CBE sees stronger growth despite regional conflict

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Egypt’s sovereign bond risk falls to 322 bps, lowest since 2014

Good morning, friends, and a happy MPC-meeting Thursday. We’ve got three stories today that all put specifics on the table that were previously missing — a macro read on monetary policy, a rulebook for shortselling, and a price list for industrial land.

The CBE’s monetary policy report is the anchor. Growth forecasts are up slightly, near-term inflation is coming in below earlier projections, and external buffers held better than expected. The MPC meets today to decide on rates, and the case for holding seems to be stronger than the case for cutting.

Shortselling finally gets a rulebook. The FRA issued the framework yesterday, five months after the rules were first laid out in March. Brokerages have one month from the effective date to get their systems prepped, which puts the earliest live trading in late September, by our math.

And the industrial land price list is out. The new tariff table fills the missing piece of the FY 2026/27 framework, with governorate-by-governorate and city-by-city prices, two payment tracks for ownership, and updated terms for usufruct and lease-to-own.

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Sovereign spreads find relief

Markets signaling greater confidence in Egypt’s macro outlook: The extra yield investors demand to hold our sovereign USD debt over US Treasuries fell to 322 bps at the end of last week, its lowest level since 2014, according to JPMorgan data cited by Bloomberg. The spread has narrowed by around 150 bps since March and by almost 12 percentage points from three years ago, when default concerns were running high.

Egyptian bonds have delivered more than 10% returns since the end of March, compared with 3.2% for emerging markets overall, while five-year sovereign credit default swaps have fallen 162 bps to 269 bps over the same period. Record FX reserves, IMF support, strong remittances, tourism revenues, and a more flexible EGP have helped rebuild investor confidence.

Markets increasingly think the improvement has legs: Investors cited by Bloomberg say Egypt is being viewed less as a sovereign facing acute external financing stress and more as a reform-oriented, high-yield credit, although high gross funding needs and slow progress on privatization remain key vulnerabilities. That shift echoes Morgan Stanley’s latest assessment (pdf) that our external position has proven more resilient to the regional energy shock than previously expected.

** We have more on Morgan Stanley’s outlook for our financing gap, inflation, interest rates, and the EGP next week.

More wells, less decline

The Oil Ministry is lining up about USD 850 mn to connect nine new gas wells by the end of 2026, targeting gross additions of around 370 mmcf / d, Al Arabiya reports, citing an unnamed government official. About 110 mmcf / d, roughly 30% of the planned volumes, would offset natural declines at existing fields, leaving a net 260 mmcf / d addition to the national grid. Three wells are slated for August and September, with six more expected in 4Q 2026.

Where they’re drilling: Five wells are in deepwater Mediterranean fields, while four are in the Gulf of Suez and Nile Delta. Eni, Shell, Apache, and Cheiron Petroleum are carrying out the projects.

The depletion problem isn’t going away: The new wells are part of the Oil Ministry’s wider push to add 1 bcf / d of gas production by end-2026. We reported last March that domestic output stood at 3.9 bcf / d, while existing fields are losing roughly 120 mmcf / d each month to natural decline. The nine-well plan is part of a broader drilling drive targeting 160 new oil and gas wells this FY, with at least USD 7.2 bn in planned investment from foreign partners.

6 GHz tested

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) completed what it calls Africa’s first trial of mobile services using the upper 6 GHz spectrum band in partnership with Telecom Egypt and Huawei, according to a statement (pdf). The technical trial involved operating a mobile base station on the band and completing a data call, achieving data-transfer speeds of about 1.7 Gbps per user. This is not a commercial rollout.

Why it matters: The band could support future high-capacity mobile networks and applications, including AI, internet-of-things services, cloud computing, and virtual and augmented reality, NTRA said.

The trial is separate from the government’s USD 3.5 bn spectrum agreement with the country’s four mobile operators. Announced in February, that agreement provides 410 MHz of additional spectrum in the 1.8 GHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands, and NTRA’s spectrum roadmap (pdf) says the assignments will run until 2039.

Africa calls again

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has renewed his call for a dedicated entity to coordinate Egyptian investments across African markets, according to a ministry statement. The proposed vehicle would bring state bodies, banks, and private-sector companies into a single investment-support framework, while a centralized database of prospects and priority projects could give local investors clearer visibility on where to deploy capital.

A renewed call: The proposal echoes a similar call Abdelatty made in an earlier meeting with Investment Minister Mohamed Farid. Neither public statement appears to provide a funding structure, regulatory form, or timetable, leaving investors with a policy signal rather than an investable vehicle for now.

ALSO- Egypt is expanding its commercial and logistics links across East Africa. Orascom Investment Holding is preparing its Egypt-Kenya trade platform Outrovato, with around 200 Egyptian factories onboarded and a USD 30-60 mn target for bilateral trade in food, building materials, furniture, fertilizers, and plastics. Egypt has signed a maritime cooperation pact with Eritrea, while state-owned and private firms have signed agreements to develop a multipurpose terminal, regional logistics hub, and solar plant in Djibouti. In Tanzania, Egypt is eyeing a Safaga-Dar es Salaam shipping line and support for Dar es Salaam port’s expansion, while seven Egyptian investors have signed MoUs for pharma, engineering, and food-production plants at Elsewedy Industrial City.

