Egyptian Resorts Company board won’t budge despite moves to unseat it

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

CBE expected to leave interest rates unchanged today

Good morning, friends. It’s interest rate day, and the consensus we polled is a hold at 19% on deposits and 20% on lending for the second time running.

We dive into a recent court success for the ERC board. The State Council's Administrative Court suspended GAFI’s order to convene a general meeting and elect a new board at Egyptian Resorts Company — the Sahl Hasheesh developer. GAFI's Grievance Committee meets today to figure out where this leaves things and we'll be watching.

ALSO – International lenders are circling the USD 3 bn EgyptAlum-Alba alumina refinery, Managing Director Mahmoud Agour tells us. More on this and more stories in the news well below.

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WISH THIS MORNING’S ISSUE was a podcast? We’ve got you. Tap or click here to listen to Morning Drive, a 10-minute version of today’s issue crafted for you to enjoy with your morning coffee, while getting the kids ready for school, or while stomping around the house wondering where the [redacted] you left your [redacted] reading glasses.

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Happening today

It’s interest rate day: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is expected to keep interest rates on hold, at 19% for deposits and 20% for lending, for the second consecutive time when its Monetary Policy Committee meets today. Financial analysts we spoke to for our regular interest rate poll say the CBE is likely to maintain its “wait-and-see” approach to keep inflation expectations anchored amid elevated global energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty.

Veteran banking expert and former Banque Misr Deputy Chair Sahar El Damaty also anticipates a hold scenario, citing the current geopolitical conditions. “Although inflation is hovering around 14.9%, we are still facing imported inflationary pressures stemming from rising oil and natural gas prices, alongside higher shipping and ins. costs, all of which are naturally feeding into the prices of most goods,” El Damaty tells EnterpriseAM.

Still drilling down the debt

The Oil Ministry continues to pay off arrears owed to international oil companies, bringing the dues down to USD 440 mn from USD 714 mn at the end of April and from USD 6.1 bn at its peak in June 2024, Oil Minister Karim Badawi said. The government intends to fully settle the bill owed by the end of June.

The strategy: The government wants to revive upstream activity and stabilize declining domestic output. To secure its target of USD 6.2 bn in FDI for the oil sector next fiscal year, the government is moving on multiple fronts such as clearing arrears owed to foreign energy firms, rolling out risk-adjusted upstream terms, and attracting significant FDI commitments — including a USD 19 bn pledge from global energy majors over the next three years.

We need every barrel. With oil output currently at 560k bbl / d versus a target of roughly 626k bbl / d by the end of next FY, and with gas output under 4 bcf/d with a push to add 1 bcf/d by year-end — part of a larger target to reach 6.2 bcf/d by 2027 — the math only works if international oil companies are willing to drill.

Another listed SPAC

Blank-check company OG Capital For Investments has formally landed on the EGX, after securing approval for a temporary main-market listing, according to a bourse statement. This makes it the second special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to make it onto the exchange after Catalyst Partners Middle East (CPME). While OG Capital listed with an Issued capital of EGP 10 mn under the non-banking financial sector, the ticker hasn’t gone live, and its shares aren’t trading yet.

We still don’t know who actually sits behind the SPAC, which is unusual for a vehicle whose credibility rests on the people backing it. Investors in a blank-check company are typically underwriting the sponsors before there’s an operating business or visible acquisition in the pipeline. Check out our explainer for more on how SPACs work.

The clock starts now: OG Capital has three months from listing to raise its capital from EGP 10 mn to at least EGP 100 mn through a private placement to qualified investors and financial institutions, and six months from listing to gain shareholder approval for an acquisition target. The full acquisition must close within two years of listing, subject to FRA extension. Once those gates are cleared, the SPAC can move toward unfreezing the ticker for retail trading.

REMEMBER- These things take time. CPME first expressed interest in going public back in 2022. It was temporarily listed in November 2024 but only hit the EGX trading floor a little over a year later. Its shares closed up 20% to EGP 12 apiece on debut, some three months after it completed its twin acquisition of Qardy and Catalyst Partners.

Mapping out the Alex Metro expansion

The National Authority for Tunnels has signed a EUR 1.4 mn contract with French consulting firm Systra to conduct studies for the second phase of the Abu Qir Metro, a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM. The firm aims to complete the required studies by July, paving the way for a construction tender to be floated and work to begin. The Transport Ministry said last month it had begun formal procedures for the phase, following breaking ground on the first phase of the project in February.

White Knights triumph

Zamalek clinched their 15th Egyptian Premier League crown after besting Ceramica Cleopatra in last night’s showdown, scoring 1-0 after a goal by Oday Dabbagh in the match’s first 10 minutes. This victory follows the team’s loss of the African Confederation Cup final earlier this month to Algeria’s USM Alger.

PSA

The cabinet has extended its mandatory work-from-home policy through to the end of June, according to a statement. This is the second consecutive renewal of the measure, which applies to both public and private-sector employees and eases pressure on the national grid during peak summer consumption.

WEATHER- It’s another breezy day in Cairo today, with a high of 29°C and a low of 18°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s several degrees cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 24°C and a low of 17°C.

And over the weekend, expect to see slightly warmer weather, with a high of 31°C in the capital and a high of 24°C for our friends on the Mediterranean.

The big story abroad

We’re inching closer to what will be the largest IPO ever after SpaceX filed publicly late last night. Now the world is sitting tight in anticipation of the rocket maker’s imminent Nasdaq debut. We dive into the full story and what it means for the Gulf in this morning’s Planet Finance, below.

The return of monetary tightening? The latest meeting minutes from the Federal Reserve indicate the central bank’s willingness to raise interest rates if inflation maintains its growth trajectory above 2%. Prior to this development, CME Group data showed interest rate futures markets pricing in a nearly 50% chance of at least one quarter point rate hike in 2026.

Meanwhile, in the tech world: Nvidia announced USD 80 bn in stock buybacks and an increase in its dividend payout yesterday, after 1Q sales grew 85% y-o-y to USD 81.6 bn, surpassing expectations.

More on the Warner Bros. buyout: To finance Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, Bank of America and Citigroup are gauging investor appetite for a massive debt package. Early talks indicate a mix of around USD 30 bn in high-grade bonds, USD 12 bn in junk bonds, and USD 7.5 bn in loans.

The board that wouldn’t budge

Court blocks GAFI’s forced board shake-up at ERC: The State Council’s Administrative Court has suspended a decision by the General Authority of Investment and FreeZones (GAFI) compelling the Egyptian Resorts Company to convene a general meeting and elect a new board.

An interim ruling (pdf) by the court found that GAFI’s directive lacked legal basis and blocked votes scheduled for 16 and 23 May (the latter in case quorum wasn’t reached at the first meeting), according to a regulatory disclosure (pdf). The appeal was filed and ruled on in just four days. GAFI’s Grievance Committee is set to convene today to discuss the legal status of its decision.

ERC is the developer behind Sahl Hasheesh, a high-profile Red Sea coast destination that’s over half the size of Manhattan.

Remnants of a grudge

The ruling freezes a long-running boardroom dispute between ERC’s management and a dissenting minority shareholder bloc — led by Tarek Muhammadi Mansour, Sahar Adel Suleiman, and Jehan Adel Suleiman — over the control of one of the country’s largest tourism land banks, a source with first-hand knowledge of the dispute tells EnterpriseAM. “While the dispute appears to be over the company's management, it is, in reality, a dispute over sale contracts,” the source says.

The real war is over the price of the dirt in Sahl Hasheesh. As a tourism developer, ERC can legally price land in USD, and that’s where the battle lines were drawn. The shareholder bloc behind the push has been fighting since 2019 to fix the exchange rate for their specific land-purchase contracts at EGP 10 to the USD, the source tells us. By forcing a board shuffle, the family-led insurgency, which holds a combined 24.95% stake (pdf) in ERC as of mid April, was looking to secure more favorable terms. The EGP was at 53.39 yesterday.

Why this would’ve worked: A board of directors has the power to settle disputes and approve contract amendments without a shareholder vote. In theory, a friendly board could choose to stop pursuing payments for land at a higher exchange rate. This would allow the group to settle their outstanding contractual obligations to the company at a sharp markdown, benefitting the family bloc at the expense of ERC’s broader shareholder base.

Close, but no cigar

The latest turn in the dispute began after the bloc failed to seize control during a grueling 14-hour general assembly in September 2025, when a new board was elected, Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy (MBH) partner Amr Ehab tells EnterpriseAM. The bloc requested that ERC’s board call a new election in November that same year — the board rejected the request, saying there was no legal requirement for a re-do. Ehab represented ERC in the lawsuit.

