CBE and Afreximbank ink MoU to study pan-African gold bank and accredited Egyptian refinery

Good afternoon, friends, 2026 is around the corner and the headlines are matching the pace as 2025 grinds to a halt. We have a few important stories trickling through, beginning with our big story at home this afternoon — a new gold bank based in Egypt is emerging on the horizon. Also, looking for one last tasty bite before your New Year’s resolutions kick in? We’ve got the perfect pick for you below.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍An African Fort Knox to kick out the middleman? Egypt is moving to end a decades-old practice of exporting raw gold only to buy it back as refined bullion. The Central Bank of Egypt and Afreximbank inked an MoU to work together to study establishing a pan-African gold bank and an internationally accredited refinery in an Egyptian freezone, according to a statement from the CBE. By carrying out the entire process at home, the state and regional producers will be able to capture additional value-added earnings from their gold, which currently goes to refineries in the Gulf, Europe, and North America.

^^ Read the full story with analysis in tomorrow’s issue of EnterpriseAM.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk has approved sweeping amendments to the executive regulations of the Customs Law. The move signals a major pivot toward a whitelist economy, where the state trades traditional, inspection-heavy oversight for a risk-based framework that rewards compliant companies.
• The Finance Ministry is preparing a wide-ranging package of fiscal reformstargeting some of the private sector’s structural grievances, ranging from significant changes to how companies in freezones are taxed to a shifting of personal income tax brackets to account for inflation.
• Elsewedy Electric wants to double down on Greece with two additional 100 MWh battery energy storage system projects. The company’s first project is set to begin operation in 1Q 2026, and the other two are expected to follow in 2H 2027.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 It’s a slow day on the front pages, but Meta is snapping up Manus, a Singapore-based AI company, in an agreement valued at over USD 2 bn. The agreement, reportedly reached in about 10 days, marks a rare US acquisition of an Asian tech company and another major AI wager from Mark Zuckerberg.

^^Read more on Bloomberg: Meta to acquire Manus in USD 2 bn bet on AI agents

Stocks are struggling to find momentum in the final trading days of the year. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% on Monday, but is still up more than 17% for 2025, on track for its eighth consecutive monthly gain. The Dow fell 0.5% while tech stocks like Nvidia and Tesla led declines.

^^Read more on Bloomberg: Stocks Waver as Momentum Fades in 2025’s Last Days

Gold and silver retreated sharply from record highs — gold fell 4.6% but remains up about 64% for the year, while silver dropped 8.7% but has still more than doubled in 2025.

^^Read more on CNBC: Silver futures log worst day since 2021, retreating sharply from record

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a chilly and hazy day in the capital tomorrow, with the mercury peaking at just 21°C before cooling down to a brisk 10°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.