Daily Markets Summary
What’s Clapping Today👏: Fawry partners with Uber. Pioneers Holding rebrands to Aspire Capital Holding. ESG reporting is mandatory for EGX-listed companies starting 2022. And Squid Game officially becomes Netflix’s most popular series ever.
Local Pickup🌇
Fawry Partners with Uber🤝
Fawry & Uber have partnered to introduce E-payments through the myfawry app, as well as 230,000+ locations across the country. The partnership aims to make it easier for Uber users to recharge their Uber wallets with any amount through the “FawryPay” service.
Who is affected🤷: Fawry’s channels are everywhere. Its services are available through the myfawry mobile application, Fawry Plus outlets, through the “Meeza” card, & also through the “FawryPay” service available on popular banks’ online platforms such as “Bank Misr” & “National Bank of Egypt”. You can even find it on the electronic wallets of mobile companies such as Orange, Vodafone, & Etisalat.
Why is this important🤔: This partnership helps increase digital payment options for Uber customers, which reduces the use of cash transactions. The partnership comes in line with the Egyptian government & Central Bank’s plan to achieve financial inclusion & steer Egypt towards a digital economy.
Pioneers Holding Rebrands to Aspire Capital Holding🔃
Following the division of Pioneers Holding into three entities (recap here), the EGX approved the company’s rebranding into “Aspire Capital Holding”, which now trades under the ticker ASPI.
Who is affected🤷: The rebranding is just that, a rebranding. It only affects the name of the parent company, which now operates exclusively as a financial services company. The two other companies, Pioneers Properties (PRDC) & Gadwa Industrial Developments (GDWA), operate in real estate & industrial investments, respectively.
Stock performances📉: Since the companies’ stocks debuted on October 11th, 2021, ASPI fell by 1.04%, while PRDC & GDWA fell by 20% & 3.94%, respectively.
Starting 2022: ESG Reporting is Mandatory for EGX Companies🎴
EGX-listed companies will be required to file annual Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) reports to the FRA beginning January 2022.
More details🧐: Companies will be required to fill out an ESG report consisting of more than 40 questions related to the three aspects of ESG. Environmental questions include: “Does your company follow Environmental and Social (E&S) or sustainability policies?” & “Does your company follow specific waste, water, energy, &/or recycling policies?”. Social reporting looks at whether companies disclose information on gender diversity, pay ratio, & labor rights, to name a few. While governance reporting looks at matters of ethics & code of conduct, data privacy, & risk management, among others.
Why is this important🤔: Investors are increasingly looking at ESG-compliant companies for their investments. Companies here are missing out on international partnerships & foreign investment opportunities because they don’t implement file ESG reports. It’s noteworthy, however, that a few EGX-listed companies already file ESG reports, including Cleopatra Hospitals (CLHO), El Sewedy Electric (SWDY), & Edita (EFID).
More Headlines📰
- valU Aims to Reach 250,000 Users by End of 2022
- Fawry Acquires Minority Stake in Biggest Sudanese Fintech , Cashi, in First Overseas Venture
- Aman for Electronic Payment Technology Secures EGP 2 Billion in Funding in 2021
- Suez Canal Authority Named Second Largest Logistics Firm in MENA
- Emerald Development’s Public Offering Oversubscribed by 26.34 Times
Global Pickup🌎
Squid Game Officially becomes Netflix’s Most Popular Series Ever🀄
South Korean TV show “Squid Game” has become Netflix’s most popular series ever. The show drew over 111 million fans in less than a month, Netflix revealed.
If you haven’t watched it📺: The show features a mysterious organization that offers some of the most indebted people a chance to win an absurd amount of money by playing a series of games. Only once they start playing the game do they realize they’d be killed if they’re eliminated from the game.
Why is this important🤔: Squid Game proved that foreign-language TV shows are here to stay. The show will open the window for even more foreign-language shows to appear on global streaming services like Netflix, a move most companies would have been hesitant to make, believing that foreign-language shows usually don’t perform well when streamed in a different language-speaking country.
Earnings Call💸
- Domty (DOMT) recorded EGP 32.55 million net losses during H1-2021, compared to net profits of EGP 63.83 million in the same period last year
- Qatar National Bank (QNBA) reported net profits of EGP 6 billion in the first nine months of 2021, a 7% YoY increase
- Arab Cotton Ginning Company (ACGC) incurred consolidated net losses of EGP 47.46 million in the fiscal year 2020/2021, a 68.2% YoY decrease
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