Egypt’s net international reserves have recorded $40.993 billion at the end of February 2022

Newsletter

07 Mar 2022

For our top talks today, Egypt’s net international reserves have recorded $40.993 billion at the end of February 2022. This marks a monthly growth of 13 million USD in February, as the net foreign reserves hit 40.980 USD billion at the end of January. It is worth noting that the country’s net international reserves registered 40.934 billion USD in December 2021. The international reserves have been increasing gradually since June 2020 after it fell to about 36 billion USD at the end of May 2020 from 45.5 billion USD before the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. (CBE)

The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) is considering importing wheat from the European Union countries in 2022, according to the deputy supply and internal trade minister Ibrahim Ashmawy.
The authority will not exclude other exporters such as the US, Kazakhstan, and Romania, Ashmawy added. Moreover, he pointed out that GASC has cancelled two tenders for buying wheat since the Russian-Ukrainian war started. The first was cancelled due to the lack of bids, while the second aimed at assessing prices. The Egyptian government was confident in existing reserve of wheat and its available quantity from local harvest that would be enough for nine months. Furthermore, he mentioned that it is not the best time to hedge against fluctuations in commodity prices. It is worth noting that the government is in talks with Citibank and other unnamed banks to mull over options to hedge against volatile commodity prices. (Reuters)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian government.
The first MoU was signed with the ministries of electricity and petroleum to assess the economy of low-carbon hydrogen in Egypt. The second MoU was signed between the bank, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Egyptian Tourism Federation to establish a council for supporting skills in the hospitality and tourism sector. Meanwhile, the third MoU was signed between the bank and the Egyptian transport ministry to finance the electrification of the Abu Qir railway with 250 million EUR. The three agreements were signed on the sidelines of the conference held by the Egyptian Ministry of International Cooperation to launch the new strategy between EBRD and Egypt for the period starting from 2022 to 2027. (Al Borsa News)
Turning to our investments talks, CI Capital Holding for Financial Investments (CICH) is seeking to establish a fund specialized in investments in gold, in the context of its strategy to diversify investments.
Banque Misr is mulling over participation in the new fund once established by CI Capital. They noted that CI Capital presented a file for the gold investment fund to the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA). CI Capital is a diversified financial services group, which provides advisory on capital raising as well as mergers and acquisitions, in addition to asset management, securities brokerage, custody, and research through its investment banking platform. (Al-Mal)
Germany has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the country’s top power producer RWE and Dutch network operator Gasunie to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the port town of Brunsbuettel.
RWE and Gasunie signed the MoU with Germany’s state lender KfW. This came as a part of Germany’s plans to stop relying on Russian energy imports, including natural gas responding to the Russian attack against Ukraine. The cost of the project was not announced, but according to previous estimates, building an LNG terminal in Brunsbuettel off the ground will cost 450 million EUR. (Reuters)
And for our EGX and companies talks, AYADY for Investment and Development announced that NI Capital, the investment arm of the National Investment Bank (NIB), has completed the establishment of the Egyptian Company for Consumer Finance.
The issued and paid-up capital of the new company amounted to 100 million EGP. The new company will offer innovative financing solutions for purchases of goods and services, along with other facilitated payment options for its clients. Moreover, the Egyptian Company for Consumer Finance is projected to launch its first financing solutions during the third quarter of 2022. (Hapi Journal)
Raya Holding for Financial Investments (RAYA) has transferred ownership in three subsidiaries to Raya Information Technology (Raya IT).
Raya Holding closed three over-the-counter (OTC) transactions on Raya Network Power, Raya Networks Services, and Raya Data Center worth around 12.39 million EGP, 1.9 million EGP, and 2.939 million EGP, respectively. Moreover, sources revealed that Raya Holding is seeking to restructure its information technology sector under the umbrella of Raya IT. Raya Holding will weigh many options for Raya IT, including initial public offering (IPO) or attraction of new investors in the company. (Al-Mal)
Macro Group Pharmaceutical (Macro Capital) (MCRO) posted a 9.5% profit increase during the full year ended December 31st 2021.
The company’s net profit after tax grew to 147.967 million EGP in 2021, from 135.129 million EGP in 2020. Revenue soared to 594.259 million EGP in 2021, from 430.503 million EGP the year before. Founded in 2002, Macro Group is a leading Egyptian cosmeceutical company based in Cairo. (EGX)
Egypt Gas (EGAS) reports a net profit after tax of 165.828 million EGP in the full year ended December 31st 2021, up from 84.665 million EGP in 2020.
The company’s operating revenue surged to 5.404 billion EGP in 2021, from 4.002 billion EGP in 2020. Also, Egypt Gas’ (EGAS) board of directors approved a proposal to increase issued and paid-up capital by 520 million EGP. The company’s issued and paid-up capital will be increased to 1 billion EGP from 480 million EGP though subscription by senior shareholders. It is worth noting that Egypt Gas is an Egypt-based shareholding company engaged in the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of natural gas distribution networks and pressure reduction stations for domestics, commercial, and industrial applications. (EGX)
Middle East Glass Manufacturing Co’s (MEGM) Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) has approved the endorsement of the independent financial advisor’s report setting the fair value (FV) of the company’s stock at 38.67 EGP.
The EGM also approved increasing the company’s issued capital to 64.424 million EGP from 50.322 million EGP. MEGM is an Egypt-based company primarily engaged in the manufacture, sale, and export of glass containers in the Middle East and North Africa region. The company’s product solutions include food jars, bottles, juice, carbonated bottles, and pharma, among others. (EGX)