>>62382 pb BOXER40 was at Cairo yesterday for a quick ground stop before heading to Cyprus
Egypt signs 1.7 bln euros of financing deals with France
Egypt has signed 1.7 billion euros ($2.06 billion) worth of deals with France to finance projects in the transportation, infrastructure, electricity and wholesale sectors, the cabinet said on Sunday. Of that financing, 776 million euros will come from the French government and 990 million euros from AFD, France’s development agency, the cabinet said.
The signings came during a visit by French finance minister Bruno Le Maire to Cairo. In May, France announced a 4 billion euro deal to deliver 30 Dassault warplanes to Egypt beginning in 2024, strengthening ties with what it considers a vital partner in fighting Islamist militants. Projects announced on Sunday by the cabinet include sanitation stations as well as a number of railway projects, including the provision of 55 new cars for the Cairo metro’s oldest line and the construction of a railway line between Aswan in southern Egypt and Wadi Halfa in neighbouring Sudan.
AFD will provide 150 million euros in support of Egypt’s universal health insurance programme, the cabinet said.
https://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-france/update-1-egypt-signs-1-7-bln-euros-of-financing-deals-with-france-idUSL2N2NV0BW
and good morning
Toshiba dumps 2 board members after report on shareholder pressure
Toshiba has removed two current directors from its list of board candidates less than two weeks ahead of a shareholder vote, the Japanese industrial group said Sunday as it deals with the aftermath of a probe into alleged influencing of investors. Junji Ota, Toshiba's audit committee chair, and Takashi Yamauchi, an audit committee member, will step down as of the June 25 annual general meeting. The announcement comes after an independent investigation found Toshiba's July 2020 annual general meeting was "not fairly managed." The investigation turned up evidence the company had worked with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to put pressure on activist shareholders. Ota and Yamauchi were part of the audit committee when Toshiba conducted its own review of the July 2020 shareholders meeting and found nothing inappropriate with its conduct.
Toshiba held an emergency board meeting on Sunday to respond to the independent report, which was sought by shareholders in a closely watched vote in March. "We take it seriously" that investigators found the July 2020 meeting "was not conducted fairly as required by the Corporate Governance Code," Toshiba said in a statement Sunday. "We will take action to identify the root cause without delay, in an objective and transparent manner, including the participation of third parties."
Two Toshiba executives will step down. Masayasu Toyohara, senior executive vice president, and Masaharu Kamo, corporate senior vice president, were both named in connection with Toshiba's exchanges with METI on dealing with activist shareholders. Toshiba will hold an online briefing Monday 1 p.m. to discuss its response to the report, with its chairman of the board, Osamu Nagayama, due to attend. Toshiba has been rocked by governance turmoil in recent months. In April, then-CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani stepped down amid declining trust in his leadership both at the company and among investors. The abrupt change in leadership came after Nikkei reported on a $20 billion proposal by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners to take the Japanese industrial group private.
Kurumatani had clashed with activist shareholders, and his past ties with CVC raised the possibility of a conflict of interest.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Toshiba-in-turmoil/Toshiba-dumps-2-board-members-after-report-on-shareholder-pressure
>>61790 pb Toshiba colluded with Japanese government against investor, probe finds
>>62468 pb Toshiba to convene emergency board meeting Sunday