Good morning, and welcome to Telda Lens — your daily pulse on Egypt’s markets.

Today: Edge Holding to take over Basata Microfinance stake, Qalaa swings to loss amid weaker refining margins, Abu Qir profit edges up on stronger exports, and Emaar Misr eyes East Cairo mega project with KSA’s Dallah Albaraka.

🔔 EGX30 ended +0.10% by market close at 38,267 points, the EGX70 rose 0.05% to 12,085 points, while the EGX100 fell 0.04% to reach 15,908 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 116,883 spread across 1,515,425,395 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 6.1 billion.

🏷️ Regional investors were the only net buyers.

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included Suez Canal Bank (+18.11%), Macro Group Pharmaceuticals (+11.69%), and Gogreen for Agricultural Investment (+7.56%).

📉 Top losers for the market included Egyptian Iron & Steel (-5.00%), Copper For Commercial Investment & Real Estate Development (-4.76), and Nasr Company for Civil Works (-4.44%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 E-finance (+3.2%), Credit Agricole (+2.0%), and ADIB (+1.3%).

⬇️ Top losers included Beltone Holding (-3.6%), Qalaa Holdings (-2.7%), and EFG Holding (-2.3%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 6,118 per gram, down -1.13% day-on-day but up 2.58% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 47.19 at the National Bank of Egypt.

🤝 Edge Holding for Investments signed an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in Basata Microfinance—owned by Basata Financial Holding, a joint venture between EGX-listed B Investments Holding (BINV) and MM Group (MTIE) —through a capital increase. Edge will also assume management of Basata to drive its national expansion and strengthen its digital finance offerings. (Read more in our Deeper Look section.)

🏰 Qalaa Holdings (CCAP) reported a net loss after minority interest of EGP 43.0 million in Q1 2025, compared with a net profit of EGP 7.2 billion in Q1 2024, driven by weaker refining margins at the Egyptian Refining Company. EGX-listed subsidiaries performed strongly, with Taqa Arabia (TAQA) posting net profit of EGP 136.1 million, up 32% YoY on revenue growth, and Asec Company for Mining (ASCM) reporting net profit of EGP 38.6 million, reversing last year’s Q1 loss of EGP EGP 25.7 million. (Read more in our Deeper Look section.)

💸 Abu Qir Fertilizers (ABUK) recorded a 2% year-on-year rise in net profit to EGP 1.3 billion in the first quarter of FY 2025/2026, supported by higher revenues of EGP 3.91 billion. The company credited the growth to stable gas supplies, stronger export prices, and improved operational efficiency. (Read more in our Deeper Look section.)

👀 Emaar Misr (EMFD) is negotiating a potential joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Dallah Albaraka Holding to co-develop a large-scale mixed-use project in East Cairo. The development — spanning about 380 feddans — will be carried out in partnership with Dallah Albaraka’s subsidiaries, Samla and Alam Al Rum for Urban Development, and is projected to bring in roughly USD 3.4 billion in total revenue, Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar said in an interview with Asharq Business. Sources cited by the news outlet said Dallah Albaraka will contribute the land, while Emaar Misr will oversee both development and operations, receiving 67% of the project’s proceeds.

🟡 CI Asset Management, a subsidiary of CI Capital Holding (CICH), has launched subscriptions for its new sharia-compliant gold investment fund. The fund — named Gold Misr — will focus on investing in physical gold bullions and provides investors with cumulative daily returns, alongside a reward draw system. Subscriptions opened today and will remain available for up to two months, with CI Capital Brokerage serving as the primary subscription agent.

November 2, 2025 (today):

El-Nile Co. For Pharmaceuticals And Chemical Industries (NIPH) -  dividend distribution date for EGP 2 per share. The record date was Tuesday, October 28.

November 3, 2025:

North Cairo Mills (MILS) - dividend record date for EGP 3 per share. The distribution date is Thursday, November 6.

Middle Egypt Flour Mills (CEFM) - dividend record date for EGP 5 per share. The distribution date is Thursday, November 6.

Misr Chemical Industries (MICH) - dividend record date for EGP 2 per share. The distribution date is Thursday, November 6.

Alexandria Pharmaceuticals and Chemical Industries (AXPH) - dividend record date for EGP 62.95 per share. The distribution date is Thursday, November 6.

November 4, 2025:

East Delta Flour Mills (EDFM) - dividend record date for EGP 23 per share. The distribution date is Sunday, November 9.

