EGPC will absorb the new natural gas tax

Wednesday, 26 Aug 2026

EGPC will absorb the new natural gas tax

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Today at a glance

Tax

EGPC to absorb new natural gas tax as the government targets EGP 40 bn in revenue.

Investment Watch

RMBV’s North Africa Fund III has closed six agreements, with more in the pipeline.

Investment Watch

Sawiris family, Coefficient LP anchor Swvl's USD 13 mn strategic raise.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Egypt, Saudi Arabia in final stages of trials for 3-GW electricity interconnection.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Amea Power and Housing Ministry discussing investments for solar-powered water infrastructure.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

GlobalCorp’s financing and sales talks stall after loan scandal at its consumer-finance arm.

Also on our Radar

Eni plans 230 new wells in Egypt over 2026-2027 as the country races to slow its gas decline.

PLANET FINANCE

Abu Dhabi just took a third of a USD 24 bn LNG project 5k km from home.

HARDHAT

Revenues for Egypt’s top developers are growing, but the market producing these sales is shrinking.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Egypt, Saudi Arabia in final stages of trials for 3 GW electricity interconnection

Good morning, everyone. Gaps are being filled this morning, with one story about the government filling in the fine print on a tax that’s already in law, and another about private capital filling in a space the public market hasn’t.

The natural gas tax story is all about mechanics. The government scrapped the VAT exemption on gas back in June, but it wasn’t clear who would actually write the check. Now we know it’s the EGPC that will handle the paperwork and settlements, meaning nothing changes for household gas bills.

RMBV’s North Africa Fund III has closed six agreements, with seven or eight more in the pipeline toward an investment portfolio of 10-12 companies. Managing Partner Ahmed Badreldin tells us the fund is designed to back founders through to public market exits, and the EGX is explicitly part of the plan.

But first, a programming note: EnterpriseAM Egypt is off tomorrow as we mark the Prophet’s Birthday (Mawlid Nabawy). Enjoy the long weekend — we’ll be back in your inboxes on Sunday morning.

*** A QUICK NOTE FROM THE AUDIO TEAM- Morning Drive is taking a summer publication holiday today, Tuesday 25 August, and tomorrow Wednesday, 26 August. We’ll be back in your feeds on Sunday 30 August. In the meantime, you can check out our other show Making It, an hour where the founders, CEOs, investors, and policymakers making the biggest decisions in our region show their work and talk about what’s next. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anghami, and YouTube.

Decoding AI with Tarek Assaad: Past the doom and gloom, what the heck is actually going on with AI?

On this episode of Making It, Tarek Assaad, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, joins Patrick to decode the latest in AI.

This is an episode for both the novice and the pro, about what we should make of the recent technological breakthroughs, and what we’re yet to find out.

Listen to the episode on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Anghami | YouTube

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?”

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Request your invitation here.

Power trading, almost

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are in the final stages of technical and operational trials on their 3-GW electricity interconnection, with the results of precision voltage, frequency, and other technical measurements set to determine the timing of commercial operation, a government official tells EnterpriseAM.

Pre-operation trials are expected to conclude by the end of August, the official says. Coordination meetings between the two sides are underway, following an easing in regional tensions, to verify compliance with technical standards and confirm that the Phase 2 works have left both grids ready for operation, the source said. A government document seen by EnterpriseAM says that Phase 2 was completed in 1Q 2026. Full-capacity operation would allow the two grids to exchange up to 3 GW of power, in line with their differing peak-demand timings. Full operation is expected in September, according to an unnamed government official.

The project: The USD 1.8 bn project, first floated in 2012, runs on 500-kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology, built for moving large amounts of power over long distances with minimal losses. It links Egypt’s Badr converter station to Saudi Arabia’s East Madinah and Tabuk stations via roughly 1.4k km of overhead lines and subsea cables crossing the Gulf of Aqaba.

The goals: Egypt is leaning on the link — its largest interconnection project to date, and the region’s first large-scale HVDC line — to cement itself as a regional power-trading hub, alongside existing links with Sudan, Libya, and Jordan, and proposed interconnection projects with Greece and Cyprus, including GREGY. There is also a proposed subsea cable with Jordan that could eventually facilitate exports onward to Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Egypt has invested around EGP 965 bn in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution over the past decade, pushing installed capacity to around 60 GW against a summer peak load of slightly over 40 GW.

