Good afternoon folks, and happy Wednesday. As a sunny workday in the capital comes to a close, we have all the latest on Egypt’s coming debt issuance, Microsoft and Google’s insistence on AI integration, and the Pharaohs’ upcoming match as the World Handball Championship kicks off.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egypt could return to international debt markets as soon as next month, with the Madbouly government currently in discussion with international offering advisors to identify the best options for debt issuances in the coming period, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM.

The plan: The Finance Ministry is planning to issue between USD 1-1.5 bn worth of green bonds or eurobonds, as well as another issuance of sovereign sukuk, our source told us. The issuances will focus on longer maturities.

ICYMI- Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk last year said that Egypt was set to issue USD 3 bn in Eurobonds and other debt instruments in FY 2024-25.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Chinese officials are cautiously optimistic that US president Donald Trump’s threats to levy tariffs against the world’s second largest economy may have been more bark than bite, with Beijing reportedly viewing Trump’s early policy steps as signalling potential for trade negotiations that would avert a full-blown trade war, the Financial Times reports. Trump’s decision to issue a memo directing investigations into the US-China trade deficit rather than immediately implementing steep tariffs has sparked hope in Chinese official circles that an agreement deferring tariff hikes might be on the table.

Meanwhile, US investors are grappling with Trump’s decision to freeze more than USD 300 bn in already-allocated green infrastructure funding as his second term begins, the FT reports. Trump’s move — part of a greater effort to roll back outgoing US president Joe Biden’s Green New Deal — is expected to herald significantly lower US government funding for green infrastructure, “increasing the risk of stranded capital for manufacturing projects already under way,” Mobility Impact Partners’ Shay Natarajan told the salmon-colored paper.

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

  • It’s not just the private sector with sizable solar panel factories in the pipeline. State-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization’s (AOI) joint solar panel manufacturing project with Sweden’s Sunshine Pro is set to be operational in July of this year and will have a production capacity of 1 GW of panels by July 2026.
  • Local fintech startup MoneyHash raised USD 5.2 mn in a pre-Series A funding round. The startup will use the fresh funds to accelerate market penetration in the MEA region and for global expansion into other emerging markets where payment infrastructure remains underdeveloped.
  • The Madbouly government reportedly cleared up USD 1 bn in arrears owed to foreign oil companies in the first week of January. A new schedule to settle the accumulated USD 6.5 bn in arrears has been agreed with companies, with repayments set to run from next month until June 2025.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures are dropping lower in the capital tomorrow, with the mercury set to rise to 21°C in the morning and 11°C at night — in addition to a 25% chance of rain, according to our favorite weather app.

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