Good morning, wonderful people. It’s Monday, and for a change that means we punch the clock just twice more this week before sliding into a long weekend. We’re approaching peak summer, and you can feel it in the newsflow today, where it’s largely crickets out there.

What news we do have for you this morning is either good or neutral. On the good news front, the benchmark EGX30 hit a new high yesterday. Investor sentiment is positive heading into real estate operator Bonyan’s market debut tomorrow morning. We also have a look at what Goldman Sachs and and Deutsche Bank expect the Central Bank of Egypt to do with interest rates in the back half of the year.

REMEMBER- Industry insiders are watching Bonyan’s IPO closely. The introduction of a REIT-like model could provide fresh liquidity to real estate developers, allowing them to sell income-generating assets for faster cash, reducing their debt and letting them focus on building rather than financing. For investors, more Bonyan-like companies could offer ways to access a diversified property portfolio. Looking down the road: REIT-like operators could help professionalize our fragmented rental market by introducing corporate landlords, bringing more structure and predictability for tenants.

Oh, and speaking of stock markets: Anyone else at that stage in life — some of us are there in our 20s, others in our 50s — where you just don’t want to have to be plugged in 24/7/365? Yeah? Join us in bemoaning the news that the London Stock Exchange is mulling the launch of 24-hour trading. The Financial Times has the report.

MORNING MUST-READS-

#1- The fall consumer and business tech launch window is opening a lot earlier than usual — just what you’d expect from a year in which everything feels really, really accelerated:

  • Everything is computer: OpenAI’s ChatGPT announced a new feature (an “agent” in industry-speak) that can control an entire computer for you and carry out tasks. Its reliability is so far spotty and you have to check its work
  • Google will launch its Pixel 10 on 20 August, weeks earlier than usual.
  • Samsung’s latest foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, is getting really good reviews. It’s thinner, lighter, hits just the right notes proportion-wise when closed — and costs a bloody fortune, The Verge warns.
  • Apple will be out with a foldable next fall, hoping to have the last word on the category and take it mainstream, Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman writes in his weekly newsletter.

#2- There’s lots of concern about what deep interactions with AI can do to folks with mental health issues. The New York Times’ inimitable Kashmir Hill got the train rolling last month with They asked an AI chatbot questions. The answers sent them spiraling. Stepping into the breach this morning, the Wall Street Journal offers us He had dangerous delusions. ChatGPT admitted it made them worse.

EGX WATCH-

The EGX30 rose 0.74% on Sunday to close at a record high of 34,071 points as most sectors advanced and investor optimism mounted over the IMF loan program. The rally came on the back of bullish sentiment after Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk expressed confidence that Egypt would complete the delayed fifth and sixth reviews of its USD 8 bn IMF agreement by September or October. Sentiment is riding high heading into the debut of Bonyan, whose blockbuster IPO was more than 33x oversubscribed.

CIB led the rally: The benchmark index broke through the 34k level — a ceiling it had struggled to clear in previous sessions — thanks to gains by CIB, which closed at EGP 90, its highest level in over a year. Investors expect strong 2Q earnings from CIB and are riding comfortably as the EGP holds its position against the greenback.

**AN APOLOGY FROM ENTERPRISEAM- Many readers yesterday accidentally received EnterpriseAM Egypt in Arabic despite not having signed up for that edition. One of us made a mistake during the dispatch process — you have our apologies. When you sign up for EnterpriseAM (whether the UAE edition, Egypt, Saudi, or Logistics or all of the foregoing) our promise is to send you emails relevant only to that vertical — in the language of your choice.

CABINET WATCH-

That’s a wrap on Yasmine Fouad’s time in cabinet: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly accepted the resignation of Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad, who is leaving her post to lead the United Nation’s top body on desertification. Local Development Minister Manal Awad will manage the portfolio until a new environment minister is appointed.

BACKGROUND- Fouad has been Environment Minister since 2018 — she has over 25 years of experience in environmental governance and sustainable development. She was appointed as the next Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification back in May to take over the three-year post from Mauritania’s Ibrahim Thiaw.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Cabinet wants to see more inbound investment from the United States. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly chaired a meeting of ministers yesterday as part of a drive to attract more foreign direct investment. A readout from the meeting highlighted potential investments in ports, maritime transport, and industrial zones.

The action plan: Madbouly ordered the relevant government bodies to work together to “prepare a set of promising investments and follow up on their presentation to US companies as part of efforts to boost American investment in Egypt.”