BACKGROUND- We first flagged this project in 2021, when it was moving forward with signed EPC contracts and the full link was slated for 2025. Since then, the launch date has slipped repeatedly: PM Madbouly targeted April 2026 during his site visit in October, and Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat said in February it would take place “within the coming weeks” — and as we noted two weeks ago, it had slipped again to the end of 2026.

What’s next? A government document seen by EnterpriseAM sets electricity-export targets of 300 MWh to Jordan and 250 MWh to Libya for the remainder of the fiscal year. Egypt is also in talks with Jordan on eventually raising interconnection capacity to 2 GW, while readiness studies are underway ahead of resuming work on the Sudan interconnection, which the government aims to expand to 25 MW by end-June 2027.

Looking for int’l partners: Egypt is reportedly preparing a tender to select an international firm to ensure the subsea electricity cable is secure, the Arabic press reports, citing an unnamed official. Saudi Arabia is launching a separate tender for an international consultant to oversee the cable’s maintenance.

Solar meets desalination

UAE-based renewable energy developer Amea Power is discussing potential investments in solar-powered water infrastructure and desalination with the Housing Ministry, according to a ministry statement. The talks, held in coordination with the Electricity Ministry, focused on using solar plants to power drinking-water and wastewater-treatment facilities, as well as road infrastructure in new cities. The two sides also discussed potential cooperation on seawater desalination plants. No specific projects, investment tickets, or timelines were announced.

There’s a localization angle too: The talks covered the potential local manufacturing of supplies and components for desalination plants, part of a broader government push for local content. The Housing Ministry signed an MoU in April with China’s CITIC Construction and Income to localize desalination membrane manufacturing.

REMEMBER- The government was reported to be in advanced talks with Amea Power to develop three seawater desalination facilities with a combined capacity of up to 300k cbm per day. Two would sit on the Mediterranean coast and one on the Red Sea, with Amea expected to fund, design, build, and operate them.

Why it matters: The government is turning to desalination to support coastal cities and new urban developments as the Nile-dependent freshwater supply comes under more pressure. But desalination and wastewater treatment are power-hungry, so pairing new water capacity with dedicated solar generation is how you add that load without leaning harder on the grid.

GlobalCorp agreement on hold

The Global Paradigm School loan scandal is now threatening to spill over into the financing and M&A plans of GlobalCorp, the non-bank financial-services company connected to the incident. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has paused negotiations over a potential USD 20 mn financing package for GlobalCorp, while talks for a sale of the company to a group of local and foreign investors — in a transaction that we reported in May could be valued at USD 200 mn — have also stalled, Al Arabiya reports, citing sources it says are familiar with the matter.

BACKGROUND- The news comes one day after the Financial Regulatory Authority referred a consumer-finance company to the public prosecution and imposed a one-month ban on signing new financing contracts. The regulator has said the case concerns allegations that Global Paradigm School used parents’ national ID data to arrange unauthorized loans totaling EGP 319 mn across 619 clients and 839 contracts, and that all resulting financial and credit obligations have been canceled.

About the company: GlobalCorp for Financial Services is an Egyptian non-bank financial institution founded in 2015, offering leasing, factoring, consumer finance, and mortgage solutions, per its website. A consortium of Amethis, SPE Capital, and the EBRD acquired a 90% stake in the company for EGP 914.7 mn in 2022, buying out founding investors Ezdehar and the Sanad Fund for MSME, while founder and CEO Hatem Samir retained the remaining 10%. Ollin Consumer Finance — the unit referred to the public prosecution — operates as GlobalCorp’s consumer-finance arm.

Data point

USD 125 mn — that was the value of petroleum products Egypt imported from Libya in the first five months of 2026, compared to no recorded imports in the same period last year, Al Arabiya reports, citing Capmas data. The Oil Ministry turned to Libyan crude last April — via state-owned EGPC — after Kuwaiti oil flows were disrupted when the Strait of Hormuz closed. The fuel bill alone pushed total Egyptian imports from Libya to USD 159 mn during the period, up from just USD 6.6 mn a year earlier.

