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Good afternoon, friends, and congratulations on another workweek wrapped up. We’re also bidding the mild weather adieu and bracing for a scorching weekend ahead. But today’s issue is as brisk as ever, with news of efforts to attract USD 42 bn in foreign direct investments, Netflix’s latest downgrade in user experience, and what matches to look forward to this weekend.
THE BIG STORY TODAY-
Egypt aims to attract USD 42 bn in foreign direct investments in FY 2025-26 as it looks to build on last year’s inflows, which included the landmark USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement, Asharq Business reports, citing a government document.
ICYMI- Net FDI inflows rose to USD 6 bn in 1H 2024-25, up from USD 5.5 bn during the same period a year prior. The bulk of the figure came from non-oil sectors, led by greenfield investments, real estate purchases by non-residents, and reinvested earnings.
To sustain this growth, the government is banking on GCC inflows and its golden license program that fast-tracks procedures to bring projects online swiftly. In April, officials said new Saudi projects would go straight to the cabinet for golden license approval. Kuwait is also in discussions to convert USD 4 bn in central bank deposits into direct investments.
The government is also targeting an increase in foreign currency reserves to USD 52 bn by the end of FY 2028-29 — up from USD 48.1 bn in April 2025 — according to the outlet. It also aims to dial up the private sector’s share of total investment to 63% in FY 2025-26 and 68% by 2028-29 — up from just 30% in FY 2021-22.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD-
US to ease banks capital rules set after 2008 crisis: US regulators are gearing up to ease bank capital requirements by cutting the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) imposed on major banks, marking the latest move in the Trump administration’s broader deregulation efforts, the Financial Times reports. Introduced in 2014 as part of the reforms that followed the 2008-09 financial crisis, the SLR requires large banks to hold high-quality capital — such as common equity and retained earnings — worth at least 5% of their total leverage to ensure they can absorb losses. Regulators are expected to present their proposals for revising the rule by summer.
The move follows years of lobbying by banking representatives arguing that the SLR penalizes low-risk assets like US treasuries, undermines their ability to provide credit, and limits their capacity to support the government debt market.
But not everyone is on board: Critics argue that reducing bank capital requirements is ill-advised amid current market volatility and policy shifts under the Trump administration. “Given the state of the world, there are all kinds of risks out there — including for US banks the role of the dollar and the direction of the economy — it doesn’t sound like the right time to relax capital standards at all,” Peterson Institute for International Economics’ Nicolas Véron told the FT.
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☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- A scorching weekend is in the cards for the capital, with tomorrow’s temperature spiking to 40°C throughout the day, with the coolest temperature we see being a still-warm 30°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.
