Good afternoon, friends, and happy hump day. The news cycle seems to be picking up, and at home, we’re counting the days till the grand opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, with festivities kicking off on Saturday, 1 November at 5pm.

Want a look behind the curtains? EnterpriseAM has you covered. The first of four weekly special issues about the GEM will land in your inbox tomorrow at 10am, charting the museum’s journey from the launch of a record-breaking international design competition to the final stages of completion and capturing the challenges, milestones, and unwavering ambition that brought it to life.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 The country’s first retail bond market should go live in Q1 2026 or even before the end of 2025, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM. The upcoming launch will be accompanied by an awareness campaign to attract tempted investors, the source added.

The bonds will be issued in partnership with Egypt Post, offering a competitive interest rate that will help keep pace with inflation, we were told. Variable returns will be paid out either every three or six months.

The Finance Ministry is eyeing middle income individuals as their key target demographic for the product, but it is also eyeing Egyptian expats with EGP- and USD-denominated bonds that will be part of the market at some point.

Having a retail bond market will let individuals, non-professional investors — essentially, the public — buy and sell bonds. At present, it is only banks and financial firms that can buy up these loans to the government, which they often do in large big-ticket transactions. Letting individuals join in will open up a practical and low-risk way to diversify investments and add more stable interest paying assets to their portfolios.

But arguably more important, is that it will significantly shake up the dynamics of the bond market, leading to an uptick in demand and liquidity, a more diverse and stable investor base that tends to buy and hold, and potentially lowering issuing costs for the government.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 It’s a busy afternoon in the global press, with the digital front pages dominated by the latest updates on Trump’s trip to Asia and Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica.

USA and Japan ink new agreements: US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi have signed a new rare-earth materials trade agreement. Both leaders agreed to “support the supply of raw and processed critical minerals and rare earths crucial to the domestic industries of the United States and Japan,” a statement published by the White House earlier today reads.

The agreement comes as the US moves to curb dependency on China, which holds a near-monopoly on rare-earth minerals and has recently tightened its exports. The agreement between Trump and Takaichi comes days before a scheduled meeting between the US president and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Following his meeting with Takaichi, Trump was accompanied by the prime minister aboard the USS George Washington at the Yokosuka Naval Base, where he addressed US naval troops. “Unlike past administrations, we will not be politically correct. You don’t mind that, do you? When it comes to defending the United States,” he said. Takaichi later joined Trump on stage, emphasizing that both countries would join forces to ensure peace in the region, which he noted faces an “unprecedented security environment.”

Trump also said that Japanese carmaker Toyota is planning to invest in the US, advising his troops to simply “go out and buy a Toyota.” (Guardian | Reuters | CNN | BBC | Washington Post)

ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD- Hurricane Melissa — a category 5 storm reportedly thought to be the most dangerous of the year globally and the most devastating on record to hit Jamaica — is set to make landfall on the island today, with “catastrophic destruction” expected. Despite government-ordered evacuations, most residents are reportedly sheltering in place. Thus far, seven storm-related deaths have been reported across the northern Caribbean, with three in Jamaica, and four in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. (CNN | BBC | Reuters | Guardian)

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for another warm day in the capital tomorrow, with an overcast high of 31°C and a low of 20°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Tags: