The news slowdown continues, with not much happening on the home front.

NBFS-

CBE shuts down seven FX bureaus: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has revoked the licenses of seven foreign exchange bureaus for not meeting the EGP 25-mn minimum capital requirement. The bureaus include Golden Marriott, Roxy International, Al Esraa, El Noor, Misr Cambio, Cairo Switzerland, and British Exchange, sources told Asharq business.

Remember: Under the new regulations introduced by the CBE in May, FX bureaus are required to have at least EGP 25 mn in issued and paid-in capital — up fivefold from the previous EGP 5-mn requirement — as part of its efforts to regulate the currency market.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE-

No more FX transactions for Egypt Post’s EasyPay cards: Egypt Post’s prepaid card EasyPay can no longer be used for international transactions, whether purchases or withdrawals, after the postal services provider suspended all foreign transactions following government directives, according to a text message sent to clients and seen by Asharq Business reports.

This is the latest in a long list of measures the government has introduced in response to the country’s FX shortage. The Central Bank of Egypt in October restricted foreign-currency (FCY) transactions on local-currency credit cards to EGP 7,750 per month (about USD 250 at the official rate) and stopped the use of local-currency (LCY) debit cards abroad.

TAX-

More capital gains tax discussions: Officials from the Finance Ministry and the Misr Clearing and Depository Company (MCDR) agreed to hold another meeting in two weeks to review the executive regulations for the long-awaited capital gains tax, during a tax-centered meeting yesterday, Al Borsa reports, citing informed sources. The Finance Ministry wants to publish the tax’s executive regulations next month for the tax to be collected on gains made during 2023.

REGULATIONS-

Private equity firms must allocate some of their investments for Egyptian companies — EGX listed or not — under recent regulatory amendments put forward by Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, the Financial Regulatory Authority said in a statement yesterday.

LOGISTICS-

East Qantara Dry Port to go online in four months: Trial operations at the EastQantaraDry Port in Ismailia governorate are set to kick off in late April, Mohamed El Banna, vice chairman of the port’s operator New Suez Canal for Dry Ports and Logistics Services, told Al Mal.

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