HOSPITALITY- Somabay to bring Marriott’s Autograph Collection Hotels to the Red Sea: Our friends at Somabay have inked an agreement with hospitality giant Marriott International to bring the latter’s Autograph Collection brand to Somabay, according to a statement (pdf). Scheduled to open in 2027, the new beachfront resort marks Marriott’s second project in Somabay, following the opening of Sheraton Somabay in 1999.(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)A look inside: Located near the Hurghada International Airport, the resort will offer 194 rooms, cabanas, and suites. Amenities will include several dining venues, meeting rooms, and recreational facilities such as a fitness center and diving center.ICYMI- The Autograph Collection Hotel is also coming to Mogamma: Cairo House Egypt inked an agreement with Tourism Investment and Marriott International last week to turn the Mogamma building into an Autograph Collection Hotel.REAL ESTATE- A EGP 1 bn Egyptian-Saudi real estate investment fund in the works: Local real estate developer Dar Al Maghraby is partnering with an undisclosed Saudi investment fund to set up a real estate investment fund with a minimum capital of EGP 1 bn, the company’s chairman Mohamed Maghraby told Hapi Journal. The company is currently awaiting the green light from Egyptian regulators.M&A-EGX-listed Egyptian Modern Education Systems will acquire 90% of Al Arafa for Investment and Consultancies through a share swap, it said in a disclosure (pdf) to the EGX. Elite Financial Consulting has been appointed as an independent financial advisor to determine the fair value of both companies and determine the swap ratio.

NBFS- Egypt’s first micro ins. company: Post for Investment and private ins. provider AXA Egypt inked a strategic partnership agreement to launch Egypt’s first micro ins. company in line with the Unified Ins. Law, according to a CIT Ministry statement. The agreement, which targets over 12 mn low-income Egyptians, will see micro ins. added to the range of financial services provided by the Egypt Post. The services will also be available through microfinance companies and selected digital platforms. (Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)Who owns what? Post for Investments owns 51% of the company, while AXA owns the remaining 49%, Post for Investment CEO and Managing Director Ahmed Ali Abdelrahman told Enterprise. The new company has an issued and paid-up capital of EGP 30 mn. Remember: AXA has been working on setting up a micro ins. company since at least 2022, when the project was reported to be in the feasibility study stage. At the time, the final decision on the new company was expected to be decided following the final version of the Unified Ins. Act, which President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ratified this past July. ENERGY-Hydrogen cooperation with Bavaria? Egypt and Bavaria will work to boost cooperation in the field of hydrogen under a newly-inked declaration of intent, according to a statement. The two sides will exchange knowledge regarding production capabilities, hydrogen technologies, market development, and R&D. They will also work to build relationships between Egyptian producers and German buyers. Remember: Germany, through its H2Global hydrogen initiative, was awarded a 20-year, EUR 397 mn green ammonia offtake agreement with UAE-based renewables player Fertiglobe. Fertiglobe’s green hydrogen partnership with Orascom Construction, Scatec, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company — dubbed Egypt Green Hydrogen — will provide the green hydrogen needed for Fertiglobe to produce green ammonia at its ammonia plants. And more cooperation: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and Bavarian Premier Markus Söder held talks on collaboration between Egyptian and Bavarian companies in renewable energy, automotive manufacturing, and AI, according to a separate statement. The discussions, which included high level officials on both sides, focused on expanding investment, particularly in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. Söder also discussed the potential of training Egyptian workers to meet Bavaria's labor needs. MANUFACTURING- Peru’s AJE to invest USD 10 mn on two new production lines: Peruvian beverage manufacturer AJE — the world’s fourth largest beverage producer — is set to invest some USD 10 mn to add two production lines at its juice, soft drink, and energy drink factory in Sixth of October this fiscal year, according to a statement. INVESTMENT- #1- GAFI, Business France ink MoU to boost investment ties: General Authority for Investment and Freezones boss Hossam Heiba signed an MoU with Business France at the Egypt Business Forum to boost investment ties between Egypt and France, according to a statement from the authority. The MoU includes comprehensive investment support, closer ties between business communities, and data sharing on key sectors and regulations. It also includes plans for investment seminars and business delegations to explore potential investments in both markets.#2- Swiss chocolatier eyes USD 30 mn investment in Egypt: Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut is looking to enter the local market with a USD 30 mn chocolate production facility, according to a statement. The factory will aim to fulfill domestic demand and become a regional export hub. The statement didn’t provide any details on the location or timeline of the project. EXPANSION-#1- NBE to open its first Saudi branch before year end: The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) plans to open its inaugural branch in Riyadh before the end of the year, CEO Mohamed El Etreby told Al Mal. The branch opening, originally scheduled for the first half of this year, was reportedly delayed because of issues related to establishing the appropriate technological infrastructure. The Saudi government granted NBE a license to operate in the Saudi market in 2021.#2- Dopay to expand across MENA in 2025: Local fintech startup Dopay is planning to expand across MENA markets in 2025, with a particular focus on Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, Al Borsa reports. The platform is also reportedly set to link with the central bank’s digital payment platform Instapay in 1Q 2025 and has plans to close another financing round next year.#3- Intro Group has acquired a USD 20 mn waste recycling plant in Jeddah, Managing Partner Ayman Abbas told Asharq Business. The group is also investing EGP 80 bn in two real estate projects in east and west Cairo.HOSPITALITY-Somabay developer Abu Soma Development Company (ASDC) plans to invest EGP 3-4 bn in 2025 to develop the hotel sector in Egypt, CEO Ibrahim El Missiri told Al Arabiya. The company aims to increase its hotel room capacity to 3k from 1.4k within the coming three years, with three hotels currently under construction. The three hotels are expected to open in 2025, 2026, and 2027.

