Good morning, friends. We’re two days into the workweek and the local business news cycle is yet to get into gear. In today’s short and sweet issue, we’ve got important logistics, securitization, and taxation news, plus much more.

BUT FIRST- We have big news for you this morning: EnterpriseAM UAE is now available in Arabic, with the first issue sent shortly after this one. Tap or click here to subscribe and get EnterpriseAM UAE in Arabic directly to your inbox everyday before 8am.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- CBE starts lifting import restrictions: The Central Bank of Egypt has started easing importrestrictions on 12 of the 13 non-essential goods it has previously prohibited banks from issuing credit lines for, sources with knowledge of the matter told Al Mal. The central bank reportedly gave local banks the greenlight to start issuing letters of credit for goods that include mobile phones, food plants and seeds, fresh fruits, cocoa, jewelry, electric appliances, ready-made garments, furniture, and heavy equipment.

Car imports still suspended: The one non-essential import banks are still not allowed to issue credit lines for cars, the sources said.

Remember: The central bank in March 2022 prohibited banks from issuing credit lines for a list of 13 commodities unless the importer had secured the central bank’s approval.

#2- Gov’t wants to give struggling factories some breathing room: The government has asked the Finance Ministry to postpone administrative seizures of indebted industrial facilities as part of a broader initiative to support productive sectors, Al Borsa reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the matter. Instead, the support initiative may be expanded to allow struggling factories to settle their debts, including tax and ins. dues.

The plan is still up in the air: The instructions are so far verbal and the ministry is still looking into amending the rules of seizing delinquent industrial facilities, Al Borsa quotes an unnamed senior government official as saying.

FROM THE DEBT MARKETS-

Yields on three-month t-bills hit another five-month high: The Finance Ministry sold some EGP 54.1 bn worth of three-month t-bills this week at an average yield of 29.6%, according to central bank data. This marks the highest yield on three-month bills since March, when the rate jumped to 30.2% in an auction following the EGP float. This week’s sale was oversubscribed, reeling in 35.3% more than the EGP 40 bn targeted by the central bank.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another summery day in Cairo today, with a high of 36°C and a low of 27°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a bit cooler in Alexandria and along the North Coast, with a high of 32°C and a low of 24°C.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

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ICYMI- Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we breakdown the past, present, and future of Chinese investments in Egypt. Check out the story here.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

UK-Egypt trade and investment in the spotlight: Our friends at HSBC, together with the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) and UK Export Finance (UKEF), will host a webinar this week to discuss how to support infrastructure reforms, potential partnerships in Egypt, and ways to support and connect companies around the world. The webinar takes place next Thursday (29 August) from 12-1pm CLT / 1-2pm UAE.

Want to attend? You can sign up here.

The webinar is a scene-setter for the Egypt-UK Investment and Opportunities Forum in London on Monday, 16 September.

Infrastructure is a key part of the forum. The gathering — which follows on from a Juneinfrastructure mission — will focus on promoting trade and investment in infrastructure, with an emphasis on green hydrogen and renewables as well as sectors including the auto industry, food processing, and tech.

Networking: The forum will include both open panels and pre-arranged business-to-business networking. It will also give attendees the chance to meet with government officials and industry leaders. GAFI will be on hand to deliver an economic update.

Want to join them in London? Register your interest in attending the event here.

DATA POINT-

Recently hiked energy bills could save the state some EGP 30 bn this fiscal year, an anonymous government official told Asharq Business. The Electricity Ministry has reportedly begun implementing electricity price hikes that will see household electricity prices rising by 14-40%, with plans to hike electricity prices for the industrial sector for the first time in four years.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- You’ll be able to take the BRT soon: The Transport Ministry plans to officially inaugurate the bus rapid transit (BRT) by the end of the year after kicking off trial operations in October, two unnamed government sources told Asharq Business. The bus fare has been set at an initial EGP 16, the sources added.

Remember: The EGP 10 bn BRT project aims to replace microbuses and other forms of public transport on the Ring Road. The first phase runs from the Police Academy in New Cairo to the Alexandria Agricultural Road.

#2- Attention, pharma players: Informa Markets Egypt is hosting Africa’s premier pharma manufacturing exhibition — dubbed Pharmaconex — between 8-10 September at the Egypt International Exhibition Center, according to a press release (pdf). The event will bring together 300 companies from over 20 countries and is expected to welcome 8.5k visitors. You can register to attend here.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There are two stories capturing the attention of the global press this morning: An escalation of aggression between Hezbollah and Israel, and Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s arrest in France.

Israel and Hezbollah exchanged attacks yesterday, with Israel launching “around 100” warplanes into Lebanon in what it said was a preemptive move against an attack from Hezbollah. The group later fired hundreds of rockets into Israel, hitting military targets and killing one Israeli soldier. Hezbollah’s attack was in retaliation for the killing of Fuad Shukr, one of its senior members, in Beirut last month. Although the exchange of fire has raised concerns of regional escalation, both Hezbollah and Israel are “employing the language of containment.” (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | New York Times | Washington Post)

MEANWHILE IN FRANCE- Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France yesterday on several charges, including charges related to the spread of illicit material and misinformation on Telegram due to inadequate moderation and “a lack of cooperation with police.” Telegram said in a statement on X that the platform “abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act — its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving.” (Reuters | Bloomberg | New York Times | Financial Times)

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We dissect the new Thanaweya Amma system and what it means for international schools.

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