Good afternoon, all. We don’t know about you, but we have already started counting down to the long weekend in observance of Prophet Mohammed’s birthday.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

#1- Amendments to the taxation of gains made from EGX transactions? The government is studying a number of tax options to apply on gains made from EGX transactions, that includes a 0.15% stamp tax, a senior government source told Enterprise. The new taxes are being explored amid challenges in implementing the capital gains tax, which has faced delays on the back of difficulties in calculating cost ratios.

#2- Bisco Misr to welcome new majority shareholder: American cereal and snack maker Kellanova (FKA Kellogg Company) will sell its entire majority stake in Egypt’s largest biscuit company, Bisco Misr, to UAE-based business conglomerate Hayel Saeed Anam Group, according to a statement(pdf). The transaction is expected to close by early 2025, the statement says without mentioning its value.

#3- Inflation picks up again after months of cooling: Annual urban inflation has accelerated to 26.2% in August after having fallen to 25.7% — its lowest level since December 2022 — in July, according to figures from state statistics agency Capmas.

Food and beverage inflation continued to retreat on an annual basis: Food and beverage prices — the largest component of the basket of goods and services used to calculate headline inflation — continued to rise but at a softer rate of 29% y-o-y in August, down from 29.7% in July. On a m-o-m basis, however, food prices climbed by 1.8% in August — from 0.3% the month before — contributing to the 2.1% m-o-m rise in urban inflation.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a mixed bag in the international press this afternoon: The Financial Times has coverage of Ukraine’s mass drone attack on Moscow, while Bloomberg is out with the latest in Gaza — Israel killed dozens in a series of airstrikes targeting the humanitarian zone of Mawasi in Gaza. Meanwhile, iPhone maker Apple has to settle EUR 13 bn in taxes to the Irish government after losing a 10-year court battle, CNBC has the news.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • Competition watchdog ain’t no chicken when it comes to calling out unfair practices: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has initiated criminal proceedings against 21 major table egg producers for alleged colluding to raise prices.
  • 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.
  • OCI sells methanol business to Methanex for USD 2.05 bn: Nassef Sawiris-backed, Netherlands-headquartered chemicals company OCI Global has sold its entire methanol business — operating in the US and Europe — to Canadian methanol producer Methanex in a USD 2.05 bn agreement.

☀️TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Today’s heatwave will be continuing into the rest of the week and through the weekend. We expect to see highs of 39°C tomorrow with a low of 27°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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