Good morning, friends. This morning, we bring you news that — unlike the weather — inflation is cooling, having dipped one whole percentage point to 13.9% in July. Also in the issue today is news of B Healthcare Investments acquisition plans in Egypt and KSA, efforts to get the soda ash localization efforts back on track, the EGX potentially playing a great role in the state’s privatization push moving forwards, and more.

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@enterprisemea.com to discuss how you can sponsor.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another hot and sunny day in Cairo today, with a high of 40°C and a low of 28°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a fair bit cooler up in Alexandria, with a high of 33°C, a low of 25°C, and partly cloudy skies.

Expect to see temperatures rising even further this week, with the Egyptian Meteorological Authority forecasting a heatwave running until Friday. As always, stay safe and plan ahead, especially if you’re in Upper Egypt, which could see temperatures rise to a punishing 49°C.

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

The state’s preference for stake sales to strategic investors under its privatization push could soon take a back seat, with the government moving to instead increase its offerings of minority stakes in state-owned companies on the EGX, a government source told EnterpriseAM. Towards this goal, the state is putting the final touches on listing 10-40% stakes in a number of companies on EGX, our source told us.

It looks like we just saw this in action yesterday, as the Damietta Container and Cargo Handling Company sold EGP 513.6 mn worth of shares to CIB — equivalent to a 4.9% stake — through the block trade mechanism, according to a bulletin (pdf) on the EGX and Asharq Business. The government is reportedly looking to offer a 20-25% stake in the company through the bourse.

But stake sales to strategic investors will still be part of the plan — albeit a smaller part — with select agreements to strategic investors in specific industries, we were told.

The state has also roughly halved its privatization targets for the fiscal year, with the government now planning to raise some USD 3 bn under its privatization program by the end of June, down from its previous USD 5-6 bn target, we were told.

EGX WATCH-

The EGX30 rose for the seventh consecutive trading day to reach a new record high, breaking the 36k barrier to settle 0.8% up at 36,110 points, undoubtedly helped by news of falling inflation. It was only last week that the index hit the 35k mark, as the exchange saw sustained local appetite for equities and signs of growing investor confidence in the broader economy.

Leading the pack yesterday was Orascom Development Egypt, which closed the session with a 5.4% higher share price, followed by Misr Cement with a 4.3% boost and EFG Holding with a 3.5% increase.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Central Bank of Egypt will wrap up its auction for EUR 550 mn worth of t bills at 11am today, according to data from the central bank. Issuance begins tomorrow, 12 August 2025, and the bills will mature on 11 August 2026.

The issuance marks the first EUR-denominated t bill issuance of the year, after the bank sold EUR 642.8 mn worth of one-year t bills at an average yield of 3.5% back in November 2024.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

#1- Tomorrow is the last chance for companies to submit requests to settle tax disputes dating back to before 2020. The Finance Ministry will not extend the deadline any further, a senior government source told EnterpriseAM.

REMEMBER- The ministry is rolling out measures to encourage businesses to resolve pre-2020 tax disputes, including by paying a fixed percentage of taxes owed. Businesses will be able to make payments in four installments over a 12-month period without paying late fees or additional interest charges.

#2- The National Election Authority will announce the results of the Senateelections tomorrow, with successful candidates elected to serve a legislative term from 2025 to 2030.

#3- Will unemployment fall for the third consecutive quarter? Capmas is expected to publish Egypt’s unemployment figures for the second quarter of 2025 tomorrow. The previous quarter saw the unemployment rate dropping 0.1 percentage point from 4Q 2024 to 6.3% in 1Q 2025, as 342k more people entered the workforce.

Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at how the government is offering unconventional incentives and courting top international producers of batteries and auto components in a bid to get auto makers to assemble their EVs in Egypt. Check out the story here.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are leading headlines in the global business press this morning, as the two tech firms reached an agreement with the US government to pay a 15% fee on their chip sales to China. Nvidia will pay the fee on its H20 chips, while AMD will pay the fee on revenues from its MI308 chips. The levy comes in exchange for the companies receiving licenses to export semiconductors to China, following reports over the weekend that the US Department of Commerce had begun issuing export licenses for Nvidia’s H20 chips. (Financial Times | Bloomberg | Axios | CNBC)

Elsewhere, Ukraine vs Russia continues to get play: EU foreign ministers are set to meet later today to discuss “next steps” ahead of US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The EU meeting comes as the bloc calls on Trump to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table. (Reuters | 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 take a look at the first-of-its-kind bachelor’s program in banking sciences that is being rolled out by the Central Bank of Egypt.

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