Pre-Trading Thoughts

Al Ahly Pharos

CBE's net foreign assets improved to a net liabilities' position of USD766.3 million in April compared to USD1.38 billion in March.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has cut Egypt’s growth forecast for 2024 to 3.9%, down 0.6 percentage points from its September forecast. The bank highlighted FX shortages and “reform uncertainty” as factors weighing on the economic outlook.

Cabinet greenlit a draft law to set up a central unit dedicated to state-owned companies — dubbed the State-Owned Companies Inventory and Follow-Up Unit — with the aim of regulating state ownership in companies that the government wholly owns or holds stakes in.

Cabinet approved a draft decision introducing a 25% reduction on building reconciliation fees for building owners who pay the full fees upfront.

Cabinet approved a draft decision giving informal businesses a three-year period to submit requests to legalize their projects.

Egypt’s unemployment rate fell to 6.7% of the total workforce in the first quarter of this year, inching down 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Fitch Ratings estimated the foreign inflows Egypt has received at about USD20 billion since the flotation, other than the Ras El Hekma deal.

TMGH (FV: EGP73.80, OW) achieved strong sales of EGP86.0 billion year-to-date until 14 May 2024, up 153.0% y/y. This figure includes around EGP11.5 billion of reservations in Banan which were achieved in the three days following the project’s soft launch. The EGP86.0 billion sales figure includes EGP25.0 billion in sales made for non-TMGH entities (for which TMGH receives commissions).

EMFD (FV: EGP6.74, OW) received replies from Albro North Coast for Developments and from Skytower for Real Estate Development Company, approving EMFD’s preliminary non-binding offers to acquire stakes in each company.

The New Urban Communities Authority will within days hand out a total of 4.6 million sqm plots in New 6 October City to Elsewedy Industrial Development, Polaris Parks, Arabia Holding, and Samcrete to set up four industrial parks.

The cabinet greenlit a draft decision to allocate 1.5 feddans in North Sinai’s Rafah for the establishment of seawater desalination plants.

SAUD is aiming to increase its SMEs financing facilities by 30% by the end of 2024.

The International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for oil demand. It now sees global demand rising by 1.1 million bpd in 2024 — 140k bpd less than last month’s projections — pointing to weaker demand particularly in Europe. This stands in stark contrast to OPEC’s forecast that oil demand will rise by 2.25 million bpd in 2024.