George Frangeskides, Exec-Chair at Alba Mineral Resources, discusses grades at the Clogau Gold Mine. Watch the full video here.
I noticed that every time I reply to a specific post of yours , and talk about specific points you raised, you completely deviate from the subject, and come back with a generalized post about Sisi, who I told you before that I was not going to talk about, and that does not mean by any mean that I agree with him or support anything he does.. and I never said you were wrong about anything you mentioned about him.. but if you raise points in posts that you are willing to discuss, then I'm more than happy to reply and discuss, but if you just prefer to raise points of views and not willing to get in a discussion about them, then fair enough..
I know exactly what life in Egypt is like.. all my family is in Egypt.. and I spend months there.. I'm getting involved first hand with helping the Egyptians in need, and some people here on the BB know what I have been doing for over a decade, and some did help for sometime, and I had a page set up for people to see what's going on, so I know that life in Egypt isn't colourful at all.. I know that very well and I see it with my own eyes..
Cowichan,
(The UAE deal is far from a silver bullet, $11 billion of the total was already on deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt for over a year. Now it will just transfer to Egypt's treasury to pay some of Egypt's outstanding debt from oil imports)..
Just a few weeks ago, you were posting about how Egypt would struggle to pay the outstanding debt for energy companies, how Egypt did not have the dollars to pay the debt and the possible effects on cutting the electricity for longer periods etc...
So obviously it was an important issue that you felt you had to highlight and made dedicated posts about it to warn people about th forthcoming disaster..
and now, when Egypt gets 11 billions to pay that debt, it's (will just transfer to Egypt's treasury to pay some of Egypt's outstanding debt from oil imports)..
You see my point Cowichan?
Hi Cowichan,
So in order to make the BB balanced and not biased, I feel like I have to reply to every post from you about the bad situation in Egypt, either by explaining some points in your post, or posting some positive news that I'm sure you are aware of, but for some reason you choose not to post them..
Just like the UAE 150 billion dollars investment which brought the dollar down in the black market from 70 to 50 Egyptian pounds.. as you are so knowledgeable about Egypt and follow all its news, I'm sure you come across some positive news too, but for some reason only choose to post the bad ones..
I'm not saying there is no bad news or they are false, there is plenty of bad in Egypt, but I'm saying there is good, just like there is bad, and to choose only the bad and highlight is not good.. while "before" you used to highlight plenty of good in Egypt..
As to the Israeli gas supply to Egypt, any reduction would of course affect Egypt until they find an alternative, but at the same time it would affect Europe, because a large amount of that gas gets liquified in Egypt and exported to Europe as per the agreement between Europe, Israel and Egypt.. so Egypt takes what it needs first then exports the rest, as Europe was looking for supply other than the Russian gas.. so I would think Europe would talk to Israel about cutting any gas supply to Egypt because it would affect them first..
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/eu-israel-egypt-sign-deal-boost-east-med-gas-exports-europe-2022-06-15/
Hi again Cowichan..
If you notice, I have not said a word in my posts about Sisi.. good or bad.. I don't think I need to explain what I think about him here, because for me it's irrelevant to this BB.. but if you think it's relevant because he is destroying Egypt's economy (I'm not saying you are wrong), then I would blame Sunak and the UK for destroying Egypt's economy too.. they support Israel and don't want the war to stop.. this war is costing Egypt too too much because of tourism, the Suez canal and the tension in the area and on the borders.. Egypt could take years to recover from the negative effects of this war on its economy.. the UK sends weapons to Israel and even don't want to vote to ask Israel for a cease fire.. is that relevant? Because if it's, then I could go on and on about blaming the UK and its government..
I'm not talking at all about the reasons for the war or the suffering of the Palestinians.. I'm only talking about the effects on Egypt..
Mr Bond,
I'm not attacking Cowichan or intimidating him.. not at all.. but I live between both countries and witness myself what's going on in Egypt..
Many people in Egypt live the best life, and many can't get food on the table.. The same in the UK, but different standards of course..
It all depends on what you are trying to highlight..
As for you Cowichan, It looks like the only reason for your postings over the last 2 years is to warn people about investing in Centamin/Egypt.. which is quite odd.. you have not posted one good post about Egypt/Centamin since you sold.. is that how you see things in both? Zero positive?
I'm currently not a holder, but I only post when I see posts that are not fair or highlight one side.. they could be true, but not showing the whole picture .. I don't come out of the blue and say look at this great news, because I know there are good and bad, but it's not fair to highlight only one.. it's actually misleading..
I'm not saying don't post, not at all, because this is a public forum for everyone to share their thoughts, holders and non-holders, I'm explaining the reasons for my replies..
Cowichan,
Actually I'm a pharmacist in both the UK and Egypt, and I could explain to you in full details about this.
Yes, there is a shortage of some medicines in Egypt, but obviously not 80% or anywhere near that, otherwise pharmacies would have closed down by now if they run the business on 20% availability. This is the head of the medicine trade union stating the shortage is around 8-10%
https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/3092953
I don't know if you are fortunate enough not to take any medication in England, but there is a shortage of medication in the UK too, and you could ask any pharmacy near you. Ask them about diabetic injections, steroids creams, adrenaline injections, ADHD medication, psoriasis shampoos, steroids nasal sprays, antifungal shampoos, etc ..
As for Egypt, yes there is a shortage, but as I said, nowhere near 80%, and it's for many reasons.
One of them of course is as you mentioned the shortage of dollars to import medicines, but what you don't know is that Egypt's prescribing is by brand name, and many people would not accept alternatives made by other companies, while in the UK prescribing is by the active ingredients, so we give any product available containing the same ingredient, which makes any shortage less obvious. It's like the doctor prescribed Calpol, and there are many other products containing paracetamol, but the patient would only want Calpol the brand, it's imported and in short supply, but many local products are available.. so most of the short medicines have alternatives. Of course some don't have the exact alternative, in that case the doctor changes the medication. We do that in the UK on a daily basis.
My mum in Egypt takes around 12 medication, and recently 2 of them she could not get the exact medication she is used to take, but was sorted by alternatives..
There are many other reasons other than the dollar shortage, but this is not the place to explain them as this is not relevant at all.
Egypt is a third world country, you have to expect and accept that many things to be far worse than first world countries like the UK.. if you are not prepared to accept that for the country where you are investing, then I would suggest you don't consider investing there, because many things will never change, and you maybe better off looking for investment in the UK or USA. Focusing all your efforts on highlighting how bad the country is will not help you with your investment (If you are looking to invest).
I travel frequently between both the UK and Egypt, when I do, it's like travelling between different planets, but I accept the goods and bads in each, try to adopt and enjoy my time wherever I'm. I don't know if you know, but the UK is very bad at many things too, I don't need to list them as we all know..
Life is hard everywhere now, people in the UK (1st world country) go to food banks.
(Thus, Centamin's shareholders are being extorted every time they are forced to sell gold to the CBE (which is monthly) at the artificially low exchange rate)..
Ok..let's say there is no such agreement.. Centamin sold all its gold abroad (for the same price in dollars as they get from the CBE, because the CBE pays the international price in dollars).. let's say Centamin needs 80 Million Egyptian pounds a month to pay salaries and local expenses.. what do you suggest they do?
Where will they get Egyptian pounds from?
You suggest they go to the black market to get more for their dollars?
You suggest there is an illegal way of getting more money?
There are many other ways to get more money illegally, but we are talking about a responsible reputable company, like many other companies working in Egypt..
If this agreement did not exist, Centamin would sell the gold abroad, then convert dollars to Egyptian pounds through the legal and official channels in Egypt, for the same price they get from the CBE.. so I can't see how this agreement is bad for Centamin..
Also Egypt doesn't trigger this agreement every month.. it's only done on the Egyptian government request, which does not happen every month.. you could tell by the CBE reserve, which does not go up every month as they don't have the ability to purchase every month.. so what does Centamin do during those months when the CBE does not buy gold and does not give them Egyptian pounds?