What really happened is, they overplayed their hand. Banking on their size — which on that day combined the family bloc’s 24.95% stake with Beit El Khebra’s 23.54% stake to form a near-majority — the coalition attempted a boardroom bluff that was called out by management, according to board meeting minutes filed to the EGX (pdf). The bloc was circulating an unauthorized memo to remove the sitting board. Given that this must be done via secret ballot, the plan crashed into a technical wall because a big portion of the shareholders were attending remotely, and the online interface could not legally support a secret ballot for an unscheduled motion without prior clearance from GAFI.

The second obstacle was also procedural. Many of the signatures the bloc gathered for the motion to unseat the current board were backed by restricted powers of attorney (limited to attendance and voting) that did not cover the right to submit impromptu structural motions. After a heated discussion between a Beit El Khebra representative and the chairman, the bloc staged a tactical walkout and abstained from voting in a backfired bid to break quorum, which wiped their own numerical advantage and allowed current management to legally sweep and lock down new board seats.

The bloc then went to court four times to annul the September election results — and on four separate occasions, the Qena Economic Court refused the petition. The group then turned to the regulator. Their argument? ERC’s board had abdicated its duties and failed to exercise proper oversight.

The BoD said no, GAFI said… yes?

Typically, the regulator would first want to investigate the claim that the board had been derelict in carrying out its duties. The bloc first approached GAFI in December 2025 — the regulator replied in March 2026 that the filing was missing a document, which lawyers for the families submitted the same month. Just 45 days later, with no further contact, GAFI went straight to the EGX with an announcement calling the assembly for 16 May. “We were surprised [on 20 April] that the authority announced on the EGX a call for the assembly to convene [on 16 May] to elect a new board,” Ehab says. It was only then that ERC execs learned that the bloc had gone to GAFI, he adds.

ERC’s legal team went into emergency mode. Lawyers asked in April that GAFI’s Grievance Committee intervene and filed an appeal on Tuesday 5 May. Four days later, they were in court. Recognizing that a board shuffle, once done, would be nearly impossible to undo, the Administrative Court gave GAFI’s lawyers just three hours to review the file and respond. The court’s interim ruling was scathing, saying it found that since a valid board was already in place, GAFI had no grounds to say the board was in the wrong for refusing to call another election.

SOUND SMART- It’s not often the State Council (Maglis El Dowla) rules against a major watchdog in favor of a company — let alone this fast. “The speed of this ruling serves as a reassurance to EGX investors even when a regulator exceeds its statutory jurisdiction or commits a procedural impropriety, the judiciary will intervene to maintain corporate stability and protect stakeholders’ interests,” Ehab says.

Reclaiming the plots

Right on the heels of the judicial rescue, ERC’s board secured an unappealable — and unanimous — international arbitration award on 10 May to terminate 2015 land contracts in Sahl Hasheesh held by Tarek Mansour and Jehan Suleiman, forcing them to return the coastal plots to ERC, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). ERC will refund the group USD 3.87 mn to claw back the plots into its own inventory, while the tribunal ordered the shareholders to pay USD 49.7k to cover ERC’s legal costs.

Why this doesn’t set a precedent

Pundits warn against reading the case as a binding legal precedent. “In Egypt, rulings are used as a trend rather than a binding precedent,” veteran lawyer and former MBH partner Islam Saeed tells EnterpriseAM, noting that a single first-instance procedural ruling “does not carry the weight of a formal legal precedent.” The decision still sends an important signal to the market that regulators cannot easily be used as a shortcut by activist shareholders seeking to bypass the Companies Law.

“This is a purely procedural matter regarding a specific error in process, rather than a substantive legal principle,” Saeed tells us, adding that the Administrative Court in question is “a court of first instance, not the Supreme Administrative Court … it cannot be signaled as a definitive precedent that would significantly impact other cases.”

What’s next

While the 16 May general meeting is dead, the legal status of GAFI’s decision remains in limbo, Ehab tells us. The court ruling currently acts as a stay of execution — it renders the decision “practically non-existent” but doesn’t technically erase it from the books, he says.