INVESTMENT- Network International to make nine-figure EGP investment in Egypt: Dubai-based fintech firm Network International will invest EGP 1 bn in the Egyptian market to boost digital payments across the nation, it said in a press release. The investment will go towards procuring, deploying, and maintaining some 100k point-of-sale machines as well as implementing Network International’s payment platform Network One across the country. Network International is well-acquainted with the local market having operated here for over two decades. It launched a digital payments service in the country earlier this year. ICYMI- Network International is the target of an acquisition bid by Canadian private equity outfit Brookfield Business Partners, which has offered to pay USD 2.76 bn to take over the payments firm. M&A- Gulf Capital could sell down stake in Middle East Glass: Unnamed investors are eyeing the purchase of Gulf Capital’s entire 37% stake (23.1 mn shares) in EGX-listed bottle maker Middle East Glass(MEG), according to am EGX filing (pdf) yesterday. Gulf Capital is requesting that MEG allow the potential investors to commence the due diligence process ahead of the sale. Arqaam Capital is acting as the sell-side advisor. Who owns what? Parent firm MENA Glass Holding holds 53% of MEG, while Gulf Capital’s 37% stake (owned through special purpose vehicle MTM Packaging 2) makes it the second-largest shareholder. ICG Holdings owns 6%. DEBT- Ethydco could get USD 100 mn in finance from our friends at Mashreq: Mashreq is considering lending the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) USD 100 mn to fund its working capital, Al Shorouk reports, citing sources it says are in the know. The loan is separate from another two-year, USD 250 mn loan that Ethydco is seeking from the Emirati lender to refinance existing debt to local banks. Remember: EGX-listed Sidpec, which currently owns 20% of Ethydco, has been in the process of acquiring the remaining shares in the company since last year. The firm plans to finalize the merger by the end of 3Q 2023. INFRASTRUCTURE - Construction starts on Luxor strategic warehouse: The government broke ground on its EGP 1.5 bn strategic warehouse in Luxor yesterday, according to a Supply Ministry statement. Set to serve Luxor and four neighboring governorates, the warehouse will take 18-24 months to build and will store strategic reserves of over 30 essential commodities and other goods, the statement reads. More warehouses to come: The government has signed EGP 4 bn worth of contracts with our friends at Hassan Allam Utilities, Orascom Construction, and Samcrete to set up four of these warehouses in Suez, Luxor, Sharqia, and Fayoum. The Luxor project is the second to go into construction after contractors in June broke ground on the Suez facility. BANKING- Banking bill ratified: aiBank, the Export Development Bank (EBank), and the Agricultural Bank of Egypt have until 23 August, 2024 to align their regulations with the 2020 Banking Act, after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi ratified a bill that revoked the three lenders’ outdated establishing laws. The new bill was published in the Official Gazette. The Central Bank of Egypt has the authority to extend the deadline for the banks to comply by up to two years. REAL ESTATE- Somabay will offer global concierge services through Quintessentially Egypt for all homeowners in its developments after a successful pilot scheme, according to a press release (pdf) by Quintessentially Egypt.The 24/7 service will allow Somabay residents to make shopping, travel, dining, and other requests to Quintessentially’s “lifestyle managers” through the new Somabay Lifestyle app. FINTECH- Mastercard x Ingiz: Mastercard will provide local fintech startup Ingiz with compliance, security and fraud prevention tools, according to a joint press rele ase (pdf).

