Good morning, friends, and a very happy hump day to you all. Leading the news well today and many of the talk shows last night is news of a showdown between the Egyptian Competition Authority and an egg cartel that reportedly controls up to 70% of eggs that find their way into our kitchens. We crack open this story and delve into important real estate, education, auto industry localisation updates, and more in the issue below.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The already postponed capital gains tax may be abolished: The Madbouly government is considering canceling the planned capital gains tax on all EGX transactions as part of a broader drive to improve the country’s investment climate, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib told Asharq Business. A decision on the fate of the capital gains tax is expected to be made within the next three weeks, El Khatib added.

We’re yet to hear anything official, but El Khatib said in a meeting with EGX boss Ahmed El Sheikh yesterday that “work is underway” to take a look at proposals of what to do with the supposedly upcoming capital gains tax, according to an Investment Ministry statement.

Remember: A 10% capital gains tax on EGX transactions was supposed to be introduced inJanuary 2022 for resident investors, but was later delayed by the Finance Ministry. The tax has since undergone a number of different amendments and reviews, with the government last announcing in May plans to start collecting taxes on capital gains incurred from trading EGX-listed financial securities starting March-April 2025.

#2- Export support fund in line for a shakeup: The government will announce amendments to the export support fund within 7-10 days, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib said at the Food Export Council’s inaugural conference for food industry exporters yesterday (watch, runtime: 20:11).

A three-month turnaround for export support: The proposed amendments include disbursing export support within three months on the condition that exporters deposit their export earnings in local banks, which would handle their foreign currency needs. The longstanding challenge of delayed support disbursement, coupled with the fund’s over-allocation of support, are the biggest obstacles hindering the effectiveness of the fund, El Khatib said.

The changes already have presidential backing: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has expressed his full support for a proposal by El Khatib to ramp up allocation to the fund, saying “I am with you” as long as the amendments boost the country’s exports.

El Khatib also thinks it's about time we shake up the way we import products: El Khatib pointed to the high customs clearance fees imposed on imports, which can reach USD 270 per shipment, compared to USD 43 in Morocco and USD 18 in India. He stressed the need for an overhaul of Egypt’s import, export, and trade legislation.

PSA-

Good news for jet setters: Banque Misr and NBE will now let their customers traveling abroad exchange up to USD 5k in the run up to their travels — depending on the type of account they have — according to notes from the bank seen by Enterprise. Both of the banks also upped their monthly purchase limits for FX transactions outside the country for its highest category of cards to the equivalent of EGP 300k. NBE cardholders in the highest category of cards will also now be able to spend the FX equivalent of up to EGP 100k here at home.

WEATHER- Get ready for a heatwave hitting Cairo today, with a high of 37°C and a low of 27°C, according to our favorite weather app. Temperatures are projected to pick up to highs of 38°C on Wednesday and Thursday before cooling down,

It’s almost just as hot in Alexandria today, with a high of 36°C and a low of 26°C, but temperatures will begin to gradually decrease starting tomorrow.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Inflation to creep down for the sixth consecutive month? Analysts, policymakers and the business community are eagerly awaiting inflation figures for August set to be released later today by state statistics agency Capmas. The last set of inflation data showed the annual urban inflation falling to 25.7% — its lowest level since December 2022 and beating expectations by a whole 0.9 percentage points.

Analysts seem pretty confident that annual urban inflation will continue easing: Annual headline inflation is expected to have slowed 0.6 percentage points from the month before to 25.1%, according to a median forecast of 19 analysts polled by Reuters. However, despite the decrease on an annual basis, some see inflation on a monthly basis picking up, with Naeem Holding forecasting a 1.24% m-o-m increase and HC Securities’ Heba Mounir a 1.0% m-o-m uptick on the back of energy and transport price hikes. Meanwhile, core inflation is seen falling to 0.5 percentage points from the month before to 23.9% y-o-y, according to a median poll of five analysts.

#2- It’s day two of the 10th EFG Hermes London Conference: EFG Hermes’s four-day annual conference in London will be entering its second day today and will “delve into the profound potential emerging in key sectors across the global economy, offering participants unparalleled insights and connections in a rapidly evolving landscape,” the company said a statement (pdf).

What to watch out for today: London’s Emirates Stadium will today be hosting the conference plenary session. Group CEO Karim Awad will open the conference’s plenary session that will see Capital Market Authority Board Commissioner Abdulaziz Abdulmohsen Bin Hassan and Saudi Exchange CEO Mohammed Al Rumaih give their insights into the kingdom’s capital markets.

What they said: “This event is a platform that facilitates the exchange of ideas, forges partnerships, and uncovers opportunities that align with the region’s long-term growth trajectory. Our role is to ensure that our clients, partners, and stakeholders are positioned to capitalize on these emerging trends, as the MENA region continues to expand its influence on the global stage,” said Awad.

#3- Kouchouk heads to AmCham: Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk will be speaking at AmCham’s monthly luncheon today. The event — which will be moderated by Grant Thornton Managing Partner Kamel Saleh — will be held at Cairo’s Nile Ritz Carlton from 1-4pm.