The jump shifts a trade relationship that usually runs almost entirely Egypt’s way. Egyptian exports to Libya hit USD 1.5 bn in 2025 against USD 40 mn in imports, with Libya topping Egypt’s African Union (AU) export destinations. Libya, on the other hand, did not rank among Egypt’s top eight AU suppliers.

Destination Sahel Issue IV, the final issue in the series, drops today, and we’re exploring how the North Coast could be more than a summer story.

Living in Sahel year-round is moving from a seasonal idea to a serious question; an industrial push is reshaping the Coast’s economic base, and Egyptian homebuyers are weighing Sahel against Dubai, London, and other Mediterranean markets for where to put their money.

In this issue, we get into what it would take for Sahel to work beyond the summer, how industry fits into the Coast’s next chapter, and the numbers behind the Sahel-vs-everywhere debate.

Coming straight to your inbox today.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another hot day in Cairo that reminds us summer is not done with us yet, with a high of 38°C and a low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a touch cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 33°C and a low of 24°C.

And over the extended weekend, expect more summer heat in the capital and relatively milder, though still humid, weather for our friends on the Mediterranean.

The big story abroad

Taking top billing today are Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods, featuring levies of up to 50% on USD 20 bn worth of imports from its southern neighbor. Effective 8 September, the tariffs target steel, dairy, and agricultural equipment and match Washington’s rates on Canadian goods.

In other geopolitical news: The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces have been dissolved as their fighters integrate into the Syrian military, the group’s leader Mazloum Abdi said. With US backing, the group helped combat the Islamic State and previously controlled parts of the country. The move signals a key breakthrough in President Ahmed Al Sharaa’s efforts to unite Syria’s factions.

Meanwhile, in the tech world: SpaceX aims to build a USD 100 bn spaceport in Louisiana, spanning 125k acres and marking the company’s second private launch site. SpaceX plans to begin building the base next year, targeting its initial rocket launches for 2029.

Speaking of tech, Anthropic is expected to inform investors that its total addressable market exceeds USD 30 tn, surpassing the USD 28.5 tn projection set by Elon Musk’s rocketmaker. The startup’s figure accounts for the full scope of its work that could be accomplished by AI models, and calculates the gains available if a product or service achieves 100% market share.

*** 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 unpack how revenues for Egypt’s top developers are growing, even as the market producing these sales is shrinking.

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AMEA Power Desalination electricity GlobalCorp WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

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Tax

EGPC to absorb new natural gas tax as the government targets EGP 40 bn in revenue

The Finance Ministry and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) have worked out how the new tax on natural gas will actually get paid. The EGPC — not gas suppliers, and not households — will be the one writing the check, a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM.

Here’s how it will work: Gas-supply companies will log their sales with the EGPC, which will then take on the paperwork. The EGPC will issue the e-invoices and forward the owed tax to the Egyptian Tax Authority within 10 days of each payment becoming due, per instructions the authority is finalizing now, the official says. The expected proceeds are around EGP 40 bn, with the amount to be settled periodically against the state’s petroleum-subsidy dues to the EGPC.

BACKGROUND- The government scrapped the VAT exemption for natural gas back in June as part of a broader tax incentive package, moving it instead under a flat EGP 20-per-thousand-cubic-feet schedule tax. The House signed off on the package later that month, putting the change into law, but the mechanics of who actually pays — and how — were left for later. The arrangement echoes how another dispute was resolved last year, when the Finance Ministry’s decision to impose a 10% VAT on crude oil sales triggered a stand-off over who should issue the e-invoices. The Tax Authority eventually ruled that the EGPC would remit the tax on behalf of oil companies and give them clearance, while the companies continued to issue e-invoices without bearing any extra tax cost.

A business-to-business tax: The entity buying the gas — not the end consumer — is on the hook, meaning nothing changes for household gas bills, according to our source. This mechanism only applies to domestic gas companies, unlike the separate 10% VAT recently placed on crude oil, which does reach foreign exploration and production firms.

Also in the VAT rulebook

The executive regulations for the VAT-law amendments remain a work in progress. A government committee is still trying to resolve how the new levy on non-residential property sales and leases will apply in practice, according to the official. The key unresolved question concerns whether the tax will be restricted to premises used as an entity’s administrative headquarters or will also capture customer-facing sites where the activity is conducted, such as shops, clinics, and law offices. The distinction matters because the Finance Ministry had previously looked to limit the 14% VAT to purely administrative premises, keeping factories and buildings that provide direct services outside the net.

