Good afternoon, friends, and congratulations on making it to the halfway mark of the workweek. At home, we’ve been closely watching the National Printing Company’s IPO’s stellar debut on the EGX.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

National Printing Company’s IPO made a stellar debut on the EGX today, with shares jumping to a high of EGP 23.69 before settling at EGP 23.22 — up 9.4% from the IPO price — ranking among the day’s top five performers. The stock still has headroom, with a fair value estimate of EGP 28.27 suggesting further upside for investors considering long positions.

There’s plenty of room for the stock to trend higher in coming sessions: Trading was brisk, with 8.1 mn shares changing hands — about 37% of the freefloat of 21.2 mn shares — in transactions worth EGP 185.6 mn across 2.9k trades.

ICYMI: National Printing floated 10% of its shares, raising around EGP 449.9 mn. Half the offering went to a Saudi investor via private placement, with the remainder split between Egyptian institutional and retail buyers.

ADVISORS- EFG Hermes Investment Banking acted as sole global coordinator, while Zulficar & Partners served as legal counsel.

This marks the EGX’s second IPO of the year after Bonyan and the third new listing including Valu.

Non-oil private sector activity showed some signs of recovery in July. Activity declined for the fifth consecutive month, albeit at a slower pace than the previous month, with businesses reporting weaker rates of contraction in activity and new orders, according to S&P Global’s latest PMI report (pdf) for Egypt.

The country’s headline figure rose to 49.5 in July, up from 48.8 in June, inching closer toward the 50.0 neutral threshold that separates growth from contraction. Yet, the index hit its joint-highest level in the past five months, reflecting only a “marginal decline” in the sector’s activity.

New orders and overall output continued to contract during the month, but at softer rates. Although Egypt’s July reading shows deteriorating non-oil business conditions, there is cause for optimism, as many firms’ securing of new work eased the drop in sales, S&P Global Senior Economist David Owen said.

Domestic demand lifts Egypt’s PMI, but inflation risks loom: A dip in the new export orders — a sub-component of the new orders — suggests that domestic demand led the improvement in Egypt’s non-oil business activity, according to a research note by Capital Economics’ James Swanston. Swanston, however, warned that should July’s rising input and output prices translate into inflation that remains elevated in the coming months, the central bank may decide to “keep the monetary easing cycle on pause for longer.”

Employment is gaining robust momentum: “Businesses also had the confidence to hire new staff, leading to an increase in employment for the first time in nine months, if only a fractional one,” Owen said. Meanwhile, input costs rose at a slower pace in July, with the acceleration led by an increase in purchase prices for items that include fuel, cement, and packaging.

Business sentiment for the year ahead improved “only slightly” from June’s record dip, but remained “historically subdued” in July, amid concerns from the surveyed companies about demand and wider economic uncertainty.

In the third issue of our Destination Sahel series, we’re taking a look at how Sahel could become a year-round destination, the architecture underpinning new developments, and the impact of coastal cities on our shores.

Look for Destination Sahel, Issue III, in your inbox tomorrow morning.

Missed the first two issues? Tap or click here to read the full series.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

US President Donald Trump has threatened to “substantially” raise the tariffs on Indian exports to the US over the subcontinent’s ongoing oil trade with Russia. “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian oil, they are then, for much of the oil purchased, selling it on the open market for big profits,” Trump said on Truth Social. While the US president did not provide further details on the increase, he had announced a 25% tariff on India earlier this week — among the highest of any major economy. Trump’s announcement comes ahead of the 8 August deadline he had set for Russia to agree on a ceasefire in Ukraine.

India remains unphased: “The targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable,” Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said on Monday, noting that the country is prepared to take all necessary measures to “safeguard its national interests and economic security.” Jaiswal further noted that the US had originally encouraged India to import oil from Russia at the beginning of the conflict.

ICYMI- OPEC+ members agreed on Sunday to boost oil output by 547k barrels per day in September, after years of cutting back on production, leading to a drop in oil prices on Monday. (Reuters | Bloomberg | New York Times)

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We have another sunny day coming up in Cairo, with temperatures set to peak at 36°C before cooling down to 23°C. Across the North Coast, we’re in for cooler temperatures, with a high of 28°C and a low of 26°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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