The black market in Egypt is for people travelling abroad on holidays.. people wanting to send money to their children studying or living abroad..
But essential imports and tuition fees abroad are covered by the banks through the official rate.. the government banned all unnecessary and luxury imports to help the local economy..
Centamin is like all companies working in Egypt .. no exception..
And for Egypt, if the UAE 150 billion dollar investment is an exception, that's enough for them!!
The developed area in Egypt is only 7% of the total country.. 120 millions are living on 7% of the country.. the rest is desert.. so to develop such a large area in the desert, you have to look at the added value.. even if 150 billion investment is an undervalued, it's what this investment would add in terms of creating jobs, paying taxes and pumping foreign currency in the economy.. all that in an area that would have never been touched without such investment..
There is a black market in Egypt.. yes.. definitely.. but not for companies to exchange their millions of dollars.. anyone involved in such scale would be behind bars by now..
Https://www.reuters.com/business/egypt-announces-multi-billion-uae-investment-boost-forex-2024-02-23/
CAIRO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Egypt said on Friday it had signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates to develop a prime stretch of its Mediterranean coast that would bring $35 billion of investments to the indebted country over the next two months.
The deal with ADQ, the smallest of Abu Dhabi's three main sovereign investment funds, is for the development of the Ras El Hekma peninsula and could eventually attract as much as $150 billion in investments, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told a press conference.
Such inflows would provide a huge boost to Egypt's crisis-stricken economy as it faces new pressures linked to the war in Gaza and seeks an expansion of its current IMF support programme.
The country has long struggled to attract large-scale foreign investment outside the hydrocarbons sector. In the financial year that ended in June 2023, net foreign direct investment stood at $10 billion.
Egypt's sovereign dollar bonds soared on Friday ahead of the announcement and continued their rally into the afternoon.
Longer-dated bonds enjoyed the biggest gains, with those maturing in 2031 or beyond up more than 4 cents in the dollar to trade at 65.5-73.4 cents - for most their highest level in around a year, Tradeweb data showed.
"If the financing comes through as planned, we believe this (along with an upsized IMF programme) should provide ample liquidity to cover Egypt's financing gap over the next four years," Farouk Soussa of Goldman Sachs said in a note.
Cowichan,
I understand exactly what you are saying, but are you saying that Centamin is losing because they are not selling their dollars in the black market in Egypt like some normal individuals or not getting Egyptian pounds from outside Egypt??!!
All the companies in Egypt exchange their dollars through the official channels (banks)..
You can't get many Egyptian pounds outside Egypt.. Egypt limits the max amount of cash to carry in/out of the country to 5k Egyptian pounds.. which is less than 200 dollars..
Centamin can't withdraw hundreds of thousands of dollars from the bank and sell them on the black market at night in a side street!!
Are you aware that the black market in Egypt is very very illegal and whoever gets caught is sentenced to prison charged with national security crime?
Officers stand outside banks asking people coming out of the banks carrying dollars about the reason for carrying dollars in cash..
If Centamin or any company doesn't exchange their dollars officially, the government could easily ask them where they are getting Egyptian pounds from to pay their employers and expenses, and that would be a breach of contract giving Egypt a valid reason to cancel any agreement and Centamin would not have a leg to stand on..
Yes there is a black market in Egypt, but not for this type or that level.. it's mainly for individuals.. and it's not right and damages the national economy..
Also the main reason for a country to encourage investment is to attract foreign currency, not for that company to sell the foreign currency illegally!!
Emirate has just signed a contract to invest 35 billion dollars in Egypt over the next 2 yrs, so if they thought the same, they are losing over 17 billions dollars as they could exchange that amount on the black market or abroad!!
So Egypt is paying Centamin the correct price in dollars, and the dollars are getting exchanged officially like all the other companies BP, Shell, etc.... you can't fault any side for that.
By the way, welcome back:) I don't know if you heard about the Emirate huge investment contract which was signed yesterday and is one of the biggest ever .. 150 billion dollars.. expected to help to solve Egypt's foreign currency problem for the next 4 years at least.. it's good news, isn't it?
