Good afternoon all you wonderful people, and welcome to the weekend. Amid a relatively light news day, we have all the latest for you on the latest TikTok controversy and the best things to watch, read, and eat this weekend.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

SMART POLICY- Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has announced the formation of six economic advisory committees that will ensure continued and deepened communication between policymakers and the private sector as the state pushes its reform drive into the new year.

The government knows its priorities: Madbouly has identified six focus areas in which the government aims to ensure private sector involvement in the policy-making process, including macroeconomics, export development, digital economy and entrepreneurship, tourism development, political affairs, and urban development and real estate exports.

You’ve surely heard these names before: Each committee hosts a number of senior executives, experts, and private sector investors, including EFG Holding's Karim Awad, Actis’ Sherif ElKholy, HSBC's Helmy Ghazi, Palm Hills' Yasseen Mansour, El Sewedy Electric's Ahmed Elsewedy, Ora's Naguib Sawiris, Eva Pharma's Riad Armanious, Edita's Hani Berzi, Travco's Hamed El Chiaty, and economist Medhat Nafei.

What we know: Each advisory committee will be chaired by Madbouly and will meet at least once a month or as needed, according to the statement. No date for the committees’ initial sessions was specified.

Check out the full list:

  • Macroeconomics Committee: Hussein Eissa, Khaled Sakr, Omnia Helmy, Hassan Heikal, Sherif El Kholy, Karim Awad, Mohamed Fouad, and Medhat Nafei.
  • Export development Committee: Omar Mehana, Tarek Tawfik, Ahmed Ezz, Hani Berzi, Abdel Hamid El Demrdash, Ayman Ashry Morgan, Riad Armanious, Alaa Arafa, Ahmed Elsewedy, Hani Cassis, and Fadel Marzouk.
  • Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Committee: Mohamed Azab, Karim Beshara, Amal Anan, Wael Abouelmaaty, Maged Mahmoud, Tamer Ismail, Louay Youssef, Dalia Ibrahim, Helmy Ghazi, Omar Elsahy, Tamer El Raghy, Mohamed Okasha, and Hossam Seif Eldin.
  • Tourism Development Committee: Hisham Talaat Moustafa, Kamel Abu Aly, Hamed El Chiaty, Hossam El Shaer, Ahmed El Wassief, Mohamed Nader Hesham, and Bassel Sami Saad.
  • Political Affairs Committee: Aly Eldin Helal, Abdel Monem Said, Mohamed Kamal, and Gamal Abdel Gawad.
  • Urban Development and Real Estate Export Committee: Mahmoud El Gammal, Naguib Sawiris, Yasseen Mansour, Khaled Abbas, Amr Soliman, Tarek Shoukry, Ahmed Shalaby, Amgad Hassanein, and Ashraf Arafa.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Saudi Arabia aims to invest USD 600 bn in the US during President Donald Trump’s tenure, Saudi crown prince Mohamed bin Salman reportedly told Trump during a phone call congratulating Trump on his inauguration. The news follows Trump’s comment earlier this week that he would be willing to make Saudi Arabia his first trip abroad as president if the kingdom agreed to buy USD 500 bn in American goods.

A record number of US companies are eyeing an exit from China in anticipation of trade disruptions related to Trump’s tariff agenda, a new American Chamber of Commerce in China survey has found. Thirty percent of respondents were looking into or in the process of moving operations elsewhere, with industrial, tech, and R&D firms leading the exodus. “I don’t see any reason to think that bilateral investment will increase in the next couple of years,” AmCham China president Michael Hart told the outlet. “Companies [are] pivoting or bolstering their supply chain by making investments somewhere else.

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

  • Suez Canal traffic could normalize within weeks: Egypt is set to receive a fleet of vessels from the French shipping line CMA CGM today, giving us reason to believe the ceasefire in Gaza has set the stage for Suez Canal traffic returning to normal.
  • Egypt plans to issue USD 1-1.5 bn worth of eurobonds or green bonds in international markets as soon as next month, followed by an issuance of sovereign sukuk, to take advantage of rising investor interest in Egyptian debt.
  • Enter, BONY.CA. Real estate investment firm Bonyan has secured approval from the EGX’s listing committee to list its shares on the EGX under the ticker symbol BONY.CA.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures are maintaining their stability in the capital tomorrow, with the mercury set to rise to 22°C in the morning and 13°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

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