Good morning, friends. For the second morning this week, we lead the issue with capital markets news — Valu has announced its intention to float and marked the week of 22 June as when it would start trading on the EGX.

PSA-

We have a date for Eid Al Adha: Dar Al Ifta announced that the first day of Eid Al Adha will fall on Friday, 6 June. We’ll be on the lookout for an announcement from the cabinet about which days the public and private sectors will have off.

WEATHER- It’s another spring day in Cairo, with the capital in for a high of 31°C and a low of 20°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 26°C and a low of 18°C.

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Our EUR 1.8 bn investment guarantee mechanism with the European Union will launch in June, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat announced at the Egyptian-Swedish Business Forum, according to a ministry statement. The guarantees were previously said to mobilize around EUR 5 bn in investments.

The key sectors: The move is expected to boost private investments across a number of sectors — energy, infrastructure, digitalization, water, agriculture, and climate change mitigation — and is expected to help mobilize additional funding from European and international development banks.

#2- Our very own regasification plant? The Madbouly government is looking into building an onshore regasification plant at the idle Idku liquefaction facility with investments of USD 150-200 mn, an unnamed government official told Asharq Business. The plant will have an initial capacity of around 750k cubic meters per day, which will increase to 1 mn cubic meters per day at a later stage. Discussions for the project are still in the early stages, and nothing has yet been formally agreed on, an informed source told EnterpriseAM.

Why? The plant will help cut down on the cost of importing energy and will reduce the country’s reliance on leased regasification units. Egypt will have four regasification vessels leased by the end of 2026, with a combined capacity of 3 bn cubic feet per day, to help meet rising energy demand.

When can we expect the plant to come online? Constructing the plant will take around 30 months, Asharq’s source said, adding that preliminary studies for the project have been completed. Whether the plant will move forward or not is up for a vote later this month, they said.

DEBT WATCH-

Sovereign debt ins. costs hit their lowest level in more than two months, reaching 5.28% last week after the USD dipped to EGP 49.90 — its lowest level since the beginning of the year.

The price of Egyptian sovereign sukuk fell to USD 102.2 from USD 102.4, and the yield on maturity rose to 7.74% from 7.56%, driven by tensions in the wake of the recently-announced US tariffs on the EU, according to the weekly sovereign sukuk performance report seen by EnterpriseAM.

REMEMBER- The Finance Ministry is awaiting the most opportune time to complete the issuance of international sukuk.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The Trump administration is pressing ahead with its crackdown on international students, halting new visa interviews and preparing to expand social media vetting. The push — which has targeted Harvard and other Ivy League schools with more and more restrictions — is framed as an effort to combat anti-Semitism, following last year’s widespread pro-Palestinian protests in US universities.

ALSO- Trump and friends are doing business as usual: Trump Media, largely owned by US President Trump and the parent company of Truth Social, announced it will raise USD 2.5 bn to invest in Bitcoin, by selling 58 mn shares as well convertible bonds. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s brain-mapping startup Neuralink reportedly raised USD 600 mn in a funding round that put its valuation at USD 9 bn.

CLOSER TO HOME- Germany is considering restricting military exports to Israel, citing concerns about targeting civilians. “The massive military strikes by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip no longer make any sense to me,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday.

The shift in tone from allies of Israel coincides with a chaotic first day for the US andIsrael-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which saw thousands of Palestinians overrunning aid sites in Rafah, shots fired in the air and private security officials fleeing the scene. The little-known foundation’s operations were widely expected to be disastrous, mired in the last few days by a shady contracting process with Tel Aviv and multiple resignations of senior staff.

*** 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 dive into the Madbouly government’s ambitious plan to return to the energy export market with USD 5 bn in exports by 2030.

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