💰 Egypt’s cabinet is expanding its privatization program to fifty state-owned companies across fourteen sectors — up from thirty-five currently — to attract more private investment through the EGX, two government sources told EnterpriseAM. The updated plan emphasizes offering smaller stakes on the stock exchange instead of full strategic sales, aiming to boost market activity and liquidity. Remember, the government achieved 48% of its USD 12.2 billion target for March 2022–July 2025, raising around USD 5.9 billion from selling stakes in nineteen companies through direct sales and IPOs.

⛔ Israel has suspended its USD 35 billion natural gas export deal with Egypt pending a review of pricing and domestic market guarantees, the Israeli Energy Ministry said in a statement cited by the Financial Times. According to a source familiar with the matter, the delay stems from commercial disagreements among Israeli stakeholders, not political tensions with Cairo. Two sources told the paper that the move prompted U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to cancel his planned visit to Israel amid reported U.S. pressure to move the deal forward on behalf of Chevron and its partners in the Leviathan gas field.

Edge Holding for Investments has reached a deal to purchase a 30% share in Basata Microfinance, a subsidiary of Basata Financial Holding, by way of a capital increase, according to a statement. Under the agreement, Edge will take over management of the microfinance arm to guide its expansion across Egypt.

The parties did not disclose how much the deal is worth or how many new shares will be issued.

The why:

The move is meant to help Basata diversify its products, strengthen its digital finance capabilities, and improve its governance and operational framework, as part of ongoing efforts to widen access to finance for SMEs and lower-income borrowers. The company also intends to work more closely with its affiliate Basata Pay to link payment solutions and develop integrated financial products across both platforms.

Who they are:

Founded in 2017, Basata Financial Holding is a joint venture between B Investments Holding (BINV) and MM Group (MTIE), both listed on the EGX, and focuses on investments in Egypt’s non-banking financial services sector. It currently controls 70% of Basata Microfinance. Edge Holding for Investments, meanwhile, recently boosted its capital by EGP 235 million and operates in consumer finance, leasing, and real estate solutions. The company plans to raise over EGP 300 million to branch further into SME, consumer, and mortgage lending.

Qalaa Holdings (CCAP) reported a consolidated net loss after minority interest of EGP 43.0 million for Q1 2025, compared with a net profit of EGP 7.2 billion in Q1 2024, driven by weaker refining margins at the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC) and interest accruals related to prior settlement and restructuring agreements.

The company’s share value dropped 2.7% by market close on Thursday on news of its earnings results, but is still up 26.6% from the beginning of 2025.

Revenues:

Consolidated revenue came in at EGP 37.2 billion in Q1 2025, down slightly from EGP 37.6 billion in Q1 2024. Revenue excluding ERC rose 24% year-on-year to EGP 3.9 billion, reflecting growth across non-ERC subsidiaries.

Subsidiary highlights:

Going forward:

Qalaa reiterated its focus on deleveraging and operational stability. The Group is targeting a reduction of approximately EGP 30 billion in consolidated debt during FY 2025, including planned repayments of USD 300 million in Egyptian Refining Company senior debt and USD 240 million owed to Qalaa Holdings Restructuring I Ltd (QHRI). 

The company said it also intends to take four of its rapidly expanding subsidiaries public within the coming two years to generate fresh capital and enhance its financial agility. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Refining Company is pursuing new initiatives aimed at lifting its profit margins, with stronger performance anticipated by late 2025. Qalaa’s cash position has already seen improvement and is expected to grow even further once ERC begins distributing dividends in 2026, management noted.

Abu Qir Fertilizers (ABUK) reported a net profit after tax of EGP 1.3 billion for the first quarter of FY 2025/2026, marking a 2% year-on-year increase from EGP 1.28 billion in the same period last year.

Total revenues rose to EGP 3.91 billion, up from EGP 3.62 billion in 1Q FY 2024/2025.

The company’s share value rose 0.21% by market close on Thursday, but is down 0.63% from the beginning of 2025.

Growth drivers for Q1 included:

Projections for 2H 2025:

Abu Qir said in a separate statement that it projects EGP 11.12 billion in revenues for the second half of 2025 (the period from 01/07/2025 to 31/12/2025), total expenses of EGP 7.53 billion, and a pre-tax profit of EGP 3.59 billion.

Stay curious, stay invested — we’ll see you tomorrow.

Your daily market lens, signing off.