So, how does it feel to carry cash again, wonderful people? It’s day three of the Great National Internet Outage, and we suggest you paw through your sock drawer / home safe / nightstand for paper money and put a few bills in your pocket before you leave home this morning.

Don’t have cash on hand? Connectivity should improve at ATMs throughout the day today, but in the meantime you have two options: Line up for a teller at your nearest branch or try machines located inside bank branches, most of which were in service throughout yesterday.

Where we stand now: You can feel internet connectivity slowly inching toward normal, but it’s still a patchwork. Operators are down or spotty in some parts of the city, up in others. In some districts, homes, and offices, wireless home- or office-broadband is down, but you can tether to your phone. State-owned We appeared to have the best availability yesterday and overnight.

Banks are bracing for long lineups, the Central Bank of Egypt has loosened limits on cash withdrawals, and some government agencies are back to accepting cash payments. And voice calls? Still hit-or-miss — again, depending on your neighborhood. Cairo remains the most-impacted city nationwide.

Many digital services are operating (fairly) normally, including InstaPay, Fawry, Talabat, and others.

^^ We have the full rundown in this morning’s news well, below.

MARKET WATCH-

Trading on the EGX is expected to resume today, EGX board member Rania Yacoub tells us, following a rare full-day freeze triggered by the fire at Ramses Central which knocked out telecom infrastructure across the capital. No trades were executed yesterday, as the outage disrupted internet, data services, and business communications critical to brokers and trading platforms.

Not a panic switch: The EGX moved quickly to call off Tuesday’s session in a bid to ensure fair access to market, it said in a press release. Yacoub stressed that the suspension was a precautionary move and was not linked to any security breach or systemic failure.

While it’s tough to pin down the value of missed transactions, Yacoub noted that average daily turnover typically lands between EGP 3-4 bn. The EGX30 rose 0.4% at Monday’s close on turnover of EGP 5.5 bn.

SMART POLICY- The subscription window for Bonyan’s IPO will be open a bit longer: The Financial Regulatory Authority is extending the subscription period for Bonyan’s IPO by one working day to account for the EGX’s full-day halt yesterday, a source from the capital markets watchdog told EnterpriseAM. Bonyan’s private placement was originally slated to close Thursday, while the window to place offers for the public offering was set to end on Tuesday, 15 July.

Why it matters: Real estate players are closely following Bonyan’s IPO, looking for signs that it be a key milestone in the rewriting of the financing playbook for the industry. Developers have long shouldered the burden of financing, and the creation of a publicly traded REIT-like vehicle could be a game-changer.

What does this mean for a market built on 8+ year payment plans? In short, a new liquidity lifeline.

  • For developers: The ability to sell income-generating assets to institutional buyers like Bonyan means they could cash-out select assets faster and redeploy capital into new projects. This moves them away from being quasi-lenders and back to being builders, deleveraging their balance sheets in the process.
  • For individual and institutional investors: It unlocks a liquid and accessible way to invest in a diversified portfolio of high-quality, professionally managed real estate, sidestepping the need for direct ownership and the hassles that come with it.

Long term, it could even help redefine the residential rental market: REITs could trigger the emergence of corporate landlords in Egypt, bringing structure and predictability to an incredibly fragmented market. While the initial focus of REITs is often commercial, the model paves the way for institutional players to own and operate residential portfolios, too. For would-be renters, that could mean an end to the days of stationery-shop rental contracts and patchworks of individual landlords in favour of operators with professionally managed properties, standardized contracts, and proper building maintenance.

A best-case scenario? We're told that Bonyan's IPO is already substantially oversubscribed, suggesting investors understand that the emergence of publicly traded REITs here could be key to attracting a new wave of institutional capital to the real estate industry.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another sunny day in Cairo, with a high of 36°C and a low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 31°C and a low of 22°C.

For decades, Sahel has been synonymous with summer's embrace: clear waters, crisp breezes, and vibrant nights. But last year, Ras El-Hekma cast a spotlight on its potential as a regional investment and tourism engine.

In the second issue of our Destination Sahel series, we’re digging deep into the infrastructure needed to support this evolution and whether Sahel has a spot on the global tourism stage..

Look for Destination Sahel, Issue II, in your inbox this Tuesday, 15 July.

Missed the first issue? Tap here to read the full series.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is in town for a two-day visit where he will meet officials to discuss “developing China-Egypt relations, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and issues of mutual interest,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said during a briefing.

What can we expect from the visit: The Chinese side hopes to deepen cooperation between the two sides, advance relations, and build a China-Arab community with a shared future at a higher level during the premier’s time in Cairo.

HAPPENING THIS FALL-

The EFG Hermes London Conference is set to run 8-11 September in the British capital.

IN THE HOUSE-

The House gave its final approval to cabinet-proposed amendments to the Education Law, including defined guidelines for the baccalaureate system. The draft law, which received an initial nod from MPs a day earlier, also includes counting a portion of annual coursework toward the final grade for students in the final stage of basic education.

MPs also gave their final approval to amendments to the Sports Law that seek to address conflicting interpretations of the legislation and improve governance. The changes aim to expand state oversight while maintaining the independence of sports bodies, boost transparency, and encourage private investment.

AND- MPs approved a joint committee report on a EUR 90 mn loan from the European Investment Bank to support the Egypt Food Resilience project.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats are getting top billing in the foreign press. The latest victim: Copper, which could see a 50% tariff on all US imports. US copper prices soared to a record high on the news, with futures trading at USD 5.69 a pound. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the tariffs could go into effect as soon as at the end of the month or early August.

Plus: Trump said tariffs on pharma products could reach 200%, though he would give manufacturers at least a year or a year and a half to get things in order.

Oh, and the 1 August deadline for reciprocal tariffs? That’s a firm deadline, Trump said, backtracking on earlier comments that suggested he could offer some leeway for talks over trade agreements to resume beyond the deadline. (Bloomberg | CNBC | Reuters | Financial Times | CNN | Guardian)

ALSO- Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again today with talks focused “exclusively” on Gaza, the US president said, according to Bloomberg. A proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza has been on the table since last week, with Trump suggesting this week could see an agreement from both sides.

AND- The US Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to pull the trigger on mass government layoffs after lifting a lower court order that had frozen them earlier. The layoffs — potentially set to reach hundreds of thousands — will affect the departments of agriculture, commerce, health and human services, state, treasury, veterans affairs and other agencies. (Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | Guardian | Reuters)

*** 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 look at the real estate market’s performance during 1Q 2025.

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