PSA-

#1- Banks are joining the long weekend: Banks will be closed on Thursday, 27 August, in observance of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, according to a statement from the Central Bank. Operations will resume on Sunday, 30 August. EnterpriseAM will also be taking a break from your inboxes on Thursday, and we’ll be back on Sunday as usual.

#2- WEATHER- Another tolerable summer day in Cairo today, with a high of 34°C and a low of 23°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s not much different in Alexandria, with a high of 32°C and a low of 23°C.

And over the weekend, expect to see heat tick up by two degrees in the capital, reaching a high of 36°C, and inch down for our friends on the Mediterranean, topping out at 30°C.

The big story abroad

The state of US debt has taken top billing on the front pages, after reaching a record USD 40 tn — rising by USD 3 tn over the past year, the fastest ever pace excluding the pandemic years. Rising spending on social programs and interest, compounded by tax cuts, is stoking investor fears of an impending US fiscal crisis. The US Treasury stepped in with measures for long-term bonds, offering some relief to global investor jitters over surging yields.

Over in Silicon Valley, semiconductor group Marvell will help Google develop in-demand custom chips, and has offered the tech giant the right to buy up to USD 12.2 bn in Marvell shares. Companies are turning to in-house chips like Google’s Tensor Processing Units for cheaper AI inference compared to costly Nvidia GPUs.

And in Asian markets: South Korean memory chipmaker SK Hynix announced plans to buy back KRW 40 tn in stock, a move to stabilize its stock price following a steep two-month decline of over 50%. Analysts view the measure as an effort to appease local retail investors upset after new share issuances for the company's US listing diluted their holdings.

In the defense space: JPMorgan Chase co-led a USD 1 bn funding round for missile-making startup Castelion, alongside Andreessen Horowitz and Carlyle. The fresh capital will fund the development of a larger hypersonic strike weapon and a mass-produced air missile defense, signaling blue-chip interest in the booming defense sector.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood: BlackRock’s HPS and Oaktree Capital Management have seized MBS Group, a firm specializing in lighting and rigging for Hollywood films, erasing as much as USD 900 mn in debt. The firms converted debt into around USD 100 mn in equity and agreed to invest USD 40 mn more in the global entertainment provider.

CBE lifts growth forecasts as economy withstands regional shock

The country’s economy is proving more resilient than expected in the face of the Iran-US conflict, prompting the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to slightly raise its growth forecasts and lower its near-term inflation projections, according to its latest Monetary Policy Report (pdf). The CBE now sees real GDP growth at 5% in FY 2025/26 and 4.9% in FY 2026/27, up 0.1 percentage points from its previous forecasts for both years, before growth accelerates to 5.4% in FY 2027/28.

Inflation will remain elevated for some time: Headline inflation averaged 14.6% in 2Q, slightly below the CBE’s previous 15% forecast, and is expected to temporarily accelerate in 3Q on unfavorable base effects before resuming its decline. The CBE sees inflation averaging 16.6% in FY 2026/27 under its baseline scenario, before falling to 8.1% in FY 2027/28 and aligning with its 7% ±2 percentage point target range during 2H 2027.

A better-than-expected Suez Canal recovery is helping the growth outlook: The CBE attributed part of its growth upgrade to stronger Canal activity than was assumed in its previous forecast, with Suez Canal receipts rising 29% y-o-y in 1Q. Manufacturing and services, particularly tourism, are expected to remain key growth drivers, while the extraction sector is projected to improve on higher oil and gas production in FY 2027/28.

External buffers weathered the geopolitical shock: Net international reserves rose to USD 55.1 bn at the end of June from USD 52.8 bn in March, while the banking system’s net foreign assets recovered to USD 22.9 bn in May from USD 21.4 bn in March. The EGP also strengthened to 49.2 against the greenback at the end of June from 54.6 three months earlier. The improvement came despite USD 9.5 bn in portfolio outflows following the outbreak of the regional conflict in late February 2026.

The current account remains a weak spot: The deficit more than doubled y-o-y to USD 5.1 bn, or 1.2% of GDP, in 1Q 2026, driven by wider hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon trade deficits and a widening net investment income deficit. Higher remittances, stronger tourism, and Suez Canal receipts helped cushion the deterioration, while the overall balance of payments managed to record a marginal USD 0.3 bn surplus.

How a weaker EGP feeds into inflation: The CBE estimates that every 1% depreciation of the EGP raises annual headline inflation by around 0.18 percentage points on average during the first year after the shock, with the impact peaking roughly three quarters later. The pass-through to core inflation is slightly higher at 0.2 percentage points. The central bank also suggests that the shift toward a more flexible exchange rate regime could mean lower exchange-rate pass-through going forward.

