PRIVATIZATION-

Gov’t plans handover of new slaughterhouses to private sector: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly ordered authorities to develop a plan for handing over the management and operation of newly completed slaughterhouses to private players, according to a cabinet statement. The government is currently developing some 150 slaughterhouses over three phases, the first phase includes 41 slaughterhouses across 22 governorates.

INVESTMENT WATCH-

#1- More details on the USD 7 bn petrochemicals complex: The USD 7 bn petrochemical production complex being set up in New Alamein courtesy of UK-based Shard Capital and Saudi Arabia-based Alqahtani Holding will have an annual production capacity of 3.1 mn tons of eight petrochemical products, Shard Capital said in a press release (pdf). The complex will house a refinery and a mixed steam cracker unit using crude oil as feedstock. It will create 20k jobs during the construction process and 3k jobs once up and running. While framed as a game-changer for Egypt’s industrial exports, key details like the project timeline and ownership structure remain unclear.

ICYMI- The players inked the framework agreement for the project last week during the Egypt Energy Show.

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

#2- Smartphone distributor JIT plans USD 15 mn expansion: Egyptian-Emirati firm JIT for Trading and Distribution, the authorized distributor for Huawei, Nokia, and Realme, is planning to invest USD 15 mn to expand its operations in Egypt in 2025, Chairman Ahmed Fathy said. The company plans to increase its distribution points to 15 nationwide, up the current 10 to boost its customer base, Fathy said. He added that his company aims to increase sales by 30-40% this year, after they surpassed EGP 2 bn in 2024.

AGRICULTURE-

Agricultural development and food industries company Wedyan will set up a USD 50 mn medicinal and aromatic plants project, Al Borsa reports. Exports from the project are estimated to reach USD 100 mn next year. The project will house five factories — a drying and packaging facility near a farming area in Minya and four distillation plants in Cairo — with a total annual production capacity of 100k tons.

EXPANSION-

#1- State-owned company El Nasr Housing and Development plans to launch its first integrated urban project in Oman with a USD 60 mn investment in partnership with Omani government entities, CEO Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud told Al Borsa.

What’s next? Final procedures for the project are set to be completed by the end of this year, with the company also exploring three additional projects in Oman as part of its broader expansion strategy.

#2- Electronics retail firm 2B plans to expand its after-sales service 2B Fix into the Saudi market by late 2025 or early 2026 through a strategic partnership, Al Borsa reports citing CEO Mohamed Grida. The company is also launching a digital solutions and software development business unit — focused on e-commerce and resource management — which is set to be export-oriented.

EVS-

Ride-hailing company DiDi is mulling taking part in the establishment of an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Egypt in partnership with other companies and government entities, DiDi General Manager for Egypt, New Zealand, and Australia Lida Xu told Al Arabiya. The move would facilitate the addition of EVs to the company’s local fleet.

Plus a new data center to boot? The company is also mulling launching a data center for its operations in Egypt if sufficient demand for its services required the move, Lida said. The company’s local operations currently rely on its main data center in Beijing.

CABINET WATCH-

EU to fund Egypt’s National Population Strategy: The cabinet signed off on a financing agreement for the second phase of the EU’s support to Egypt’s National Population Strategy program. The agreement — backed by a EUR 12 mn grant from the EU — aims to support Egypt’s efforts in managing population growth and implementing key demographic policies.

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