The final kill rests with the GAFI’s Grievance Committee, which is set to convene today (Thursday, 21 May). “The Grievance Committee might lean towards annulling GAFI’s decision,” Ehab tells us. If they do, the decision is formally annulled and binding on GAFI, effectively ending the threat. But, even if the committee rejects the grievance, the Administrative Court’s interim ruling holds on its own. The committee is a specialized three-member panel chaired by a member of the judiciary alongside a GAFI representative and an outside expert.

Editor’s note: GAFI did not respond to EnterpriseAM’s request for comment on this story, sent by email on May 13.

Circling the refinery

International lenders are competing to fund the USD 3 bn alumina refinery Egypt Aluminum (EgyptAlum) is building with Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) — the largest alumina refining and production facility ever built in Egypt, EgyptAlum Managing Director Mahmoud Agour tells EnterpriseAM. EgyptAlum will fund half of the estimated cost of the project — around USD 1.5 bn — with the financing structure open to review at a later date.

The Alba partnership agreement was signed back in September, but has seen some delays tied to regional developments, Agour says. EgyptAlum already secured land in Safaga near the port to support export logistics and is working through formal procedures and licensing. “Construction and production startup should take around three years once all procedures are complete,” Agour tells us.

Why is this important? Egypt has no functioning alumina refineries and currently imports the raw material to feed the Naga Hammadi smelter, which has historically left Egyptalum exposed to global alumina pricing and shipping cycles.

The bigger picture: Together with the Trafigura-backed smelter expansion announced earlier this month and a new 600k-ton greenfield EgyptAlum is negotiating in East Al Tafreah with Gulf and foreign investors, the Alba agreement could lift Egypt’s total aluminum production capacity to around 1.2 mtpa from roughly 300k tons today, Agour says.

The green hedge is also advancing. Norwegian firm Scatec is close to completing the first 500 MW phase of its 1.1 GW solar project in Naga Hammadi — critical for keeping EgyptAlum’s exports competitive as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism kicks in.

Raising the ceiling

The government raised the ceiling on its medium-term international bond program to USD 40 bn — up from USD 30 bn — on the back of recent sovereign credit rating upgrades, a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM.

The government doesn’t plan to max it out. The strategy is to issue annual external debt roughly equivalent to maturing obligations, minus USD 1-2 bn, to gradually bring the overall external debt load down, the source tells us.

The Finance Ministry plans to launch a USD 1 bn social bond issuance next FY as part of the expanded program. “Next year, we will focus more heavily on sustainable development issuances, as the budget is primarily centered on the social sector,” the source adds.

The plan: The ministry is targeting USD 3-4 bn in international bond issuances next FY, out of a wider USD 11.2 bn in total external loans and financing. Over the medium term, it wants to cut debt servicing costs — which currently eat up roughly 59% of tax revenues — down to around 35% of total state expenditures, and bring external debt-to-GDP to 17.8% by next June from 21.5% last year.

REMEMBER- The government issued around USD 3.5 bn in diversified international bonds this FY, including its USD 1 bn debut social bond This week, the official says. Roughly USD 500 mn remaining that could be tapped before June or postponed based on market conditions.

Pulling in three directions

EFG Holding’s three businesses pulled in opposite directions in 1Q 2026. The group posted an 18% y-o-y revenue increase to EGP 6.6 bn, but net income after tax and minority interest fell to EGP 1.0 bn, as higher taxes and minority interest charges ate into an otherwise strong quarter, according to an earnings release (pdf). Total assets stood at EGP 270.2 bn at the end of March.

Bank NXT delivered 34% revenue growth y-o-y to EGP 1.9 bn and 39% y-o-y growth in net income to EGP 691 mn, driven by a 53% surge in net interest income as the loan book expanded.

EFG Finance revenues grew 20% y-o-y to EGP 1.6 bn, led by Valu’s 85% revenue jump on securitization gains and loan issuances. Net operating income fell 37% to EGP 276 mn and net income fell 47% to EGP 205 mn, on a 335% rise in provisions y-o-y plus non-operational FX losses at Finance Holding.

EFG Hermes’ revenues grew just 9% y-o-y to EGP 3.1 bn as sell-side eased and investment banking activity was lower against a strong 1Q 2025 base. Net income climbed 34% y-o-y to EGP 1.1 bn, largely on the back of unrealized gains on investments and FX gains following March’s EGP devaluation.