The CBE isn’t declaring victory just yet: The MPC kept rates unchanged at its May and July meetings, maintaining what it described as an “adequately tight” monetary stance to keep inflation on track toward its target. Geopolitics remains the key swing factor: The CBE sees FY 2026/27 inflation averaging 15.2% under its de-escalation scenario and 17.8% if the conflict intensifies, compared to 16.6% under the baseline, underscoring why policymakers remain cautious despite the stronger growth, FX, and reserves outlook.

The decision is due today, when the MPC holds its fifth meeting of the year to decide on interest rates, after keeping rates unchanged at its past three meetings. July’s 14.9% annual urban inflation reading — its first rise since March — came in below analysts’ expectations, but the roughly 12% household electricity-tariff increase announced that month has yet to fully filter into the data.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Shortselling rules are finally here, but trading isn’t

Short selling finally has a framework and a path to implementation. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) issued a new rulebook (pdf) for short selling yesterday, five months after the regulator first laid out the rules in March. Brokerages already approved for short selling get one month from the decision’s effective date to have the tech ready, which could point to the rollout in late September, by our math. The decision will be published within days and is set to take effect the day after.

We were already waiting: Earlier this month, EGX Chairman Omar Radwan told us short selling would launch before the end of the month, with the final system tests already underway. The FRA first floated short selling in 2019, licensing 51 brokerages — including EFG Hermes, CI Capital, Prime Holdings, HC Securities, Cairo Capital Securities, Shuaa Securities, Arqaam, Arab African International Securities, and Premiere Securities — and promising trial runs, but the rollout never materialized.

What changes mechanically

Shareholders of an EGX-listed company can collectively lend out up to 40% of the company’s freefloat, up from the 25% ceiling set in March. No more than 5% of that freefloat can sit in direct contracts arranged between a brokerage, a lender (shareholder), and a borrower (short seller). These are transactions for which the brokerage is responsible, rather than routing through Misr for Central Clearing, Depository, and Registry’s (MCDR) lending system. Meanwhile, no single client can borrow more than 2% of a company’s freefloat, including related parties. The new decision does not restate the March framework’s separate 5% cap on a lender and its related group.

How the caps stack up: Consider a company with 1 bn freefloating shares. The lending pool tops out at 400 mn shares under the 40% ceiling (up from 250 mn under the March rules). Of that, 50 mn shares at most can be lent through direct broker-arranged contracts, and any one short seller stays limited to 20 mn shares, or 2%.

Short sellers can’t pile onto a falling stock. The sale price of borrowed shares has to be above the last traded price or equal to it, provided the last price move was upward. This is an uptick-style rule engineered to stop borrowed stock from being dumped into a decline. “This isn’t naked short selling,” Radwan said. Shares need to be sourced and recorded through MCDR’s system, with a 50% cash margin posted before they can be sold. So you can’t short a stock you haven’t actually borrowed, which makes willing lenders central to whether the market gets off the ground.

Sweetening the terms for lenders: MCDR will invest the short-sale proceeds in fixed-income instruments, with lenders getting that return on top of their lending rate once the position closes. That tackles the incentive problem. Radwan told us that getting asset owners to actually lend their shares has been one of the main hurdles. Under the new setup, lenders get an extra return on the sale proceeds, while borrowers get more choice over who they borrow from and only pay for as long as they keep the position open.

Brokerages need fewer hands on deck: Instead of the three certified experts required under the March rules, firms can run the desk with one experienced employee meeting the conditions set out in the decision.

The appetite question

The timing lines up with a new class of investor built to use exactly this kind of capacity. Just last week, the FRA cleared the way for Egypt’s first hedge funds, allowing fund managers to establish new hedge funds or convert existing funds into them. These funds may use leverage, derivatives, and shortselling strategies that can depend on access to borrowed stock.

The move is set to give Egypt’s still-thin derivatives market another push. EGX30 futures launched in March, and CIB and TMG single-stock contracts followed in June, but volumes have stayed low. Al Ahly Pharos’ Hany Genena cited restrictive fund mandates on leveraged instruments as one factor, alongside other market-structure constraints, rather than a lack of appetite.

But a stronger shortselling framework does not necessarily mean immediate demand. Shortselling demand shows up mainly in sustained downtrends, when declines run longer than rallies, Tycoon Securities’ Sameh Gharib tells EnterpriseAM. In the current market uptrend, most investors are buying and holding or trading around existing positions, so utilization would stay light even with a wider ceiling. “Even if activated today, utilization would remain relatively limited compared to a bear market,” he says.

What’s still missing

Only a subset of EGX-listed stocks will be eligible for short selling. The EGX still needs to set the eligibility criteria for stocks that can be made available for lending, subject to FRA approval, which leaves the practical reach of the higher ceiling an open question until that list exists. The plumbing isn’t finished — MCDR still has to write the technical procedures and get the FRA chairman’s sign-off, coordinate with the EGX on systems, and build the automated link between the trading system and the central lending system.

