Member Info for Siko

Thank you so much Paul for your kind words and donation. Unfortunately, I will not post any links or posts on the Anglogold Ashanti board. I have nothing to do with that board, and over the years I learnt what these boards are actually for.

Charity work is hard, and of course the hardest part is to raise the money. Some people of course have their doubts, and I don't blame them, but we have a saying in Egypt (It is better to be wrong in giving than to be right in withholding), and as I said before, I have been on the board for around 14 years, and it was certain members on the board who asked me to raise funds from the board to help the children in Egypt. I did not want to do it because of the doubts and suspicions that would be raised, but they insisted.

Believe it or not, it's the poor Egyptians who give the most to the poorer ones, while the rich ones are the ones that find it hard to give. When you see what goes in those people's lives and minds, you will be shocked and thankful.

Anyway, thanks again for your kindness and support. Sometimes it's not how much you give, but it's the thoughts, intentions and support that count more.

Good luck

Siko

Hi Insidious,

Everyone is at Anglogold chat.

I'm OK, but I'm not in the stock market, and hardly ever been.

I was in this chatroom because of Centamin's strong connection to Egypt, and I felt that I could help people here, and I hope I did (for 14 years). I'm still looking here as you can see :)

TBH, I'm very disappointed. I will not go into the details, but I never regretted what I have done.

I'm living between the UK and Egypt at the moment, and I love both countries.

I hope you are doing well in whatever you are doing, and that you and your family are good and healthy.

Siko

Last day of trading is today.. Trading will be suspended tomorrow 7:30am.. From Centamin website..

https://tools.eurolandir.com/tools/Pressreleases/GetPressRelease/?ID=7307873&lang=en-GB&companycode=au-cey&v=

One last shout and final appeal before the BB closes down.. It's embarrassing to ask, but the cause justifies.. I booked my ticket to Egypt for next week instead of October due to some fund issues, which is sorted now.. I will be updating you on the site..

I will miss you all..

https://gofund.me/bd6063e4

Siko

For those who are still interested. Mr Naguib Sawiris was on TV today and was asked about Centamin and whether he (i.e Endeavour) would be making another offer to acquire Centamin. His exact words were (word for word) :

No, it's over. Anglogold made an offer and Centamin management accepted that offer, so now it's out of the subject for us to acquire it. Of course we wanted to acquire it, especially with me being an Egyptian and the company operates in Egypt, so there was going to be a benefit. Also the price that was offered was very high.

https://www.alarabiya.net/aswaq/exclusive/2024/09/23/%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%B3-%D9%84%D9%80-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A8-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%87%D8%A8-%D8%AA%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%BA-1-5-%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1

Thank you everyone for raising an amazing £468. It's very much appreciated.

I'm going to Egypt in October and will update the site as usual with photos and videos to show you how your donations have helped.

Thanks again,

Siko

https://gofund.me/bd6063e4

Https://gofund.me/bd6063e4

After a couple of private messages, the posts from Sotolo and ElProfessor, and considering the benefits and differences your donations would make in some of the desperate Egyptian children's lives, I decided to appeal for one more time for your help with my charity work with the children in Egypt.

You will find information about what I do in the link, and I posted a couple of photos from your previous donations in 2017.

It's always hard and embarrassing to ask for donations, and I know that some people will be suspicious, which is normal, but I hope that my 14yrs presence on this BB could give some of you the reassurance they need.

Thanks in advance on behalf of those children.

Siko

https://gofund.me/bd6063e4

Hello everyone,

I have been posting on this BB since around 2011.

I remember the darkest days when the court cancelled the contract, and when the mine was shut because of the diesel and export problems. I remember the day when the share price collapsed to 19p. I remember the court case days, when I was talking to Mr.Egypt's lawyer, who was attending the hearings, and I did actually attend a couple of hearings myself. Sometimes it was really hard to control what I was posting, because there was a thin line between posts, information, rumours, insider information, gossip, etc..

All those years, I hardly held any shares, because our finances are miles apart, but I did enjoy every single post, and this BB was part of my life.

Special thanks from me to the few who did contribute to my Egyptian children charity a few years ago. I would like them to know that I really really appreciate their help and kindness, and their donations were making a difference to those children's lives. Sadly, I had to stop accepting donations because of the comments and suspicious questions that were raised by some members here.

Also I would like to apologize to Cowichan if I was attacking him sometimes, but I'm someone who loves Egypt, and will defend it regardless.