TOURISM- EgyptAir will launch two new routes to Manchester, England, and New Delhi, India, in the coming months as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate tourism, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. The flag carrier will start operating five weekly flights between Cairo and Manchester from July, while four weekly flights to the Indian capital will go live in August.FINTECH- Stllr pairs up with Payoneer: Local outsourcing startup Stllr Network has partnered with Payoneer to enable its network of marketing professionals to access the US fintech company’s payment platform, the firms said in a joint statement (pdf). Stllr will be able to make real-time settlements with their clients and users will be able to securely receive global payments in multiple currencies from clients around the Middle East, the statement said. Stllr provides a range of services including SEO, media buying, copywriting and social media for its clients, across Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and last year closed a six-figure USD investment round.HOSPITALITY-Somabay developer to build two new hotels: Abu Soma Development Company (ASDC) plans to invest EGP 1.6 bn to build two hotels in Hurghada, Al Borsa reports, citing CEO Ibrahim El Messiri. The Somabay developer will complete the first hotel by September 2024 while the second will open in 2025. The two hotels will have a capacity of 380 keys, El Messiri said.MANUFACTURING- Madbouly gathers suggestions from industry, investment heads: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly discussed potential incentives to help boost localization across various industries with representatives of the Federation of Egyptian Industries, industrial chambers, and manufacturers, a cabinet statement read. The session is the first of several meetings aimed at gathering proposals to help localize manufacturing. Madbouly also sat down with the board of the Egyptian Federation of Investors Associations to discuss policies to help attract investment to the country, according to a separate statement. Elsewedy Electric breaks ground on KSA cables factory: Elsewedy Electric has begun construction on a Saudi cables factory that should be up and running within two years, CEO Ahmed El Sewedy is quoted as telling Asharq Business, without detailing the investment cost of the project. The factory will produce materials for the local market, he added. Elsewedy is keen on Saudi: Elsewedy Electric subsidiary Rowad Modern Engineering has plans to expand in Saudi and lock down a portfolio worth somewhere between SAR 500 mn and SAR 1 bn this year, CEO Mohamed Mahlab told Enterprisein May. Another Elsewedy subsidiary is building a 300-MW solar power station for Saudi Arabia’s Al Ghazala Energy. The company in November approved setting up one or more new companies in the KSA. STARTUPS-NoorNation joins PepsiCo MENA accelerator: Local renewable energy player NoorNation has been selected for PepsiCo’s 2023 Greenhouse Accelerator Program: MENA Sustainability Edition, which opened to Egyptian projects for the first time this year. The six selected startups — which also include firms from Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia — were chosen from more than 180 applicants across 18 countries. They will each receive a USD 20k grant and mentorship to help them scale. One of the six will also get an additional USD 100k at the end of the six-month program. PepsiCo aren’t the only ones looking at NoorNation: The startup was showcased in the Planning Ministry’s Smart Green Governorates initiative last year and was among six firms in the scheme that were selected to receive technical support, training and business advisory services from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.TELECOM-Vodafone Egypt will invest more than EGP 330 mn this yearto operate its network using renewable energy sources, reports Al Mal, quoting Vodafone Egypt External Affairs and Legal Director Ayman Essam. The company has signed a contract with the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) to supply it with electricity from NREA renewable projects and is working to power its operations entirely by renewables by 2025, in line with Vodafone Group targets, Essam said. It’s not just Vodafone: All four of the country’s telecom providers last week inked agreements with the Madbouly government to purchase green energy to use in their facilities.

