Good morning, friends, and welcome to the weekend. We hope the cooler weather encourages us to venture outside and bask in the warm September sun before we prepare for a new week.

In this week’s edition of The Enterprise Guide, we’re listing down our favorite gardens and green areas in Greater Cairo. From vast gardens you can visit today to new ones on our radar, these are the outdoor escapes from a fast-paced life.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

🗞️ LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

ECONOMY-

The government completed a census of state-owned companies, which market watchers consider to be one of the most important steps yet in the state’s privatization program and a move that will shape the pipeline of IPOs that is said to hit the EGX in the coming weeks or so. The census will anchor the updated State Ownership Policy Document and guide decisions on which companies will be offered to investors as minority stake sales and IPOs.

ALSO- The IMF will send a mission on 1 October to wrap up its fifth and sixth reviews of our USD 8 bn Extended Fund Facility Arrangement, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM. Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) could add a further USD 274 mn to the total amount disbursed to us this fall, once the fifth and sixth reviews of our USD 8 bn Extended Fund Facility are approved, which Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk is optimistic about.

INVESTMENT WATCH-

An Egyptian-Saudi consortium is looking into setting up a USD 1 bn Downtown Cairoredevelopment project. The consortium includes Saudi’s Sumou Holding, its subsidiary Adeer International, and local players Midar and Hassan Allam. The project would tie into the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s plans to offer up the Ministries Square area and Downtown assets to investors as part of its privatization and redevelopment push for the area.

ENERGY-

#1- Chevron and its Israeli Leviathan partners NewMed Energy and Ratio Energies inked a USD 610 mn agreement with pipeline operator Israel Natural Gas Lines to build the long-awaited Nitzana pipeline connecting Israel and Egypt. The 600 mn cubic feet a day (mcf/d) pipeline stretching 65 km between Israel’s southern gas network and Egypt’s gas network in eastern Sinai will bring Israel’s export capacity to Egypt to 2.2 bcf/d when construction wraps up in 2028.

#2- The Oil Ministry has inked three new oil and gas exploration agreements worth more than USD 121 mn across the Western Desert, Gulf of Suez, and North Sinai, according to a statement. The agreements include a USD 46 mn reassignment of the North Sinai Offshore area to Perenco Egypt to drill three wells with a USD 1 mn signature bonus; a USD 40.5 mn agreement with UAE’s Dragon Oil to drill three wells in East El Hamd, with a USD 4.5 mn bonus; and a USD 35 mn agreement with Apache to add five new exploration areas in the Western Desert, covering 14 wells and carrying a USD 25 mn bonus.

DIPLOMACY-

Egypt praised the UN General Assembly’s vote to agree to steps toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The votes in support of the motion from 142 nations shows “compelling evidence of the widespread international support for legitimate Palestinian rights,” according to the statement.

TAX-

#1- The Finance Ministry kick-started community dialogue sessions on the second package of tax facilities set to launch in 4Q 2025, a senior government source told EnterpriseAM. Meetings were held with major accounting and tax consultancy firms to identify problems and challenges facing large local and foreign companies in preparation to address them in the new package.

#2- Gov’t scrapped plans to register foreign crude suppliers ahead of implementing recent VAT amendments that would see them face a 10% tax, three government sources told EnterpriseAM. Foreign firms will be exempt from e-invoicing; instead, they will submit a simplified request and a declaration of the quantities supplied to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC). The VAT amendments also impact construction and contracting services, making them subject to the standard 14% VAT rate.

TOURISM-

The government is looking to increase the tourism sector’s annual revenue to USD 24.0 bn by the fiscal year 2028-2029, up over 40% from last fiscal year’s USD 16.7 bn, according to a government document detailing the National Tourism Development Strategy 2030 seen by EnterpriseAM. The targeted increase in revenues will be accompanied by a rise in tourist footfall to 30 mn by the end of the decade, up from 15.7 mn in 2024, and an increase in the average stay from 10.5 to 11 nights.

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

ALL EYES ON THE REGION- Israeli forces have once more intensified their ground offensive in Gaza City, despite international condemnation and a UN declaration that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. The attack is straining crucial regional relationships, most notably with Egypt. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi referred to Israel as “an enemy” during a speech at the Qatar summit yesterday — the first time an Egyptian leader has used such language since signing the peace treaty in 1979. (NYT | AP)

ALSO- Qatar’s emir has urged Arab and Muslim leaders to take “concrete steps” against Israel after missile strikes in Doha targeted Hamas leadership. In his speech during last week’s emergency Arab-Islamic summit, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani denounced the attack as “blatant, treacherous and cowardly” and accused Israel of waging a “genocidal war” on Palestinians. El Sisi attended the summit, where he delivered his own speech condemning Israel’s attack and expressing Egypt’s solidarity with Qatar.

