Good morning, all. We kick off the work week with a brisk issue, led by what analysts believe will go down during Thursday’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting, news that the Egyptian Iron and Steel Company could reopen its doors, and an interview with Ezdehar Management’s CEO to learn more about what the firm has in its pipeline.

PSA-

WEATHER- The mercury today will peak at 37°C in Cairo, before falling to a low of 26°C, according to our favorite weather app. While Alexandria will see a high of 33°C and a low of 24°C.

El Hadidi will be back on our screens next month: One of the nation’s most influential talking heads, Lamees El Hadidi will make her comeback to the small screen late September after agreeing to host a talkshow on Al Nahar, the news channel wrote on Facebook. The program will air four days a week.

ICYMI- El Hadidi departed from ON TV in July, marking the end of Kelma Akhira and her five-year run with United Media Services after both sides agreed not to renew their contract.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) has agreed with refineries to increase their refining capacity by some 13% in 2H 2025, which would boost capacity to 99.6 mn barrels, Al Arabiya reports, citing an unnamed government official.

The move is designed to help offset Egypt’s rising monthly fuel import bill, which climbed to USD 1.4-1.5 bn in 2Q 2025, up from USD 1.2 bn in the same period a year earlier, the source said. The boost in refining capacity is expected to gradually reduce imports by the end of the year, with EGPC sourcing the remaining supply needs through external contracts.

#2- Egypt is looking to attract more than USD 2 bn in Indian investments within the next 18 months, Egyptian-Indian Business Council head Khaled Abou El Makarem told Al Arabiya. Indian investors are showing growing interest in chemicals, fertilizers, pharma, renewables, green hydrogen, IT, outsourcing, textiles, and garments, Abou El Makarem said. He noted that companies are seeking to leverage Egypt’s raw material base, energy resources, and trade agreements with Europe and Africa to use the country as a production and export hub.

More than 55 Indian firms already operate in Egypt with investments exceeding USD 3.7 bn, while India is among Egypt’s top five trading partners. Bilateral trade is expected to climb 10% this year to USD 4.6 bn, with both governments eyeing USD 12 bn in trade “in the coming years.”

SETTING THE TONE-

“There is absolutely no truth to the dispute between the government and oil companies over value-added tax,” the Egyptian Tax Authority said. This came in response to local outlets — including EnterpriseAM — reporting that representatives from four foreign firms raised their concerns with senior officials about a plan to register crude oil suppliers before implementing recent VAT amendments that would see them face a 10% tax. The authority added that the tax on crude oil will not lead to any price increases for petroleum products.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Will the CBE resume its easing cycle this week? The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet on Thursday to decide whether to cut interest rates. The committee decided to keep rates steady at its last meeting as the market digests the 325 bps of cuts earlier in the year, but the momentary easing pause and lower-than-expected inflation data for July have only emboldened forecasts that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will cut rates at its August meeting.

** Check our customary poll of interest rate predictions from analysts and economics in the news well, below.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Famine declared in Gaza: The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the world’s leading hunger monitor, has declared that a quarter of the enclave’s population of 2 mn are suffering from famine, accusing Israel of the “systematic obstruction” of food supplies. Deaths from malnutrition have been spiking all around the packed war-torn area, rising to 273 deaths, including 112 children.

“It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment – and a failure of humanity itself,” UN ChiefAntónio Guterres said, placing the “unequivocal” responsibility of ensuring access to food and medical supplies on Israel “as the occupying power.”

FROM THE FED- Chair Jerome Powell hinted at the resumption of the interest rate easing cycle in September, arguing at the Jackson Hole meeting on Friday that “in the near term, risks to inflation are tilted to the upside, and risks to employment to the downside — a challenging situation.”

Nothing set in stone: Despite being under pressure from the Trump administration to move ahead with rate cuts, Powell cautioned that a September rate cut is not a given and that “monetary policy is not on a preset course.” Markets were happy nonetheless, with S&P 500 soaring after the first minutes of the speech and closing 1.5% higher on Friday.

The meeting comes amid more drama surrounding the Fed, with the US government now targeting governor Lisa Cook, urging her removal due to allegations of mortgage fraud that have yet to be confirmed. (Guardian | Bloomberg | Financial Times)

OVER IN TECH- President Trump said on Friday the US snapped up a 10% stake in chipmakerIntel for USD 8.9 bn by converting government grants into equity. The transaction came at a discounted share price, lower by USD 4 than Intel’s closing price on Friday, and was preceded by White House demands for CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign over his ties to Chinese firms.

ALSO- Meta and Google have struck a USD 10 bn cloud computing agreement that will see the Facebook owner use Google Cloud’s servers, storage, networking and other services as it looks to bring online more AI services. (Bloomberg | Reuters | CNBC | The Information)

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