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Gov’t raises industrial land prices again as it widens payment and tenure options

Industrial land is getting pricier again. The government is raising prices for plots allocated to investors while expanding payment and tenure options to include ownership, usufruct, and lease-to-own, according to an official decision seen by EnterpriseAM. The increases shown in the new tariff table are generally lower than the 10-250% hikes approved last September, while discounted pricing remains in place for unserviced plots and areas targeted for industrial investment.

The tariff table fills in the missing piece of the FY 2026/27 industrial-land framework we looked at earlier this month, when the government set the rules through June 2027 without publishing the governorate-specific prices. In New Cairo, land now costs EGP 6,435 per sqm, up 10% from EGP 5,850, while youth workshop plots rose by the same percentage to EGP 7,095 from EGP 6,450.

The price map:

Cairo: Qatameya, the priciest location, is EGP 8,520 per sqm for ownership and EGP 430 under usufruct. Badr is EGP 3,695 for ownership and EGP 185 for usufruct, with other plots at EGP 2,180. In 15th of May City, industrial land is EGP 3,165-3,180, youth workshops EGP 2,180-2,545, and usufruct EGP 110-130. Shorouk is EGP 3,695 for ownership and EGP 135 under usufruct.
Giza: 6th of October industrial land is EGP 3,220 per sqm and youth workshops cost EGP 3,355. New October is EGP 3,270, Abu Rawash EGP 4,000, and Arab Abu Saed EGP 3,450.
Main hubs: 10th of Ramadan is EGP 3,300 for ownership and EGP 165 under usufruct, while youth workshops there cost EGP 3,695 for ownership and EGP 185 under usufruct. New Borg El Arab is EGP 2,440 for industrial land and EGP 2,550 for youth workshops. New Alamein is EGP 2,965 for industrial land and EGP 3,570 for youth workshops.

Upper Egypt and other targeted investment areas continue to carry lower price tags:

Fayoum: New Fayoum is EGP 2,200 per sqm and EGP 2,420 for youth workshops; Kom Oshim is EGP 2,250. Unserviced North Fayoum plots cost EGP 100 for ownership and EGP 5 under usufruct.
Beni Suef: New Beni Suef rose to EGP 2,245 from EGP 2,040; New Fashn is EGP 2,160; and Kom Abu Radi and Bayad Al Arab are EGP 1,890. Unserviced plots cost EGP 40 for ownership or EGP 2 under usufruct.
Minya: New Minya rose 7.5% to EGP 1,720 from EGP 1,600, with youth workshops costing EGP 2,025.

Two paths to ownership

Investors buying their plots outright can choose between two payment tracks:

Standard track: A 25% down payment, with the balance spread across three equal annual installments at 12% interest. Investors have three years from receiving the plot to complete the project and obtain an operating license and industrial registration.
Eased track: A 10% down payment, with the balance paid in equal quarterly installments over four years at 12% interest, with a two-year grace period to complete the project and obtain an operating license and industrial registration.

Legacy investors who already paid 25% can apply to the Industrial Development Authority to shift to the eased track, with the extra 15% deducted from subsequent installments.

Usufruct gets a route to ownership

Investors can opt for usufruct at an annual rate of 5% of the ownership price, rising cumulatively by 10% annually from year two and subject to revaluation every seven years. Agreements can run for up to 50 years and be renewed while the industrial activity continues and the investor demonstrates operational commitment. Investors can apply to buy after one year once they demonstrate seriousness and obtain an operating license and industrial registration. The land is repriced when ownership is approved, with prior usufruct payments deducted. Under last September’s framework, investors had to operate for at least three years before making the switch.

Lease-to-own is also on the menu, following the system rolled out earlier this month to reduce the capital manufacturers tie up in land before production begins. Annual rent starts at 5% of the ownership price and rises cumulatively by 10% annually from year two, with terms of seven to 21 years. Investors can purchase during the lease after meeting performance criteria and demonstrating good financial and compliance standing. They must pay or top up payments to at least 25% of the land value at the approved purchase price, then pay the balance over three equal annual installments plus applicable interest.

Separate track for industrial

Industrial developers will put down 25% at signing and get a one-year grace period before paying the balance over three annual installments carrying 12% interest. When developers resell industrial plots to manufacturers in installments, they will also be barred from charging interest above 12%. The enforcement side is tougher: across the payment systems, the landholding authority can terminate a contract after an investor misses two consecutive installments, subject to the rules governing the authority.

IN CONTEXT- The new tariff table completes a broader industrial-land reset that has unfolded over the past few weeks. The government locked in the FY 2026/27 allocation framework earlier this month while leaving the prices undisclosed after rolling out lease-to-own to lower upfront capital requirements. It has simultaneously tightened the pressure on holders to actually put plots to work, giving some delayed projects up to 18 additional months to finish construction while putting repeat defaulters on one final three-month clock before their land can be reclaimed.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Saudi-Egyptian company Techno Bond targets up to USD 50 mn in investments for Sokhna plant

Saudi-Egyptian company Techno Bond signed a contract with Main Development Company (MDC) to build an industrial complex for aluminum cladding panels and aluminum coils in the Sokhna Industrial Zone, according to a statement from the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone). The project will be built on a 25k sqm site within MDC’s development area, with USD 18 mn in initial investment and a total target of USD 50 mn. The first phase is expected to begin operation by the end of 2027.

