Good morning, friends, and happy weekend. We’re in for quite the warm weather this weekend, so if there’s a pool in your vicinity, we’d suggest jumping right in.

Find yourself going over budget on the regular? You might want to take a look at how much you’re spending on food delivery to your office. For this week’s edition of The Enterprise Guide, we’re taking a look at ways you can handle meal prepping like a pro, from grocery shopping tips and tricks to packing essentials.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

BANKING-

Banks are loosening FX restrictions in the latest sign that the FX crunch is behind us: Several lenders announced that they are slashing fees and loosening restrictions that were meant to dampen demand for foreign currency used by travelers and credit card users. The move comes as the Central Bank of Egypt and commercial banks respond to stronger USD liquidity, boosted by higher tourism revenues, and an uptick in remittances, exports, and portfolio investments.

AUTOMOTIVE-

Egypt’s car market is seeing price cuts of 25-30% across many brands, industry sources told EnterpriseAM. The reductions followed a string of local manufacturing announcements that boosted demand for upcoming models and as companies look to clear old inventory.

Customers in the market are seeing significant reductions of popular models, including Chevrolet’s Captiva with EGP 350k knocked off the price tag, Chery Tiggo 7 down by EGP 140k, Tiggo 8 down by EGP 225k, Hyundai Tucson down by EGP 151k, and Geely Star Ray down by EGP 100k. All Jetour models have been reduced, with reductions up to EGP 224k.

RETAIL-

Major home appliance providers reduced their prices by around 20% in response to a government initiative to reduce prices by 15-20%, as well as a stronger EGP against the greenback, leading local players told EnterpriseAM.

Part of the reason is overproduction and market stagnation, which has pushed manufacturers to respond by cutting prices, head of the Federation of Egyptian Industries’ Home Appliances Division Hassan Mabrouk told EnterpriseAM. Seasonal air conditioner sales have seen low demand despite extreme heat, pushing distributors to give up a large portion of their margins in exchange for sales incentives to fulfill their quotas from manufacturers, he explained.

ECONOMY-

#1- Stronger EGP is seen boosting economic outlook: The EGP’s rebound against the USD this year is poised to stimulate the country’s GDP growth over the coming years and ease risks from the current account deficit, Capital Economics’ James Swanston wrote in a research note seen by EnterpriseAM.

#2- Annual headline urban inflation cooled further in July by a whole percentage point, falling to 13.9% from 14.9% in June, according to data from state statistics agency Capmas seen by EnterpriseAM. The rate of inflation is now at its slowest pace since March 2025.

INVESTMENT WATCH-

#1- Chinese tiremaker Sailun Group will invest USD 1 bn to build an automotive tire plant in the China-Egypt Teda industrial zone within the Sokhna Industrial Zone. The 350k sqm facility will be developed in three phases over three years.

#2- SCZone signs USD 85 mn Chinese flooring plant in Sokhna: China’s Jiangsu Zhengyong Flooring Decoration Material Co. will invest USD 85 mn to build a plant in the Ain Sokhna industrial zone to produce PVC/WPC/SPC flooring and wall panels, SCZone said in a statement. The facility targets annual output of 27 mn sqm, with 90% earmarked for export and around 500 direct jobs.

#3- Steel manufacturers are rolling out major expansion plans to boost capacity, diversify products, and increase export volumes. Ayad Group will invest USD 10 mn in 2025 to expand its offerings for the automotive sector, while El Gallad Steel is set to invest EGP 2-3 bn to expand its cold-rolled sheet metal factory with plans to double production capacity and increase its export share. Finally, Misr National Steel (Ataqa) applied for a steel billet production license from the General Authority for Industrial Development.

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

The Trump administration is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in Intel, which has struggled to keep up with the pace of change in the industry and is currently on a cost-cutting spree. US President Donald Trump had called for the ouster of Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan citing a conflict of interest due to his earlier ties to China. The move would also be one of several interferences from Trump in US industries — he also took a so-called golden share in United States Steel Corp. to allow its sale to Japanese rival Nippon Steel. (Wall Street Journal | Reuters | CNBC | Bloomberg)

Tech firms Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 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.