The fiscal stakes are rising: Preliminary estimates now put expected VAT receipts from administrative office space at EGP 41 bn, up from an earlier estimate of EGP 35 bn, the official says.

ALSO- The Tax Authority is preparing instructions to operationalize the recently enacted exemption for production inputs used in assistive devices, bringing their treatment in line with dialysis equipment and its inputs. That builds on the VAT amendments’ broader medical-device relief, which cuts the applicable rate on qualifying medical equipment to 5% and expands the exemption framework for specified medical aid and inputs.

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

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Investment Watch

RMBV’s North Africa Fund III has closed six deals, with more in the pipeline

North Africa-focused private equity firm RMBV’s North Africa Fund III has closed six agreements and lined up seven or eight more, Managing Partner Ahmed Badreldin tells EnterpriseAM, as the fund pushes toward a 10-12 investment portfolio spanning Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.

RMBV has deployed approximately USD 300 mn since holding NAF III’s first close in mid-2025 — a figure that includes co-investment capital across six closed transactions to date. The fund’s first close landed at approximately USD 275 mn in committed capital, within the USD 300-400 mn total target capitalization RMBV has previously flagged for the vehicle, Badreldin says, adding that “to date, we have returned more than USD 1.5 bn from 13 realizations in the region.”

More in the pipeline: The closed transactions under NAF III cover Spinneys Egypt, Taaleem, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH), CHI, Taoufik Hospitals Group (THG), and Africa Feed & Food (AFF), Badreldin confirmed. The fund is targeting a total of 10 to 12 investments, with an additional seven to eight transactions currently in progress at various stages — though “not all transactions we work on close,” Badreldin notes.

IN CONTEXT- NAF III invests across Egypt — which Badreldin says “represents [a] majority of the portfolio” — Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, targeting “healthcare services and manufacturing, education, consumer goods and services, and financial services.” The AfDB’s ESMS assessment report (pdf) breaks that geographic split down further, with RMBV’s target allocation set at 50-60% for Egypt, 20-30% for Morocco, and the remainder split between Tunisia and Algeria.

RMBV has said it favors exits through public markets and IPOs. Badreldin puts it plainly: “We are strong believers in exiting through public markets and IPOs and see that as a key contributor to the region’s overall economic growth.” Badreldin declined to comment on the timing of the final close, specific deployment terms, or the fund’s remaining investment pipeline, citing confidentiality obligations to LPs. However, according to the AfDB’s ESMS assessment report, NAF III is targeting final close by 4Q 2026.

Addressing Egypt’s public market capital gap: Egypt maintains one of the lowest stock market capitalization-to-GDP ratios globally at 17%, trailing regional peers like Morocco (72%), Turkey (29%), and Tunisia (22%), according to data shared with us by Badreldin. “Egypt’s private sector has a deep pipeline of attractive transaction volume and strong founder and management teams, but a significant shortage of USD capital formation,” he says. “That is the structural gap NAF III is positioned to address over the next five years.” He adds that the fund aims to “back the right founders and management teams and help them scale, professionalize governance, and eventually access public markets, including via the EGX.”

What’s next? The firm is still awaiting FRA regulatory approval for its pending SPAC application targeting Egyptian consumer, industrial, education, and fintech assets. “We are hopeful that the process will be finalized soon,” Badreldin says.

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

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Investment Watch

Sawiris-backed firm anchors Swvl’s USD 13 mn strategic raise

Nasdaq-listed, Dubai-based mobility startup Swvl Holdings has entered into a definitive agreement for a USD 13 mn private placement priced at the market under Nasdaq rules, according to a press release. The round is led by Coefficient LP, a Houston-based investment firm backed by the Sawiris family, which is putting in USD 10 mn and will become Swvl's largest institutional shareholder upon closing. An existing shareholder is contributing the remaining USD 3 mn.

The details: Swvl will issue just under 9 mn Class A shares at USD 1.446 apiece, with the investment expected to close on 27 August. Coefficient Founder and Managing Partner Abdalla Ali will join Swvl's board as part of the agreement.

