Good afternoon all you wonderful people, and welcome back to the workweek. We have another busy issue for you today, so without any further ado, let’s get into it.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

ECDC inks agreement with Hassan Allam Holding for a 14.1k-feddan agricultural project: State-owned Egyptian Countryside Development Company (ECDC) has inked an investment contract with Hassan Allam Holding that will see the company’s newly launched Jinet Agriculture subsidiary develop an integrated agricultural development project on 14.1k feddans in western Minya, according to a statement from ECDC.

The details: The project will see a variety of crops cultivated to meet local market and export demand, with the project coming as part of the ECDC-run 1.5 mn feddan reclamation and development initiative.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international front pages are a mixed bag this afternoon, with news that Israeli forces have withdrawn from the Netzarim corridor — an area bisecting the Gaza Strip that has been occupied by Israeli forces since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza — and the potential return of international investors to the MENA region among the headlines vying for top billing this afternoon.

Over in the US, news that a federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s government efficiency outfit from accessing sensitive US Treasury Department payments information has continued to make waves, with political appointees in US president Donald Trump’s administration, special government employees, and employees of US government agencies detailed to Treasury no longer able to access sensitive Treasury data. The temporary ban will be in place until 14 February, when the matter comes up before another US federal judge.

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

  • The fate of USAID employees in Egypt: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has placed its foreign employees in Egypt on indefinite leave — placing many in limbo as the fate of the agency remains in the balance.
  • FinMin looks to cushion the blow of the FX crunch on firms’ pre-float earnings: The Finance Ministry is considering issuing a bookkeeping scheme to account for the FX rate difference between the official and parallel markets for profit earned before the Central Bank of Egypt liberalized the exchange rate in March 2024, with the ministry currently preparing tax budgets for the upcoming corporate tax filing season ending on 30 April.
  • Shipping goliath Maersk doesn’t see Suez Canal traffic picking up before the middle of the year, with the world’s second-largest shipping line seeing the canal as only likely to welcome back vessels in a major way by the end of the year.

enterprise

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We take a look at what’s next for Egypt’s auto industry with Fitch Solutions’ research unit BMI’s latest report on Egypt’s incipient auto sector recovery.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures have fallen to a chillier low this week with tomorrow’s mercury rising to a mere 19°C in the morning before dropping to 12°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

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