Siko
Hi Mr T,
Before I reply to your post, and so that I reply appropriately if needed..
Is this your actual post? Or someone passed it on to you to post here on his behalf?
Also, is the aim of the post to show that Egypt is a corrupt country, which is bad for Centamin?
Or to show that Egypt is not helping the Palestinians, which I think this is not the place for it, but if some here think it's relevant, then I could reply in details from the ground, as I'm in Egypt now and involved directly in the relief efforts to Gaza..
One thing for sure, I liked the British minister's comment about the tonnes of aids sent to Gaza, while I saw before Mr Sunak getting off a military plane in Israel delivering huge offensive military supplies to help Israel..
Thanks,
Siko
I will ignore all the nonsense on the BB and post a couple of comments to explain a few things.. I will not be directing my words at anyone..
I read some posts about profit share and renewing Centamin's tax exemption..
The answers to all these questions are in law 222 year 1994.
No one could tell you anything more or different. I highly recommend to any Centamin investor reading the full agreement. You will find the full file here
https://manshurat.org/node/32087
Download it and read it.. It's in both English and Arabic..look at page 27 for taxes and 51 for profit share..
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As to the e-auction for 66 bars of gold next week, these are various bars that came from government agencies, such as the Customs Authority or the Public Prosecution, and the revenues will be transferred to the state treasury.. it has nothing to do with the national reserve, and it could not be added to the national reserve.. it will be sold for the local companies and traders, so revenue will be in local currency.. obviously this info is irrelevant to Centamin, but I thought to explain it properly as it was mentioned here..
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I read some comments here about Sisi asking Egyptians to be good Muslims and eat leaves like the prophet's followers, which is not true... this storey was in May 2022 by the way, I don't know why it's getting mentioned now and here.. I could explain it and translate it properly, but as a Muslim myself, I would very much appreciate it if we don't go into any religious discussions, especially if you don't know the full details, and you don't need to..
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One last comment.. Egypt is suffering financially.. the situation is bad.. the people are poor and suffer.. they have been suffering over the years as Egypt is a third world country.. you don't know what it's like to live in such a country.. but it does not mean it will go bankrupt or default.. the Egyptian pound has been losing value for decades.. we are used to it.. Egypt is working with the IMF, and only last week it increased the price of petrol as per the agreement with the IMF to reduce subsidiary..
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I'm not a holder.. I'm not posting positive cheerful stuff.. I'm just explaining things from an Egyptian point of view..
Siko to himself (Please please please Siko, don't reply.. You promised in your last post that it would be the last they hear from you about this subject - and probably about anything else - and to keep the chat board for what it's for.. Woosah)...
Well Cowichan.. I have expressed my views politely and in an appropriate manner (I think and hope so).. and of course you had all the right to disagree and reply accordingly, so we could all express our views and have an informative exchange about this subject which have many sides for the story.
But as your tone and words were inappropriate (and I'm being polite here), so this is the last you will hear from me about this subject.
I knew I should not have spoken..
Cowichan.. (Why Egypt/Sisi will not allow the Palestinians to flee through the Rafah Egypt border?)
To answer this question from Egypt's point of view, it will require taking sides, which I don't want to do on this forum as it's not the place for it.
But as BushyTailed said (They will never be allowed back).
It may look harsh from the view of people who don't know the full details/history, but I and most Egyptians reject any plans to displace Palestinians and fully agree with the government decision. Even my Palestinian friends agree. There are no calls at all in Egypt to open the borders to let Palestinians in. The calls are there to let the aid through, and huge aid convoys are waiting to cross, but we are still waiting for a guarantee for the safety of the convoys. The Rafah crossing was heavily bombed on the first day as a clear message.
I could tell you alot about what's going on, more than what you watch on the local biased news, but let's keep the forum for what it's for..
Siko
It's very sad to watch gold rising at the expense of innocent people losing their lives..
I know that some people are happy that gold is rising.. Some even wish the war intensifies so that gold goes higher..
Just remember, with every dollar the gold goes up, a few children die in the arms of their parents..
They are human beings who deserve to live a life like yours.. If you look at them in any other way, then you need to think again..
