Good morning, wonderful people, and Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating this morning. We hope you’re all surrounded by family and friends — and that maybe (just maybe) you’re bridging tomorrow…

We have a quick read for you this morning, and it’s pretty much all good news.

Up first: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before… The Madbouly government is once again revisiting the state ownership policy and taking inventory of marketable assets on the state’s books. The goal: To add names to the list of companies and other assets it’s going to sell or take public. It’s more of the same — and more of the same noise about only offering minority stakes. Progress on privatization is important (particularly to the good folks at the IMF), but we really hope policymakers accept in 2026 the reality that there are very few real operators out there that want to be minority partners with *any* government.

MEANWHILE- B Investments looks like it’s going to IPO Gourmet Egypt, our favourite supermarket and food producer. It could set up a handsome exit for the private equity outfit. If successful, it could serve as proof of concept for other PE players looking to exit (in full or in part) assets they’ve carried on their books through one or more currency crises.

AND- Reserves are up again (thanks in large part to the revaluation of our gold holdings) and manufacturers could see their real estate tax holiday extended for a few more years.

^^ We have all of that and more in this morning’s news well, below.

** But first, a programming note: EnterpriseAM is off tomorrow and Morning Drive, our 6:30am daily podcast, is off today. Our Egypt staff will be taking Thursday off to enjoy a three-day weekend in observance of Coptic Christmas. We’ll be back in your inboxes on Sunday morning at the usual time. EntepriseAM UAE, EnterpriseAM Saudi, and EnterpriseAM Logistics all publish tomorrow.

WEEKEND WEATHER- Look for a high today in Cairo of 25°C with the mercury rising to 26°C tomorrow before a return to the high teens this weekend, our favorite weather app tells us.

December was good for the private sector

A closely-watched gauge says activity in the private sector grew again last month. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading for Egypt in December stood at 50.2, according to S&P Global (pdf). That puts our non-oil private sector in expansion territory for the second month running, albeit at a slower rate than November’s 61-month high of 51.1.

The breakdown: December saw new orders and output expand again, though their pace of growth cooled from November’s highs. For the first time in 10 months, firms accelerated their purchasing activity to keep up with demand. Caution in hiring led to the sharpest drop in employment in over a year as firms focused on productivity over headcount.

Supply chain issues persisted, as vendor shortages caused input stocks to decline for the third straight month despite higher purchasing. Input cost inflation edged up slightly, driven by rising prices for fuel, cement, and wages. For the most part, companies passed on only modest price hikes despite the rise in their own costs.

Watch this space

ENERGY — The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (Egyptera) has hit pause on new net metering rules for solar power. After pushback from business leaders, the regulator opted for further study to ensure the new framework doesn’t stifle investment in the sector, chair of the Sustainable Energy Development Association Ayman Haiba tells EnterpriseAM.

Egyptera will now work on a revised model in a bid to bridge the gap between technical grid stability and the financial viability of private solar projects, Haiba tells us, warning that halting net metering could slow the rollout of solar energy projects.

IN CONTEXT- The move comes weeks after Egyptera suspended the net metering system starting at the end of December, a decision that put investments by 168 companies at risk. Any shutdown of net metering could directly hurt Egyptian exporters under Europe’s carbon border tax (CBAM) — which began its implementation phase on 1 January 2026 — and weaken the country’s competitiveness.

REAL ESTATE- Orascom Construction has secured a EGP 15 bn contract from the UAE’s Modon Holding to execute the first phase of the Wadi Yemm district in Ras El Hekma, Asharq Business reports. The scope of work includes infrastructure, residential units, administrative offices, and a 70-room hotel.

This contract is the first physical rollout of Modon’s investment plans, which we noted back in September involved earmarking EGP 45 bn for infrastructure and construction. Orascom Construction has effectively captured one-third of the initial budget Modon allocated for local contractors, cementing its role as a lead execution partner in the USD 35 bn mega-project.

What to watch for next: Awards to other large domestic players including Hassan Allam as the Emirati developer looks to accelerate work on Wadi Yemm — the first of 17 planned districts — to push forward with delivery of both residential units and tourist facilities.

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The big story abroad

Uhm, did the US just *literally* steal Venezuela’s oil? Oil tankers are moving from the US towards Venezuela to begin loading stranded Venezuelan oil after US President Donald Trump said Venezuela will hand over some 30-50 mn barrels of oil to the US. The sale of the cargoes could be worth around USD 3 bn at current prices.

What he said: “That money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

^^ The must-read on the topic: Trump: Venezuela to turn over 30-50 mn barrels of oil to US.

And the White House is now saying that military force is on the table in its bid to “acquire” Greenland. “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal.”

Her remarks came after White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller channeled his inner Balon Greyjoy, saying, “Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland. … We live in a world, in the real world … that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.” See more in the New York Times and the FT.

Closer to home:

  • Saudi Arabia has fully opened up its capital markets to foreign investors in a move set to bring in more liquidity ahead of a deep 2026 IPO pipeline.
  • The Qatar Investment Authority participated in Elon Musk’s xAI’s USD 20 bn series E funding round, alongside Nvidia and Cisco. (Reuters)
  • Clashes between civilians and police in Iran amid a wave of protests that took the country by storm as of last week have left 29 dead and more than 1.2k people arrested. (Bloomberg)

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: EnterpriseAM’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We look at the country’s real estate reset and what we can expect from the market now that the era of defensive demand and inflation hedging is behind us.

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