Good afternoon, friends, and welcome to your first full workweek in… well, a while. The week seems to be off to a rainy start, but nothing the past few days haven’t already prepared us for. Moreover, it’s a busy afternoon in the press, and we’ve got a bit of a packed issue for you this afternoon.

In today’s issue, we take a look at how Egypt’s cement sector found its global edge, break down everything you need to know about this year’s AUC Tahrir CultureFest, and check out the new Peaky Blinders movie to see if it stuck the landing. Without further ado, let’s dive in.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 Israel has extended its natural gas state of emergency — originally imposed on 28 February — until 15 April. This extension maintains the precautionary shutdowns of the Chevron-operated Leviathan and Karish gas fields amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war, Mees reports, after previously noting that a Leviathan resumption would come “soon.”

The continued suspension is expected to exacerbate regional shortages as Egypt begins implementing austerity measures that took effect yesterday, including earlier closing hours, reduced public lighting, and a temporary halt to diesel-intensive projects.

Egypt’s real GDP growth is now projected at 4.9% in FY 2025-26, down from a previous 5.2% forecast, according to a report from Fitch Solutions’ research arm BMI, as the fallout from the regional conflict weighs on consumption, investment, and net exports. Growth for FY 2026-27 was also revised down to 5.2% from 5.4%, reflecting a weaker starting point. Despite the downgrade, both figures remain above Egypt’s recent historical averages and would still mark the strongest expansion since FY 2021-22.

^^ We’ll have more on both stories in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 It’s another busy afternoon in the global press, with the US-Israel-Iran war continuing to dominate the news cycle. Yemen’s Houthis fired a second wave of missiles and drones at southern Israel, after the Iran-backed militia joined the war on Saturday morning with a missile launch at Israel. Meanwhile, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the country is waiting for a US ground invasion to “rain fire” upon troops. Some 3.5k additional US troops have landed in the region.

^^ Read more on: BBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and the Financial Times.

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

  • The cabinet has approved a debt-targeting draft general budget for the next fiscal year, which looks to build an EGP 1.2 tn primary surplus — or 5% of GDP — freeing up additional credit for debt reduction and social protection;
  • Unlocking the remaining USD 3.3 bn from Egypt’s IMF program now hinges on a faster pace of state asset sales. The government is currently pushing to extend the overall arrangement by two months to December to ensure it satisfies the Fund’s structural benchmarks;
  • Egypt ranks fourth among the most vulnerable EBRD regions to the war on Iran, with impacts felt through a combination of surging energy prices, disrupted trade, and a debt-servicing burden increasing fiscal pressure.

enterprise

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly Sunday briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry explores what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning through to product distribution, land allocation, industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, and regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We take a look at how Egypt’s cement sector is pivoting from local surplus to a global export powerhouse.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re hopefully in for some sun in Cairo tomorrow, with the mercury set to peak at 23°C, and a low of 13°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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