Proceeds are earmarked for three things: accelerating Swvl's US expansion, launching a new lending offering for transport operators and partners, and strengthening the company's balance sheet.

Why this matters: This is a strategic vote of confidence from a well-capitalized family office at a time when Swvl is trying to convince the market — and Nasdaq — that its turnaround is durable. The company's shares jumped roughly 50% on the news, a reaction that reflects both the fresh capital and the signal that a serious institutional investor is willing to take a large, concentrated position in the firm.

The raise builds on real operating momentum. Swvl swung to profitability in FY 2025, posting USD 1.3 mn in net income on 41% revenue growth to USD 24.2 mn. That momentum carried into 2026: 1Q revenue rose 68% y-o-y to USD 8.2 mn, GCC revenue more than doubled, and the operating loss narrowed 71% to USD 0.2 mn — putting the company within sight of breakeven.

Worth watching: Swvl has flirted with Nasdaq delisting risk before — its market cap has sat well below the exchange's USD 35 mn minimum threshold, though it has stayed compliant via the alternative net income and shareholders' equity standards. A capital raise that boosts shareholders' equity and signals renewed investor confidence could further insulate the company from that risk, even if it doesn't eliminate the underlying market-cap gap.

Part of a new plan: The company’s new strategy focuses on expanding in the Gulf and the US, Swvl CFO Ahmed Misbah told EnterpriseAM. Moving away from its early focus on low-margin growth tactics, Swvl is prioritizing profitability by being far more selective with its contracts, Misbah said.

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

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investment watch mobility startups

Also on our Radar

Eni plans 230 new wells in Egypt over 2026-2027 as country races to slow gas decline

Eni plans to drill 30 exploration wells and 200 development wells in Egypt during the next phase of its investment program, CEO Claudio Descalzi told President Abdel Fattah El Sisi during a meeting in El Alamein. The work is set to cover Eni’s Mediterranean and Western Desert acreage over 2026 and 2027. Eni also said its cumulative investment in Egypt has reached USD 8.5 bn.

The timing matters: The government is trying to get more gas out of the ground as quickly as possible to slow the decline in domestic production and reduce its growing reliance on costly LNG imports. The Oil Ministry has already opened talks with Greece’s Energean and UAE-based Adnoc Drilling on expanding investment, accelerating field development, and securing additional drilling capacity, while targeting 160 new oil and gas wells this fiscal year. It is not yet clear whether Eni’s planned 230 wells fall within that ministry-wide target or come on top of it.

Rewarding local production

The Industry Ministry is studying a proposed “Qima” certification system that would grade manufacturers and link state incentives and procurement advantages to their local-content contribution, supplier development, technology investment, and R&D, Industry Minister Khaled Hashem said in a statement. The proposal would move the government’s local-product preference regime beyond a single minimum local-content threshold, with bids potentially evaluated using an adjusted price that reflects a company’s Qima score.

The reform could encourage deeper localization, but it needs to account for wide differences between industries, Bassim Youssef, head of the Egyptian Federation of Industries’ Local Manufacturing Deepening and Promotion Committee, tells EnterpriseAM. Raw materials and metals can make up around 50% of local content in some industries, so a uniform benchmark would not work across all sectors, he argues.

The government should first strengthen incentives for feeder industries, where supply remains limited and quality can be inconsistent, while also tackling unfair competition from informal producers that do not bear the same tax, ins., and standards-compliance costs, Youssef says. Under the 2015 law, industrial products with at least 40% local content are eligible for preferential treatment in government tenders.

A second graduate from the SME market

Future Care for Medical Industries (FCMI) started trading on the EGX’s main board yesterday, graduating from the SME market after 14 years, according to a bourse statement. The disposable medical materials maker, formerly known as International Company for Medical Industries, had to double its capital to EGP 115.2 mn — up from EGP 57.7 mn — to clear the EGP 100 mn minimum and qualify for a main-market listing. The jump opens FCMI up to a wider investor pool, putting the stock within reach of index and institutional mandates that don’t extend to the SME board.

