Good morning, all. We have a brisk issue for you this morning as we kick off one of our last work weeks before we welcome Ramadan. But we don’t expect the news cycle to stay calm as the week goes by — we have a lot to stay on the lookout for this week, most notably Egypt presenting its Gaza reconstruction plan during a meeting in Riyadh on Thursday and the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting to review rates.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another cold day in Cairo, with a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s just as cold in Alexandria, with a high of 20°C and a low of 11°C.

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Big Four accounting firm PwC is planning to expand its Egypt operations, Tax Services Leader for Egypt and Kuwait at PwC Sherif Shawki told EnterpriseAM. The move to expand the company’s already 2k employee-strong presence comes in response to growing demand from investors for its services both within and outside Egypt.

Our growing — albeit still comparatively small — outsourcing industry has the ability to compete with India, the world’s undisputed global outsourcing leader, Shawki argued. Egypt is well placed to be a digital outsourcing hub for Eastern Europe and the US and has a sufficient and skilled labor force, low operating costs, and a more stable exchange rate following the EGP float that persuaded PwC and others to choose Egypt.

SPEAKING OF- The number of outsourcing companies operating out of Egypt has increased 181.3% over the last three years, with the number of companies now standing at 180, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said at his most recent weekly presser. This is good news for the government, which wants to see digital exports bring in USD 9 bn into the economy annually as of 2026 and then up to USD 13 bn by 2030.

#2- Stamp tax amendments set to replace the planned capital gains tax will be issued within days, Deputy Finance Minister for Tax Policies Sherif El Kilani said at PwC Middle East’s annual Tax and Legal Seminar that was attended by EnterpriseAM. The cabinet held a meeting on Thursday with officials from the Finance Ministry, the EGX, and Misr for Central Clearing, Depository, and Registry to discuss the mechanisms for reinstating a stamp tax on stock market transactions as an alternative to the capital gains tax, sources familiar with the matter told EnterpriseAM.

REMEMBER- A government source told EnterpriseAM earlier this month that 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. Our source at the time 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.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Impact investor Catalyst Partners’ special purpose acquisition company Catalyst Partners Middle East’s shares will begin trading on the EGX today, priced at EGP 10 a pop, according to an EGX bulletin. The offering is only open to qualified and institutional investors.

ICYMI- CPME became the first SPAC to be listed on the EGX in November, after it listed 1 mn shares with a par value of EGP 10 per share, bringing its total issued capital to EGP 10 mn.

#2- Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly is in Ethiopia for the African Union Summit, which wraps its two days of meetings between African heads of states and senior officials today.

#3- It’s the fourth day of the Businesswomen of Egypt 21 Association annual conference, which takes place across venues in Cairo, Luxor, and Aswan and wraps up tomorrow, according to a statement. This year’s conference is being held under the theme of Megatrends Shaping Women’s Economic Potential and hosts delegations from across the world.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Private and public energy players from across the globe are landing in Cairo for the Egypt Energy Show, set to kick off tomorrow at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. The three-day event will welcome 47k visitors, feature over 300 speakers, and host more than 500 exhibiting companies.

This year’s show is under the theme Building a Secure and Sustainable Energy Future and will see senior ministers from Egypt, the region, and notably Cyprus take to the stage. Some of the region’s biggest energy names in the private sector will also participate in the event, including Infinity Power CEO Mohamed Mansour, Fertiglobe CEO Ahmed El Hoshy, Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, and Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog — to name but a few.

We’ll be on the lookout for: Egypt will sign an agreement to liquefy Cypriot gas in local facilities during day one of the event — we have the details in the news well, below.

CORRECTION: In Thursday’s issue of EnterpriseAM Egypt, we incorrectly said that ASEC Holding sold APM in 3Q 2023. The entity that sold APM was ASCOM. The story on our website has been amended.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet on Thursday to review interest rates. The CBE left rates unchanged when it last met in December — marking the sixth consecutive meeting to keep rates steady — but most analysts see the central bank starting to cut rates sometime this quarter.

#2- Exploring business potential between Egypt and Switzerland: The Egyptian-Swiss Business Circle and Kickstart Innovation are hosting a series of online events on 20 February under the theme Innovate Together: Business Opportunities Between Egypt and Switzerland. The events aim to strengthen business ties between the two nations, bringing together startups, investors, and public and private players.

#3- Egypt is hosting an emergency Arab summit on 27 February to discuss the latest developments in Gaza. We have more on what to expect from the summit in the news well, below.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s all about geopolitics in the foreign press this morning, with the Gaza ceasefire agreement seemingly back on track, Ukraine negotiating US trade demands, and Trump unveiling plans for reciprocal tariffs in his latest tariff salvo in the brewing trade war.

Ukraine turns down a bold offer: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly rejected a request by the US to get more than half of the country’s mineral resources, with Ukraine working on a counterproposal. Negotiations over security guarantees for Kyiv come as US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg confirmed the EU will not be part of anticipated peace talks with Russia. (Washington Post | FT | Reuters)

Again with the tariffs: Trump also unveiled on Thursday plans to customize import tariffs according to a host of factors, including its trading partners’ subsidies, exchange rates, and taxes. This is in addition to new charges on cars, semiconductors, and pharma — with more details set to be announced after 1 April. (Bloomberg | Reuters | FT | CNBC)

CLOSER TO HOME- Hamas and Israel moved forward with the planned prisoner exchange yesterday, which saw the release of three Israelis in return for 369 Palestinians. The Palestinian group re-committed to the exchange after talks with mediators in Qatar and Egypt, following earlier disagreements that threatened to put the ceasefire in jeopardy. (BBC | Bloomberg | AP | The Guardian)

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