Sokhna’s manufacturing pipeline grows: The signing adds to a string of foreign-backed manufacturing investments in Sokhna. These include Turkish manufacturer Ukinox’s planned USD 14 mn stainless-steel kitchen-sink plant and Chinese solar equipment maker Sunrev Solar’s USD 200 mn solar-component manufacturing complex in the China-Egypt Teda trade zone.

MEANWHILE- Turkish investors are planning to invest USD 150 mn in seven factories in the SCZone, focused on textiles, garments, and auto parts, Al Borsa reports, citing Egyptian-Turkish Businessmen Association Vice President Hamada Al Agwani. The investors are preparing land allocation and licensing applications, with formal submissions expected in the next two to three months. Project locations and other details have yet to be finalized.

Agriculture too: Egypt and Turkey are discussing a package of agricultural projects estimated at around USD 100 mn, spanning modern irrigation, seed production and packaging, and agro-processing, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed Agriculture Ministry sources. The discussions also cover easing licensing and investment procedures, though the government hasn’t publicly confirmed the proposed investment value, participating companies, individual projects, or timeline.

From farms to factories: The proposals include joint efforts to localize modern irrigation technologies, develop higher-quality seeds, and establish agro-processing facilities for fruit and other horticultural concentrates. The talks are reportedly looking at prospects in East Oweinat and the New Delta, as well as research and training programs involving Egypt’s Agricultural Research Center. Turkish investors are also expected to visit Egyptian agricultural projects and farms to assess potential prospects.

IN CONTEXT- The proposed projects would extend the Egyptian-Turkish investment push into agriculture. Turkish companies have invested more than USD 3 bn in Egypt across some 1.7k businesses, with textiles and garments being a key focus and Qantara West emerging as a hub for prospective Turkish manufacturers. Cairo and Ankara are targeting USD 15 bn in bilateral trade by 2028, up from around USD 9 bn, while businesses on both sides are discussing a USD 4-5 bn investment pipeline across textiles, chemicals, ports, logistics, and contracting.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Mohamed Ibrahim takes the helm at Golden Triangle Economic Zone Authority

Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim (LinkedIn) was appointed chairman of the General Authority for the Golden Triangle Economic Zone for a one-year term, effective 14 August, under a presidential decree announced by the authority. Ibrahim steps up from the deputy chairman role, which he had held since April.

Ibrahim brings more than two decades of experience in economic diplomacy, trade, investment, and government. His career includes representing Egypt in World Trade Organization negotiations in Geneva, serving at the commercial office of the Egyptian Embassy in London, and holding senior posts at the Trade and Industry Ministry and the Egyptian Commercial Service. He headed Egypt’s commercial office in Tokyo between 2021 and 2025, before becoming director of the Commercial Service’s technical office in June 2025.

REMEMBER- Ibrahim takes the helm shortly after the authority signed its first industrial-developer agreement. Elsewedy Industrial Development inked a contract late last month to develop a 6 mn sqm industrial and logistics zone in Safaga over three phases, targeting mining, mineral-based manufacturing, logistics, and export-oriented industries.

Egyptian exporters sign USD 168 mn in China deals as tariff window opens

Egyptian exporters signed 17 contracts worth an estimated USD 168 mn with Chinese buyers covering flax, textile yarns, leather, copper, aluminum, sugarcane, and oranges, according to an Investment Ministry statement. The agreements were signed during the jointly sponsored Export to China event, which brought together 16 Chinese importers and around 40 representatives from Egyptian export sectors.

If fully executed, the agreements would be equivalent to roughly 20% of Egypt’s entire 2025 export haul to China, which stood at around USD 819 mn. The Egyptian Commercial Service’s Beijing and Shanghai offices will follow up on the implementation of the contracts, meaning the USD 168 mn figure is contract value rather than realized exports.

IN CONTEXT- China’s two-year zero-tariff window for eligible Egyptian exports kicked off on 1 May, giving local exporters a fresh opening into a market where Egypt still runs a sizable trade deficit. We looked in June at whether preferential access could translate into actual orders, with flax among the products identified as having export potential.

The silo race

The Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage (EHCSS) plans to invest roughly EGP 7.5 bn this fiscal year to add 875k tons of grain storage capacity — split between 330k tons of newly built silos and 545k tons from completing existing projects, CEO Ashraf Sadek tells Al Borsa. The expansion is centered around wheat specifically, boosting the state’s ability to absorb larger volumes during local supply seasons while cutting losses from traditional storage methods. It also intends to allow the state more flexibility to hold larger reserves for longer, given volatility in global commodity markets and supply chains.