ALSO FROM THE TECH WORLD- AI startup Perplexity made an unsolicited USD 34.5 bn offer to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, in a bid that would see the startup pay more than its own valuation. The offer comes ahead of an expected antitrust ruling later this month that could require Google to sell its web browser.

Wall Street traders are dialing back expectations of a rate cut next month after fresh data on wholesale price inflation showed a higher-than-expected increase in wholesale prices as the effect of tariffs seem to begin trickling down to consumers. The odds of a September cut have now fallen to 85%, down from more than 100% earlier, ahead of the meeting. (Bloomberg)

MEANWHILE- Trump threatened Russia with “severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to a ceasefire during their upcoming meeting, and has agreed with the leaders of Ukraine and other European countries that he would not enter territory negotiations with Putin today.

Washington and Beijing decided to extend their tariff truce for another day: Trump confirmed on Truth Social overnight that he signed an executive order to extend the pause, just hours before the US’ blanket tariffs on Chinese imports were scheduled to come into effect. “All other elements of the agreement will remain the same,” Trump said.

REGIONALLY- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich greenlit a plan to build a settlement with more than 3k homes in the occupied West Bank, in a bid to “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state, Reuters reports. The settlement, dubbed the E1 project, would cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank, further limiting movement between cities for Palestinians.

ALSO– Over 100 international organizations have inked a joint letter calling for an end to Israel’s “weaponisation of aid” amid starvation. The signees include humanitarian groups Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), who noted that they constantly risk being banned from entry in the case of noncompliance with Israel’s “vague and politicised criteria.” Israel’s aid registration requirements include the “mandatory submission of details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists, and other sensitive information about personnel for so-called ‘security’ vetting to Israeli authorities,” the letter reads.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND-

If you’re staying in Cairo, we’d recommend staying cool and indoors, as temperatures are set to peak at 40°C on Friday with a low of 26°C. Saturday will offer a relative break from the heat, with a high of 36°C and a low of 24°C. Across the North Coast, we’re in for cooler weather, with temperatures peaking at just 29°C before cooling down to 27°C, according to our favorite weather app.

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

Marwan Pablo and Lege-cy are bringing a rap night to New Alamein tonight. The two artists will perform at U Arena as part of the New Alamein Festival. Tickets can be purchased through Tazkarti.

Missing the ‘90s? Join Masrah Sokseeh for a night with 90s icon Mohamed Fouad at Porto Golf Alamein. Catch his nostalgic hits live tonight and get your tickets on Ticketsmarché.

If you’re looking to get active by the beach, now’s your chance. Fouka Bay is holding its annual Beach Festival today with a lineup of beach sports. Fuel your competitive spirit and secure your spot in one of the teams through Ticketsmarché.

What do Amal Maher and Ahmed Saad have in common? Tomorrow, they will share the stage at the Address Beach Resort. You can secure your spot by visiting Ticketsmarché.

🎙️HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

Enjoy a night of rock classics at Cairo Jazz Club with the band Seattle. With covers of songs by the iconic Nirvana and Radiohead, get your dose of nostalgia and catch their live performance on Thursday, 21 August. Book your tickets on CJC’s website.

Stage powerhouse Wegz is back again for another epic performance at New Alamein Festival at U Arena. Don’t miss this electric night on Friday, 22 August. Get your tickets on Tazkarti.

Ready for a Bedouin night in Sahel? Well, it’s not exactly what you think it is — it’s even better. On Friday, 22 August, Brooklyn-hailing self-proclaimed nomadic DJ duos Bedouin will be bringing the sonic sandstorm to North Coast’s D-Bay. Think deep house with Middle Eastern influences…and a lot more. Tickets are available on Ticket Egypt.

Tamer Hosny is on a roll this summer, performing once more in Sahel alongside Shamy at the Address Beach Resort for Layali Marassi on Saturday, 23 August. Grab your tickets from Ticketsmarché.

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