Good morning, folks. The IMF Executive Board meets today to finally greenlight the fifth and sixth reviews of our reform program, which would unlock USD 2.3 bn in much-needed liquidity. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry is celebrating the success of its new Citizen Bond, which raked in EGP 350 mn in just two days.

The government is also opening the gates of the city of a thousand minarets to foreign investors for boutique hotels and commercial hubs. In Ain Sokhna, a new digital partnership is set to fix its trucking bottlenecks, and in banking and finance, CIB officially kicks off due diligence on HSBC Egypt’s retail franchise — a story we will be watching for months to come.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 5:51pm in the capital, and you’ll have until 4:58am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

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Happening today

Today is the day the International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board meets to discuss — and hopefully greenlight — our fifth and sixth reviews of the Fund’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Ticking off the fifth review has been a long time coming, initially penciled in for mid-to-late 2024 before being pushed back several times as the IMF protested the lack of progress on the state’s privatization push, leveling the playing field for the private sector, and other structural benchmarks.

Provided the board gives the final sign-off, the Fund will release USD 2.3 bn to Egypt, split between USD 2 bn from the EFF and USD 300 mn from the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. While this significant frontloading of liquidity will be music to the ears of the Finance Ministry, the smaller climate-linked tranche is also a sign that the Fund is no longer interested in emergency stabilization alone and is instead looking toward long-term structural resilience that addresses broader concerns beyond purely economic ones.

Six down, two to go by October? The seventh review will likely be pushed back to late April or May after the IMF and World Bank’s annual spring meetings due to a knock-on effect from previous delays, a source familiar with Egypt’s negotiations with the Fund previously told EnterpriseAM. The eighth review currently scheduled for October — which, combined with the seventh review, would unlock USD 2.5 bn — could also be pushed back to the end of the year, according to the source. However, the final review could still happen on time in October if macro conditions continue to improve, our source told us.

Watch this space

TELECOMS — The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) is set to roll out child-safe mobile packages next month, marking a pivot in how the country regulates digital access for minors. Parents will soon be able to activate dedicated SIM cards for children that feature built-in, network-level filters for adult and violent content, a ban on VPNs, and restrictions on certain games, according to comments from NTRA’s deputy head Hossam Abdel Mawla to the House’s ICT Committee.

This is just the latest initiative in a wider push to safeguard children from online harm, with the state blocking the online game Roblox earlier this month. A draft law on the topic is being prepared to introduce a clear age-rating system for digital content and games, establish penalties for non-compliance, strengthen the regulation of digital platforms, and subject certain video games — particularly those with open user interaction — to stricter standards.

A teenager you know may soon be getting some good news, with Roblox potentially returning to Egypt. The Supreme Council for Media Regulation is studying the matter, having held discussions with the developer of Roblox where the game studio showed flexibility around disabling certain features and introducing a safe mode, tailored parental controls, and clearer age classifications.

ENERGY — AI revives Egypt’s aging Belayim Offshore Oil Field: Italian energy giant Eni and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation’s Petrobel began crude oil production at the Belayim Offshore 133 well in Sinai, adding 1.5k barrels of crude to daily domestic production.

The Belayim field is pretty mature — originally discovered in 1961 — but it has been brought back to life using AI-driven drilling technologies, which are slowly reshaping Egypt’s production map, particularly in aging oil fields, a government source tells EnterpriseAM. To further boost recoverable reserves, a new rig is scheduled to begin additional drilling in the area, in line with Eni’s broader strategy to ramp up exploration across both established concessions and new discoveries.

REMEMBER- The Oil Ministry’s new incentive framework focuses on deploying advanced AI-based technology, as well as accelerating drilling times, in a bid to enhance operational efficiency and maximize production volumes, the source said.

IPO WATCH — Another player is looking to make its EGX debut this year: The Egyptian Spinning and Weaving Company is looking to list between 25-40% on the EGX within the coming months, Al Borsa reports, citing what it says are informed sources. The company is looking to raise as much as EGP 200 mn from the offering. The listing is currently pending final approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority and the EGX.

FINANCE — Egypt is joining the Sustainable Finance Facility (SFF), a World Bank initiative that aims to improve domestic capital markets. Part of the Joint Capital Market Program — a World Bank and International Finance Corporation initiative — SFF is designed to bolster private investment and optimize the government’s domestic financing costs and efficiency.

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Data point

500 MW — that’s the amount of solar PV capacity Egypt added in 2025, making us Africa’s third-largest installer after South Africa and Nigeria, according to the Global Solar Council’s Africa Market Outlook for Solar PV 2026-2029. Egypt accounted for around 10% of the continent’s total 4.5 GW in new installations last year.

PSA-

WEATHER- Keep your sweaters nearby, as the chill is lingering in Cairo today, with a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s similarly cold in Alexandria, with a high of 20°C and a low of 12°C.

The big story abroad

The Netflix-Paramount-Warner Bros saga is once again in the headlines, with Warner Bros confirming that Paramount’s sweetened bid of USD 31 a share could beat out Netflix’s effort. If Paramount’s bid is deemed superior to Netflix’s, the streaming giant will have four business days to match it — so it is still anyone’s game. Paramount is also offering a USD 0.25 per share “ticking fee” for every quarter the transaction does not close after September 2026.

US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address is on every front page. The speech lacked any substance, with the president touting his own success in bringing inflation down, creating jobs, and securing fresh investments. In typical Trump fashion, the speech had its fair share of inaccuracies and exaggerations, which NBC News fact-checked in real time. Markets were hoping the speech would bring some tariff clarity.

Making waves in the tech world this morning is a new agreement between Meta and Advanced Micro Devices. Meta is buying USD 60 bn worth of computing power, which will power its AI infrastructure over a five-year stretch starting 2H 2026. AMD issued Meta a warrant for up to 160 mn shares — approximately 10% of the company — at a strike price of just USD 0.01 per share, contingent upon Meta hitting specific milestones and AMD hitting a set stock price threshold.

ALSO WORTH READING THIS MORNING- A Harvard-led study found that a machine-learning algorithm can predict 71% of mutual-fund trading decisions after training it on data between 1990-2023. It appears that the algorithm has learned how managers react to trends, flows, and activity from their peers. That said, the algorithm failed to predict activities that fell outside the routine, which represents most of the value to be secured on the market.

*** 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 how trial runs on the Sokhna-Marsa Matrouh high-speed rail line mark the first step in moving Egypt’s industrial logistics off the road and onto the tracks.

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