Category: Corporate

In its sixth edition, the “Egypt for the Best” summit acknowledged both Raya Holding for Financial Investments and Raya Contact Center among top companies in the Egyptian Market 2020. Held under the auspices of H.E Prime Minister, Dr Mostafa Madbouly, the summit aimed to honour the top prominent figures and companies that positively impacted the Egyptian economy in 2020. 

The summit, held by Amwal Al-Ghad magazine and Excellent Communications, was attended by several ministers and businessmen, including Minister of Trade and Industry Mrs Neveen Gamea – on behalf of H.E Prime Minister Dr Madbouly, Minister of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs Ambassador Dr Nabila Makram, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr Hala El-Said, Minister of International Cooperation Dr Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Environment Dr Yasmine Fouad, Ministry of Social Solidarity Dr Nevine Al-Kabbaj, Minister of Public Business Sector Mr Hesham Tawfik, the President of Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) Dr Maya Morsi, and about 300 executives of influential institutions and companies in the Egyptian market.

Raya Holding for Financial Investments was chosen as one of the top-performing Egyptian companies during the past year. Despite the circumstances of the pandemic, the company managed to overcome such a critical time while maintaining its growth and workload. Also, the summit awarded Raya Contact Center’s CEO Ahmed Refky for the company’s progress over the past months and for its creative solutions to enhance communication between customers and businesses.

Regarding the awards, Ahmed Khalil, CEO of Raya Holding for Financial Investments, expressed his delight that the awards crown the company’s achievements throughout its history, stressing that Raya continues investing in Egypt and diversifying its investment portfolio to keep pace with market needs, in view of the economic reforms pursued by the state and Egypt vision 2030. 

Refky, for his part, underlined that Raya Contact Center is one of the first companies operating in the field and it has proven successful in light of the policy pursued by the company and thanks to its skilled and highly trained human cadres, which led it today to this recognition. 

The ceremony’s award categories this year included “Top 100 Listed Companies” in terms of performance, “Top 50 Most Influential Women in Egyptian Economy”, “Distinguished Entrepreneurs”, “Innovators with Special Needs”, and “Best Performing Institutions in the Field of Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development”.

Egypt for the Best is one of the major annual events celebrating high achievers in all economic and social fields. It was first launched in 2015 and is held annually under the auspices of the H.E Prime Minister.

Raya Holding for Financial investment announced on Tuesday that three subsidiaries, Aman for Financial Services, Aman for Microfinance, and Raya Electronics, will issue secularization bonds, with a total value of EGP 500m.

The Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB) acted as financial adviser and general coordinator for the issuance process, in addition to its role as guarantor of the initial public offering (IPO) coverage of the secularization process in cooperation with the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) as underwriter.

Dreny & Partners law firm also acted as the legal adviser for the issuance process, while Ernst & Young acted as the auditor for the issuance process.

The issue comprises of four different segments in terms of size and term, three of which are short-term with maturity dates of six, nine, and twelve months, and the fourth tranche has a medium-term maturity date of 36 months.

The weighted average coupon yield due to bondholders is about 12.7%.

The issuance made a combined accounting profit of EGP 36.2m for the three issuers of securitization bonds.

The issuance is the first of its kind in the Egyptian market for securitization of the portfolio of microfinance and consumer finance for the Egyptian consumer.

The weighted average of default and historical default in the loan and financing portfolios of the three issuers is less than 3% as a whole.

As a result, this issue has been awarded a prestigious credit rating of “Prime 1”, which is the highest credit rating for short-term maturities, and “A-” for the medium-term tranche, which will be dissolved within 36 months by Middle East Rating & Investors Service (MERIS), the regional partner of Moody’s International Services.

Chairperson and Managing Director of Raya Holding, Medhat Khalil, said the successful completion of the initial securitisation process in the group’s history is an achievement of its kind, which included two relatively newly established companies, Aman for Financial Services and Aman for Microfinance.

He added that the launch of securitisation bonds is one of the efforts to enhance the market position and competitiveness of both Aman for Financial Services and Aman for Microfinance in the local market, which has been growing rapidly since their inception in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

CEO and Board Member at the CIB, Hussein Abaza, said that the bank is at the forefront of national institutions supporting efforts to achieve financial inclusion for all segments of Egyptian citizens.

“Therefore, we have been keen to coordinate and participate in this issue with Raya Holding as the company’s investment vision in the field of non-banking financial services is consistent with our financial inclusion objectives,” he added.

Vice Chairperson of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Yehia Aboul Fotouh, explained that the issuance of Raya Group bonds comes in line of the NBE’s interest in supporting and promoting micro finance projects.

“The launch of securitization bonds is an important part of our commitment to generate sustainable funding sources that will strengthen our financial position in the coming period,” said Head of Financial Sectors at Raya Holding, Hossam Hussein.

Hussein added that the company aims to establish a new securitisation process worth EGP 700m in the next year.

The Board and CEO’s consulted in a strategy session to set the strategy for Raya 2020. Building on the outcomes of the Management Seminar, the strategy session took all the opportunities further turning them into actionable plans. Over the course of the past four years, Raya underwent numerous expansion plans including adding new industries to the portfolio and opening locations outside Egypt.

In 2016, Raya Holding launched its graduate program Rise. It provides an opportunity for enthusiastic talents, with maximum 2 years of experience, to gain in-depth exposure in varied functions and work within the departments that best match their skills, potential and personality traits.

For 1 year “Risers” rotate while working on stretch assignments. The program’s goal is to develop our leaders of the future and expand growth possibilities to both Raya and “Risers” in the different functions. Over 300 applications were received and filtered. The best 6 candidates were chosen to complete the program in December 2017.

Raya Holding organized its annual Raya Achievers’ Club (RAC) trip to Budapest, Hungary from the 20th of September to the 24th of September, 2016. Raya’s top achievers were awarded for their repetitive outstanding performance during 2015 with a 5-day trip where they enjoyed superb breathtaking nature, joyful activities, historical sightseeing, great affordable shopping, and cheerful gatherings. The trip included exciting tours in Budapest where the achievers visited Gellert Hill and had a look at the fabulous panorama from the top of the hill. They also passed by the ancient Basilica Church, had a wonderful river cruise in the Danube River at night, visited Lazar Park where a great horse show was presented along with other entertaining activities including a carriage ride and fun games. The Raya Achievers also went to Hero Square where they participated in a group cycling activity. The trip also included a day spent in Vienna, only four hours from Budapest. For more than 15 years since 2001, the RAC trip has been a great tool of recognition, appreciation, and motivation for Raya employees. Past destinations haven included Greece, Malaysia, Thailand, England, France, Brazil, Italy, Romania and South Africa.