CAPITAL MARKETS- The Egyptian Securities Federation has landed: The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has completed procedures to establish the first Egyptian Securities Federation, almost five years after the original decree establishing the federation was issued, it said in a statemen t on Thursday. What it does: The federation’s remit is to improve standards and promote accountability in the sector. It functions as a union of non-banking financial services that have acknowledged the FRA as their central governing authority. A new board was the first order of business: The federation on Wednesday elected former investment minister Ashraf Salman as its chairman and Ahmed Ikram Mostafa as its vice chairman. It also appointed 13 members to its board. COMMODITIES- Direct wheat talks come to nought: State grains buyer GASC reportedly made no purchase after direct talks to buy wheat with international trading houses on Friday, traders told Reuters. The lowest bid was reportedly submitted by Buildcom, which offered to sell 50k tons of Bulgarian wheat at USD 263.77 per metric ton on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Remember: GASC last week bought 60k metric tons of Romanian wheat at USD 270.25 FOB in an international tender funded by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). The shipment is scheduled for delivery between 5-20 October. ENERGY- Neptune kicks off Egyptian drilling operations: Independent oil and gas company Neptune Energy has started exploratory drilling at the Yakoot well in its North West El Amal offshore concession in the Gulf of Suez, it said Wednesday. It is the first well Neptune will drill in Egypt and falls under a USD 35 mn oil and gas exploration agreement the company signed with Egypt in 2020 to drill three exploration wells in the concession. Who’s Neptune? The UK-headquartered company focuses on the North Sea, North Africa and Asia-Pacific. The company will shed its “independent” moniker once its acquisition by Italy’s Eni goes through: The Italian major said in June it is buying Neptune from its private equity backers in a USD 4.9 bn transaction that the Financial Times characterized as “the largest cash [transaction] in the European oil and gas sector for almost a decade.” STARTUPS- Endeavor Egypt has launched its XceleRise green accelerator in partnership with the German development agency GIZ, a press release said. The 15-month program will provide entrepreneurs with “industry knowledge, market insights and invaluable connections necessary to successfully scale their operations internationally and raise capital,” the statement reads. The accelerator is targeting sustainable startups in green buildings, waste management, renewable energy, sustainable transport, and agriculture and water management. Who’s eligible? Startups looking to apply to the program must operate within the green and green-tech sector, generate a minimum annual revenue of USD 250k, have at least 10 employees, and be actively seeking international expansion opportunities within the MEA region and to raise capital. Applications can be made through Endeavor’s website. FINTECH- Fawry can now be used to book some train tickets: Passengers traveling between Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt will now be able to book third-class tickets via 320k Fawry e-payment system outlets, a statement from the Transport Ministry said. This comes a few days after the ministry launched a mobile app — ENR Tickets — that allows passengers to book tickets online. AUTOMOTIVE- Madbouly meets South Africa automotive bosses: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly held talks with business leaders in South Africa’s automotive industry and the Africa heads of global car manufacturers on the sidelines of the Brics summit in Johannesburg last week, according to a cabinet statement. He called for members of the African Automobile Manufacturers Association to provide the Egyptian government with a “roadmap that includes the required incentives to start establishing factories in Egypt, and a specific time plan for the implementation stages,” the statement said. The South African model: Madbouly suggested that Egypt could look to replicate South Africa’s development model for the sector. The South African automotive sector has grown in recent decades to constitute almost 5% of GDP and contribute more than 12% of the country’s exports. TRANSPORT- Air Cairo adds new routes to the Gulf, West Africa: Low-cost air carrier Air Cairo will begin operating weekly flights to Sharjah, Ougadougou, Dakar and Tangier this year, Commercial Director Salah Kadri reportedly told Al Shorouk. Four flights a week will begin landing in Sharjah starting 1 November as will twice weekly flights to Tangier, while two weekly flights will take off for Ougadougo and Dakar as of the beginning of December. New routes to Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan could be on the cards for summer 2024, Kadri added

Mohamed Taha has been appointed acting CEO and managing director of Bank ABC Egypt, according to the bank’s new management structure. Prior to this position, Taha was the executive vice president of ABC Bank. Taha succeeds Akram Tinawi (bio) who stepped down from his position on 3 June.Endeavor Egypt has appointed Heba Ali (LinkedIn) as its new managing director, according to a statement (pdf). Ali — who was previously Endeavour’s entrepreneur selection and growth manager — returns to the organization after serving as founding managing director of Egypt Ventures and vice-chair of Falak Startups.