Six of the first eight state-owned companies that are in line for privatization in the Madbouly government’s rebooted offering program are expected to be oil companies

Newsletter

19 Mar 2023

Six of the first eight state-owned companies that are in line for privatization in the Madbouly government’s rebooted offering program are expected to be oil companies. The preliminary list of the first eight companies that will see stake sales: Enppi, Midor, Ethydco, Assiut Oil Refining Company, eMethanex, Al Wadi for Phosphate Industries and Fertilizers, Port Said Container Handling, and Damietta Container Handling. (Bloomberg Asharq)

Egypt to start marketing state-firms to investors in April
Egypt is considering further expanding the list of state-owned firms to 40 instead of 32 ahead of offering them to investors, as the cash-strapped nation moves ahead with a plan to revamp the economy. On February 9th, the government announced that it is looking forward to offering shares in up to 32 companies for sale on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX), to strategic investors, or a mix of both. (Al Mal)
It is worth noting that it has been expected to see Alexbank, eMethanex, Enppi, Assiut Oil Refining Company, and MIDOR on the list unveiled last month
Each of these companies were flagged by the EGX earlier this year as being in line for privatization. Also, the program could include up to five state-owned banks, Maait said, name-checking the state’s 20% stake in Alexbank as well as Banque du Caire, AAIB, and United Bank. All of them are already on the list and the United Bank has attracted interest from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, but talks have reportedly stalled due to disagreements on valuation. (Al Mal)
On the other hand, CI Capital has reportedly started marketing military-owned firms Safi and Wataniya to strategic investors, and is looking to sell at 10% of each company
The privatization push is part of the country’s new state ownership policy which outlines how the government intends to more than double the private sector’s role in the economy to 65% and attract 40 billion USD in private investment by 2026. Under its recent loan agreement with the IMF, the government has committed to reducing the role of state- and military-owned firms in the economy, which it will do via public share offerings, stake sales to strategic investors, and expanding public-private partnerships. (Al Mal)
Hilton to open 13 new hotels in Egypt by 2028
Hilton plans to nearly double the portfolio of properties it operates in Egypt over the next 3-5 years to reach 27 from a current 14. The company is looking to hire 2,000 more employees here in the next three years, adding to its current workforce of around 6,500 people. Hilton will introduce the Waldorf Astoria brand to Egypt with the opening of Waldorf Astoria Cairo Heliopolis, and is also planning to open the doors of the Hilton Cairo Nile Maadi, both this summer. (Hapi Journal)
Egypt could welcome a record 15 million tourists this year
The Tourism Ministry is expecting to receive a record 15 million tourists this year, up 28% from last year, Minister Ahmed Issa said. Arrivals in January and February jumped 34% from the same period in 2022. The ministry wants to attract as many as 30 million tourists per year by 2028. Inbound tourism in January and February of this year witnessed a growth of 35% compared to the corresponding period last year. (Hapi Journal)
Egypt inks 1.6 billion USD deals to manage, operate Sokhna, Dekheila ports
The first project will be implemented in the port of Sokhna between the General Authority for the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal and the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports, French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM, and Chinese state-owned COSCO Shipping. The second project is being implemented in Dekheila Port between the General Authority of Alexandria Port and the consortium of Hutchison Ports and the Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). (Hapi Journal)
Egypt targets 10 billion USD in net foreign direct investment in FY2022/23
Egypt eyes net foreign direct investments (FDI) amounting to 10 billion USD during the current fiscal year (FY) 2022/2023, up from 8.6 billion USD a FY earlier, in a way that contributes to transforming Egypt into a more stimulating center for production and export to Europe. This came during a meeting with Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and a number of Saudi investors in Riyadh. The minister added that Egypt aims to reach 100 billion USD in exports in the medium term, by expanding the export base and enhancing the competitiveness of Egyptian products in global markets. (Zawya)
Moving to Egypt cement sector, Egypt’s local sales volumes dropped in February by 15% Y-o-Y to 3.8mn tonnes (-12% M-o-M)
The drop was seen across all companies, with the exception of companies coming from a low base, including: Building Materials Industries (+126% Y-o-Y), South Valley Cement (+29% Y-o-Y) and Al Nahda Industries (+7% Y-o-Y). It is worth noting that the decline in local sales volumes was mainly due to low demand during the month. (Al Mal)
And finally, on the global level, Credit Suisse is going to live to see another day, after the Swiss bank secured a 54 billion USD loan from the Swiss National Bank as a liquidity backstop
Credit Suisse will also buy back around 3 billion CHF of its debt to trim its “overall liability composition,” the bank said in a statement. The lifeline, the first for a major global bank since the 2008 financial crisis, has raised serious doubts over whether central banks will be able to sustain aggressive interest rate hikes. (Reuters)