#2- We want more investment from Germany, too: Egypt and Germany are looking to ramp up private-sector investment, Planning Minister Rania Al Mashat said during a joint presser with Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty and German Economic Cooperation and Development Minister Svenja Schulze, who is visiting Egypt for the first time since taking office.

Germany is one of Egypt’s largest European economic partners, with some 1.6k German companies operating in the country — including Siemens, Mercedes-Benz Egypt, and Bosch — with total investments here of some EUR 6 bn. Bilateral trade now stands at EUR 6.8 bn.

New debt swap tranches incoming: Germany and Egypt’s ongoing debt swap program, valued at EUR 340 mn, has funded a wide range of development projects in education, healthcare, climate, and vocational training, according to Al Mashat. The next EUR 100 mn in debt swap tranches will be active at the end of 2025 and mid-2026. The two countries will also hold a new round of negotiations by the end of the year to agree on future priorities for economic cooperation.

SPEAKING OF GERMANY- We bid farewell this morning to Alexis Below, a good friend of EnterpriseAM and head of the economic section at the German embassy in Cairo. Alexis is rotating back to Berlin to take up a particularly interesting post. His successor, Miguel Haubrich, has arrived and will be introduced to members of our community at an event this evening.

#3- Oil Ministry, IFC to work together on mining? Oil Minister Karim Badawi met with Cheick-Oumar Sylla, regional director for North Africa and the Horn of Africa at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to talk about how Egyptian mining projects are financed, according to a statement. Teams from the IFC and the ministry will draw up a list of priority projects.

What the IFC is willing to do: Sylla said the IFC is ready to offer financial and technical support for projects that are focused on local value chains and sustainable development.

Mark your calendar for the 2025 EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum, our flagship forum and part of our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings. Tap to register your interest to attend. Want to partner with us? Reach out to Moustafa Taalab at mtaalab@enterpriseadvisory.com to explore sponsorship opportunities.

DATA POINT-

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) funnelled investment worth USD 4.8 bn into Egypt in 1H 2025, making the country the third-biggest BRI investment destination globally — coming behind Kazakhstan and Thailand, according to a new report (pdf) by Griffith University and Beijing-based Green Finance & Development Center.

Chinese capital has been flowing into Egypt: It has been a busy year for Chinese investment in Egypt. Among the more prominent projects (not all of them related to the BRI) announced so far are Wu’an Xin Feng’s USD 1.7 bn metal industries complex, Sunrev Solar’s USD 200 mn solar power components hub, and a USD 200 mn plant belonging to Deli Group that will make both stationary and sports equipment. The SCZone alone has pulled in over USD 4 bn from China in the past three years, as Egypt targets USD 16 bn in total Chinese investment by 2029

SECURITY WATCH-

Two alleged Hasm militants killed in Giza gun battle: Two people suspected of being members of Hasm — the armed wing of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood — were killed in a shootout with security forces in Giza yesterday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The men, identified as fugitives convicted in multiple terrorism cases, were allegedly preparing to carry out attacks against “security and economic targets” in Egypt. A civilian was killed and an officer injured in the exchange of fire. The story got ink from Bloomberg.

PSA-

Banks are taking Thursday off: The Central Bank of Egypt confirmed that all banks will be closed on Thursday in observance of the 23 July Revolution. Normal hours are back in place on Sunday, 27 July.

WEATHER- Cairo is in for another sunny day, with a high of 37°C and a low of 26°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s going to be a little cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 33°C and a low of 23°C.

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ICYMI- Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at how the local assembly push has been helping automotive prices cool down. Check out the story here.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Two stories — one close to home and one further east — are getting plenty of attention in the international press this morning:

#1- Israel killed around 67 people waiting for UN aid trucks in Gaza yesterday as starvation cases rise and more people die of hunger. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans were also told to evacuate Deir al Balah in central Gaza, as ceasefire talks seem to have stalled despite claims from the US that the two sides were close to agreeing a temporary 60-day truce. Talks are still ongoing in Doha between Israel and Hamas. (Reuters | Guardian | Bloomberg)

#2- Japan’s ruling coalition is projected to have lost control of the Upper House in an election yesterday, deepening political instability in the country amid rising economic concerns, according to public broadcaster NHK. The loss marks yet another blow to the Shigera Ishibu-led government, which had already lost the lower house last year. Ishibu vowed to stay on as prime minister despite the results, and said the country needs to now prioritize trade talks with the US. The country faces a 25% tariff by 1 August if it does not reach a trade agreement. (Reuters | AP | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal)

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We dive into Japan’s Kosen model as it gears up to make its Egypt debut.

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