This is the second company to complete a main-market transfer this year. Non-bank lender Tawasoa for Factoring filed in May for both a capital increase to qualify and a transfer out of the SME market. It started trading on the main board in June, around seven months after a November 2025 debut. The move lands as the EGX pitches the SME market as an incubator for businesses to graduate to the main board. Last week, Chairman Omar Radwan inked an executive decision waiving administrative service fees for the first 20 companies that complete their SME-listing requirements by the end of next month.

MARKET REAX- FCMI’s stock rose 0.8% to roughly EGP 7.4 on its first day of trading on the main market.

Turning bagasse to gas

Italy’s Proger and Drexel are planning a USD 278 mn project to turn sugarcane bagasse into second-generation bioethanol, according to an Investment Ministry statement. The project would target European markets with a large share of its output, drawing on locally available bagasse — the fibrous residue left after cane is processed into sugar — to create an export-oriented green-fuels industry.

IN CONTEXT- If this plant goes ahead, it would add to a growing bioethanol lineup that includes a planned USD 400 mn bagasse-based project at state-owned Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Company’s (ESIIC) Kom Ombo complex with Eni and Proger, as well as a USD 112 mn molasses-to-bioethanol plant under development by the Egyptian Bioethanol Company.

Digitally identify yourself

SIM verification goes digital: Orange Egypt, Vodafone Egypt, and e& Egypt are rolling out electronic identity verification services that allow customers to complete SIM-related transactions remotely using their national IDs and facial recognition technology, the companies said in separate statements. The services verify customers’ identities and SIM possession before allowing them to electronically sign the required contracts and documents, removing the need for branch visits for supported transactions. Orange’s service also allows corporate customers to activate new lines digitally while verifying the identity of their actual users.

More details coming today: The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) will hold a press conference today to formally launch the biometric electronic verification system and outline how it works and the services it will support, Youm7 reports. The rollout follows reports of mobile lines being registered under customers’ national IDs without their knowledge, prompting the NTRA to tighten SIM registration and identity verification rules. The regulator referred the country’s four mobile operators to the Public Prosecution earlier this month over alleged violations related to SIM registration and activation.

The rollout will be phased: The NTRA developed the system with ITIDA, CyShield, and licensed electronic-signature providers, with the communications and interior ministries providing the regulatory framework and integration infrastructure, the authority said in a statement. The system is launching in a pilot phase, with mobile operators rolling it out based on their technical readiness before expanding to more services and transactions.

More on our radar:

The Tax Authority has standardized the departure levy for foreign nationals at EGP 100, replacing varying rates that applied in certain cases and following requests from tourism companies to simplify procedures. (Statement)
Nasser Social Bank (NSB) is reopening its school-fee financing product ahead of the 2026/27 academic year, covering up to 100% of tuition costs for parents, guardians, pensioners, and private- and public-sector employees. (Mubasher)
Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk has set rules for registering experts and valuers with the Egyptian Apparatus for the Management and Disposal of Recovered and Seized Assets, requiring individual applicants to be Egyptian nationals with relevant qualifications. (Statement)

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

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR EGX Eni Finance Ministry Industry Ministry oil and gas

PLANET FINANCE

Abu Dhabi just took a third of a USD 24 bn LNG project 5k km from home

Abu Dhabi-backed Argentinian LNG project gets bumper financing package: JPMorgan and Banco Santander are leading a USD 14-15 bn financing package for Argentina LNG, a project in which Abu Dhabi’s XRG — Adnoc’s international investment arm — took a roughly one-third equity stake in June, Bloomberg reported Monday. A final investment decision is targeted for late November.

That makes it one of the largest project-finance packages assembled for a Latin American energy venture — and Abu Dhabi’s involvement is likely playing a role. Syndicates rarely commit at that scale to a single EM LNG venture without a credible anchor equity partner absorbing early-stage risk — and XRG’s one-third stake is the most obvious candidate for that role here.

About the project: The USD 24 bn project, set to become one of the world’s largest floating LNG facilities, will liquefy and export Argentine shale gas to Asian markets, with state-run YPF in the lead with a 36% stake, and Eni holding the final third stake.

The Asian offtake positioning is the signal. Japanese banks are structural players in the financing round, not by accident. XRG serves as the gateway to Asian markets that Argentine LNG needs to reach — the natural destination given the distance and logistics disadvantage against US Gulf Coast supply. The 12 mn tonnes per year of contracted capacity is being positioned to serve the same Japanese, Korean, and increasingly Chinese customers that historically anchored the Qatari LNG book. Abu Dhabi is buying optionality on the geography of the next decade of Asian gas demand.

