Good afternoon, friends, and congratulations on another successful workweek. It was a slow one in the press, with a few overarching stories still getting top billing.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

Azimut Investments is gearing up to launch Halan-Azimut, the country’s first digital real estate investment fund, after securing approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to establish Egypt’s first licensed digital platform for trading real estate fund units, according to a Cabinet statement. This marks a key step in bringing fractional property ownership to local investors through regulated digital certificates.

Where we’re at: The FRA is now reviewing the fund’s prospectus ahead of its rollout, which is part of a wider strategy to digitize investment products, enhance financial inclusion, and modernize domestic capital markets. The regulator said the new platform falls under its 2025 framework governing digital real estate fund activity, aimed at expanding investor access and ensuring transparency in the non-banking sector.

Destiny Energy to invest USD 210 mn in developing green ammonia and hydrogen facilities in the SCZone: Singaporean renewables developer and investor Destiny Energy plans to develop a USD 210 mn green ammonia production facility in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone), according to a statement by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI).

The details: The facilities will produce 53 tons of green hydrogen and 300 tons of green ammonia daily (about 100k tons annually). This project will use future wind and solar capacity in the SCZONE, either developed by Destiny Energy or sourced locally, CEO Vijay Sersi said. Renewable energy is expected to lower production costs, making the output more competitive for Egyptian and European markets.

The project aims to boost Egypt’s export competitiveness: Domestic factories will gain additional green ammonia to cut their carbon footprint, helping Egypt meet the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) requirements and boost the competitiveness of its exports, GAFI’s CEO Hossam Heiba said.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

? One story is leading the press this afternoon — the very same that has dominated the global news cycle throughout the week: the end of the US federal government shutdown. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives voted 222-209 to end the longest federal government shutdown in US history at 43 days.

The funding bill was then sent off to US President Donald Trump, who promptly signed the agreement, bringing to an end a national crisis that left over 1.4 mn federal employees unpaid, food aid suspended, and thousands of flights cancelled. The agreement will also reverse the mass layoffs ordered by Trump during the shutdown. The damage done will not be reversed overnight, with the House noting that official reports on inflation and employment during the month of October will likely never see the light of day.

The reopening was met with muted market reactions. Stock futures remained virtually unchanged, with the USD and US Treasuries weakening, signalling loss of investor confidence. Precious metals rose, with gold trading at USD 4.2k per ounce, and silver at USD 53.6 per ounce at the time of publication. (Reuters | Financial Times | BBC | CNN | Wall Street Journal)

With the shutdown now over, the Epstein files are back under the spotlight. House Democrats released three emails on Wednesday further tying Trump and deceased convicted [redacted] offender Jeffery Epstein. The documents detail correspondence between Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and US journalist Michael Wolff. In one email, Epstein wrote to Wolff that the US president indeed “knew about the girls.” (CNN | BBC | Reuters | Guardian | New York Times)

AND- A discharge petition to force a vote on the full release of the Epstein files secured its last signature yesterday, triggering a situation room meeting between the Trump administration and Lauren Boebert, a key GOP lawmaker, CNN reports. The meeting was then confirmed by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. (CNN | New York Times)

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for a rainy day in Cairo tomorrow, with temperatures peaking at just 25°C before cooling down further to 18°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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