Mohamed El-Etreby, Chairman of Banque Misr, revealed that the volume of customers’ demand to sell the dollar increased by 60%

Newsletter

24 Mar 2022

For our top talks today, first, Mohamed El-Etreby, Chairman of Banque Misr, revealed that the volume of customers’ demand to sell the dollar increased by 60% during the first two days of the Central Bank’s decision to raise interest rates compared to the previous days. He said that the bank’s total proceeds from selling new certificates with a return of 18% reached 14 billion EGP in the first two days of issuing the certificates. he proceeds of certificates with an annual return of 18% in “Al-Ahly” and “Misr” banks achieved about 51 billion EGP during the first two days of their issuance. The rise in the price of the dollar encouraged customers to sell it. (Al Mal)

Second, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) announced some amendments to surcharges levied on laden and ballast petroleum products tankers transiting the canal in both directions.
As per the amendments, laden petroleum products tankers are required to pay a surcharge of 15% from the canal’s normal transit dues. Meanwhile, the surcharge levied on ballast petroleum products tankers passing the Suez Canal of 5% from normal transit dues is still charged. The amendments are applicable starting from May 1st. The aforementioned surcharges are temporary and could be amended or cancelled as per the conditions of the maritime industry. These changes came in line with the remarkable growth in global trade, the improvement of economies of ships, the upgrade in the Suez Canal’s waterway, and the development of the transit service. It is worth noting that the SCA raised tolls for laden and ballast vessels by 5% to 10% effective March 1st. (Arab Finance)
Egypt is expected to complete the issuance of its first yen-denominated bonds on Thursday, March 24th.
The government is planning to raise around 500 million USD from the Samurai bonds. The five-year debt will be issued in a private placement, targeting a yield ranging between 0.80% and 0.85%. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, one of Japan’s leading banks, is managing the bonds offering. The anticipated bonds issuance marks a major step in the Egyptian government’s efforts to diversify funding for the economy amid ongoing pressures from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and higher commodity prices. (Bloomberg)
Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is mulling over reinforcing the partnership with Chevron Corporation in the oil field and development of fuel stations.
Chevron has a significant opportunity to boost cooperation with the Egyptian oil sector as the local market is competitive and able to accommodate various petroleum products. The company aims at increasing its oil production in Egypt, as well as raising its exports to global markets by selling “Made in Egypt” labelled products. (Arab Finance)
Turning to our investments talks, Catalyst Private Equity has launched Catalyst Capital Egypt Fund (CCE), the first private close-end impact investing fund in Egypt and the Middle East.
As per the rules of the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), the CCE has been established with a target size of 1 billion EGP, considering that its first closing amounted to around 450 million EGP. Under the guidance of the Central bank of Egypt, the fund targets investing in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt. The fund has a number of Egypt’s largest institutions as limited partners, such as Misr Insurance Holding Company, Misr insurance, Misr Life Insurance, Post for Investment, Misr Fund for Finance and Investment, Banque du Caire, Attijariwafa Bank, Ahli United Bank, Suez Canal Bank, and Al Baraka Bank. Catalyst Private Equity is the fund’s general partner, along with “ultra-high-net-worth family offices”. (Arab Finance)
EFG Hermes (HRHO) is studying various investments in the fields of healthcare, education, and energy, along with technology and green hydrogen, according to the Co-CEO of EFG Hermes Investment Bank Karim Moussa.
The group has an ambitious plan aimed at generating lucrative returns on investments for its partners of investors and institutions. EFG Hermes is interested in the green hydrogen sector and is set to expand in it starting from African markets, especially the Egyptian which has a great growth potential. The top official revealed that total target investments in the energy sector amount to 300 million USD projected to be disbursed within three to four years to cover two or three deals. (Al Mal)
And for our EGX and companies talks, CI Capital Holding for Financial Investments’ (CICH) board of directors have approved the fully acquisition of Misr Capital’s shares in Misr Capital Brokerage and Lighthouse for Education Investment.
CI Capital Holding will acquire 99,990 shares in Misr Capital Brokerage and 125,000 shares in Lighthouse. It is worth noting that CI Capital Holding posted a 44% year-on-year (YoY) surge in consolidated profits excluding minority interest in 2021, recording 681 million EGP.
FlapKap, an Egyptian e-commerce and SaaS platform, announced its launch after completing a 1.2 million USD fundraise.
The fundraise was led by the leading venter capital firm A15. The company, which currently operates in Egypt and the UAE, will launch its business soon in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, it plans for a wider expansion in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region as well as expects “rapid merchant acquisition”. FlapKap is a MEA-based fintech company that provide online business in the region with guidance over boosting their revenues and reaching their growth potential through AI-insights and data analytics. (EGX)
Sameh El-Sadat, founder and partner of TBS Bakery, a subsidiary of the Intro Group, revealed that it intends to pump 500 million EGP in new investments in the local market during the current year.
He added, that this value will be directed to adding a new production line to its factory, which was established at the end of 2020 through partnership with Al-Mansour Group, and it will be sourced from bank borrowing, and negotiations are currently underway with 3 local and private bans. It is worth noting that the brand is currently present in about 1,600 outlets across the country, in addition to contracting with a group of major restaurant chains such as McDonald's Egypt, Buffalo Burger and others. (Al Mal)
Mohamed Fahmy, the managing partner and CEO of “Seconds Ventures” for venture capital management, revealed that the company plans to invest 150 million EGP during the current year, directed to the benefit of 10 emerging entities in the technology field.
He added that the company had completed the process of compiling the initial subscription value for the "Egypt Deep Tech" fund at 150 million EGP. It is expected that the actual investment process for the fund would start during the month of May, as negotiations are underway with about 22 startup companies, 10 of which will be selected to invest in. It is worth noting that the average transaction size in a single company ranges from 12 to 17 million EGP, with different shares, according to the companies’ evaluation. (Al Mal)
The board of directors of Raya Customer Experience (Raya CX), a subsidiary of Raya Holding for Financial Investments (RAYA), has approved granting a loan worth up to 500,000 USD to Gulf Customer Experience.
The board set a six-month deadline for the repayment of the loan which is pending general assembly approval. It has subsidiaries operating across North America, the British Islands, Northern Africa, Western Africa, and the Middle East. (EGX)
Edita Food Industries (EFID) announced increase in prices of baked and wafer products.
The company raised prices of baked products to 7 EGP and 5 EGP, from 5 EGP and 4 EGP, respectively. Prices of Freska Bar was also raised to 3 EGP from 2 EGP. It is worth noting that Edita reported a consolidated net profit attributable to the parent company of 528.73 million EGP in 2021, up from 347.72 million EGP in 2020. (EGX)
And finally, Mars Wrigley has signed a cooperation protocol with Ahl Masr Foundation to support the medical sector in Egypt with a sum of 500,000 EGP.
This sum will be invested by 70% to provide medical supplies to Shebin El Kom Teaching Hospital for four months, with the remaining 30% to be used for the preparation of Ahl Masr Hospital for burn victims. Under the signed protocol, Mars will supply all the necessary supplies for healthcare services providers. (Arab Finance)