It\u2019s an unusually quiet Monday morning for the deals desk, but one headline more than makes up for it.<\/p>\n
HSBC is winding down more than four decades of retail banking in Egypt but has no intention of pulling back from corporate and institutional banking, which account for the lion\u2019s share of its business here. The lender said yesterday that it has reached a definitive agreement with Emirates NBD Egypt that will see it hand over its entire retail business for an undisclosed sum, according to statements from both banks released after banking hours yesterday (here<\/a> and here, pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n It\u2019s the second significant regional move this summer for Emirates NBD after its USD 2.8 bn acquisition<\/a> in June of a 60% stake in India\u2019s RBL Bank. The group operates in 13 countries with more than 25 mn active customers and some USD 360 bn in total assets. ENBD, led in Egypt by Amr El Shafei<\/a>, is majority controlled by the Emirate of Dubai through the Investment Corporation of Dubai and Dubai Holdings, which together hold almost 56% of the bank\u2019s shares.<\/p>\n If it goes through, the transaction will make Emirates NBD the sixth or seventh-largest retail franchise in Egypt, by our maths, behind heavyweights NBE, Banque Misr, CIB, Banque du Caire, and QNB Al Ahli.<\/p>\n Abu Dhabi\u2019s sovereign wealth fund is back in an Indian IPO for the second time in a month. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) has taken a USD 21 mn anchor stake in Manipal Health Enterprises\u2019 INR 92.8 bn (USD 972 mn) listing, India\u2019s largest hospital-chain IPO to date, after doing the same for SBI Funds Management<\/a> earlier in July. ADIA was allotted 3.4 mn shares<\/a> at INR 590 (USD 6.2) apiece \u2014 the top of the INR 560-590 (USD 5.9-6.2) band \u2014 or 4.8% of the 70.6 mn-share anchor book.<\/p>\n The anchor round \u2014 which also drew Morgan Stanley Asia, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe, and existing backer Temasek \u2014 raised INR 41.7 bn (USD 440 mn) the day before the public offer. The IPO was four-fifths new capital: A fresh issue of INR 80 bn (USD 839 mn) and an offer for sale of INR 12.7 bn (USD 134 mn)<\/a> by existing shareholders, including Temasek. It ran 29-31 July and closed 5.12x oversubscribed, led by qualified institutional buyers at 8.5x. Retail investor subscription came in at 0.98x and non-institutional demand was 1.1x.<\/p>\n The managers: Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs (India) Securities, Jefferies India, JP Morgan India, UBS Securities India, and DBS Bank India ran the book, with KFin Technologies as registrar.<\/p>\n Forget oil and airports \u2014 the biggest single corporate bet on Syria\u2019s postwar economy right now is cotton, wheat, and cheese. Qatar’s Baladna Food Industries is sinking USD 3.3 bn into a farming and food-processing venture spanning 2.4k sqkm across the Euphrates basin in Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, land long neglected under Assad, The National<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n The family behind it is a familiar one: Baladna is chaired by Syrian-Qatari tycoon Moutaz Al Khayyat, who, with brother Ramez, already holds energy, power, and transport positions across Syria’s rebuild.<\/p>\n GO DEEPER- Al Khayyat isn\u2019t the only Gulf name making outsized bets here. Emaar\u2019s Mohamed Alabbar pledged up to USD 18 bn<\/a> for Syrian developments in May, a figure that firmed up in July into a USD 20 bn plan for Latakia and Damascus<\/a> with Syrian-majority ownership. UAE-Syria ties are extending into food supply chains too: The two are launching an agricultural system covering the entire chain<\/a>, with ADX-listed Mair Group building four processing centers, UAE agritech firm NVSSoft developing the digital platform, and Syrian farmers exporting fresh produce to the UAE via Iraq.<\/p>\n Zoom out and it fits a pattern: Gulf capital has now committed roughly USD 28 bn to Syria’s reconstruction<\/a>, against a World Bank estimate that the real bill runs to USD 216 bn<\/a>. The tell on Baladna\u2019s project will be whether the international bank financing it’s counting on actually shows up.<\/p>\n ALSO WORTH KNOWING TODAY-<\/p>\n