One last thing, people who live in a first world country, will never know what it's like to live in a third world country. It's like living on a different planet, but at the end of the day they are humans, have feelings and needs, have families to feed and children to look after, they have hopes and dreams, they are not just numbers.

Anyway, I think this will be my last post here, and I hope that I did help a little when it was very dark. I'm also glad that the Centamin storey had a happy ending to you all.

Good luck to you all in your next investment, I wish you all the best, and I will miss this BB so much.

As for me, I'm going to Egypt again next month, as that storey never ends.

GLA,

Siko

Egypt's PM on TV today commenting on the news:

We have a special contract for Alsukary, which states clearly Egypt's rights, and we consistently get our rights.

I would like to reassure you all that as for Egypt's share in the mine, there are no arguments or discussions about it at all and it's very clear.

This could mean more investment in the mine, and hence Egypt's share from the profit could increase.

The petroleum ministry has communicated with Centamin today to get all the details, and a clear announcement from the ministry of petroleum will follow soon.

https://www.cairo24.com/2077478

Older,

I actually saw your post because I logged in to read Razor's daily post. I do this every morning just after 7am and I don't hold shares in Centamin. It's a very informative post indeed. Yes we can go and find the information ourselves, but he makes it a lot easier.

Cowichan,

My understanding is that Centamin is not using any electricity from the Egyptian national grid, so how come Egypt will raise the rate to Centamin by 40% if Centamin is not using any and not even connected to the national grid??!!!

All Centamin's electricity is coming from diesel and the solar plant.

The mine is about 25km from the national grid, and work was supposed to start in H2 2024 to connect to the national grid, and to be completed sometime in 2025..

Please correct me if I'm wrong ..

Hi Tibbs,

There are constructive informative debates and thoughts, and there are unfounded out of context claims. You will know what I mean by answering Y/N to the 2 questions I asked:

1- Has Egypt nationalised any company since 1960s (despite going into wars in late 1960s and 1970s).

2- Has any negative pessimistic journalist, economist, analyst or broker, who covers many other huge companies in Egypt (BP, Chevron, etc..) and knows the ins and outs of Egypt's economy, ever hinted to the slightest possibility of Egypt nationalising any company (Alsukary is not the largest company in Egypt, and many other companies are joined partnership with thre government).

This is just like the rumour that the CBE owed Centamin 10s of millions of dollars of unpaid gold purchases, which turned out to be false claims.. this was mentioned/started here by the way, not in any media reports as some tried to claim.

This is also like saying that because the new petroleum minister's CV included some links to Russia, so Egypt will take the mine and hand it over to Russia.

I understand that if I sold at 90s after holding for years, and then Centamin started to rise, I would be angry and sad. I know it would be hard to accept that I made the wrong call to sell, but I would move on. I would not warn others and post bad things about the company and the country where it's (some are false claims). Especially when that was not the tone of my posts when I was a holder.

As you know, I don't hold shares in Centamin, but as an Egyptian, I only respond to unfounded claims about Egypt, which I think I have the right to do here. I stopped posting anything about Centamin.

Thanks

As an Egyptian, and in case I'm missing something other people here are aware of.. Has Egypt nationalised any company since the 1960s??!!

Is there any reference anywhere to the slightest possibility of Egypt nationalising any company soon or in the future?

Please I need answers with sources or links.. not thoughts.. I could think of things myself..

Thanks

Hi Cowichan,

Those countries always had these measures. My brother is in Kuwait and there is no outdoor work allowed at noon if temperature goes over 49. This has been the case for years and years.

Egypt has never had such regulations, so I would not worry about it affecting any company's production.

Also if you notice the Centamin safety supervisor who posted the article started it as if Egypt's response to this was (Thanks) with a smiling emoji.

Hi Cowichan,

A genuine question, is there nothing at all positive in Egypt, Centamin or the price of gold against the dollar?

I can see that everything you post about those 3 topics is negative. Is that because everything is actually negative, or you only look for the negatives to post, or you deliberately ignore the positives?

I can tell you that all 3 have negatives and positives, like everything in the world.

Egypt has plenty of negatives, and also plenty of positives. I came back from Egypt last week and saw both myself with my own eyes. My family lives in Egypt. I go to Egypt 4 times a year and mix with all classes of people. Egypt is not only that one dark negative side you "choose" to portray.

