An eventful cabinet meeting: Ministers yesterday greenlit a slew of decisions, including the recently-announced social support measures, a proposal to increase the capacity of Benban and establish a new wind farm, and new golden licenses for industrial projects, cabinet said in a statement following its weekly meeting.

#1- Fresh wage hike, tax cut + social support approved: Cabinet gave the go-ahead to the emergency social support measures announced by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi last week aimed at alleviating the impact of the economic crisis on vulnerable households. These included a minimum wage hike for public-sector workers, a higher one-off bonus payment for pensioners and the public sector, more generous pension payouts, and a wage tax cut.

A tax cut, you say? Don’t get too excited, it’s a modest one: The basic personal exemption for wage taxes will rise to EGP 45k from EGP 36k today. That’s a break for employers who offer net salaries — and for employees at firms that offer gross salaries.

The measures will all go into effect starting from 1 October 2023 with the exception of the tax cut, which requires amendments to the tax code that will need to be voted on in the House of Representatives when it is back in session next month.

Remember: Inflation accelerated at a record pace in August on the back of ballooning food prices. The urban rate of inflation rose to 37.4% y-o-y from 36.5% the month before, thanks largely to food and beverage prices soaring 71.4% y-o-y.

#2- A 50% expansion at Benban + a new wind farm: Ministers approved an offer submitted by UAE-based AMEA Power to expand the production capacity of the 1.8-GW Benban solar park in Aswan by 1 GW, and to set up a 500-MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb. Enterprise Climate is looking into the project and will report back next week.At an investment cost of about USD 1 bn (or thereabouts) per GW of solar power, this is a big announcement.

#3- Golden licenses for…

Gasco: Ministers approved handing the Egyptian Natural Gas Company (GASCO) a golden license for its USD 380 mn project to expand its gas complex in Alexandria. The company wants to add a fourth production line with a capacity of 600 mn cubic feet a day.

EgyptSat Auto: Another golden license was granted for EgyptSat Auto’s planned EGP 300 mn electric mobility and components factory in the Tenth of Ramadan industrial zone. EgyptSat Auto is a local private sector company that produces electric golf carts.

#4- Oil exploration: The cabinet also gave the green light to the oil minister to contract with Russian oil company Lukoil to comb areas in the Western Desert for oil and gas.

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