Egypt wins its first-ever World Cup game

The Pharaohs made history this morning, winning their first ever World Cup match. Egypt secured a 3-1 victory against New Zealand in their second 2026 World Cup game. After New Zealand secured an early lead in the first half, Egypt turned things around in the second half, with goals from Mostafa Ziko, Mohamed Salah, and Trezeguet. The Pharaohs — the current leaders of Group G — will face Iran on Saturday at 6am.

Missed the match? Check out The Athletic’s live coverage here.

IN TODAY’S ISSUE- Egypt is on track to break two wheat records in the same season — local procurement is past last year’s full-season total with two months to run, and imports are up 65% to 7.1 mn tons in January-May. We spoke to economists, traders, and policymakers to unpack the apparent contradiction.

We grab a coffee with British International Investment CEO Leslie Maasdorp and North Africa head Sherine Shohdy to learn how the DFI is rewriting its Egypt playbook. Find out what GBP 15 bn over five years looks like when Egypt is one of the largest single-country exposures, and whether our capital markets are ready for what comes next.

AND- Majid Al Futtaim is anchoring Mada City with a USD 3.1+ bn partnership with Midar that climbs past USD 4 bn once the retail component is in. More on these stories and more in our news well below.

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The brownfield play

The fracking push is delivering — Badr El Din’s latest Western Desert find is proof. The Oil Ministry’s expanded use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling across the upstream sector is putting new barrels and cubic feet into production. Badr El Din Petroleum ran 40 hydraulic fracking operations in the current fiscal year, adding more than 10k bbl / d of oil and over 15 mmcf / d of gas to the national grid.

The latest result? A new gas discovery in the Western Desert. The Badr-15 well is expected to produce around 15 mmcf / d and 500 bbl / d of condensates and to add some 15 bcf to reserves by month-end, according to a statement.

MEANWHILE- Five companies are competing for three mature oil fields in the North Shadwan area of the Gulf of Suez, the Arabic Press reports, citing a government official. The bidders include Saudi drilling contractor Ades, UAE-based Dragon Oil, homegrown Cheiron Petroleum, and two other firms, with the selected firm set to secure all three blocks. The concessions — located in one of Egypt’s oldest oil-producing regions — were offered earlier this year under a dedicated brownfield licensing round by the South Valley Egyptian Petroleum Holding Company, with awards expected in 3Q.

Why it matters: Egypt is looking at mature fields and enhanced recovery techniques as sources of incremental production growth as it tries to reverse declining hydrocarbon output. Two of the North Shadwan blocks are already producing but require additional drilling capital to boost output, while the third is believed to hold undeveloped resources that could be expanded through new exploration.

IN CONTEXT- The discovery occurs as the government targets USD 6.2 bn in investments in the oil and gas sector in FY 2026/27, while aiming to increase oil and condensate production to some 626k bbl / d by the end of the fiscal year, up from the current rates of roughly 560k bbl / d.

Gas price reshuffle?

The government is reportedly preparing to revisit natural gas pricing for energy-intensive industries. Officials are expected to meet manufacturers next month to discuss potential tariff reductions, particularly for fertilizer producers, Al Arabiya reports, citing a source it says has knowledge of the matter. Any pricing revisions will likely take effect during 3Q. The review comes after a cabinet decision in early May to raise gas prices for most industrial users, which aimed to drop the fuel subsidy bill from EGP 75 bn to EGP 16.5 bn.

A return to the structural plan: The government is now studying linking industrial gas prices to either production costs or global benchmarks to support exporters as fertilizer and petrochem markets cool. This marks a return to the flexible pricing formula the government originally prepared before opting for the fixed hike in May to secure immediate fiscal relief.

Three catalysts have shifted the calculus since May: a preliminary US-Iran peace agreement that triggered a 5% drop in global gas prices, a stronger EGP, and cooling export prices for gas-intensive products. Urea, for example, has fallen to USD 600 per ton from a peak of USD 880.

Factories continue to rely heavily on imported LNG. Egypt currently allocates around fiveLNG cargoes per month to industrial consumers — costing some USD 300-350 mn — to insulate the sector from power cuts. More than 65% of those volumes are directed to fertilizers, petrochems, and steel producers to support operations and export commitments.

Not for sale

It’s official. The Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport confirmed in an EGX filing(pdf) that it has no intention of selling any of itsshares in EGX-listed Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling. The move rejects AD Ports’ bid to acquire up to 90% of the company via its subsidiary Black Caspian Logistics, which had launched the mandatory tender offer to consolidate Abu Dhabi wealth fund’s (ADQ) existing 51.33% indirect majority stake. The Transport Ministry-affiliated company’s disclosure confirms our exclusive reporting last week that the government would reject the sweetened EGP 27.47-per-share offer, choosing to sit tight on its 42.9% blocking stake.

Morning must-read

The East Med gas race is no longer just about who has the most gas — it’s about who controls the infrastructure. In our MENA+ deep dive, we look at how Egypt and Turkey are building two competing hub models: Egypt through legacy LNG plants, a growing fleet of FSRUs, and the Arab Gas Pipeline; Turkey through pipelines, massive underground storage, and supply optionality. The read-through for Cairo: Egypt’s paid-for liquefaction infrastructure gives it a structural advantage, but its ability to turn that edge into regional leverage depends on fixing our domestic gas deficit first.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s familiarly warm in Cairo today, with a high of 34°C and a low of 23°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s much nicer in Alexandria, with a high of 29°C and a low of 21°C.

The big story abroad

Ongoing US-Iran peace talks in Switzerland have made “encouraging progress,” establishing a 60-day roadmap for a final agreement, mediators said. The parties agreed to set up a communication line for safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and a “de-confliction cell” with Lebanon to help maintain the halt in military operations.

Talks had looked incredibly fragile just hours earlier. US President Donald Trump threw a wrench into the negotiations, threatening to restart strikes and demanding Tehran stop Hezbollah from “causing trouble.” The Iranian delegation reportedly paused negotiations in response to Trump’s threats.

SpaceX flunks ESG metrics: Elon Musk’s SpaceX received the lowest possible environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating from index provider MSCI, scoring a triple C. The report found that the company is “lagging its industry based on its high exposure and failure to manage significant ESG risks,” and is indirectly involved in one or more serious controversies.

Wars are changing the way VCs look at defence startups: Defence technology startups are attracting USD bns as investors flock to the sector amid drone-heavy wars in Ukraine and the Gulf. Sector companies have raised USD 12.3 bn from VC funds so far this year, already eclipsing last year’s full-year total of USD 10 bn.

It’s shaping up to be a boom year for the box office, with estimates now expecting US theaters to rake in some USD 4.5 bn this year, the highest figure since the Covid-19 pandemic six years ago, thanks to a string of blockbusters, the latest of which is Disney’s Toy Story 5.

*** 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 look at how the country’s international branch campuses are moving past FX pressures and whether the sector can successfully recruit beyond its Egyptian student base.