A storage race: EHCSS is not the only state entity racing to expand grain storage capacity right now. Mostaqbal Misr is separately building 100 silos in the New Delta with 500k tons of capacity, part of a larger 300-silo, 2 mn-ton program built with China’s Famsun. Both likely feed into the broader National Project of Silos, the same program behind EHCSS’s 60k-ton Ataqa silo.

Financing for faster development

Tatweer Misr secured EGP 3 bn in financing from Al Taamir for Leasing and Factoring (Aloula) to accelerate construction at its Fouka Bay and D-Bay projects on the North Coast, with EGP 1.5 bn allocated to each development, according to a press release. Fouka Bay is about 80% built and D-Bay 65%, with both slated for completion within two years. Al Taamir CEO Haitham Serag pointed to the North Coast’s growing weight as a tourism and investment draw as the rationale, noting the firm’s three-year-plus relationship with Tatweer Misr.

It’s the latest installment in a broader liquidity push we’ve been tracking: Tatweer Misr CEO Ahmed Shalaby told us last month that hedging against inflation is impossible, which is why the company launched its EGP 20 bn securitization program to keep construction funded. This latest facility follows the launch of SALT Marina, which ties Fouka Bay, D-Bay, and SALT together. It also comes after Tatweer Misr posted the sector’s strongest 1Q 2026 sales growth among the top 10 developers, with sales rising to EGP 43.8 bn from EGP 3.2 bn a year earlier. With Shalaby eyeing an EGX listing by 2027, keeping delivery on schedule is doing double duty as an investor pitch.

Another exit

Saudi VC Khwarizmi Ventures partially cashed out of Bosta, generating a net return of approximately 3x its total invested capital, the Riyadh-based firm said in a LinkedIn post, without naming the buyer, the price, or the stake sold. Khwarizmi said it invested in the Cairo-based last-mile logistics player three times, beginning with the company’s Series A and later leading one of its subsequent funding rounds.

That’s the second disclosed sell-down on Bosta’s register in three months. Beltone Venture Capital and UAE-based Citadel International Holdings exited through their joint fund in May at a 75% IRR, also without identifying a buyer, with Beltone holding on to a separate undisclosed stake through another vehicle.

REFRESHER- Bosta is preparing to float 20-30% of its equity on the EGX by year-end in a transaction valued at roughly EGP 8 bn (USD 160-170 mn), with EFG Hermes on the mandate.

The numbers still don’t match

The Alexandria Economic Court rejected a bankruptcy petition filed by QNB Alahli against El Ahram for Printing and Packaging, the EGX-listed company said in a disclosure (pdf). The petition pertained to EGP 62.3 mn in debt the bank says remains unpaid, plus 1.5% late interest from a 30 April 2024 due date.

El Ahram puts the debt on its own books at EGP 47.49 mn as of end-March, about EGP 14.81 mn below the amount cited in the petition by our math, per the company’s earlier disclosure (pdf). It said this month that it was in talks with the bank on a settlement outside the bankruptcy process. The company reported a net loss of EGP 1.51 mn in 1H 2026, against EGP 92.53 mn a year earlier.

More news on our radar

Dubai-based parking operator Parkin is entering the Egyptian market through an MoU it signed with Modon Misr Asset and Facilities Management, Mowasalat Misr, and Redcon Properties to explore the development of a smart-parking ecosystem in Egypt. No financial terms were disclosed. (Statement)
The New Urban Communities Authority has recovered more than 60 plots in Hadayek October worth roughly EGP 100 mn since the start of the year from owners that failed to pay state dues or meet required development conditions. (Al Arabiya)
The Financial Regulatory Authority gave approval for Digital Banker Waiyak and CFH Asset Management to offer non-bank financial services using fintech. Waiyak was cleared for consumer finance while CFH was approved to manage securities portfolios and investment funds. (Statement)

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

OpenAI’s 2Q revenue growth trails Anthropic as losses widen

OpenAI just posted the kind of quarter that disappoints some shareholders, even as the company continues to grow at a substantial scale. The AI research and tech company behind ChatGPT saw losses deepen and its operating margin worsen in 2Q. The top line rose 18% q-o-q to USD 6.7 bn, up from USD 5.7 bn, while its operating loss widened to USD 12.3 bn, up 32% from USD 9.3 bn, The Wall Street Journal reports.

How the competition fared: Anthropic, the AI firm behind Claude, more than doubled its top line to USD 11.6 bn over the same period and swung to a small operating income, marking the first quarter it outpaced its older rival.

The reshuffle upstairs doesn’t help the optics: CRO Denise Dresser is out after less than a year, joining former COO Brad Lightcap and product chief Fidji Simo (who was once seen as a possible successor to sitting CEO Sam Altman) on the list of executives who left ahead of a much-anticipated IPO.

