Good morning, folks and happy Thursday. We wrap up the week with a brisk issue led by investment and debt news — Qatari Dair and St. Regis will set up a USD 3.5 bn Red Sea project as part of Qatar’s USD 7.5 bn direct investment pledge and our USD 1.5 bn sovereign sukuk issuance was 6x oversubscribed. But we don’t expect things to stay quiet with the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting today to review rates.

DID YOU LOSE CELL SERVICE IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE DAY? You weren’t alone. The state was carrying out some development work at the Grand Egyptian Museum between 3-6am, which resulted in some disruptions to telecom and internet services across Greater Cairo, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority said in a statement (pdf)

BEFORE WE DIVE IN- Are you currently working toward a BA, MA, or PhD at AUC? Come say hello at the university’s Career Circles job fair today. EnterpriseAM will be making the case why Egypt’s best and brightest should embark on a career in journalism from 11am to 3pm at the Moataz Al Alfi Hall.

Not an AUC student, but fancy working in a fast-paced newsroom? Luckily for you, EnterpriseAM is always hiring.

PSA-

Banks will also be getting Thursday, 9 October off in observance of Armed Forces Day, the central bank said yesterday. We got confirmation for the public sector earlier this week, but we’re yet to hear confirmation from the Labor Ministry and EGX about whether the private sector and traders will also be getting a long weekend — though it’s a safe assumption.

WEATHER- Cairo is looking at another cool day, with a high of 33°C and a low of 23°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s just as cool in Alexandria, with a high of 33°C and a low of 22°C.

HAPPENING TODAY-

To cut, or not to cut, that is the question on everyone’s lips this morning ahead of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting to decide rates today. 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.

Most analysts polled by EnterpriseAM believe the meeting will result in a 100-200 bps cut, pointing to promising inflation data, exchange rate stability, and the need to frontload cuts before inflationary pressures from incoming fuel price hikes start making their mark. But not everyone is convinced, with a minority of those surveyed forecasting that the bank will hit pause to wait and assess the impact of upcoming price fuel hikes and fully absorb August’s 200 bps cut.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- No electricity price hikes before January -Esmat confirms: The Madbouly government will keep electricity prices unchanged until the start of 2026, Al Arabiya reports, citing Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat. A new tariff structure will then be set based on actual costs, according to the minister.

You heard it here first: EnterpriseAM reported in July that the government could postpone electricity price hikes until January on the back of the energy sector securing its natural gas needs at a price below global rates and the decline in the EGP/USD exchange rate — providing the government the flexibility needed to absorb the cost of pushing back these anticipated hikes, our source said at the time.

BACKGROUND- The Electricity Ministry has raised electricity prices by 14-40% between August and September 2024. The cost of electricity production has soared after the float of the EGP, becoming more of a burden on the state budget.

#2- Startups could soon receive more support to expand overseas, with General Authority for Investment and Freezones CEO Hossam Heiba saying that the authority is working on initiatives and financing to support the sector’s access to foreign markets, according to an authority statement. The authority is currently studying global best practices to replicate and coordinating with regional economies to support local startups expanding abroad, he added.

IN THE HOUSE-

Lawmakers kicked off the sixth session of their second legislative term yesterday, which saw Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly — following the usual introductory pleasantries — get the ball rolling by delivering presidential objections to a number of articles of the draft Criminal Procedures Law, according to a cabinet statement.

The articles in question relate to governance, clarity, and practicality — specifically ensuring greater protection for defendant rights, expanding alternatives to pre-trial detention, removing ambiguous language that could cause conflicting interpretations, and allowing more time for ministries and agencies to prepare for new mechanisms and models introduced in the draft law.

REMEMBER- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi sent the draft Criminal Procedures Law back to the House last week to address objections over several articles, following calls from multiple stakeholders urging a review of the law’s provisions. After months of back-and-forth, the House approved the new law in April, laying out the framework for investigating, prosecuting, and trying criminal cases. We dove into some of the key provisions of the draft law in our previous coverage — check it out here.

The Criminal Procedures law will continue to dominate the agenda at the House today as the MPs return to the lower chamber in just a few hours.

PROJECT UPDATE-

The 3 GW Egypt-Saudi electricity interconnection project will be up and running by the end of the year, Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat told Asharq Business. The project is now 92% complete, with just testing and the installation of the final connections left, Esmat added.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

All eyes are still on the US shutdown, which began early yesterday morning, as well as on Israel’s interception of vessels from the Gaza aid flotilla.

The shutdown is expected to last at least three days, with the Senate out of session today for Yom Kippur and only expected to meet again on Friday. During this time, White House Budget Director Russell Vought reportedly said the government plans to terminate workers, while some USD 26 bn in funding for Democratic states has been frozen. US President Donald Trump had warned that he would use the funding gap to target “Democrat things.” (Reuters | Bloomberg | CNBC)

Israel intercepted a number of vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was on its way to Gaza to deliver aid, moving some of the activists on board to an Israeli port. The passengers also said Israel was using “active aggression” on their fleet and trying to sink one of the boats. (Reuters | Guardian)

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