We recently had breakfast with 20 top CEOs to talk about why exports and FDI are key to our economy going forward. After reading our five-step recipe for turning Egypt into a global export hub and FDI magnet, participating CEOs agreed to answer two questions on the record for our latest CEO Poll.We have already heard from: GSK’s Mohamed El Dababy, who says the starting point is tourism;McKinsey’s Jalil Bensouda, who points to business process outsourcing and customer relationship management. Today, we hear from Ibrahim El Missiri (LinkedIn), CEO of Somabay, the high-profile Red Sea coast destination whose hotels, short-term rentals, and homes attract visitors and investors from all over the world. Ibrahim has previously been a guest on our podcast (The Enterprise Show) and has appeared in our My Morning Routine column. Excerpts from our discussion:ENTERPRISE- Which industry would you put on a focused short list — and why?IM- I would love for tourism and aviation to be the focus for Egypt, as it was in the past. They’re the two industries that can bring foreign currency into the country tomorrow — it’s like flicking a light switch. You don't need to build factories or develop farms. You’ve got a significant inventory of hotel rooms that need to be filled. And the demand is there — it’s just a matter of connecting the demand and the supply. We don't have feasibility study requirements, because the hotels have been built and the customers are there.Tourism can bring in USD 30-40 bn a year — it’s a quick, immediate fix. Look at what happened with COP27: There was appetite. Sharm had capacity. So just by increasing the number of flights, you managed to get c. 75k people to the destination. The problem is that we had to slow the pipeline to other destinations, because we just don’t have enough flights.You can’t really come to Egypt by car, train or ship — Egypt's problem is the lift. It’s easier to get to the Maldives or Seychelles in the Indian Ocean than it is to come to Egypt. It's not even an infrastructure problem: The airports are there and they have the capacity. You just don't have the “flying buses” to carry people. Solve this problem, and Egypt will be flush with FX, in my view.Now imagine if we focus on increasing the spend per guest. The USD you get per tourist or per landing is not low because tourists don't want to spend. They don’t spend because we need to improve our offering. Our airports need improvement. Our airport shopping experience, our transport experience, all of it — it pales in comparison to Heathrow or Dubai. Anywhere else, tourists spend USD 100-200 before they even get to the hotel. Not here — even though we have the products, from traditional clothing to replica artifacts.E: Why are exports and FDI the way forward?IM- For the past 100 years or more, we have been getting FX from the same three sources: tourism, the Suez Canal, and remittances. In other words, Egyptians living in Egypt don’t really make a contribution when it comes to bringing in FX. We consume everything we produce. So we need to start producing to export. We need to empower businesses to export, and that demands legislative and regulatory stability.Laws change too frequently, which is a problem for investors — it makes it difficult to put a business plan together with certainty about how much it's going to cost.

INFLATION WATCH- Edita Food Industries has raised prices for some of its products by EGP 1-2, it said (pdf) yesterday. Products in its baked goods line that were previously priced at EGP 4 will now sell for EGP 5, while products previously priced at EGP 5 will now sell for EGP 7. Edita’s Freska line will now sell for EGP 3 from EGP 2 previously.ALSO- Shoes and leather production has reportedly decreased by up to 50% due to an “exaggerated” rise in input costs, Al Shorouk reports. Factory owners have filed complaints due to their inability to cope with the recent cost increases, which the head of the leather division at the Federation of Egyptian Industries says have amounted to 15-30% in recent weeks.Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning: Digital healthcare platform Altibbi is providing medical consultations (pdf) without charge to plasma donors in partnership with the Health Ministry’s national blood plasma project.SomaBay residents are getting access to “bespoke lifestyle management and concierge services” after SomaBay signed an agreement with luxury lifestyle group Quintessentially. The partnership will give SomaBay residents access to “premium and shopping events,” restaurant booking, and travel logistics services, the statement says. (pdf)

World Bank, EU become observers at EastMed Gas Forum: Members of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum have agreed to bring the World Bank and the European Union into the organization as observers during a meeting in Cairo yesterday, the Oil Ministry said in a statement. The Cairo-based forum aims to serve as a platform for regional natgas players to develop resources and infrastructure, cooperate on exploration, and regulate the region's natgas policies. Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestine are all founding members. France later joined as a member while the US is taking part as an observer.EFG Hermes consumer finance subsidiary Valu will offer financing for patients of Saudi German Hospital, under a new partnership agreement, the companies announced in a joint statement (pdf) yesterday. The financing platform will offer installment programs up to 60 months, with 0% interest and no down payments for a period of six months. The agreement aims to make quality healthcare services more accessible to more segments of patients in the market, especially those without ins. coverage.Kenya will continue exempting Egyptian exports from customs duties for another year, Trade and Industry Minister Nevine Gamea said yesterday. The Kenyan government threatened to impose a 25% customs duty on some Egyptian exports back in 2020, but later backed off and signed a one-year agreement under the Comesa trade framework that was this week extended for another year.Taqa to install solar panels in Somabay: Taqa Arabia subsidiary Taqa Power will build two solar facilities worth USD 4 mn in Somabay, that will produce a combined 5 MW of power, Taqa and Abu Soma Touristic Development said in a joint press release (pdf).