Good afternoon, folks. Just tomorrow to go and then the long weekend.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egypt’s net foreign asset surplus fell by 26.8% to USD 9.7 bn in August, down from USD 13.3 bn in July, according to Enterprise calculations based on Central Bank of Egypt figures. This represents Egypt’s fourth consecutive month in the green — the country has maintained a surplus since May, when net foreign assets shifted from deficit to surplus for the first time since February 2022.

Driving the decline were commercial banks, whose net foreign assets were back in the red with a deficit of USD 529 mn, down from a surplus of USD 2.8 bn in July. The Central Bank of Egypt fared much better, but did see its surplus shrink 1.7% over the month to USD 10.3 bn.

PLUS- Google to begin paying local content creators in EGP starting next year: The tech giant has notified local content creators and publishers on its platforms that they will begin receiving their earnings in the local currency starting May 2025, after having previously paid creators on its platforms in USD, Google said in a statement to EnterpriseAM.

It’s not just Egypt: The shift is part of a larger move towards conducting payments for content creators and publishers around the world in their respective local currencies, with the company already making the transition in countries that include Chile, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, and the UAE, with plans to expand to more countries globally in 2025.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international press is sadly once again squarely fixed on our corner of the world, with Israel significantly upping both the amount of on-the-troops in Lebanon and its bombardment of the country following an Iranian missile attack overnight that it vowed to respond to. Reports of clashes between Hezbollah fighters and the invading forces have also started to emerge, signaling that the conflict is entering a new stage.

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

  • How well prepared is Egypt’s infrastructure to achieve energy transition goals? We asked Hassan Allam Utilities CEO Dalia Wahba, Baker McKenzie Partner Lamyaa Gadelhak, Infinity Co-Founder and CEO Nayer Fouad, and Taqa Arabia CEO Pakinam Kafafi at EnterpriseAM Finance Forum about the obstacles facing private firms in the energy industry, and what the government should do in order to realize its ambitious goals for green energy."
  • Egypt’s current account deficit more than quadrupled in FY 2023-24, recording USD 20.8 bn up from USD 4.7 bn during the previous fiscal year, driven by a significant increase in trade deficit and a decline in Suez Canal revenues.
  • Egypt could soon manufacture its own electrolyzers to power its green hydrogen ambitions, with Norwegian renewables giant Scatec, Belgium’s John Cockerill, John Cockerill-Technip JV Rely, and France’s SLB talking about setting up a factory to manufacture electrolyzers that are used in the production of green hydrogen.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re seeing a little uptick in the mercury tomorrow, with temperatures reaching a high of 31°C and a low of 21°C in the capital, according to our favorite weather app.

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