#4- Attention, techies: Tech Invest5 is set to open today, with a long list of experts in the tech field set to attend the conference. The conference in New Cairo will bring together over 200 tech companies, 50 investors, and 20 incubators and accelerators.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

The Egypt-UK investment conference is nearly upon us: Our friends at HSBC, together with UK Export Finance and Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce, are hosting the Egypt-UK Investment and Opportunities Forum in London on Monday, 16 September. The conference will showcase investment opportunities in Egypt across different sectors — including renewable energy, water, automotive, food processing, IT, and AI — to potential investors from the UK. It will also facilitate matchmaking between institutions of both countries, bringing together government representatives, business leaders, and senior executives.

On the agenda: The event will feature presentations by GAFI head Hossam Heiba on supporting a sustainable investment climate, SCZone head Walid Gamal El Din on the economic zone’s investment proposition, and Advisor to the Vice Finance Minister Nevine Mansour on economic reform. The presentations will be followed by two panel discussions with large local and international companies — the first of which will discuss Egypt's growth potential and infrastructure and the second focusing on investment opportunities and success stories. The event will also offer three hours for one-on-one meetings (which must be scheduled in advance) and networking.

Tempted to jet off to London to attend the conference? Register your interest here.

FROM THE CENTRAL BANK-

The average yield on 3-year, fixed-rate, EGP-denominated bonds fell to 25.187% in the central bank’s weekly auction yesterday, down from 25.234% last week, according to data from the Central Bank of Egypt. The auction saw the CBE accept 46 of 113 submitted bids to reach a total nominal value of just over EGP 25 bn — five times the CBE’s target of EGP 5 bn.

FACT CHECK-

Car import restrictions are still firmly in place — for now at least: No changes have been made or instructions issued to start opening credit lines for importers looking to bring over fully manufactured cars, a government source confirmed to Enterprise in response to local media reports suggesting otherwise. A source in the banking sector also confirmed to us that automobiles are still on the list of goods that aren’t approved for credit lines and that there were no immediate plans to change this.

There are currently only two ways to import fully manufactured cars, Egyptian Association of Automobile Manufacturers head Khaled Saad told Enterprise. The first is companies who use export proceeds in FX to fund the imports, Saad explained. The second involves companies who have sister companies abroad that channel FX into their operations in Egypt. However, Saad pointed out that reopening the import of cars now would work against the state’s efforts to try to localize the industry.

DATA POINT-

Remittances from Egyptians abroad rose for the fifth consecutive month, climbing 86.8% to around USD 3.0 bn in July, according to a central bank statement(pdf). Remittances were up 15.9% m-o-m.

Remember: Egyptians abroad have started sending more of their remittances through official channels after the float of the EGP put an end to the parallel market that had pushed remittance flows through unofficial channels. Remittances are an important source of FX for the country and the state is working to increase flows by 10% each year to reach USD 53 bn by 2030.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There is a relative calm in the international press today before the inevitable storm of US presidential news set to follow the Harris-Trump showdown that is fast approaching.

Pushing its way into the digital front pages is Google’s latest faceoff with the US Department of Justice that kicked off yesterday in Virginia, with prosecutors alleging that the tech giant violated antitrust law by using monopoly tactics to dominate the online ad market, increasing prices for publishers and advertisers across the board. The case, which could result in Google being forced to sell off its ad management arm, is being heard without a jury in a trial expected to take weeks.

The tech giant has been locked in an ongoing series of antitrust disputes with the DOJ, the most recent of which saw a judge rule last month that Google had monopolized the online search market. Some commentators pointed to the ruling as auguring more aggressive US antitrust enforcement of Big Tech, which has come under fire across the political spectrum in recent years.

And in news from another one of Silicon Valley’s major monopolists, the iPhone 16 has been officially revealed, with Apple set to begin taking pre-orders Friday in advance of the model’s official sell date of 20 September. Apple has set its sights on reviving flagging iPhone sales and encouraging users to upgrade by doubling down on AI features as part of its Apple Intelligence package — despite the fact that some of these offerings may not be available for months.

While over in the EU, calls for the bloc to get serious about competing with China and the US are growing, with Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi making the case for an additional EUR 800 bn worth of investments in EU industry annually in order to strengthen the European bloc’s competitiveness.

Draghi’s much-anticipated, EU-commissioned report calls for what the Financial Times calls a “significant reorientation of economic policy,” with the former Italian premier calling for the bloc to relax competition laws to encourage market consolidation in telecom, integrate capital markets under a centralized regulatory apparatuses, unify defense procurement, and revise the bloc’s trade agenda to assure its economic independence. If implemented, the proposal would bring total levels of EU investment to between 4.4% and 4.7% of the EU’s annual GDP — levels not seen in the bloc since the 1970s.

The report isn’t “do or die,” but it is “do this, or it’s slow agony,” Draghi told the FT. “We have reached the point where, without action, we will have to either compromise our welfare, our environment, or our freedom.”

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We look at how far Egypt’s environmental and sustainability efforts have come over the past decade.

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