID Partnerships for Educational Progress' development program. This new program, under the leadership of AUC, plans to fortify and expand higher education in Egypt through knowledge and capacity building. These efforts aim to better align with the country’s development priorities. The grant comes after the recent announcement of the largest grant in AUC history from USAID, amounting to 86 million USD, to support the USAID Egyptian Pioneers program, making AUC the largest body executing the agency’s higher educational projects in Egypt. (Egypt Business Daily News)