Al Muizz Street is getting a brand new boutique hotel

Good afternoon, friends, and kudos to you for making it to the long weekend. Today we break down where things stand between Egypt and Ethiopia — the PNG declarations, the accusations from Addis Ababa’s army chief, and how a dispute over the Nile reached the point of expelling each other’s diplomats last week. Elsewhere in today’s issue: we have a new Elizabeth Strout novel for the weekend, and everything on the pitch over the next few days below.

** A QUICK PROGRAMMING NOTE- EnterprisePM is taking a publication holiday tomorrow in observance of the Sixth of October holiday and will be back in your inboxes at the usual time on Sunday afternoon.

Now, the news…

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 Al Muizz Street is getting a brand new boutique hotel backed by a USD 5 mn investment: Egypt’s Urban Development Fund (UDF) has signed an agreement with a joint venture between Ananea Hotels & Resorts and Bayt Al Qahira for Hotel Management to develop and operate a boutique luxury hotel on Al Muizz Street in Historic Cairo within the UNESCO-listed Fatimid core, according to a press release seen by EnterpriseAM.

The project carries a USD 5 mn investment directed at deployment, fit-out, and positioning of the property as a heritage-inspired luxury stay targeting international and regional guests. The agreement was signed by UDF head Khaled Siddiq and the venture’s principals Moudy and Tamer El Shaer. The hotel brand is yet to be disclosed. The agreement is part of a broader government push to bring private hospitality investment into Historic Cairo, as EnterpriseAM had previously reported.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 Still getting plenty of ink are the student protests erupting across France, as teachers and parents joined what Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu called the most violent student demonstration in decades. The country has suspended the use of stun grenades amid allegations of police brutality against high school students, including the use of tear gas and water cannons, after a 15-year-old had their hand blown off earlier this week. Investigations are underway into police conduct surrounding other alleged teenage injuries.

^^Read more on: BBC, CNN, Reuters, and The Guardian.

MEANWHILE- Rumors of a possible plague case in Siberia are drawing the attention of US President Donald Trump and his administration following the mysterious death of a laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia. Trump said he plans to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation “very soon.” Russian officials have thus far provided limited information in response to US requests, as the US escalates its request for information to assess whether a public health response may be necessary.

^^Read more on: CNN and CNBC.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Al Ahly Capital is buying El Sewedy Capital Holding’s 40% stake, or 30 mn shares, in CIRA’s Damietta university venture. The transaction, which secured approval from the Egyptian Competition Authority earlier this week, will leave CIRA’s 60% stake untouched. It’s expected to close before year-end;
• MNT’s subscriptions opened earlier today at EGP 24.5 per share, valuing MNT Tech Holding for Financial Investments at EGP 39.2 bn (c. USD 750 mn), by our math. At that price, the base offering of 320 mn secondary shares — good for 20% of the company — would fetch some EGP 7.84 bn (c. USD 150 mn) in gross proceeds;
• Post For Investment is putting together a consortium to take an equity stake in a data center, Managing Director and CEO Ahmed Ali Abdelrahman told the EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum on Monday. It’s a “very early stage” investment with “too many stakeholders” in place. The country has about 15-20 MW of installed data center IT load capacity, Abdelrahman said. Four announced mega projects would push that to 400-500 MW;
• Egypt’s financial sector is still holding back on AI while the rules get written, executives said at the EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum on Monday. Banking AI in Egypt is “a little bit in our infancy because the regulatory and legal framework is still being defined,” HSBC Egypt CEO Todd Wilcox told the audience.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to be a hazy, breezy day in C-Town tomorrow, with temperatures peaking at just 31°C, before dropping to an overnight low of 20°C, according to our favorite weather app.