ENERGY-

The Madbouly government has fully resumed gas supplies to fertilizer players as of yesterday, a government official told Asharq Business. The move comes shortly after we boosted our regasification capacity with two new floating storage regasification units (FSRUs) beginning operations.

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REMEMBER- Authorities earlier this summer temporarily reduced gas supplies to several energy-intensive sectors — including iron, fertilizers, petrochemicals, and aluminum — to prioritize power generation, following the dip in Israeli natural gas imports.

EDUCATION-

FAB’s Lime launches in Egypt: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) launched its education-focused fintech Lime in the local market with an initial investment of USD 9.4 mn, the lender announced in a press release(pdf). The FRA-licensed platform offers 6-12-month installment plans for amounts of up to EGP 1 mn, with digital onboarding and approvals provided within minutes. At the moment, Lime is all about the education sector — partnering with nurseries, schools, and universities — but plans to expand into other essential sectors.

DIPLOMACY-

Military talks with the US: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday met with US Centcom Chief Michael Kurilla and discussed ways to develop Egyptian-US cooperation across fields — namely military and security, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Talks also touched on Gaza, Syria, Libya, Sudan and the Horn of Africa, as well as concerns over Nile water security.

REGULATION-

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has approved five companies’ requests across various fintech and outsourcing-related activities in the NBFS sector, it said in a statement yesterday. The approvals cover license renewals, fintech expansions, and new company formations.

Who got the nod? Fintech startup Digified was cleared to expand its scope to include e-contracting for non-banking financial products and digital record-keeping, allowing it to operate across all fintech domains. Insurtech startup Nice Deer, microfinance startup Dayrah, and pharma distribution startup iSupply were granted approval to launch as fintech-enabled startups. Meanwhile, outsourcing services firm VLens had its registration renewed in the FRA’s outsourcing providers registry.

TRANSPORT-

Cool comfort coming to high-speed rail: Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning and Elsewedy Machinery will supply over 3k cooling units for our 660 km high-speed rail project, according to a press release. The consortium secured the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning contract for the project.

DEBT-

Canal Sugar is looking to secure a USD 150 mn loan from a National Bank of Egypt-led consortium, unnamed sources told AsharqBusiness. The loan would support plans to triple daily beet production at the company’s Minya facility to 36k tons by 2026. The loan, set to be signed this month, would help fund equipment purchases needed to reach that target.

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