Sources told local press that Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, the sovereign arm of the UAE, signed the final contracts with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt to purchase stakes in 3 government companies in the pre-IPO fund portfolio, which are “Ethydco” and “National Drilling.”, and “Elab”. The sources added that the value of the deal, amounting to USD800 million, will be transferred immediately.

Minister of Planning said that unemployment rate is expected to increase to 7.6% in FY2023/24, up from 7.2% recorded in December 2022.

Tourist arrivals in October are likely to close 10% above the same period last year, an official said.

MPs approved the Finance Ministry’s plans to take out a seven-year, USD 500 mn loan from Deutsche Bank and the Arab Banking Corporation (Bank ABC) to support education and healthcare spending. 

European gas prices have risen some 40% since the war on Gaza broke out on 7 October, rallying almost 7% in early trading, before cooling off, in response to the news of Israel halting all gas exports to Egypt, pushing the country’s gas imports to zero from a previous 800 mn cubic feet of gas per day.

The Oil Ministry plans to launch an international bid round for the exploration of gold and minerals in 13 concessions in Shalateen and Aswan. Ten companies — three local and seven international firms — have so far submitted bids. The tender is expected to launch at the beginning of 2024.

Egypt could be getting more Ukrainian grain or fertilizers as part of a wider support package from the EU to help Egypt mitigate a potential uptick in migration to Europe resulting from the ongoing war on Gaza.


SKPC released 3Q23 unaudited financial indicators posting:
• 65% YoY increase in revenues and +7% QoQ. Annual increase came due to a 61% YoY increase in USD to EGP exchange rate, and despite a 12% YoY decline in global polyethylene prices. QoQ increase in revenues came despite a stable exchange rate and a 1% decline in global prices.
•Net profit recorded EGP605 million in 3Q23, increasing by 119% YoY (-12% QoQ), which brought 9M23 net profit up by 144% YoY to EGP1.8 billion. 
•SKPC is currently trading at 2024f P/E of 9.8x. 
•During its BoD meeting, SKPC approved Alpha Oryx bid for 30% of Ethydco stake.
 

The World Bank sees oil prices soaring as high as USD140-157 a barrel if the war escalates to cause large disruptions, which would shrink global oil supply by 6-8 mn bbl/day. The Bank sees prices jumping to USD109-121 a barrel in the case of a medium disruption and to USD93-102 a barrel in the case of small disruptions.


The Parliament authorized the Oil Ministry to contract ExxonMobil, Cheiron’s Pico Petroleum and the Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) to explore for oil and gas in the Mediterranean and Gulf of Suez. 


According to local media, SUGR achieved 9M23 net profit of EGP1.4 bn, a 91% rise YoY. The rise came backed by a rise in revenues to reach EGP5.56 bn a YoY, an incline of 77.6%, with the support of higher selling prices and favorable market conditions. SUGR is currently trading at a FY24 P/E of 8.6x.

The second iteration of the government’s car import scheme has opened for 3 months, allowing expats to import new cars tax- and customs-free provided they pay the fees in FX. 

BTFH's consumer finance arm, Seven, is set to enter the Jordanian market before the end of the year.


Damietta Port Authority, affiliated with the Ministry of Transport, will sign an initial agreement early next November with the global shipping line MSC to implement the superstructure, manage, operate and maintain a multi-purpose terminal (Tahya Misr 2) in Damietta Port for 15 years, which could be renewable for the same period.