The financing itself carries a signal about global project finance in the Warsh Fed environment. USD 15 bn of syndicated debt for an EM LNG venture is being arranged at a moment when the 30-year US Treasury sits near 19-year highs, when EM sovereign eurobond windows are effectively shut for distressed borrowers, and when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s fiscal intervention was rejected by the market inside 48 hours. The message: physical infrastructure with contracted Asian offtake and Gulf sovereign equity anchoring gets financed. Sovereign paper without those anchors does not.

That’s what makes the GCC angle worth re-underlining here. XRG isn’t a passive LP in someone else’s project — it is a co-anchor of a USD 24 bn asset explicitly designed to serve Asia, sitting outside the Middle East risk premium that has driven Qatari and Emirati LNG pricing for the past six months. The Aramco chokepoint premium reported in May argued that redundant infrastructure inside the region got repriced upward on Hormuz war risk. Argentina LNG is the same logic run outward. Gulf sovereign capital is now underwriting physical LNG capacity that hedges Gulf sovereign supply.

The precedent matters for what comes next in Gulf sovereign capital deployment. PIF’s 1Q pivot to four US-listed positions and its cut of international allocations from 30% to 20% were widely read as a defensive retreat. XRG’s Argentina LNG positioning suggests something different is happening in parallel: Gulf sovereign capital is not reducing international deployment overall, it is reallocating from US mega-cap equities toward physical infrastructure with strategic value that can be operated for decades.

Bottom line: Read this financing story as the clearest single data point in 2026 that Abu Dhabi’s sovereign capital is executing a strategy to be the counterparty of choice for global LNG buildouts that hedge against Middle East supply risk — including its own. The next question is who follows XRG into similar deals, and how quickly.

(** 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 are mixed in early trading, with Japan’s Nikkei down 0.4% loss and South Korea’s Kospi remaining flat amid uncertainty over the US-Iran war and its economic fallout.

EGX30	55,277	+0.2% (YTD: +32.2%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 50.35	Sell 50.49
USD (CIB)	Buy 50.30	Sell 50.40
Interest rates (CBE)	19.00% deposit	20.00% lending
Tadawul	11,232	+0.5% (YTD: +7.1%)
ADX	10,070	+0.2% (YTD: +0.8%)
DFM	5,835	-0.5% (YTD: -3.5%)
S&P 500	7,677	+0.3% (YTD: +11.9%)
FTSE 100	10,886	+0.3% (YTD: +9.6%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,456	+0.1% (YTD: +11.4%)
Brent crude	USD 88.58	-3.9%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.79	+0.7%
Gold	USD 4,720	+0.5%
BTC	USD 78,635	-0.2% (YTD: -10.3%)
S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index	1,105.17	+0.3% (YTD: +11.3%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	150.93	+0.2% (YTD: -0.6%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	15.45	-2.5% (YTD: +3.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.2% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 13.6 bn (24.5% above the 90-day average). Local investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 32.2% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Construction (+3.6%), Raya Holding (+3.1%), and Egypt Aluminum (+2.8%).

In the red: GB Corp (-4.7%), Kima (-3.4%), and Edita (-2.0%).

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Financial Markets oil and gas Planet Finance

HARDHAT

Revenues for Egypt’s top developers are growing, but the market producing these sales is shrinking

Egypt’s top 10 real estate developers posted EGP 670 bn in gross contracted sales during 1H 2026, up 2.9% against the same period last year. But that growth doesn’t hold up once you look underneath it. Sales volume fell 3% to around 39k units over the same period, according to The Board Consulting’s 1H 2026 Real Estate Newsletter (pdf). The revenue is real, yet the market producing it is shrinking.

Liquidity is concentrating hard at the top. Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) alone brought in EGP 219 bn, more than double its nearest competitor. For the small- and mid-sized developers being squeezed out of that liquidity, a new presidential directive ordering a nationwide audit of delayed housing projects adds a second front just as their footing gets harder to hold.

