Good morning, friends, and welcome to an unusually stormy morning, with gusts expected to reach up to 80 km/h and khamsin winds of 40-60 km/h across large parts of the country, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority warned.

Orange skies are forecast for Cairo, along with light rain and a chance of thunder with highs of 33°C and lows of 14°C. Over in Alexandria — which so far looks set to avoid the worst of the storm — temperatures are set to reach a much cooler high of 22°C and a low of 14°C, along with light to moderate rains with the possibility of thunder.

More so than normal, please take care on the roads with visibility at a minimum and slippery wet roads. And for those of you on foot, the authority advised people to stay away from lampposts, billboards, and trees during the strong winds and to dig out a facemask from your Covid-era stockpile when venturing outside. Needless to say, you’d also be wise to make sure all your windows are closed before you head to work.

Schools have also been closed in response to the storm, with students, teachers, and all other staff members getting the day off, the Education Ministry said last night. Students preparing for their monthly exam scheduled for tomorrow will instead take the test next week.

AND DON’T FORGET- Both the private and public sectors have tomorrow off for Labor Day. EnterpriseAM Egypt will also be taking a break from your inboxes over the long weekend, but we will be back with all the must-know local business updates bright and early on Sunday.

A QUICK NOTE- Our apologies. Some readers yesterday received in error EnterprisePM Egypt despite not being subscribed to that edition after one of us made a simple mistake during the dispatch process. We apologize for the unscheduled interruption in your inbox, folks — it won't happen again.

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SMART POLICY-

The days of investors trudging from government office to government office to get projects off the ground may soon be over, with the state set to launch its in-the-works online unified licensing platform next month, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib said, according to a ministry statement.

The new platform will let investors apply for 389 licenses and services for investors online and in one place — simplifying the often overwhelming, confusing, and time-consuming process that has been a frequently complained about barrier to investment for as long as we can remember.

Transparency is also the name of the game, El Khatib said in December while discussing the initiative. The new system will list fees and service charges clearly and transparently, he explained.

As is speed, with submitted documents and requests to be formally reviewed by the General Authority for Freezones and Investment and more technical aspects of certain projects to be handed over to the relevant authorities. The more streamlined process is also in addition to the fact that you can keep in-person visits to ministries and authorities to a minimum — a big advantage if you’re based outside of Cairo, let alone the country.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Could Ora secure the naming rights for Al Ahly’s mega stadium? Sawiris-owned Ora Developers is close to securing the naming rights for Al Ahly Club’s stadium in Sheikh Zayed in exchange for a yearly USD 5 mn, AlMal reports, citing unnamed sources it says are close to the transaction. The annual USD 5 mn will help cover the total EGP 11 bn construction costs of the project.

REMEMBER- The stadium is part of the largest sports and entertainment complex in Egypt, being set up by Al Ahly Club. It will include a sports hospital, a sports museum, a university, a specialized sports school, and a hotel, alongside the 42k-seat stadium.

EGP WATCH-

The exchange rate of the USD against the EGP fell below EGP 51 this week for the first time since the beginning of April, as US reduced customs duties began to bring about relief for the market. The EGP was trading at around EGP 50.85-50.88 at both private and public banks at the end of trading yesterday, with Egypt’s currency slowly climbing from a post-float low of EGP 51.72-51.75 that it had reached earlier this month.

The rebound in the value of the EGP is down to an increase in foreign investment inflows, a senior banking source told EnterpriseAM. Bringing investors back were easing trade tensions between the US and China and tariff reductions for several sectors, which led to a surplus of USD inflows in Egyptian banks, reducing pressure on Egypt’s FX reserves, the source added. The new inflows ranged between USD 350-500 mn, the source said, attributing the expected inflows in the coming period to a potential stabilization in exchange rates, provided the global situation remains stable.

Credit should also be given to “the reform program, strict adherence to the flexible exchange rate framework, success in curbing inflation, and a surplus in foreign exchange assets — a surplus, not a deficit,” banking expert Mohamed Abdel Aal told us.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s all about US President Donald Trump’s 100 days in office in the global business press. His rally in Michigan to mark his 100th day made headlines, as Trump touted his time in office so far as the “most successful 100 days of any administration in the history of our country,” and defended his economic policies, including tariffs.

He also renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, saying he is not doing a good job and that he understands interest rates better during the rally. He had already denied plans to fire the Fed chief after he criticized the pace of his rate cuts earlier this month. (Bloomberg | Reuters | Guardian | NBC)

As he defended tariffs, he also signed an executive order to give automakers in the US a two-year grace period to boost the percentage of domestic car parts before applying the 25% levy on foreign ones. Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC he had reached a trade agreement with one country on reciprocal tariffs, without mentioning the name of the country. (Reuters | AP | New York Times | Wall Street Journal)

MEANWHILE- A handful of 1Q 2025 earnings are getting attention, including Samsung’s, which beat analysts’ estimates with a record quarterly revenue — up 10% y-o-y — on the back of an increase in sales of chips and Galaxy S25 smartphones. (CNBC | Bloomberg)

*** 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 take a look at the draft Property ID Act, which just got approved by the House earlier this week.

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