REFRESHER- OpenAI said on June 8 that it had recently submitted a confidential S-1 registration statement for a potential US IPO while stressing that it has not determined a listing timetable. Reuters had previously reported that the company was targeting a valuation of up to USD 1 tn and that a debut could come as early as September. In late June, Reuters reported that OpenAI was considering delaying its public debut until 2027, citing a New York Times report. Reuters also said CFO Sarah Friar told some associates that the company was aiming for a 2027 listing.

None of this changes the fact that Abu Dhabi’s MGX is an OpenAI investor. One quarter of slower revenue growth and deepening losses does not itself determine the durability of a USD 852 bn valuation. But it raises the question of whether OpenAI can sustain the growth needed to support that valuation, particularly as Anthropic has overtaken it on quarterly revenue.

Qatar’s QIA is an Anthropic investor, having first invested in September 2025 and increased its stake in the company’s USD 30 bn Series G financing. Meanwhile, MGX has investments in OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic. What MGX is exposed to is execution risk across multiple leading AI companies, right as Anthropic — which reported a small operating income in the quarter and faster revenue growth from a smaller base — has strengthened its competitive position.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets made notable gains in early trading, with South Korea’s Kospi gaining 4.8%, followed by Japan’s Nikkei at around 1.3%. The gains coincide with news of US Treasury bond buybacks and SK Hynix’s stock repurchase.

EGX30	54,513	-1.4% (YTD: +30.3%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 50.65	Sell 50.79
USD (CIB)	Buy 50.65	Sell 50.75
Interest rates (CBE)	19.00% deposit	20.00% lending
Tadawul	10,926	+0.1% (YTD: +4.2%)
ADX	10,006	-0.9% (YTD: +0.1%)
DFM	5,842	-0.3% (YTD: -3.4%)
S&P 500	7,708	+0.2% (YTD: +12.6%)
FTSE 100	10,743	+0.1% (YTD: +8.2%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,444	-0.4% (YTD: +11.2%)
Brent crude	USD 91.62	+0.7%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.78	-1.3%
Gold	USD 4,576	+0.7%
BTC	USD 69,749	+8.0% (YTD: -20.4%)
S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index	1,100.07	+0.1% (YTD: +10.8%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	150.53	-0.3% (YTD: +0.9%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	14.89	-6.0% (YTD: -0.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.4% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 14.7 bn (37.7% above the 90-day average). International investors were the sole net sellers. The index is up 30.3% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Investment Holding (+3.3%), Misr Cement (+1.1%), and Heliopolis Housing (+0.5%).

In the red: AMOC (-4.3%), Egypt Aluminum (-3.1%), and Telecom Egypt (-2.9%).

My Morning Routine: Marwan Kenawy, CEO and co-founder of Dsquares

Marwan Kenawy, CEO and co-founder of Dsquares: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Marwan Kenawy (LinkedIn), CEO and co-founder of Dsquares.

Edited excerpts from our conversation:

Business and entrepreneurship have been my passion since college, when I started my first venture during freshman year. These passions built on my experience as a child and teenager. I played football and boxed until I was 18, which taught me about competition, commitment, and resilience. I graduated high school from DEO, the German school in Cairo, where my intellect, discipline, and character were shaped. That foundation carried into my first business endeavor during college, and after graduating, I joined Vodafone for six years before returning to entrepreneurship in 2012. I’ve been building companies ever since.

Dsquares is a loyalty and rewards service provider working with businesses across the Middle East and Africa. As co-founder and CEO, my job is to set the direction of the company, build the right team and culture, and keep us growing while staying focused on long-term ambition. I’m also a partner in Lucky One, Connect Money, and Impact for Learning and Development, which means I stay involved across different businesses and industries.

In 2012, we noticed something most businesses were ignoring: transactions were happening, but no real relationship was behind any of them. Customers came and went, and businesses kept spending on acquisition without ever asking why people weren’t coming back. We saw that gap and built Dsquares to close it. Our first project was with Vodafone Egypt, then Procter and Gamble came on board, followed by the National Bank of Egypt. Once the biggest names trusted us, others found the confidence to follow, and that’s when we knew we had stumbled onto something the market genuinely needed.

The hardest part was building something from scratch in a market that doubted what we were selling. Loyalty wasn’t seen as a profit center; instead, it was treated as a marketing afterthought. Convincing businesses to invest seriously in something they didn’t fully understand took real work, so we proved ourselves, client by client, industry by industry. Every program had to deliver real return on investment (ROI), and slowly, the market started to believe it too.

Two trends stand out to me right now: ecosystem thinking and agentic AI. No single brand builds loyalty alone anymore. The strongest programs today are built on cross-business partnerships, where a bank, a retailer, and a telco can plug into the same ecosystem and let customers earn and redeem value across their whole lifestyle. That’s the model we’ve built at Dsquares for years, and it’s now becoming the global standard.

Agentic AI is pushing us past simple personalization into systems that can act on a customer’s behalf, anticipating needs and managing loyalty value in real time. Both trends point to the same shift: loyalty is becoming a connected, intelligent layer across a customer’s life rather than a standalone program.

