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

Today: Black Caspian made an offer for ALCN, Maridive doubled its 9M profits, El Sewedy Electric plans to invest millions in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, & Palm Hills is partnering with Marriott for a luxury hotel.

🔔 EGX30 ended +0.07% by market close at 42,065 points, the EGX70 rose 0.54% to 13,011 points, and the EGX100 increased 0.51% to reach 17,231 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 153,808 spread across 2,725,177,915 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 6.9 billion.

🏷️ Local investors were the only net buyers.

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included Raya Holding For Financial Investments (15.31), Egyptian Chemical Industries (+8.69%), and Arabia Investments Holding (+8.20%).

📉 Top losers for the market included Gogreen for Agricultural Investment (-6.02%), Egyptian Iron & Steel (-4.98%), and South Valley Cement (-3.84%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 included Raya Holding For Financial Investments (15.31), Beltone Holding (+3.45%), and E-finance (+3.33%).

⬇️ Top losers included Orascom Construction (-2,41%), Talaat Moustafa Group (-2.20%), and Qalaa Holding (-2.03%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 6,591 per gram, up 0.85% day-on-day and up 6.28% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 47.45 at the National Bank of Egypt.

💰 Black Caspian Logistics is planning a potential mandatory tender offer for Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling (ALCN), aiming to raise its stake from 19.33% to 90%, with an initial offer of EGP 22.99 per share. (Read more in our Deeper Look section). 

💸 Maridive & Oil Services (MOIL) more than doubled its nine-month profits to USD 35.67 million and grew revenues to USD 185.4 million, while continuing to expand its contract pipeline. The company yesterday secured a new multi-million deal in the UAE. (Read more in our Deeper Look section.)

💵 El Sewedy Electric (SWDY) is planning investments of around USD 500 million to establish new factories in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Ahmed El Sewedy, CEO of the company in both countries, told Asharq Business. In Saudi Arabia, the company will spend USD 400 million to build nine factories, including facilities in Yanbu, Riyadh, and Dammam for cables, copper rods, power transformers, and other electrical products. In Qatar, El Sewedy revealed plans to invest USD 67 million in factories for copper and aluminum rods and distribution transformers, with production expected to start in 2027 if approved. The company’s share value is almost unchanged since the start of the year.

🏨 Palm Hills Developments (PHDC) signed a partnership with Marriott to develop the St. Regis Palm Hills Cairo hotel in the Palm Hills October project, offering direct views of the Giza Pyramids and proximity to the Grand Egyptian Museum. The luxury property will feature 150 hotel rooms, 50 hotel apartments, and 150 branded residences, enhancing Cairo’s hospitality sector and supporting national tourism development. The company plans to continue expanding its hotel portfolio, targeting up to 3,000 rooms in the coming years. The company’s share price is up 29% since the start of the year.

👀 Arabtec Egypt has filed an arbitration case with the Paris Chamber of Commerce against Emaar Misr (EMFD), seeking EGP 1 billion over cost discrepancies caused by currency fluctuations and rising construction material prices, two sources told Asharq Business. The move followed failed amicable negotiations, as Arabtec claims the original contract values no longer reflect actual costs after the Egyptian pound’s sharp devaluation and subsequent inflation. The dispute relates to five real estate projects executed by Arabtec for Emaar Misr, including Uptown Cairo and Marassi. Its worth noting that, Emaar’s shares are up almost 30% since the start of the year. 

December 16, 2025 (tomorrow):

General Company for Silos and Storage (GSSC) - dividend record date for EGP 2.25 per share. The distribution date is Sunday, 21 December.

Commercial International Bank (COMI) - dividend record date for 0.1 bonus share per share. The distribution date is Wednesday, 17 December.

Rubex International for Plastic and Acrylic Manufacturing (RUBX) - dividend record date for 0.068 bonus share per share. The distribution date is Wednesday, 17 December.

December 17, 2025:

Canal Shipping Agencies (CSAG) - dividend record date for EGP 2.899 per share. The distribution date is Monday, 22 December.

December 21, 2025:

Arabian Cement Co (ARCC) - dividend record date for EGP 2.94 per share. The distribution date is Wednesday, 24 December.

💰Egypt and Qatar are exploring a free trade agreement to boost commerce, investment, and economic cooperation, Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said at the Egyptian-Qatari Business Forum in Cairo. Trade between the two countries reached USD 221 million last year, up 54% from the previous year, while Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Hassan El Khatib noted that trade has grown from around USD 80 million in 2023 to USD 143 million in the first ten months of 2025. Al-Sayed added that Egypt’s market facilitates Qatari companies’ access to several European and African countries through existing trade agreements.

📝 Walid Gamal El-Din, head of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority, signed a contract with JASAN Group to establish a USD 100 million integrated industrial complex in the Qantara West industrial zone. The project, spanning 300,000 square meters and fully self-financed, will produce non-woven and sportswear, seamless garments, socks, and related products, with 90% intended for export and around 6,000 direct jobs expected at full operation. Gamal El-Din highlighted the project’s strategic location, full production chain, and its role in boosting Egypt’s textile exports and attracting further foreign investment.

The Financial Regulatory Authority  confirmed receiving a letter from AD Ports Group SPV Black Caspian Logistics Holding Limited revealing its intention to submit a potential, non-binding mandatory tender offer for Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling (ALCN).

The company already owns a chunk of ALCN:

Black Caspian currently owns 19.33% of the company and aims to acquire enough shares to reach a total of 90% of the capital. The proposed initial offer is EGP 22.99 per share, below the current share price of EGP 25.64. The offer’s completion depends on fulfilling regulatory and governmental approvals in Egypt and the UAE and acquiring at least 51% of the issued capital to secure control.

This comes after Abu Dhabi Ports Group, part of ADQ Holding, acquired 19.33% of Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling in November for EGP 13.2 billion through Black Caspian, while another ADQ-affiliated company, Alpha Orex Limited, holds 32%, giving ADQ-linked entities a combined 51.328% stake. The remaining shares are 35.37% with the Egyptian Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport and 7.63% with Alexandria Port Authority.

Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling posted a 9% year-on-year drop in net profit for Q1 FY2025–2026 to EGP 1.7 billion, with revenues down 6% to EGP 1.9 billion.

The company handled 890,000 containers in the first ten months of the year, up from 883,000 last year.

Its share price rose 7% yesterday on news of the agreement, becoming the market’s fourth top gainer, and is up almost 14% since the start of the year.

Maridive & Oil Services reported a strong jump in profitability during the first nine months of the year, with net profit rising 100.84% year-on-year to USD 35.67 million, up from USD 17.76 million in the same period last year.

The company’s revenues also increased, reaching USD 185.4 million between January and September 2025, compared with USD 154.45 million a year earlier.

And it just penned a new multi-million contract in the UAE:

On the contracts front, Maridive yesterday announced that it signed a new UAE agreement worth USD 8.95 million. The three-year contract covers exploration support, maintenance, and production services in the oil sector, with work set to start in Q1 2026.

Earlier this month, Maridive said its subsidiary, Maridive Offshore Projects Egypt, secured contracts in Qatar to provide maintenance and production support services for the Qatari oil sector. The 15-year agreement is valued at USD 10.15 million annually, with execution scheduled to begin in Q1 2028.

Maridive is also pursuing local expansion. Egypt’s Petroleum Minister, Karim Badawi, recently met with a company delegation to review Maridive’s plans to upgrade mature oil fields and support higher domestic production. The company said it aims to expand its presence in Egypt, particularly in production and integrated offshore services.

The company’s share value is up 35% since the start of the year.

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

Your daily market lens, signing off.