Good afternoon, friends. It's a calmer day for business news in Egypt as we inch closer to closing out this busy week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

Gas cylinders just got more expensive: The government has hiked the prices of butane gas cylinders as part of efforts to rationalize subsidies for fuel, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette. The price of 12.5 kg household cylinders has gone up 50% to EGP 150, while the price of 25 kg cylinders for commercial use has increased 33.3% to EGP 200.

What’s next? The government plans to completely lift subsidies off gas cylinders by the end of 2025, one government source told Enterprise.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The foreign press remains focused on uncovering the details of Israel’s pager blasts in Lebanon, with Reuters reporting that the pagers were from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but that they were manufactured by a different firm called BAC — one that is based in Hungary, and has a license to use Gold Apollo’s brand, the publication reported, citing a statement from Gold Apollo. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel’s pager operation.

ICYMI: Pagers belonging to Hezbollah members began exploding in Lebanon yesterday, injuring more than 2.7k and killing nine people — including a child. It is still not fully clear how Israel conducted the attack, but a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters that Israel’s Mossad spy agency was able to plant explosives inside pagers imported by Hezbollah months before the attack. (Bloomberg | Reuters | Financial Times | Associated Press | New York Times)

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

  • New hotels from Jaz: Travco subsidiary Jaz Hotel Group plans to set up six new hotels, scheduled to open their doors next year, under a USD 215 mn investment plan.
  • Local and regional VCs take part in Settle’s seven-figure pre-seed round: Local B2B payment platform Settle Payments has raised USD 2 mn in a pre-seed funding round led by Abu Dhabi-based Shorooq Partners.
  • Raya Holding’s Aman Consumer Finance issued EGP 1.29 bn in securitized bonds. The issuance is part of a wider EGP 5 bn, three-year securitization program that kicked off in February 2023.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures are hiking back up tomorrow with a high of 36°C in the capital and a low of 27°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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