Good morning, everyone. After a slow start to the week, the local business news cycle is heating up with a boat load of investment news, M&A updates, and more. We’ve got a packed issue for you this morning, so let’s jump right in.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s a warm and sunny day in Cairo today, with a high of 36°C and a low of 26°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little cooler over in Alexandria and along the North Coast, with a high of 33°C and a low of 24°C.

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

** Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy delivered every weekday before 7am Cairo time — without charge.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Fresh incentives for oil and gas players incoming: The Oil Ministry is rolling out a batch of incentives to help ramp up oil and gas output by encouraging investment in exploration, drilling, development, and production, the Oil Ministry said yesterday.

The inside track: The new incentives offer foreign entities an increased share of the natural gas or crude oil produced from their concessions in Egypt, provided they increase production through new investments in exploration and development, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed sources at foreign and jointly-owned oil companies. The additional production will be divided between the government and the foreign partner at agreed-upon percentages and foreign partners will also be given the right to market and export their share, earning USD revenues. The government can also market its share and use the proceeds to repay arrears to foreign companies.

#2- Where’s our long-awaited medical tourism platform? The government has called for the quick launch of the online platform for medical tourism, with Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar following up with the company in charge of developing the platform to review the work done so far, according to a statement. The statement said that the platform would launch “in the coming period,” without mentioning a specific date. The platform was initially set to launch in June.

What it will offer: The platform — which the government has been developing for the last year — will allow users to reserve spots hospitals and clinics in Egypt and apply for and receive a visa for the medical treatment within only 72 hours, as well as virtual consultations and follow-up services for patients when they return to their home countries.

Remember: Egypt has ambitions of becoming a medical tourism hub to attract FDI and to open fresh FX revenue streams from patients from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe coming here for treatment on the back of our talented and well-trained medical staff and the competitive price point Egyptian hospitals can offer.

#3- Telecom Egypt wants NTRA to relax the rules as it looks to sell off its tower portofolio: Telecom Egypt is in advanced talks with the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to expand the legal framework to allow unregulated companies to own cell towers, Al Arabiya reports, citing anonymous sources with it says have knowledge of the matter.

Remember:Telecom Egypt could offload a majority of cell towers in a sale and leaseback agreement that could be worth between USD 150-250 mn. It has received several offers from digital infrastructure providers — both local and foreign, the sources said.

FROM THE CENTRAL BANK-

CBE turns the page on a seven-year chapter of losses: The Central Bank of Egypt reported a net income of EGP 22.8 bn in fiscal year 2023-2024, compared to losses of EGP 86.3 bn in the previous fiscal year, according to its latest financials (pdf). This marks the first time that the bank has turned a profit since it was last in the green in FY 2016-2017.

Some cost cutting may have helped: A decree issued by the Prime Minister in November 2022 led the CBE to stop funding subsidized loans and pass the responsibility to the finance, housing, and tourism ministries. The decision followed substantial losses incurred by the Central Bank as it covered the difference between subsidized and market interest rates on behalf of the Finance Ministry. It was also said that ending subsidized loans was one of the conditions attached to the USD 3 bn loan program we inked with the International Monetary Fund back in October 2022

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Attention, investors: Our friends at HSBC, together with the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) and UK Export Finance (UKEF), will host a webinar tomorrow to discuss how to support infrastructure reforms, potential partnerships in Egypt, and ways to support and connect companies around the world. The webinar will take place 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. 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. The forum will also 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.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

El Sisi to make his first official trip to Turkey as ties with Erdogan warm: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is set to pay his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a visit on 4 September for the first time as the two countries work to strengthen ties following years of tense relations, Bloomberg reports. The visit will see the pair discussing cooperation, trade, and the war in Gaza. They will also hold a high-level Strategic Cooperation Council that they agreed to reinstate back in February.

Remember: Egypt and Turkey have been working to mend a decade of frayed relations triggered by a host of issues including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, competing interests in Libya, and tensions over gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. They restored diplomatic ties and reappointed ambassadors last summer and relations progressed further when Erdogan in February visited Egypt for the first time in over a decade.

Key areas of cooperation: The two countries are working to boost the volume of bilateral trade to USD 15 bn annually in the next five years — up from USD 6.6 bn at the end of 2023. They are also seeking to cooperate in the fields of LNG and nuclear energy, expand an existing free trade agreement, and restart freight shipping between the Turkish port of Mersin and Alexandria, Bloomberg quotes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as saying during a visit to Cairo earlier this month.

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-

Trump gets indicted, again: Former President and current presidential nominee Donald Trump was hit with a fresh indictment yesterday in the 2020 election case, as special counsel Jack Smith submitted a revised indictment accusing Trump of election subversion.

The new indictment was revised to remove parts of the case that would conflict with arecent Supreme Court ruling granting presidents immunity for “official acts” while in office, including allegations “related to an effort … to make the Justice Department support his false claims of voter fraud.” The ruling, in effect, granted Trump immunity from being indicted over colluding with Justice Department officials because communicating with the Justice Department would count towards his “core official duties.”

The fresh indictment was filed at the eleventh hour before the start of a 60-day window before presidential elections, in which the Justice Department has a policy of avoiding prosecution-related work that could influence an election.

The story is topping the front pages everywhere this morning: Reuters | Politico | FinancialTimes | Washington Post | New York Times | Wall Street Journal

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We take a look at what the government is doing to revive and enhance the building and property sector in the country.

Tags: