Inflation was up 14.9% in July

☀️ Good morning, friends, and happy weekend. We’re introducing something new to the Weekend Edition today: The Long View, a monthly essay on something worth sitting with — not news, not a how-to, just a question the week left behind. This month: the night shift and what the 24/7 economy costs the one in five workers who keep it running while the rest of us sleep.

Elsewhere in today’s issue: We revisit Primal Fear — the 1996 courtroom thriller that gave Edward Norton his start and still holds up — explore a new Japanese-inspired restaurant in Maadi that gets almost everything right, and listen to Cairokee’s new album, which sounds like growing older without quite knowing what to do with it. That and more.

But first, your weekly recap…

🗞️ LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

ECONOMY-

Egypt’s annual urban inflation sped up to 14.9% in July, its first acceleration since March — but it came in below the 15.6% that a Reuters poll of analysts had predicted. The pickup reverses three straight months of cooling — 14.9% in April, 14.6% in May, and 14.3% in June — and puts the rate right back where it stood in the spring.

TELECOM-

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has referred Egypt’s four telecom operators to the public prosecutor, citing recent violations involving SIM lines registered in users’ names without their knowledge. The NTRA ordered a suspension on the sale and activation of new corporate lines across both private-sector and government entities, while requiring operators to notify existing corporate line holders via SMS to re-register in person or face permanent line cancellation. Operators are mandated to fast-track the integration of biometric verification features.

INDUSTRY-

The government has locked in its industrial land pricing and allocation roadmap through June 2027, extending a policy framework that ties state asset facilitation to operational timelines. The new governorate-specific tariff schedule applies to all industrial contracts signed between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027, though the government has yet to publish the price schedule.

CAPITAL MARKETS-

The Financial Regulatory Authority loosened the foreign-currency financing rules it introduced last year, widening the scope of transactions that leasing and SME-finance companies can fund in foreign currency. Under the new rules, this mechanism can be utilized if the proceeds are channeled directly to funding imports, purchasing assets, or settling existing foreign-currency obligations linked to the client’s business.

M&A-

E-finance will pay as much as EGP 4.8 bn for full ownership of MSME lender Tamweely Financial Services, the EGX-listed fintech infrastructure player said in a bourse filing, confirming the acquisition we had flagged earlier this week. This puts Tamweely’s valuation 71% above the price it fetched when it was last sold almost two years ago. The transaction still needs shareholder and regulatory sign-off — from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) — before it can go through, with E-finance eyeing a close in 3Q or 4Q 2026.

HOSPITALITY-

The Awqaf Authority is putting a 41k-sqm plot at the former Rawd El Farag market site in Cairo up for development through a private-sector partnership. The prospect is already open to investors, with the authority accepting proposals from both local and foreign developers. Hotels, office buildings, and towers are among the potential uses identified for the plot by the authority.

AND- Qatari Diar launched the first phase of its USD 29.7 bn Alam El Roum development, with up to EGP 220 bn going into the 4 mn sqm phase. This phase will span around 1.4 mn sqm of built-up area, including four hotels with more than 1k rooms, a marina with 50 yacht berths, around 195k sqm of artificial, swimmable lagoons, and a 2-km beach and waterfront promenade. Initial deliveries are targeted for 2030.

REGULATION-

Fund managers can soon launch hedge funds in Egypt for the first time, either by building ones from scratch or converting existing mutual funds. The decision seeks to deepen local capital markets by introducing absolute-return strategies to the Egyptian Exchange. With that, the FRA just created a whole lot of demand for our nascent derivatives market.

ENERGY-

The Oil Ministry is lining up EGP 257.7 bn in investment to expand extraction activities over the coming period, including EGP 103 bn earmarked specifically for natural gas. The spending will focus on the West Nile and the southern Western Desert, alongside new exploration work, as the ministry looks to lift domestic output after years of declining production and reduce reliance on imports.

AND- Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec brought the rest of its 1.1 GW Obelisk solar-and-battery project in Nagaa Hammadi fully online. The USD 600 mn project’s second and final phase added 564 MW of solar capacity. The company calls Obelisk Africa’s largest hybrid solar-and-battery project. The full project is expected to generate more than 3 TWh of clean electricity annually.

DEBT-

The government is preparing to issue tax-backed sukuk for the first time, allowing corporate taxpayers to purchase sovereign-yield-bearing certificates today and surrender them to clear future tax liabilities after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi approved the proposal. The government expects the tax-exempt instrument to lower its borrowing costs and debt-service bill, offering a more stable alternative to conventional treasury bills.

AND- The gov’t is also preparing to launch a USD-denominated investment fund for Egyptians abroad next year, looking to channel record-breaking remittance inflows into a wider menu of investable assets. The fund was announced during the seventh Egyptians Abroad Conference, where the government rolled out a wider package of financial, digital, consular, healthcare, and payment services for the diaspora.

Making It is back: Six days a week, we help top executives make sense of the Arab world’s companies and economies — and every Thursday, our editor-in-chief, Patrick, talks shop with the people who run them.

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🌍 AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

This week’s headlines were dominated by a US-Iran stand-off stuck in diplomatic quicksand, capped by the revelation that US President Donald Trump secretly swapped planes mid-flight after Iran threatened to shoot down Air Force One. Here’s the rundown.

Negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz went nowhere this week. Iran laid out its conditions for reopening the waterway — ending the naval blockade, lifting sanctions, paying war reparations, and unfreezing Iranian assets — while refusing direct talks with Washington. The UAE reported that an Adnoc carrier was attacked while transiting the strait. Trump counter-demanded that Iran pay reparations for American casualties and said Washington could afford to wait as Tehran’s economy deteriorates.

Pakistan’s defense minister said Wednesday that things are shaping up in favor of peace — neither side confirmed anything. The week’s sharpest — and most humorous — revelation: Trump secretly boarded a catering truck at Ankara airport after Iran threatened to fire a missile at Air Force One during the Nato summit last month, slipping onto a smaller military aircraft out of sight of the cameras.

ELSEWHERE IN THE REGION- Yemen’s Houthis claimed a drone strike on an Aramco refinery in Jazan, with Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry confirming a fire at the site — no casualties were reported. A Syrian court sentenced Bashar Al Assad to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes — the first legislative action against the former Syrian president since he fled in 2024. And Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected a US-backed framework to disarm Hamas, declining to withdraw IDF forces from Gaza.

IN SOUTH AMERICA- Colombia’s most powerful earthquake this century — a 7.4-magnitude tremor — killed at least 164 people. A large section of a hospital in Cali collapsed, leaving 600 patients in urgent need of care.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel ended Warren Buffett’s three-year selling streak, deploying a net USD 19.8 bn in 2Q — including a USD 10 bn stake in Alphabet. Nvidia is mobilizing USD 500 bn for AI infrastructure after signing MoUs with BlackRock, Blackstone, Apollo, Goldman Sachs, and KKR. The Hormuz stand-off is already reshaping global shipping: Panama Canal transit prices jumped 16-fold this month, while Chinese carrier Sea Legend launched the first regular container service through the Arctic — the Ice Silk Road — cutting the China-UK journey from 40 days to roughly 20.

ALSO- More than 1 mn people were evacuated across eastern China as Typhoon Dolphin — the strongest storm to hit the country this year — made landfall near Shanghai, canceling nearly 1k flights and prompting severe flood warnings.

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is back — and we’re devoting the full day to the singular set of questions on everyone’s mind: What does AI actually mean for your company, your people, your economy, your own job — and your kids’ future?

Every session on stage answers one question: “So, what do I actually do about it?”

Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Seats are limited and attendance is by invitation only.

Request your invitation here.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND-

This weekend brings another spell of hot weather in Cairo, with the mercury climbing to a sunny 38°C on both Friday and Saturday — prompting dehydration and heatstroke warnings — before dipping to a clear overnight low of 26°C. Up on the North Coast, it’s a slightly cooler but more humid affair, with highs of 32°C and lows of 24°C on both days, according to our favorite weather app.

🎤 HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

Number 1 is heading to Sahel. Tonight at 10pm, Mohamed Ramadan is taking over the Porto Golf Summer Festival in Al Alamein City. The iconic singer is bringing his signature high-energy, crowd-favorite hits and an unforgettable sing-along summer night. Tickets are available on TicketsMarché.

It’s a star-studded Friday on the North Coast as masked sensation Tul8te heads to Sahel tonight as part of his ongoing world tour. The singer will take over U Arena, North Coast, to perform his addictive chart-topping hits live. Tickets can be purchased through Tellr — the concert kicks off at 6pm.

Comedy group The High Five is heeding their fans’ calls and heading to New Cairo for the first time tonight, with their In & Out Standup Comedy Show at Teatro 90. The five-member crew — Fekry Tarek, Abdelrahman Mohamed, Pola Samwel, Badr Nour, and Gamal Ramzy — brings together distinct comedy styles as they take turns cracking jokes and sharing humorous stories. The show starts at 9pm, and tickets are available on TicketsMarché.

If you’re just settling into Sahel, the Tiatro Romano festival is right there with you as it continues its star-studded summer run. Tonight, Arab pop icons Nawal El Zoghby and Wael Jassar are taking over The Roman Theater in Marina 2, Al Alamein. The night will see both singers bring their biggest hits to the stage. The concert kicks off at 10pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.

🎤 HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Beloved composer and pianist Omar Khairat is taking over the Great Hall at Bibliotheca Alexandrina as part of the library’s International Summer Festival. Khairat will take the stage on Sunday, 16 August, and Monday, 17 August, accompanied by the BA Orchestra led by Nayer Nagui. Expect an evening of Khairat’s unmistakable orchestral sound in one of Alexandria’s most iconic cultural venues. Both concerts begin at 8:30pm — tickets are available through Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s website.

Jordanian indie band Autostrad take the stage at CJC 610 on Wednesday, 19 August, bringing an energetic set of their signature alternative rock hits alongside tracks from their latest album. Resident DJ Andy Cheikho will be spinning the band’s fusion sounds throughout the night. Doors open at 8pm — you can get your tickets through TicketsMarché.

Clear your calendar for Thursday, 20 August, because the legendary Hakim is heading to Sahel, joining the Tiatro Romano’s big-name summer line-up for a performance at the Roman Theater in Marina 2, Al Alamein. The concert kicks off at 10pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.