What they said: Group CEO Karim Awad called it a “solid start to 2026” but flagged that the US-Israel-Iran conflict “weighed on the broader region during the latter part of the quarter,” with the group focused on “disciplined execution and prudent risk management.”

Localize it

The Egyptian arm of Germany’s Leoni will set up a EUR 80 mn industrial complex in Badr City by 2028, as the company scales up its production of wiring harnesses and electric cables for both conventional and electric vehicles, Managing Director Sherief El Dessouky told the Arabic press. The new complex will double the company’s current production capacity of 100k wiring harnesses per day.

Why it matters: The move directly supports the National Automotive Industry Development Program’s target of a 60% local component ratio. It’s also a data point in a quiet but intensifying North Africa supply chain rivalry: Morocco — including Leoni’s own recently launched commercial vehicle wiring plant in Agadir — is positioning itself as a lean export gateway to Europe, while Egypt is banking on its labor scale and domestic supplier depth to build something broader.

DATA POINT- The country’s electrical wiring exports surged 29% last year to USD 752 mn, with Turkey taking the largest slice at 33% (USD 249 mn). Slovakia was the second largest importer of Egyptian electrical wiring at USD 106 mn, followed by the UK at USD 87 mn, Al Arabiya reports, citing the UN trade database.

Powering the Med pledge

ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy will explore how to link Cypriot gas discoveries to the country’s energy infrastructure under an MoU inked with the Oil Ministry.

IN CONTEXT- The agreement comes a day after Cyprus set a 2028 target to route offshore natural gas exports to Europe through Egypt. While Egypt already holds midstream agreements to transport, process, and liquefy gas from the Eni and TotalEnergies-operated Cronos field (off the coast of Cyprus) at its Damietta plant, looping in ExxonMobil and QatarEnergy expands the government’s prospective processing pipeline.

Bonyan sees “strong start” to 2026

Real estate investment company Bonyan saw its net income rise 42.3% y-o-y in 1Q 2026 to EGP 593.3 mn on the back of robust sales activity and appreciation in the company’s investment portfolio by EGP 800 mn, according to its latest earnings release (pdf). The firm’s top line more than doubled to EGP 370 mn during the three-month period.

Revenue growth was driven by a successful sales restart at Walk of Cairo, strong rental revenues boosted by repricing, contractual escalations, and new leases.

Telecom Egypt opens 2026 with topline surge

Telecom Egypt saw its net income drop 23% y-o-y in 1Q 2026 to around EGP 3.6 bn on the back of losses linked to the revaluation of foreign-currency liabilities, which amounted to EGP 5.3 bn, according to its latest earnings release (pdf). Barring these losses, the bottom line would have risen around 27% y-o-y to EGP 5.9 bn.

The firm’s top line rose 14% y-o-y in the same period to EGP 28.2 bn thanks to a modest increase in its customer base. Data revenue made up 69% of total topline growth, jumping 23% y-o-y in 1Q.

More on our radar:

Fintech giant Fawry launched its services on smart transportation app Tariqi to automate toll collection across Egypt’s highway network. (Press release, pdf)
Investment platform Thndr plans to launch a real estate investment fund in 3Q introducing fractionalized property investments, pending regulatory approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority. (Zawya)
Saudi Folk Maritime launched Red Sea Express, a 1.1k-TEU shipping service connecting Ain Sokhna to Jordan’s Aqaba, and Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu and Jeddah ports to accelerate regional cargo handling and lower transport costs. (Statement)
EFG Hermes was the sole global coordinator for the Saudi Omani Investment Company on a USD 92.5 mn block equity sale in Oman’s OQ Base Industries. The transaction marks the first accelerated bookbuild ever executed in Oman’s capital markets. (Press release, pdf)

The Aramco-sized question

The largest IPO in history is here: SpaceX filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission last night setting the stage for it to kick off the global roadshow on 4 June. Pricing is expected as early as 11 June, with a listing on Nasdaq 12 June at a target valuation of USD 1.75 tn, targeting USD 70-75 bn in proceeds. The previous record was Saudi Aramco’s USD 29.4 bn listing in 2019, and SpaceX is on track to clear that by more than 2x.

