24 Japanese entities eye boosting investments in SCZONE

Newsletter

03 Oct 2023

24 Japanese entities eye boosting investments in SCZONE. 24 Japanese companies and organizations are looking forward to investing in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZONE). The two sides probed cooperation in the field of green fuel and its feeding industries. The meeting touched upon potential cooperation opportunities to boost the firms’ investments in the zone in the fields of renewables, green fuel, and other industries. (Hapi Journal)

bp awarded new exploration block in Egypt’s Eastern Mediterranean offshore.
bp has been awarded an exploration block in the eastern Mediterranean as part of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) 2022 International Bid round. The EGY-MED-E8 (East Port Said) block is situated in the Mediterranean Sea, roughly 50-90 kilometers from Post Said city, and is owned by bp to the tune of 33%, Qatar Energy to the tune of another 33%, and Eni to the tune of 34% as the operator. The block, which has a surface size of roughly 2,620 square kilometers, has sea depths of up to 700 meters. One exploration well will be drilled as part of the initial work schedule for the first exploration period. (Arab Finance)
Egypt, Italy mull further cooperation in healthcare sector.
Egypt and Italy are considering further bilateral cooperation in the healthcare sector. Both sides discussed ways to foster cooperation in the fields of medical staff training, healthcare investment, and exchange of expertise in the area of medical technology. They also tackled potential cooperation between the two countries in manufacturing pharmaceuticals as well as increasing the Italian investments in Egypt’s healthcare sector. (Al Mal)
TSFE considers floating MIDAR’s shares on EGX in 2024.
The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) is planning to float shares of MIDAR for Investment and Urban Development on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) within the first half (H1) of 2024. The sources noted that the company had been added to the pre-initial public offering (pre-IPO) fund to be offered on the EGX, adding that the National Investment Bank (NIP) and Banque Misr are seeking to exit from the company. It is worth noting that MIDAR is owned jointly by Banque Misr, NIP, Arab Contractor Company, the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and Misr Capital, holding 40%, 34.4%, 10.9%, 8.9%, and 5.6% stake, respectively. (Al Borsa News)
Also, MIDAR in talks with Gulf investors over lands sale in USD.
Egyptian real estate developer MIDAR for Investment and Urban Development is currently in advanced talks with Gulf investors over selling plots of land in US dollar. The company is also seeking to seal development partnership agreements with them. As per MIDAR’s website, the firm’s land bank extends over more than 11,000 feddans. (Asharq Business)
GAFI, UAE-South African consortium partner to establish financial hub in New Administrative Capital.
The initiative could significantly boost Egypt's economy. Executive Director of GAFI, Hossam Heiba, also revealed plans for three additional financial hubs in New Alamein and the Red Sea Governorate. These hubs will feature a broad range of activities such as insurance, financial consulting services, investment funds, holding and family companies, and even tourism. (Egypt Business Daily News)
Social Housing Fund, QNB Alahli ink billion EGP mortgage deal for low-income citizens.
The Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund has signed a cooperation protocol with QNB Alahli to offer real estate financing worth 2 billion EGP to low and medium-income citizens. This brings the total mortgage provided by the bank to the fund to 5 billion EGP. The protocol aims to provide new real estate financing to low and medium-income citizens who submitted requests to buy real estate units offered by the fund. (Al Mal)
Egypt releases 133 million USD worth of corn, soybean fodder in 2 weeks.
Egypt has released a total of 260,000 tons of corn and soybean fodder worth 133 million USD from the country’s ports over the period from September 8th to 21st. The released fodder included 175,000 tons of corn worth 63 million USD, 85,000 tons of soybeans worth 64 million USD, and feed additives worth 6 million USD. This brings the total amount of fodder released from October 16th, 2022, to September 21st, 2023, to 7.8 million tons at a total value of 3.7 billion USD. (Al Mal)
Orascom Investment sells subsidiaries in Brazil.
Orascom Investment Holding (OIH) has sold its subsidiaries owning the real estate units in Patio Victor Malzoni building in São Paulo, Brazil, for 17.88 million USD. The sale proceeds will be utilized in new tourism and renewable energy investments. (Arab Finance)
Golden Pyramids Plaza’s standalone profit plunge 77% YoY in Q
Golden Pyramids Plaza (GPPL) reported a 77.05% year-on-year (YoY) decline in standalone net profit after tax for the first quarter (Q1) of 2023. The company recorded a net profit after tax of 6.194 million USD in Q1 2023, compared to 26.994 million USD in Q1 2022. Operating revenues dropped to 22.831 million USD in the three-month period ended March 31st from 42.255 million USD in the year-ago period. Golden Pyramids announced before that it saw a 79.6% year-on-year (YoY) drop in its consolidated net profits after tax and non-controlling interests in Q1 of 2023. (Mubasher)
Ahly Capital Holding’s microfinance arm has raised 707 million EGP in a securitized bond issuance.
Al Ahly Pharos Investment Banking, the investment banking arm of the National Bank of Egypt’s Al Ahly Capital Holding, said that the bond was backed by a 787 million EGP portfolio from Al Ahly Tamkeen Microfinance and issued by Al Ahly Securitization Company. (Al Mal)
President Sisi urges investors to support 150 key projects in Egypt.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has invited Egyptian and foreign investors to invest in a list of about 150 projects identified and prioritized. He said the projects are "of critical importance" to the country as they would help promote local production, reduce the government's import bill and generate savings of around 25 billion USD. Among those projects is establishing a tire factory that, according to the president, could save the country approximately 250 million USD annually, given that it currently spends around 700-800 million USD on imported car tires. (Egypt Business Daily News)
It is worth noting that the government will grant incentives like tax exemptions for several years for any company seeking to invest in these projects.
President El-Sisi also highlighted that the government opted for establishing industrial complexes rather than allocating lands for investors rather than letting them struggle with the permit procedures. The government changed its approach after it found that investment projects were implemented over only 10% of nearly 30 million square metres of land allocated by the government for business people. (Egypt Business Daily News)