Good morning, wonderful people. The week is off to a quiet start, but we don’t think that will hold: It’s interest rate week, with the central bank’s monetary policy committee scheduled to meet on Thursday. There’s growing speculation that Qatar will soon announce a multi-bn USD investment on the North Coast, and we think it’s going to cost you more to put petrol in your tank before the week is out.

While images of rate cuts dance in our heads, we’re also getting ready for the EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum, which takes place in just nine days. Our annual flagship gathering kicks off with a networking breakfast at 8am on Tuesday, 7 October at the St Regis Hotel on the bank of the Nile here in Cairo. You can check out the conference website here.

With Egypt at a turning point, we’re going to dig into the issues that will set the tone for 2026 and well beyond. Among the topics on the agenda:

  • How is the alliance between Egypt and the UAE reshaping the region’s economy?
  • How are top execs preparing for 2026 — and what strategies are they using to ensure their businesses are built to last?
  • Where (and how) we will live (and work) in 2035?
  • What’s working — and what’s not — for Egyptian companies expanding into new markets?
  • Can we get capital markets off life support?
  • Where is AI a threat to our businesses — and where could it give us all superpowers?

This event is strictly invitation only. Want to request an invitation? Tap or click here. Space is strictly limited. Formal invitations have already started going out, and the only way to receive one is to let us know you’re interested.

** Did you receive an invite? You must click through to let us know whether you’re attending (the green button) or sending your regrets (the red button). Only folks who receive an invite and click the green button will receive a code to attend.

Join us and hear from some of the nation’s most insightful C-suite execs and founders, including:

  • Todd Wilcox, CEO, HSBC Egypt
  • Dasha Badrawi, executive vice chairman, Marakez
  • Mostafa Gad, global head of investment banking, EFG Hermes
  • Hanan Abdel Meguid, founder and CEO, Kamelizer
  • Youssef Rizk, CEO, Wondercraft
  • John Saad, CEO, Contact Financial Holding
  • Laila Hassan, general partner, Algebra Ventures

Stay tuned this week as we unveil our full lineup.

The 2025 EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is part of our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Everyone who plays a role in our community, from CEOs and MDs to commercial and investment bankers, founders, providers of professional services, and more. Attendees at our events are C-suite officers, business owners, and their direct reports; we also make an allocation for folks we think could be tomorrow’s founders and C-suite executives. Egyptian and foreign members of our community are equally welcome to attend.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Qatar will officially announce its anticipated USD multi-bn North Coast project “as soon as possible,” Qatari Ambassador to Egypt Tariq Ali Faraj Al Ansari told EnterpriseAM on Thursday. The agreement for what Al Ansari described as a major urban project is in the “final stages,” he added.

The project is part of a wider USD 7.5 bn direct investment package from the Gulf nation, which was first announced during President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s visit to Qatar in April. Reports later suggested that Qatar was in advanced talks to develop a North Coast tourism project, with expectations of an agreement by year-end.

Unconfirmed reports earlier this year pointed to the project costing USD 4 bn and named Alam El Roum as the location. The Ras El Hekma-esque project will reportedly feature both residential areas and tourist accommodation, along with commercial and entertainment centers, a yacht marina, and advanced service facilities.

#2- A fuel price hike incoming? The government could raise fuel prices in the coming days as part of its plan to fully liberalize pricing and recover production costs, a senior government source told EnterpriseAM. The government has kept fuel prices unchanged for the past six months since the last hike in April.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said earlier this month that the expected October increase could be the last major hike if global prices remain stable. The source added that the government plans to keep diesel prices unchanged in the upcoming adjustment to help contain inflation and enable further interest rate cuts. Other fuel products will bear a larger share of the price hikes to compensate for keeping diesel stable.

What’s next? Assuming global oil prices, local consumption, and the exchange rate remain steady, the pricing committee will reconvene every three months after prices reach cost recovery levels to decide whether to hold prices, raise them by up to 10%, or cut them depending on global conditions.

#3- Matrouh is getting a special economic zone: A 402k-feddan area in Gargoub in Matrouh governorate has been designated as a new special economic zone, under a presidential decree published last week in the Official Gazette. No further details were disclosed.

FOLLOW UP-

No price hike on subsidized fertilizers this winter season, the Agriculture MInistry said in a statement yesterday. “Efforts are underway to ensure farmers can secure their needed winter supplies without any price increases,” the statement read.

IN CONTEXT- The Madbouly government is currently mulling ways to better support fertilizer producers and boost exports amid rising global demand. Industry players have asked the state to raise subsidized fertilizer prices in light of higher gas costs. The government is weighing a new quota system to balance subsidized supplies with freemarket sales and exports and potentially paying more for subsidized fertilizer, while still selling it to farmers at the subsidized rates with the Finance Ministry bearing the difference in prices.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Techne Summit Cairo kicks off tomorrow at the Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace and Ghurnata Community Space. The two-day event is expected to bring together tens of thousands of innovators from over 70 countries and some big names in the local, regional, and global startup scene as speakers.