The Gulf is positioned on every side of this trade — as investor, as competitor, and as the reference point against which SpaceX is being priced. Mubadala has historic exposure through the Vision Fund, and multiple GCC family offices have ridden the secondary market valuation ladder from USD 100 bn in 2021 to USD 1.25 tn after the February xAI merger to USD 1.75 tn at IPO. PIF has been a SpaceX equity holder since 2021.

What does the prospectus tell us? SpaceX incurred around USD 4.3 bn in losses in 1Q 2026, bringing in revenues of USD 4.7 bn in the same period. During 1Q 2025, net losses amounted to USD 528 mn along with revenues of around USD 4 bn. The filing also places the par value of Class A common stock at USD 0.001 per share.

Elon Musk remains comfortably in charge, with his ownership of some Class A shares and most Class B shares giving the world’s richest man 85.1% of the voting power. The filling clarifies that Musk will remain at the wheel following the IPO.

The Polymarket consensus puts the closing market cap above USD 2 tn at 47% probability. For the GCC LPs who entered at single-digit-bn valuations, the listing is a generational liquidity event — paper gains crystallize on Day One, and the secondary-sale lockup expires September or October.

PIF recently cut its international allocation target from 30% to 20% in April under its 2026/2030 strategy. If SpaceX IPOs with USD 70-75 bn in proceeds, this could give GCC SWFs a sudden distributable capital injection at exactly the moment the strategic direction is redirected home, instead of outward.

Aramco’s 2019 IPO was the largest in history because it was a sovereign listing — Saudi Arabia going public, in effect, with Aramco as the vehicle. SpaceX is the opposite: a private-sector listing whose physical infrastructure (Starlink ground stations, Starbase, defense contracts) is increasingly a foreign-policy instrument.

The comparison matters because every major US listing for the next 18 months — OpenAI at USD 852 bn, Anthropic at USD 900 bn+, the rest of the AI infrastructure pipeline — will be measured against SpaceX. The Gulf capital markets ecosystem that built itself around the 2019 listing now has to compete with a US ecosystem that has decisively reclaimed mega-cap listing primacy.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are up in early trading this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei and South Korea’s Kospi rebounding strongly from earlier losses. Stronger-than-expected 1Q Nvidia earnings and vessels making their way through Hormuz fueled the rally.

EGX30	51,937	-1.6% (YTD: +24.2%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 53.37	Sell 53.51
USD (CIB)	Buy 53.37	Sell 53.47
Interest rates (CBE)	19.00% deposit	20.00% lending
Tadawul	10,986	0.0% (YTD: +4.7%)
ADX	9,598	-0.5% (YTD: -4.0%)
DFM	5,627	-0.6% (YTD: -7.0%)
S&P 500	7,433	+1.1% (YTD: +8.6%)
FTSE 100	10,432	+1.0% (YTD: +5.0%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,976	+2.1% (YTD: +3.1%)
Brent crude	USD 105.78	+0.8%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.04	+1.0%
Gold	USD 4,551	+0.4%
BTC	USD 77,583	+1.1% (YTD: -11.4%)
S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index	1,048	-0.1% (YTD: +5.5%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	149.64	-0.2% (YTD: -1.5%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	17.44	-3.4% (YTD: +16.7%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.6% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 9.3 bn (17.8% above the 90-day average). Local investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 24.2% YTD.

In the red: Ibnsina Pharma (-5.0%), Raya Holding (-4.1%), and Emaar Misr (-4.0%).

My Morning Routine: Hesham Mahran, CEO of Orange Egypt

Hesham Mahran, CEO, Orange Egypt: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is the CEO of Orange Egypt Hesham Mahran (LinkedIn). Edited excerpts from our conversation:

I am Hesham Mahran, CEO of Orange Egypt. My journey with the company began in 1998, when I joined as a sales executive at what was then Mobinil. Over the years, I have grown within the organization, but more importantly, I have grown with it. Remaining in the same institution for nearly three decades is not a matter of tenure. It is a matter of conviction. It reflects a belief that meaningful impact is built over time through continuity, accumulated understanding, and sustained contribution.

When you spend this length of time within one organization, you begin to see it not as a structure, but as a system. You understand how decisions echo across years, how culture compounds, and how resilience is forged through cycles of challenge and progress. This perspective shapes how I lead today. I am not only responsible for performance in the present, but for preserving direction across time.

