Egypt aims to reduce the population growth rate as part of the social development plan to 2% in Q4-2021

Newsletter

23 Aug 2021

For our hottest news of the day, Egypt aims to reduce the population growth rate as part of the social development plan to 2% in Q4-2021 compared to 2.56% recorded in 2017. The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, also revealed that the ministry is targeting a decrease in the state’s inflation rate to 6% during the 21/22 fiscal year along with achieving one of the main objectives of the fiscal year which is shrinking the poverty rate to 28.5% compared to 29.7% in 19/20 fiscal year.

Second, Egypt’s non-petroleum exports grew by 22% during the first 7 months of 2021, recording 17.70 billion USD compared to nearly 14.55 billion USD in the same period of 2020.
The top importer of Egyptian goods and services was Turkey coming in third with 1.81 billion USD worth of imports, followed by Saudi Arabia with 1.12 billion USD, and the United States with 1.29 billion. Meanwhile, non-petroleum imports increased slightly by 11% to reach 42.39 billion USD during the first 7 months of the year compared to 38.89 billion USD in the same period last year.
Third, the first nat gas-powered microbus has been delivered as part of a replacement program aimed to replace old vehicles with new models that have dual-fuel engines.
The government plans to deliver 300 nat gas microbuses on a monthly basis starting from August to have 15 thousand dual-engine vehicles in the streets by the end of the multi-year nat gas transition program. So far, the finance has received around 31,000 applications eligible under the initiative’s conditions.
On another note, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved to provide a sovereign loan valued at 250 million EUR to Egypt for financing the rehabilitation and upgrade of Cairo Metro Line II.
The loan will also be used to finance the upgrade of the existing rolling stock fleet and buying new rolling stock for the project, the bank added. This project, which is expected to be co-financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Egyptian government, comes as part of an investment package estimated at 550 million EUR.
By the same token, EFG Finance Holding plans to issue securitized bonds worth 2 billion EGP from Valu’s portfolio with the first tranche worth 300 million EGP to be issued imminently.
Walid Hassouna, EFG Finance’s CEO, revealed the volume of sales through Valu reached 1 billion EGP during the first half of 2021 with revenues of 100 million EGP during the same period.
Moving on to the M&As coverage, RX Healthcare Fund considering several investment opportunities in the Egyptian healthcare market and is currently in the late stages of finalizing one of the transactions.
The fund’s first investment occurred in 2018 with the acquisition of 80% of the shares of United Pharma in a transaction worth 360 million EGP, achieving an IRR of around 33% on the investment. Leveraging on the success of the first investment, the fund plans to deploy more capital in the Egyptian pharma sector
Equally important, Paymob for digital payment solutions signs a partnership agreement with Sodic’s sporting club Club S to offer digital payment services for Club S members through S Cash service.
The cooperation comes within the framework of the company’s efforts to support and enhance the financial inclusion and digital transformation plans targeted by the Egyptian government within the framework of achieving its 2030 vision.
Regarding our companies’ coverage, Ghabbour Auto (GB Auto) expects a 30% increase in car sales during the third quarter of 2021 quarter on quarter.
The company sold 10,000 cars in the second quarter of 2020 and expects the figure to reach 13,000 cars in Q3 2021. The automotive industry is witnessing a recovery after a slowdown due to covid-19, achieving revenues of 5.8 billion EPG in Q2 along with net profits of 231 million EGP.