MEANWHILE- Saudi Arabia has inked a strategic mutual defense pact with Pakistan — a move analysts see as Riyadh signalling it wants to diversify its security ties after the shock of last week’s Israeli strikes in Doha. The agreement commits the two countries to treat any attack on one as an attack on both. (Reuters | Washington Post | Financial Times)

OVER IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Fed cut interest rates for the first time since December — a 25 bps move designed to shore up a labor market showing clear signs of strain. The cut fell short of the deeper reductions pushed by President Donald Trump. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | New York Times | Wall Street Journal)

ALSO- Alphabet became the fourth US company to hit a market cap of USD 3 tn last week after shares hit a record USD 252 on Monday on the back of investor optimism following the company’s July results. (Financial Times | Reuters | CNBC | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal)

AND- The Cyberspace Administration of China has ordered the state’s top technology firms to cancel all purchases of all artificial intelligence chips from US tech company Nvidia in a bid to cut down on US reliance. The news follows a ruling earlier this week which saw the East Asian state accuse Nvidia of violating the country’s anti-trust laws, following a “preliminary probe” into its business practices. (Financial Times)

OVER IN THE US- A New York judge dismissed two terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione — the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — while allowing other counts including second-degree murder to proceed. The high-profile case, which has attracted national and international attention since Thompson was shot outside a midtown Manhattan hotel in December, now heads toward trial with Mangione still facing a potential life sentence in state court and the death penalty on federal charges. (Financial Times | BBC | The Guardian | CNN | New York Times | Reuters)

MEANWHILE– Popular US late-night television show Jimmy Kimmel Live has been taken off air “indefinitely” following comments made earlier this week about the suspected assassin of popular podcaster and conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The comedian and host alluded to the suspect’s — 22-year-old Tyler Robinson — support for US President Donald Trump’s Maga movement, and the administration’s subsequent attempts to “characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them,” Kimmel said on Monday.

ALSO WORTH NOTING– A wave of Gen Z revolutions is reshaping Asian politics, as youthful protesters from Nepal to Bangladesh and Indonesia mobilize social media platforms to topple entrenched leaders, demand transparency, and challenge corrupt elites. (Financial Times)

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND-

We’re in for a cool weekend, with temperatures in Cairo set to peak at 33°C before cooling down to 21°C over the weekend.

🎙️ HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

Omar El Gamal is back with Ain Gamal for his 46th show at the 7th edition of MedFest. Join this interactive comedy night happening tonight. Head to Ticketsmarché for your tickets.

The iconic Myriam Fares is set to perform all-time favorites at Hacienda White’s Kiki’s Beach tonight. Don’t miss the final days of Sahel season — you can grab your tickets on Kiki’s website .

Tamer Ashour to join the lineup for Marassi’s Address Beach Resort celebrations tonight. Be where the fun is and sing along to his hits on Saudi National Day. Get your tickets on Ticketsmarché.

Get ready for this year’s Youth Summit: The Leap this weekend taking place tonight and tomorrow at AUC’s New Cairo campus. Expect interactive workshops, inspiring talks, collaborative opportunities, and even a live startup pitch competition — an opportunity the young ones don’t want to miss. Grab your tickets now on Ticketsmarché.

Mega stars Asala and Ahmed Saad are wrapping up the Marassi fun tomorrow. Don’t miss these exciting performances at Address Beach Resort and get your tickets at Ticketsmarché.

If you’re looking for your next vintage find, we’ve got some good news. Cairo Flea Market Streets Edition is kicking off the new thrifting season tomorrow at Zamalek’s Horreya Garden. The market is set to run from 10am to 10pm, and will feature everything from vintage finds to handcrafted treasures.

🎙️ HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

You have another shot at catching Tamer Ashour, who returns with yet another electrifying show at El Arena on Friday, 26 September. Get your tickets through Ticketsmarché.

Tamer Hosny and Disco Misr are set to fire up the stage at Hacienda White’s Galambo on Friday, 26 September to close out the Sahel season. Head to Ticketsmarché now before tickets sell out.

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