Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We have another busy issue for you this morning led by a January’s PMI, which showed the country’s non-oil private sector activity expanding after months in contraction. We also have news that our friends at EBRD completing their exit of Ibnsina Pharma — offloading their remaining 8.8% stake in the pharma distributor — and word the Mabdouly government is leasing yet another regasification unit.

AND- Donald Trump wants the United States to take possession of Gaza and wants to see everyone living there relocated. Trump said the US would turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” and claimed “countries of interest with humanitarian heart” would open their doors for 2 mn Gazans.

We have the rundown on all of this and more, below.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another cold day in Cairo, with a high of 19°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority is warning of heavy rains in coastal areas throughout the day and a light chance of moderate rainfall in Cairo.

It’s just as cold in Alexandria, with a high of 19°C and a low of 12°C.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

** Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy delivered every weekday before 7am Cairo time — without charge.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The House will “within days” introduce a draft law scrapping the capital gains tax on EGX transactions and reinstating a stamp tax, as part of measures aimed at boosting investment, deputy chairman of the Budget Committee Yasser Omar said.

You heard it here first: Yesterday, a government source told EnterpriseAM that the long-awaited capital gains tax on EGX transactions may never come, with the government holding intensive discussions to resolve the issue — and even look for alternatives. In its place, officials are now considering reinstating a 0.15% stamp tax on all EGX transactions as a simpler alternative to the capital gains tax, which has been repeatedly delayed.

A return to a stamp tax has been in the cards for a while now, with a senior government source telling EnterpriseAM last September that officials were studying alternatives to taxing EGX capital gains, including imposing a stamp tax.

We have a timeline: Our source had told us that the government plans to finalize the collection mechanism and submit draft legislation to the House soon to avoid disrupting the upcoming corporate tax filing season, which ends on 30 April.

#2- The International Finance Corporation’s full airport privatization plan should be out in the next six months, Al Mal reports, citing an unnamed official from the Civil Aviation Ministry. The plan will include the technical, financial, and legal nitty gritty to get the airport privatization push off the ground.

Remember: The Madbouly government revealed plans in November to invite private sector players — including foreign companies — to take over the management of airports in the country. The list of airports earmarked for the private management plan initially started with only five, but now includes all of Egypt’s airports, after the government agreed with the IFC to spearhead the airports’ privatization plan.

#3- The government’s latest push to convert cars and buses to run on natural gas and electricity will be announced “soon,” Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said yesterday in a statement. Kouchouk first teased the new initiative in a sit-down interview with Lamees El Hadidi last month, telling the host that his ministry would cover 70% of the roughly EGP 17-17.5k conversion cost under the soon-to-be-revealed plan.

#4- An Edventures’ company to list on Tadawul? Nahdet Misr’s edtech-focused VC Edventures is planning to have one of its companies go public on Tadawul next year, CEO of Nahdet Misr and founder of Edventures Dalia Ibrahim told Asharq Business.

#5- A unified financing initiative for startups? The Madbouly government is looking to introduce the unified financing initiative for startups, coordinating efforts between public and private entities to support over 5k startups, according to a cabinet statement.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Investors and VCs are gathering for the second and last day of the Egypt VC Summit, which is taking place at the Sofitel Cairo Downtown Nile Hotel, according to a statement (pdf) from the organizers. Hosted by the Egyptian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and German development agency GIZ, the event brings together global and regional investors to attend talks, network, and partake in roundtable discussions. You can check out the agenda on the event’s website.

#2- Today is the last chance for bookworms to explore the shelves of the Cairo International Book Fair before it closes its doors after a two-week run at the Egypt International Exhibition and Convention Center in New Cairo. This year’s fair is hosting 1.2k publishers showcasing their latest publications and thousands of exhibitors for the event, with mns expected in attendance. Last year’s visitor count reached near the 5 mn mark.

CORRECTION- In Monday’s issue of EnterpriseAM Egypt, we incorrectly reported Ibnsina Pharma’s market share — the local pharma giant holds a 30.8% share of the country’s pharma market. The story has since been amended on our website.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s another morning with the foreign pages fixated on the latest from Trump: US President Donald Trump is making headlines once again for pushing for “cleaning out” Gaza.

A US takeover of Gaza? During a joint presser with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump proposed that the US take over, develop and own the Gaza Strip to turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.” He once again called for the forced displacement of all 2.2 mn Palestinians who call Gaza home. “Countries of interest with humanitarian hearts” could fund permanent resettlement of Gazans in Egypt, Jordan, and possibly other locations.

Trump thinks he can persuade us to take in the Gazans. “They say they’re not going to accept,” he said of us, Jordan, and other Arab countries, standing next to Netanyahu. “I say they will.”

Hamas was quick to reject the proposals, saying that “our people in Gaza will not allow for these plans to come to pass.” Egypt and Jordan had already rejected Trump’s earlier suggestion they take in Gazans, with Jordan’s King Abdullah heading to Washington next week to meet with Trump. Saudi Arabia also reiterated its public stance linking normalization with Israel to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and rejecting settlement, annexation or displacement of Palestinians as “non-negotiable” with new or old US administrations. (Reuters | Bloomberg | CNN | FT | New York Times)

** We have more on Trump’s comments in the news well, below.

ALSO- Trump signed a presidential memorandum ahead of the conference reinstating a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. The memo also includes a campaign aimed at “driving Iran’s oil exports to zero”, threatening USD 53 bn of Iranian oil exports, per 2023 estimates. As usual, Trump signalled he was open to negotiating an agreement with Iran that saves everyone the trouble. (Reuters | New York Times | CNBC)

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We dissect the second edition of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Tags: