Transport Ministry to reject AD Ports’ sweetened MTO for Alex Containers

Good morning, ladies and gents. In our big story today we look at the latest win for our automotive localization efforts — Chinese luxury EV maker Rox Global will start manufacturing what is set to be the first locally-made luxury EV under an equity shareholder with Ezz El Arab Elsewedy Investments.

Egypt is cementing its status as the East Med’s premier energy middleman, striking a new agreement with ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy to receive, process, and re-export gas from Cyprus’s Pegasus and Glaucus fields.

From the Med to China: We take a deep dive into China’s recent extension of its local-currency swap line with us for three more years, lifting the ceiling to CNY 30 bn. This gives us a buffer, but won't fix our massive trade deficit with Beijing.

BUT FIRST- A tip of the hat this morning to the Egyptian chief marketing officers who made Forbes Middle East’s 2026 list of most influential CMOs. Longtime friends of EnterpriseAM are peppered across the list, including some of our favourite people: May El Gammal (EFG Holding), Romany Hafez (CIB), Hassan El Sada (Beltone), and Ghada Hammouda (Qalaa Holdings). Among our friends from the UAE represented are Muna Al Ghurair (Mashreq) and Suad Merchant (GEMS Education).

Also making the list from Omm El Donia: Abdelazim Osman (Nawy), Ahmed Imbabi (E& Egypt), Ahmed Negm (Elsewedy Electric), Ayman Zahran (TMG), Dina Abou Taleb (National Bank of Egypt), Dina Atallah (Al Ahly Sabbour Developments), Fatma El Goully (Banque Misr), Gehan ElGoly (HDB), Mohamed Eid Soliman (Pickalbatros Hotels & Resorts), Nour Elzeny (Suez Canal Bank), Passant Fouad Ismail (Valmore Holding). Yosra Ebeidy (El Gouna / ODE)

You can tap or click here to explore the full list.

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ARE YOU MORE OF A LISTENER?Morning Drive is a 10-minute summary of today’s issue crafted for you to enjoy with your morning coffee, while getting the kids ready for school, or driving through the morning rush. And if you like it, tell your friends to tell their friends. They can find us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever they get their podcasts.

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Holding tight

EXCLUSIVE- The Transport Ministry is set to reject AD Port’s mandatory tender offer to acquire up to 90% of Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling (ALCN), a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM. The Emirati port operator — bidding through its subsidiary Black Caspian Logistics — offered EGP 27.47 per share last week to consolidate its control over the local maritime operator. The newly submitted offer will be presented at an upcoming ALCN board meeting, pending the receipt of an official decision from the state-owned Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport, the official says.

The state is holding the line: The Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ-owned AD Ports has recently sweetened its bid by 19.5% from an initial EGP 22.99 per share offer submitted late last year, attempting to consolidate the 51.33% indirect majority it has built in the company since 2022. But the government — which controls a combined 42.9% blocking stake of ALCN through the Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport (35.3%) and the Alexandria Port Authority (7.6%) — is refusing to hand over the keys of its lucrative Mediterranean gateway asset.

FRA gives teeth to court rulings

The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) launched a new system to enforce final court and arbitration rulings on unlisted securities held at the central depository, the authority said in a statement. The decision is meant to fix a long-running market bottleneck where mandatory orders forcing the sale or transfer of these financial instruments stalled out due to the lack of a clear execution pipeline.

How it works: The prevailing party hands their final ruling or arbitration award to Misr for Central Clearing, Depository, and Registry (MCDR), alongside proof of notification to the losing party, evidence of payment (if required), and all necessary regulatory approvals. MCDR reviews the paperwork, gives the EGX one week to flag any issues, and finally moves the securities and settles the funds where required.

SOUND SMART- Unlisted securities are shares or other papers that do not trade on the main stock exchange but still need an official system to change hands. This includes shares of companies that left the EGX but kept their records at MCDR or other private shares that rely on official market infrastructure. Because they are not publicly listed, these shares do not have daily price limits, index tracking, or regular opening and closing bells.

Why it matters: The decision finally adds teeth to the specialized dispute-resolution system the FRA has been building for non-bank financial markets. Last year, former FRA head Mohamed Farid argued that Egypt doesn’t need new capital-market courts — it can utilize existing economic courts and the Egyptian Center for Arbitration and Settlement of Non-Banking Financial Disputes (ECAS). ECAS offers a fast-track arbitration route for financial disputes, Executive Director Marian Kaldas explained to us in 2024. Now, current FRA boss Islam Azzam is closing the loop, ensuring those hard-won judicial rulings actually result in shares changing hands.

No more waiting

The Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority (MRMIA) launched its first-ever open-sector mining exploration bid round on 10 June, replacing the old single-deadline system with a rolling application window for various minerals, the authority said in a statement last week.

Here’s how it works:

• No more waiting: Companies can now apply for an exploration block whenever they are ready;
• The 30-day clock: Once an initial bid is submitted for a specific block, a 30-day window automatically opens for competitors to make a counter-offer;
• Always available: Blocks that attract no bids remain on the open market.

IN CONTEXT- We broke the news back in February that the Oil Ministry was developing this new digital platform to move away from the traditional, area-specific bidding process. The open-sector system eliminates the bureaucratic friction of periodic auctions — which historically required companies to buy expensive booklets, pay exorbitant ins. fees, and wait years for a tender window. This should help the government achieve its target of raising the mining sector’s GDP contribution to5-6%by 2030, up from less than 1% currently.

Happening today

Sisi, Trump set to meet amid regional war wind-down: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is slated to meet with US President Donald Trump at the G7 Summit in France, which kicks off today, Bloomberg reports, citing White House officials. The ongoing US-Iran conflict is expected to weigh heavily on the proceedings, though Trump noted a resolution could be signed imminently. France has invited Egypt — a key mediator — in addition to other nations affected by the war, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. The summit will wrap up on Wednesday.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another sunny day in Cairo, with the capital looking at a high of 34°C and a low of 23°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s nicer in Alexandria, with a high of 28°C and a low of 20°C.

You can survive a bad investment, but you cannot undo a severance package you never negotiated.

You're at the stage where the questions have shifted: who gets what, whether your estate survives you intact or gets tied up in courts, whether you exit on your terms or let timing decide for you.

Retirement isn't a finish line but a structure problem, and most people get it wrong. It's not because they ran out of money but because they never asked the right questions at the right time.

In the final issue of EnterpriseAM Money Matters, we cover the decisions that define how you exit: estate planning under Egyptian law, what to actually ask your lawyer before you step back, how to read a severance package, when phased retirement makes financial sense — and when cashing out your options is the smartest move you'll make this decade.

Coming straight to your inbox — Wednesday, June 17.

The big story abroad

Mark your calendars for Friday: The US and Iran will ink an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Friday — the agreement is “now complete,” according to US President Donald Trump.

While the details of the agreement remain unclear, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said it includes the “permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” And contrary to Trump’s statement, the Iranian side said the agreement calls for the reopening of Hormuz within 30 days.

The UK, France, Germany, and Italy said they’re ready to lift sanctions on Iran in light of its efforts addressing its nuclear program. “Iran ‌must ⁠never acquire a nuclear weapon. We stand ready to work with ⁠the US, Iran and the IAEA to this ⁠end,” they said in a joint statement.

Markets reacted as expected: After Trump’s call for the ships of the world to start their engines and “let the oil flow,” Brent fell almost 4% to USD 83.86. One LNG tanker is on its way to the strait after being stuck in the Gulf for months now, we’ll be closely watching to see if it makes the trip safely.

Asian markets and US futures celebrated the news: Asia-Pacific equities jumped in early trading, with Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi hitting fresh highs on the back of the news and a semiconductor-led rally. Over in the US, stocks are set to open up, with futures in the green.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We unpack the government’s new play to educate the next generation of retail investors by injecting financial literacy and simulated EGX trading directly into the Grade 11 curriculum.