Billionaire #Sawiris Hopes to Join #Egypt #Gold Rush as Rules Eased $AAN.v $EDV.to $CEG

Billionaire Sawiris Hopes to Join Egypt Gold Rush as Rules Eased

Mirette MagdyFebruary 18, 2020, 5:39 AM EST

Chairman of La Mancha in talks with government over new tender

One of Egypt's richest men has long coveted a role in his nation's gold-mining industry. Now, a shakeup in regulations and a potential auction of new licenses could give Naguib Sawiris a shining opportunity.

The Egyptian government "already started talks with us as well as other companies to promote the new tender," Sawiris, the chairman of La Mancha Holding S.a.r.l., said in a phone interview. "We are willing to participate in any area that could be promising." He didn't specify which of the firms he's involved with would submit bids.

The North African country, where the mineral wealth remains largely under-explored and undeveloped, will announce its first exploration tender in about three years by March, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.

It's Egypt's latest drive to spur investment in the sector, after enacting rules last month that limit royalty payments and drop the requirement that miners form joint ventures with the government -- steps foreign companies have long complained about. Ramping up gold output would be a future source of growth for the economy, which is emerging from a sweeping International Monetary Fund-backed reform program.

Photographer: Sima Diab/Bloomberg

Sawiris, who hails from an industrialist family, made his name investing in telecommunications in Egypt as well as frontier markets such as Iraq, Pakistan and North Korea. Egypt's second-richest person, with a net worth of $5.1 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Sawiris' closely held gold-miner La Mancha is the biggest shareholder of Toronto-listed Endeavour Mining Corp., which operates in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Mali.

#PrivateEquity for #Mining falls to 8-year low

Only four unlisted funds closed last year, raising a combined $300 million for investing in the mining sector. That's down from $2.5 billion in 2018 and nowhere near the peak of 2012, when eight funds procured a combined $4.2 billion

Tembo Capital's second mining fund accounted for the bulk of last year's fundraising. The London-based fund, which focuses on junior and mid-tier mining projects primarily in Africa, closed on $177 million in March. 

There are currently 14 funds in the market targeting the mining sector, seeking a combined $7 billion in capital. 

As of June last year, mining and metals fund managers held $4.9 billion in dry powder (funds ready to be deployed). These funds also hold $15 billion worth of investments in the sector that still have to be exited.

 See the whole article on mining.com here: https://www.mining.com/private-capital-raised-for-mining-falls-to-8-year-low/

As #Gold prices rose in 2019, investors jumped into #ETF’s | World @GoldCouncil



Huge rise in ETF inflows almost equalled the sharp drop in consumer demand in 2019

The net result was a marginal 1% decline in annual demand to 4,356t.

Global reserves grew by 650t – the second highest annual total.

Low/negative interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty fuelled this growth, while the gold price rally also attracted momentum-driven inflows.

Highlights

Annual gold demand in 2019 dips 1% to 4,355.7t

Total fourth quarter demand fell 19% y-o-y to 1,045.2t. Two main contributors to the y-o-y drop were jewellery and physical bar demand, both of which reacted to the elevated gold price. In US dollar value terms, the decline in Q4 demand was much shallower – down just 3% to US$49.7bn.

Inflows into global gold-backed ETFs and similar products pushed total holdings to a record year-end total of 2885.5t. Holdings grew by 401.1t over the year, with 26.8t added in Q4. Inflows were heavily concentrated in Q3 as the US dollar gold price rallied to a six-year high.

Central banks were net buyers for a 10th consecutive year: global reserves grew by 650.3t (-1% y-o-y), the second highest annual total for 50 years. Purchasing in Q4 of 109.6t was 34% lower y-o-y, although this was partly a reflection of the sheer scale of buying in 2018. 

China and India held sway over global consumer demand.