The next major milestone for Dsquares is preparing for a potential listing next year, either in Egypt or Saudi Arabia. Taking the company to public markets would be a major achievement for us and an important new chapter in our journey.

My day starts with exercise at home, followed by breakfast and coffee while I catch up on the news and social media. I use the early morning to make calls that need my attention before the day gets busy, and I usually head to the office around 11 am. Reading EnterpriseAM is part of that routine, alongside the rest of my morning news.

No two workdays look quite the same, but most involve internal meetings with the team, alongside client meetings, and a fair amount of travel given our operations span the Middle East and Africa. A big part of my role is making sure everyone is aligned on the bigger picture and moving quickly on what matters most.

The one constant in my day is time with my wife and kids, Omar and Hana. No matter how busy things get, I make time for them. They keep me grounded and put everything else into perspective.

I stay focused by building routines into both my personal and professional life. I try not to get pulled into small distractions and instead keep my attention on what really matters. I review my priorities every week to make sure my time is going where it should.

I’m entering the next stretch of my life looking to grow on every front — personally, professionally, and everywhere in between. On the personal side, I’m looking to pick up new hobbies, give more time to exercise and personal development, and keep learning about the latest developments in technology and AI. Professionally, the ambition is to grow Dsquares into more countries and invest in companies that can help us scale faster and complement our services. The goal is to maintain our regional leadership and eventually become a global leader in loyalty and customer engagement. I’ve also had the chance to attend executive entrepreneurship programs at Columbia Business School and Harvard University.

Until a few years ago, I honestly wasn’t very good at work-life balance, so work was taking up too much of my life. I’ve since worked to find the right mix between work, family, friends, personal development, and wellbeing. I’m still working on it, but I’ve learned that building a successful business matters, though it shouldn’t come at the expense of living my life.

Football is probably the easiest way for me to switch off, whether I’m playing or watching. I’m an Al Ahly fan, and I love traveling to watch matches whenever I can, especially the Premier League and the World Cup. Travel in general is something I make time for outside work too, alongside movies, time with close friends, and quality time with my children. When I have more time, nothing beats the beach, especially the sea and the North Coast.

I gravitate toward podcasts featuring successful entrepreneurs, ranging globally from Elon Musk to regional leaders like Naguib and Samih Sawiris. I find it interesting to hear how people who’ve built major businesses think, make decisions, and look at the future. One thing I’ve learned is that building a business and making money isn’t enough. At some point, you need to figure out how to actually enjoy your life, since success should give you more freedom to live meaningfully rather than become the whole point of living.

Excel at what you do and let success follow, but never think too highly of yourself once it arrives, because luck plays just as big a role as ability. That’s the best piece of advice I’ve received, and it came from Samih Sawiris. I’ve always held onto it. You should work hard and stay humble, because success is never only about your own talent. Timing, circumstances, the people around you, and a good amount of luck all play their part.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

CALENDAR

AUGUST

20 August (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s fifth meeting of 2026.

26 August (Wednesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.

31 August (Monday): Deadline to apply online for the Industrial Development Authority’s 540 lease-to-own industrial plots via the Egypt Industrial Hub

SEPTEMBER

8-10 September (Tuesday-Thursday) El Alamein International Airshow, El Alamein International Airport.

10-12 September (Thursday-Saturday): Egyptian Entrepreneurship Sector Diagnostics Report Summit, El Gouna.

15 September (Tuesday): IMF to hold its eighth review of Egypt’s USD 8 bn EFF arrangement.

24 September (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s sixth meeting of 2026.

27-29 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Global Conference on Population, Health, and Human Development.

28-29 September (Monday-Tuesday): Egypt Mining Forum, St. Regis Hotel New Capital.

30 September - October 3 (Wednesday-Saturday): Cityscape, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

OCTOBER

5 October (Monday): The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum.

6 October (Tuesday): Armed Forces Day.

10-11 October (Saturday-Sunday): Egypt Women’s Health Summit (EWHS), Cairo Marriott Hotel.

26-28 October (Monday-Wednesday): IEX Egypt, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

29 October (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s seventh meeting of 2026.

NOVEMBER

6-8 November (Friday-Sunday) : Global Entrepreneurship Festival, JW Marriott Hotel, New Cairo.

8-11 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT Forum.

DECEMBER

7-10 December (Monday-Thursday): Food Africa, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

17 December (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s eighth meeting of 2026.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2H 2026: Operations at Deli Glass Co’s new USD 70 mn glassware factory kick off.

2026: The Egyptian-American Economic Forum.

4Q 2026: Banque du Caire IPO.

2027

20 January-7 February: Egypt to host the African Games.

1-3 February (Monday-Wednesday): Agri Expo, Cairo International Convention Center.

April 2027: Tenth of Ramadan dry port and logistics hub to begin operations.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2027: Egypt to host EBRD’s annual meetings.

2027: Egypt-EU Summit 2027.

End of 2027: Trial operations at the Dabaa nuclear power plant expected to take place.

September 2028: First unit of the Dabaa nuclear power plant begins operations.

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