Pre-Trading Thoughts

Al Ahly Pharos

The government has hiked the prices of butane gas cylinders as part of efforts to rationalize subsidies for fuel. The price of household cylinders has gone up 50% to EGP150 ex-factory, while the price of cylinders for commercial use has increased 33.3% to EGP200 ex-factory.

The value of the budget savings resulting from the increase in butane cylinder prices are estimated at EGP12 - 14 billion, during the current fiscal year 2024-2025.

Egypt's fuel import bill amounted to about USD9.3 billion during 8M2024, compared to USD8.3 billion in the same period last year.

Turkish state-run gas company Botas has inked a ten-year agreement to import LNG from French energy giant TotalEnergies with the option to redirect cargoes to Egypt and Europe, Bloomberg reports.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Wednesday by a half-point, the first time officials trimmed borrowing costs since the pandemic’s early days.

Egypt and Cyprus are reportedly exploring the construction of a 90-km marine pipeline to transport Cypriot gas to our Zohr field’s production facilities.

The Investment Ministry is preparing a vision for investment and trade policies for 2024-2030, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib said on Tuesday.

The signing of the anticipated Agreement on Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments between Egypt and Saudi could see upwards of USD10 bn in bilateral investments over the next three years.

Foreign investments in T-bills declined by about USD800 million in June, reaching USD36.6 billion, compared to USD37.44 billion in May.

CCAP released 1Q24 full financial statements posting a consolidated net profit of EGP7.2 billion in 1Q24, significantly higher than a net profit of EGP73 million in 1Q23 and EGP4.8 billion in 4Q23 which included a capital gain of EGP5.0 billion mainly related to TAQA debt settlement. The company is currently trading at a 2024f EV/EBITDA of 4.9x.

The Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC) - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund - has sold a 1.0% stake in ABUK for nearly EGP556 million.

EGAL is studying four new projects with estimated investments of USD6 billion.

LCSW’s Board of Directors approved a motion to merge the company’s three sanitary ware and tile manufacturing subsidiary companies in Egypt into Lecico Egypt S.A.E. (the parent company) to improve operational and financial efficiencies, as LCSW already owns 100% of these subsidiaries.

The government is studying the requests of business organizations to postpone the increase in natural gas prices for the industrial sector for one year.

The Poultry Division and the Producers Union expect the costs of heating farms to increase during the coming winter season due to the movement of butane gas prices.

The total assets of the banking sector rose to about EGP18.73 trillion by the end of May compared to EGP18.38 trillion by the end of last April, with the rise of total lending balances to about EGP6.89 trillion from EGP6.831 trillion.

Banque Misr achieved a net profit of EGP53 billion during 2023, a growth of 112% over 2022.

PHDC Board approved a EGP10.3 billion long-term loan to partially finance Badya.