You could always make money later.. but those lives will never come back..
(Sad Siko)..
Do you really think that any reputable company should release an RNS because someone made an account a couple of days ago on a bulletin board and wrote that the company had problems, without any source or link?
If so, it would be a joke.
Does that claimant understands the obligations of the company to release such information, especially when it involves stopping production, and it's been more than 10 days ago according to him?
There is absolutely no news whatsoever in Egypt about any issues at the mine, unless the claimant directs us to those (circulating rumours)..
I promised myself to watch from far as a non-holder, but sometimes I can't just keep my promises!!
Siko
I miss our old bulletin board with its great posts and posters, even during the darkest times (revolution, court case, shares suspension, etc...)..
Until it's back, if that ever happens, I will just watch this new evolving board from far.. very far..
GLA,
Siko
The agreement started in 2017.
The CBE gives Centamin 50 million Egyptian pounds a month, and in returns, Centamin gives the CBE gold worth the equivalent amount in US dollars according to the international price of gold and according to the USD/Egyptian pound exchange rate.
This agreement gives the CBE the opportunity to increase the national gold reserve, while paying in local currency, so it does not affect the foreign currency reserve.
Also Centamin is not losing anything as it needs local currency anyway to pay the workers and all the local expenses.
In 2021, this amount increased to 80 million Egyptian pounds per month.
With the current exchange rate, this comes to around 2.5 million dollars a month..
And yes, it will cost the CBE double the amount of local currency now to purchase gold, or they will get half the amount of gold for the same money due to the Egyptian pound devaluation..
I have no idea about any outstanding balance owing.. we are talking about the CBE.. They could always print Egyptian money to purchase gold!!
Hi Cowichan..
It's me again.. and here are my replies to all your recent posts about Egypt..
6th Aug: Egypt's public schools..
Private tutors and lessons in Egypt have been a well known thing for decades now.. I took some when I was in school in the 80s.. and so did my brothers and sister before me.. I can't understand what the issue or its significance is now, or how this is an indication about Egypt's current economy situation, or how even this could affect Centamin..
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9th Aug: Egyptian expats can buy off their mandatory military service obligations by paying $5,000 in US dollars..
And? It's actually a good income for the country and a good opportunity for some expats.. Egypt's population is around 110 millions.. the army doesn't need all the mandatory numbers.. some expats will be happy to pay to get the exemption.. my nephew is one of them.. and they asked for the payment to be in Abu Dhabi because Egypt is entering in a contract with UAE worth around 400 million dollars to buy wheat.. for those who don't want to pay, then nothing has changed.. I myself have completed my mandatory military service in Egypt.. I might have chosen to pay if I was offered an exemption at the time..
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10th Aug: Egypt does not have the dollars to import needed fuel..
That was your chosen title for your post, while the actual article you posted stated (Egypt's PM said: It is an additional burden that the country will be able to provide).. Also I don't know if you are still following the situation in Egypt, but the electricity shortage situation is getting better, not worse.. it's still not good of course, and they are still cutting the power supply, but not as bad as before.. my mum used to get the electricity cut 3 hours a day in July, now it's one hour..
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15th Aug: Coventry University’s Egypt..
Could you explain to me in figures how the Egyptian pound devaluation would push CEY's AISC upwards, when CEY's income is in US dollars?
In the example you are using, in Coventry University’s Egypt site it states (No annual increase applied on the tuition fees for the 2023/24 academic year. Any difference in the fees is only due to the ongoing devaluation waves of the Egyptian Pound).. so it's the same amount in English pound (or dollars)..
https://tkh.edu.eg/tuition-coventry/
so while the value of the Egyptian pound has halved, do you think Centamin has doubled the wages of the Egyptian workers who get paid in Egyptian pound? Of course not.. would you class that as a saving for Centamin whose income is in dollars?
Once again, I'm not saying the situation in Egypt is good, not at all, Egypt is a 3rd world country, the economy is bad, and has been getting worse, and people are suffering.. I'm just putting the facts right without exaggeration..
Siko