The International Monetary Fund is allocating the Special Drawing Rights for a total of 650 billion USD

Newsletter

26 Aug 2021

For our hottest news of the day, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is allocating the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for a total of 650 billion USD, effective as of August 23rd. Egypt is set to receive 2.8 billion EGP from the IMF’s SDR in proportion to the country’s quota shares in the IMF. This marks the largest allocation in the IMF’s history and is expected to provide additional liquidity to the global economic system amid the struggles of emerging countries with regard to external debt.

Second, Following the state’s intentions to issue the first ever sukuk reported in yesterday’s news, the Minister of Finance revealed that the sukuk issuance will range between 1 billion USD to 2 billion USD which is expected to take place in the second half of 2021.
The Egyptian government obtained the approvals to set up a state-owned company to manage the sukuk issuance. The government plans to use the proceeds from the issuance to finance the budget deficit.
Third, the manufacturing and extractive industries index, excluding oil and petroleum products, is up 14.49% in June 2021 reaching 117.80 compared to 102.89 in the previous month.
The manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and preparations reached 124.55 during June 2021, compared to 90.55 in May 2021, an increase of 37.54%, due to the coronavirus crisis. While the manufacture of beverages increased 13.23% from 325.56% to 368.63%.
Equally important, Egyptian Electricity Holding Co. (EEHC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the German-based Siemens Energy to increase the contribution of renewable energy in the Egyptian power mix.
Under the MoU, the two parties seek to diversify resources of electricity production and to benefit from the available natural resources in Egypt, as well as to produce and export green hydrogen. The MoU signing comes within the framework of Egypt’s strategy to expand in the green power field.
Moving on to the Investments coverage, The Arab Contractors Company wins the bid for the construction of a 150-kilometer road in the Democratic Republic of Congo connecting Kamuesha and Katanga provinces with a total investment of 110 million EUR to be financed by the European Development Fund (EDF).
The project includes the construction of three bridges in addition to establishing 33 water drainage systems. In other news, the company has finished the construction of a five-storey building for the Ministry of Defense.
In other news, Fintech funding across the Middle East, Africa, (EMEA) jumps to 39.1 billion USD in H1-2021 highlighting the investors interest on the back of the increased focus on digitalization.
The combined funding for the EMEA region, which accounted for 39% of the total deals made globally, is 50%higher compared to the 26 billion USD recorded during the whole of 2020. The pandemic acted as a catalyst for fintech startups accelerating the digitalization of products and services across a range of industries.
With regards to companies’ coverage, The Six of October Development and Investment Company’s (SODIC) consolidated net profit before minority interest surges 209% year-on-year reaching 222.60 million EGP in H1 2021, compared to 72 million EGP in the same period last year.
In other news, The Financial Regulatory Authority extended the deadline of receiving the mandatory tender offer (MTO) from the UAE’s Aldar Properties for full acquisition of the SODIC.
By the same token, Commercial International Bank’s (CIB) household financing portfolio reached 40 billion EGP of which 2 billion EGP is mortgage financing.
The bank’s mortgage portfolio is relatively limited compared to the size of the real estate sector which is experiencing high growth rates. Consequently, the bank is planning to increase its mortgage portfolio in the coming period, having signed a partnership agreement with Al Ahly Sabbour to finance its clients in Green Square project which has been covered in yesterday’s news round.