My role is inherently multifaceted. It begins with setting a clear strategic direction, but the real challenge lies in ensuring that the entire organization is aligned behind it. Organizations do not move because strategies exist. They move because people understand them, believe in them, and act on them with consistency.

A significant part of my role is interpretive — translating strategy into something people can feel ownership over, and ensuring that every individual understands how their contribution connects to the larger picture. Leadership today is less about directing and more about orchestrating. It is about creating the conditions where insight can surface and ownership takes root naturally.

What motivates me every day is the realization that what we do has become foundational to how people live, learn, and grow. Orange Egypt began as Mobinil in 1998, the first mobile operator in the country. At that time, the challenge was access. Today, the challenge has evolved. Access alone is no longer sufficient. The real question is how to translate connectivity into capability, and capability into potential.

We have grown into a digital partner, enabling individuals, businesses, and government entities through infrastructure, digital services, and intelligent solutions.

The most significant shift in telecommunications today is structural. It is no longer a supporting sector. It has become the foundational infrastructure underpinning how economies function and how societies operate. We are seeing a convergence of technologies — artificial intelligence, cloud, fintech, and smart infrastructure — all built on top of this foundation.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, represents a deeper transformation. It allows organizations to redirect human effort away from repetition and toward areas where judgment, creativity, and strategic thinking are truly required. In that sense, it does not replace human capability. It redefines and elevates it.

I wake up around 5am. The first part of the day exists before urgency. It creates space for intentional thinking. I begin with a spiritual routine, followed by coffee and quiet reflection.

I then review global and local developments. EnterpriseAM is part of my daily reading. It provides a structured perspective that helps me connect broader trends with local realities. Leadership requires context. Without it, decisions become reactive. With it, they become directional.

There is no standard day, but there is a consistent principle. People are always at the center. My day is built around continuous engagement with teams and stakeholders. I prioritize listening.

The one constant is challenges. Every day presents a different set of variables, both internal and external. What matters is perspective, and perspective comes from listening. Alignment, however, remains fundamental.

Professionally, my focus is on strengthening Orange Egypt’s role as a market leader and a central enabler of digital transformation. We are proud to be a trusted partner to government entities, supporting infrastructure, AI, and public services as part of Egypt’s Vision 2030. A key priority is enabling startups, supporting SMEs, and empowering youth.

I prefer to think in terms of work-life harmony. I genuinely enjoy what I do. The office feels like a second home, and the team feels like family. At the same time, time with my family provides grounding.

At the end of the day, I like to unwind by watching movies or football and spending time with my children.

I am particularly drawn to books and podcasts that explore leadership, innovation, and human behavior. Continuous learning is essential. The most valuable advice I have received is to be clear about your purpose and remain consistent in how you pursue it.

CALENDAR

2026

MAY

21 May (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s third meeting of 2026.

26-31 May (Tuesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha.

JUNE

30 June (Tuesday): June 30 Revolution.

JULY

9 July (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s fourth meeting of 2026.

23 July (Thursday): Revolution Day (TBC).

AUGUST

20 August (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s fifth meeting of 2026.

26 August (Wednesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.

SEPTEMBER

15 September (Tuesday): IMF to hold its eighth review of Egypt’s USD 8 bn EFF arrangement.

24 September (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s sixth meeting of 2026.

27-29 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Global Conference on Population, Health, and Human Development.

OCTOBER

6 October (Tuesday): Armed Forces Day.

29 October (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s seventh meeting of 2026.

DECEMBER

17 December (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s eighth meeting of 2026.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

1Q 2026: Trial operations for the Ain Sokhna-Sixth of October section of Egypt’s first high-speed rail line scheduled to begin.

May 2026: End of extension for developers on 15% interest rates for land installment payments.

July 2026: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer set to visit Egypt.

2H 2026: Operations at Deli Glass Co’s new USD 70 mn glassware factory kick off.

2026: The Egyptian-American Economic Forum.

2027

20 January-7 February: Egypt to host the African Games.

April 2027: Tenth of Ramadan dry port and logistics hub to begin operations.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2027: Egypt to host EBRD’s annual meetings.

2027: Egypt-EU Summit 2027.

End of 2027: Trial operations at the Dabaa nuclear power plant expected to take place.

September 2028: First unit of the Dabaa nuclear power plant begins operations.

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