Cairo blocks new F&B licences in its most lucrative districts

Good morning, wonderful people. It’s a busy morning on the macro and energy fronts as the government lines up 40 LNG cargoes to keep the national grid online through the summer.

Cairo governorate is hitting the brakes on new cafe and restaurant licences in Helipolis, Maadi, Zamalek, and Garden City. Up on the North coast, the New Urban Communities Authority is offering up to a 50% discount on retroactive land fees for legacy North Coast developers.

ALSO- We dive into what’s going on with all these temporary listings on the EGX by state-owned companies.

***

WISH THIS MORNING’S ISSUE was a podcast? We’ve got you. Tap or click here to listen to Morning Drive, a 10-minute version of today’s issue crafted for you to enjoy with your morning coffee, while getting the kids ready for school, or while stomping around the house wondering where the [redacted] you left your [redacted] reading glasses.***

Egypt retaps int’l bonds to sidestep global market jitters

Egypt raised USD 1 bn on the international debt markets by reopening a set of existing USD-denominated series, according to a disclosure on the London Stock Exchange. The country added a USD 500 mn tranche to notes maturing in 2033 at a yield of 9.45% on 26 March; a USD 250 mn tranche of 2029 notes at a yield of 7.60%; and another USD 250 mn tranche of 2030 notes at a yield of 8.63% on 7 April.

Tapping existing bonds was an “effective solution” to issuing new debt, given the challenges of entering international markets amid the war on Iran and Lebanon, a government official tells EnterpriseAM.

Where the money went: Proceeds from the issuance were used to help repay a EUR 1 bn Eurobond that matured in mid-April, “without impacting the country’s foreign reserves,” our source tells us.

SOUND SMART- A “tap” is when an issuer reopens a bond already sold and offers more of it with the same coupon and maturity, the new bonds merging straight into the line already trading. Sovereigns like to do this because it builds size in a benchmark without the cost or execution risk of launching fresh paper.

Cairo F&B freeze

From the Dept. of Smart Policy: Cairo Governorate has banned the issuance of new cafe and restaurant licences in Heliopolis, Maadi, Zamalek, and Garden City, according to a statement from the governorate. The decision — spurred by mounting complaints over noise, congestion, and the encroachment of businesses on residential areas — will effectively freeze the volume of F&B outlets in these areas at their current levels.

What to expect: The move is likely to reshape the F&B landscape in these upscale neighborhoods — driving up the resale value of businesses and venues with existing licenses. It could also drive some businesses to look at other districts.

PSA-

Bankers will get a long weekend next week after the CBE announced Thursday, 7 May as an official holiday in observance of Labor Day. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly had earlier announced the day off for both the public and private sectors.

WEATHER- We’re enjoying another breezy day in Cairo today, with a high of 29°C and a low of 17°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s even cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 24°C and a low of 14°C.

Meet EnterpriseAM MENA+, our new flagship newsletter covering the flows of capital, people, and ideas across the Middle East — and beyond it.

MENA+ covers AI and tech — and geopolitics, the war for talent, which BSD is on top (and who's gunning for them), the changing energy economy, new corridors to India and China, and much, much more.

What’s with the “+” in MENA+? We think one of the most powerful stories in the region is the *export* of ideas and capital not just to neighboring regions (Asia, the Stans) but to international financial centers. MENA countries are jockeying for position in the new global economy now taking shape, and we're going to shape that conversation.

Tap or click here to get your own copy delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 12pm UAE | 11am KSA | 11am Egypt.

The big story abroad

The UAE’s decisionto leave Opec on 1 May is dominating the news cycle. The move is sure to create more uncertainty in the Gulf energy scene, which is already grappling with the friction of the US-Iran standoff and the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. Want to go deeper? We have extensive coverage in this morning’s EnterpriseAM UAE edition.

MEANWHILE- The US Federal Reserve will announce its decision on interest rates this evening (Cairo time). Pundits widely expect it to leave rates unchanged.

AND- Transatlantic unity was the main takeaway from King Charles’ address to the UScongress. The UK monarch urged the US to move away from isolation and highlighted the importance of Washington’s participation with Europe, Nato allies, and Ukraine, calling on the countries to “ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking.”

Drama in the tech world: Elon Musk’s legal feud with OpenAI founders is heating up after they faced off in court — the Tesla founder is claiming that the founders behind the ChatGPT maker broke pledges to remain a nonprofit AI research lab.

And speaking of OpenAI: Investor confidence in the AI boom wavered yesterday following OpenAI’s failure to meet its targets for users and revenues. OpenAI-linked firms, including Oracle and SoftBank, faced a market sell-off soon after, with some shares sliding over 4%.

*** 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 dive into the coordination problem keeping Egypt’s logistics performance behind regional peers, and why a move toward shared data platforms is now more critical than adding more concrete.