The summit marks the official opening ofEgypt Innovation Week and will be followed by its Techne Summit Alexandria edition, which will be held at the Alexandria Bibliotheca from 4 to 6 October.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- To cut, or not to cut, that is the question. All eyes are on the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee this week as it prepares to decide on interest rates this Thursday. The committee cut rates by 200 bps at its last meeting in August, resuming its easing cycle that was paused in July after two consecutive cuts totalling 325 bps in April and May.

Promising inflation data have strengthened cut forecasts, with annual headline urban inflation easing 1.9 percentage points to 12.0% in August, several analysts have previously toldEnterpriseAM. The fall brought the country’s headline figure to its lowest reading since March 2022 and marked the third consecutive month of easing price growth.

** Our customary poll of the analysts and economists we trust most will be out soon, so stay tuned.

#2- Could we see the US Ambassador to Israel touch down in Egypt? US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will reportedly travel to Cairo in the coming days for talks with senior Egyptian officials on the Gaza war, the New York Times reports, citing US and Middle Eastern officials. Huckabee — a Trump appointee and vocal backer of Israel — is expected to meet Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in what would be the first official visit to Egypt in decades by a sitting US envoy to Israel. The talks will also cover a new plan floated by US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to end the war, the NYT said.

IN CONTEXT- The visit comes as relations between Cairo and Tel Aviv strain over Israel’s Gaza campaign and alleged Egyptian troop build-up in the Sinai.

A new plan? Trump told reporters on Friday that Washington is close to brokering a deal to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of remaining hostages, writes Reuters. The White House is preparing for Trump to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to hammer out a framework agreement. The plan — unveiled to regional partners on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week — calls for a full return of hostages, an end to Israeli strikes on Gaza, and a new dialogue on peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT-

Hefty customs fees on phones brought into the country by Egyptian passport holders are still in place, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM in response to local media reports and social media speculation over the weekend claiming otherwise. Outside of the one customs-exempt phone per person every three years, imported mobile phones will continue to be subject to the customs and tax fees totaling 37.5% in place since the start of the year, our source clarified.

The confusion stemmed from a decision by the Egyptian Customs Authority (ECA) that only concerned airlines and air freight companies ahead of the new in-the-works mechanized system for air cargo, the source told us. The ECA will begin trials of the Advance Cargo Information customs system for local and foreign air freight companies and airlines starting this month and until the end of December, a different government source previously told EnterpriseAM. Joining the system will be mandatory starting 1 January 2026.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Fresh industrial land plots will be up for grabs in December, the Industry Ministry said in a statement. The ministry allocated 253 industrial plots covering 545k sqm to new projects and expansions in its latest offering.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The foreign pages are leading with US President Donald Trump’s order to deploy troops in Portland and immigration detention facilities nationwide, authorizing what he called “full force, if necessary” in a bid to confront what he described as “domestic terrorists” targeting federal immigration sites. Trump’s move comes days after a deadly shooting in an ICE field office in Dallas and marks his most aggressive domestic security escalation to date. (Reuters | Politico | Washington Post | Wall Street Journal | The Guardian | Financial Times | Bloomberg)

FROM THE REGION- UN sanctions on Iran came back on Saturday after European powers triggered the so-called “snapback” mechanism, accusing Tehran of breaching its 2015 nuclear commitments. The move restores bans on uranium enrichment, missile-related activity and arms sales — and has already sent Iran’s IRR to record lows. Tehran recalled its ambassadors to the UK, France and Germany for consultations and warned of a “harsh response.” (Reuters | BBC | New York Times | AFP | Financial Times | Bloomberg)

ALSO FROM THE REGION- Syria’s post-Assad authorities issued an arrest warrant for the ousted leader on charges including premeditated murder and torture, saying they’ll circulate the order to Interpol to enable international action, Bloomberg reports. The move, tied to lawsuits filed by families of victims in Deraa, marks a dramatic turn for a country still reeling from 13 years of civil war that displaced more than half its population and drew in multiple foreign powers.

ALSO WORTH READING THIS MORNING- South Korea is facing a demographic cliff that threatens to undo decades of postwar economic gains, with its fertility rate stuck at just 0.75 in 2024 — the lowest in the OECD countries and far short of the 2.1 replacement rate, writes CNBC. Economists warn that without breakthrough reforms, the “silver tsunami” of an aging population could shrink the workforce, drain pension funds, and tip Asia’s fourth-largest economy into a permanent slowdown by the 2040s.

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