We strongly believe that the CBE will fix interest rates at their current rates, at its next meeting on Thursday,
So, first, we strongly believe that the CBE will fix interest rates at their current rates, at its next meeting on Thursday, October 28. In a fact, this decision will come despite all the increasing inflationary pressures at the global level. It is worth noting that at a time when the pace of global inflation began to rise amid implicit or explicit messages sent by the US Federal Reserve about pursuing a monetary tightening policy in light of the current pressures, but the domestic inflation trends – on the other hand – are still within the target range of the CBE. Moreover, the Egyptian economy needs a facilitative policy to support the investment environment and attract investors to government proposals, and most importantly, the economy needs to keep interest rates and the budget deficit under control. There is no doubt that these motives are the most important reasons that may push the CBE to fix interest rates for the longest possible period. (Al-Mal)
- Second, Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy acquired a loan worth $221 million from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to develop the electricity sector.
These projects will raise the contribution of renewable energy to 20% of the energy mix by 2022. The 14-year loan is repayable over 14 years, includes a 6-year grace period, and is priced at an annual interest rate of 0.65%. The loan will be deployed within three years. (Al Borsa News)
- And for our investments talks, France-based insurer AXA will invest up to 1.5 billion EUR to support sustainable forest management as part of new commitments to fight deforestation and preserve biodiversity.
The company will allocate 500 million EUR for reforestation projects in emerging countries. Deforestation is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss and carbon emissions. The French insurer also announced it would strengthen its investment and insurance requirements in businesses that actively contribute to deforestation. (Arab Finance)
- Additionally, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly invited French companies to inject investments in manufacturing electric vehicles and desalination projects in Egypt.
Noting that Egypt recently depended mainly on French companies in constructing and managing public transportation projects, including the monorail and light rail train. During his visit to France, Madbouly conducted a meeting with representatives from 90 French companies at the headquarters of the French Business Council (MEDEF) in Paris. He noted that there are more than 165 French companies investing around EUR 5 trillion, providing up to 38,000 jobs in Egypt. (Arab Finance)
- Equally important, Egypt is planning to increase the amount of green projects that will be implemented within the state’s national investment plan to around 50-60% of all investments by fiscal year (FY) 2024/2025.
These projects are designed to focus on handling the impact of climate change, providing clean transportation, improving water and sanitation systems, establishing desalination plants, and enhancing power efficiency and renewable energy. It is worth mentioning that the government is working on drafting a national strategy for hydrogen that fosters the usage of green and blue hydrogen as sources of clean energy. Additionally, the government is working on finalizing the national strategy for climate change. (Egypt Ministry of Planning)
- Moving to our top EGX & companies talks, Egyptian Transport and Commercial Services Co (EGYTRANS) announced that shareholder Mohamed Ashraf Omar has raised his stake in the company to 15.68% from 15.49%.
This came after the shareholder purchased 58,796 shares in EGYTRANS at an average price of 12.55 EGP per share. The transaction was carried out through Beltone Securities Brokerage at a total value of 737.98 million EGP. Egytrans is an Egypt-based company engaged in the international sea, air, and land transportation services. The company offers a wide range of services such as import and export, general cargo handling, dry cargo handling, customs clearance, warehousing, packing, and specialized transportation. (EGX)
- With this in mind, Misr Chemical Industries Company (MICH) announced that its board of directors has approved the financial results for the period starting July 1st until September 30th, 2021
The financial indicators showed that the company achieved a net profit after tax of 50.15 million EGP in the July-September period of 2021, up by 20% from 41.88 million EGP in the year-ago period. The company’s revenue increased by 9% to 138.51 million EGP in the three-month period ended September 30th, 2021, from 126.77 million EGP in the same period of 2020. (EGX)
- Moreover, Target for Real Estate Investment, Development, Agricultural Reclamation, and Tourism Development has purchased 7.16 million shares in Real Estate Egyptian Consortium (AREH) for an average price of 4.36 EGP per share.
As a result, Target for Real Estate Investment increased its stake in Real Estate Egyptian Consortium to 12.443% from 10.65%, the filing added. The total value of the shares’ purchase transaction amount to 31.22 million EGP. Real Estate Egyptian Consortium is an Egypt-based public shareholding company engaged in the real estate investment sector. The company focuses on real estate development and general building contracts, such as the construction of hotels and touristic villages, housing complexes, among others. (EGX)
- In addition, Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (MNHD) announced more details about the acquisition of MINKA Developments from the Sallam family.
The company said that MNIKA's projects are located inside Taj City's land plot and that the products sold by MINKA complement and do not directly compete with MNHD's products. MINKA only sells fully furnished turnkey units with appliances, while MNHD sells semi-furnished units, the company clarified, noting that the acquisition will widen MNHD's product range. To finance the acquisition, MNHD will increase its issued and paid-up capital by 374.4 million EGP through a rights issue. Part of the proceeds will be used to finance the acquisition, while the rest will be used to finance a new project in Assiut. The Sallam family will use the proceeds of the transaction to buy shares of MNHD from the market and inject an additional 50 million EGP to acquire at least 5% of MNHD. (EGX)
- Also, Raya Holding for Financial Investments announced the conclusion of the sale of 100% or 6.5 million shares of BariQ for Techno and Advanced Industries to Intro for Waste Management and Material Recovery Ltd, a subsidiary of Intro Investment Holding.
The total cash value of the deal stands at 496 million EGP, including 5.24 million EGP for a 7,500-square-metre land plot owned by Tadweer, one of Raya’s subsidiaries, located in CPC industrial Complex, and 490.75 million EGP as the purchase price of the shares. The average share purchase price amounts to 75.5 EGP. The transaction also included an additional permitted leakage and debt waiver of 75 million EGP as consideration, bringing the total value of the transaction to 571 million EGP. (EGX)
- By the same token, Qatari Diar has started working on the first phase of its CityGate project in New Cairo with a value of 1 billion EGP.
The first phase of the development includes 430 units and the works under the new deal are scheduled for delivery within 24 months. During the implementation period, the first phase is expected to create about 200,000 jobs in the Egyptian market. It is worth noting that the investments of Qatari Diar in Egypt have exceeded 3 billion USD, injected into tourism, residential, and mixed-use projects that span over more than 40 million square metres. Upon completion, the CityGate project will have a value of more than 12 billion USD. (Al-Mal)
- And finally, for our COVID vaccine watch, Egypt has received a total of 1.06 million Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses on October 25th.
This is also the third batch of J&J vaccines to reach our shores, with the shipment being sent primarily to travel vaccine centers for those needing to travel abroad. This also marks the third shipment of covid-19 vaccine doses to arrive this month, following the arrival of 1.4 million Pfizer jabs on Friday, October 22nd, and another batch last week. Egypt is expected to receive some 3 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine before the end of October. (Egypt Ministry of Health)
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