The scoreboard tells a concentration story: TMG led with EGP 219 bn, followed by Palm Hills Developments (94 bn), Mountain View (63.7 bn), Emaar Misr (60.9 bn), and Hyde Park Developments (52.9 bn). Rounding out the top 10: Tatweer Misr (50.5 bn), Modon (44 bn), a combined 30 bn from G Developments and Art Life, Madinet Masr (28.4 bn), and La Vista Developments (26.5 bn). Three companies stood out for growth rate rather than absolute sales: Tatweer Misr grew 321% year-on-year, Sodic 227% (to 23.6 bn), and Qatari Diar 150% (to 17.5 bn), all off a smaller base than the top five.

East Cairo alone accounted for 47% of total sales, followed by the North Coast (33%), West Cairo (11%), Ain Sokhna (7%), and international sales (2%).

1Q 2026 pulled in 39% of 1H sales against 61% for 2Q, a return to the market’s normal slow-first-half rhythm after 1H 2025’s unusually strong 1Q (43%), when Palm Hills’ release of its 12-year installment plans pulled a heavier-than-usual share of sales into what’s typically a quiet quarter.

Scale is insulating the top 10. The rest of the market has no such cushion. Inflation has eased to 13.4%, and the Central Bank of Egypt has cut interest rates by 500 bps to 19%, tailwinds that matter most to developers with the balance sheet to wait out a slow buyer. For companies without TMG’s scale or Palm Hills’ backlog, the same macro relief doesn’t ease the same pressure.

Buyer affordability is coming under strain too, independent data shows. Cairo price growth stayed modest in 2Q — up 2.8% in 6th of October and 2.4% in New Cairo — even as rents jumped 7% year-on-year in both areas, a sign priced-out buyers are shifting toward renting, Ayman Sami, head of JLL Egypt, tells EnterpriseAM. Developers are responding with more flexible payment structures, including dual pricing that offers discounts for faster payment or extended installment plans at the listed price.

The state is now actively tracking who can’t keep up. During a meeting in New Alamein with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed the formation of a committee to inspect delayed real estate projects nationwide, ensure units are delivered on schedule, and hold violators accountable, according to remarks carried on state television (watch, runtime: 5:15).

Tarek Shokry, head of the Real Estate Development Chamber, said in televised remarks (watch, runtime: 3:41) that enforcement will be tiered. Developers with reasonable delays will get warnings to speed up construction, while those with delays running into years face financial penalties and, in the most severe cases, land confiscation, with any penalties directed toward compensating buyers.

Land withdrawal isn’t triggered by delay in payment alone, though. “It comes down to how serious the developer is about execution, and whether there’s real progress on the ground,” Waleed Abbas, deputy minister of Housing for New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) Affairs, tells EnterpriseAM. Abbas says NUCA is studying case-by-case remedies before resorting to land withdrawal, including granting extensions, reassessing plot sizes against actual construction progress, or bringing in a partner developer to help finish a stalled project. If a developer’s land is withdrawn, NUCA takes responsibility for existing customers directly or hands the project to another developer, Abbas says. Buyer rights stay protected either way.

The Authority is also looking at giving liquidity-strapped developers a way out of the crunch altogether. The Authority already granted developers a round of relief in July, cutting assignment fees, waiving late-payment penalties, and giving delayed projects extra time to deliver.

Now it’s looking at a bigger lever — securitizing developers’ portfolios of client cheques and installment payments through banks and financing institutions, converting future receivables into liquidity developers can use today rather than waiting years to collect. “The idea is to give developers a more flexible funding source, especially the small- and mid-sized companies that don’t have the same access to diverse financing tools that the big players do,” Abbas tells EnterpriseAM.

This liquidity concentration isn’t new to EnterpriseAM readers. We flagged the same dynamic in July, when construction-cost inflation and currency depreciation were already eating into what looked like nominal price gains. The gap has only widened.

What’s next? Watch the mid tier. The top 10 have the balance sheets to absorb a slower market and, potentially, a securitization tool to unlock stalled capital. Developers without that scale are facing the same liquidity crunch with a government audit now bearing down on their delivery timelines. Expect consolidation to accelerate over the next two to three quarters, whether through mergers and acquisitions, partner-developer arrangements brokered by NUCA itself, or forced exits for companies that can’t outlast the squeeze.

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

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Hardhat real estate

CALENDAR

AUGUST

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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