Are you trying to warn people about investing in Centamin and hence showing them how bad Egypt is?

My question is, what will you benefit from deterring people from investing in Centamin?

Why do you spend so much time and efforts collecting negative/bad articles/ thoughts and post it about a company that it's obvious you are not intending to invest in at anytime soon by your own admission?

Do you feel that it's your duty to help people to stay away from Centamin because it's a bad investment?

I'll be honest with you, you were doing a great job before you sold, but the tone of your posts has completely changed 180 degrees since you sold.. from balanced, to completely against.. with zero positivity..

I don't hold any shares in Centamin at the moment because I can't afford to, but I could buy some depending on my finance, the SP, the POG, the company, etc.. hence I'm following this BB..

I personally would appreciate it if you post everything you come across, good and bad, positive and negative..

Thanks,

Siko

Dasut,

Unfortunately, I no longer take donations from this forum.

I was reminded before by some members that this forum was for investment purposes only, so it's best to keep it that way, and I want to distance myself and my posts from any "misunderstandings".

Luckily, I have some amazing friends who share the same passion, and we are doing very well from other sources.

Many people don't know what it's like to live in a third world poor country. It's like living on a different planet.

Thanks for your thoughts and kind intentions.

Hi Dasut,

I just got back from Egypt yesterday.

I have done, with the help of many friends, the best we could do, but the situation is very bad, and it's getting worse.

Prices are going up rapidly and too much for the locals, especially with the Egyptian pound's value getting worse, on top of the usual inflation. So both factors are really having a devastating effect on the normal Egyptians.

Remember, there is no government/official financial help in Egypt, so if you don't work or earn enough money, it's your problem. If you have children and don't pay the rent, you will be asked to leave your home. Hardly any medical help is free, only the very basic. You pay the full amount of nearly all your medication, regardless of your financial situation.

The minimum wage in Egypt is 6000LE/month, which is £100/month, many people get that amount, and some even get less, and that is too low compared to the prices. One kilo of beef or lamb is about 400LE, so your monthly income is equivalent to 15 kilos of meat, that's it!!

People are helping each other, as much as they can, and this is how those unfortunate people keep going. When I was at my mum's home last week, the door bell never stopped with genuine people coming asking for help. And the amazing thing is that when you give them money, some of them share that amount with others they know they also need help. Some come with their empty medication boxes, they don't want money, all they want is full packs of medication.

It's very tough for them, and that's when you realize how lucky you are.

Thanks very much Dasut for this information about the CBE and the $100 million USD.

If we do some simple math, we will come to the conclusion that the rumour is false.

As we know, Centamin's income is in USD, and this agreement is for Centamin to pay for the CBE gold purchases in USD, and gets the equivalent amount from the CBE in Egyptian pound. The benefit is for the CBE to buy gold with Egyptian pound, rather than USD.

For Centamin it makes no difference as the company would exchange that amount of USD in the local banks anyway to pay for the local monthly expenses and wages, and the agreement has a monthly cap set so they don't buy/exchange more than the company needs.

The agreement started in 2017 with a monthly cap of 50 millions Egyptian pounds a month, in 2022 increased to 80 millions, and in 2023 to 130 millions.

As this rumour has been going on for a while, so let's say it was for a debt from the 50millions/month era. During that period, the USD was about 20 Egyptian pound, so 100millions USD is about 2 billion Egyptian pounds, which is around a full 40 months supply of the 50millions monthly gold purchases.. which is pretty much the whole period of 50 millions/month from 2017 to 2021.

So Centamin paid for gold purchases for all that time and has not received the equivalent amount of Egyptian pounds to pay for the local expenses!! And obviously in that case the company would have to exchange all that amount again to pay for the local expenses because the CBE did not pay!!

One more point, this agreement does not materialize every month, but it's elective when the CBE wants. And based on the CBE gold stock reports, many months they don't buy gold, while of course if they were getting "free" gold, they would buy every month.

This is the link for the Grand Egyptian Museum official site.

At the bottom, you will see that Centamin is the official sponsor.

https://visit-gem.com/en/tut

I have just visited the amazing brand new Grand Egyptian Museum. To my surprise, there was only one advert in the whole museum, for one company only, and that was Centamin, on a large digital screen at the entrance to King Tut Ankhamun immersive exhibition 3D show, which is the main part of the museum. As you know, that king was all about gold, so that was the best place for a gold company's advert for the whole world to watch. I loved the idea .