Creative Investments Holding targets culture as capital

Tuesday, 8 Sep 2026

Creative Investments Holding targets culture as capital

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Today at a glance

Investment Watch

Creative Investments Holding targets heritage food brand after USD 20 mn first close.

PHARMA

The gov’t overhauls drug pricing with FX band, smaller reference basket, and local production advantage.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Value8 asks Dutch courts to freeze Orascom Construction’s proposed merger with Dutch-listed OCI Global.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

El Ahram Printing shares suspended from trading amid the ongoing seizure of company assets.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Egypt is pushing to expand its AIIB portfolio into new sectors.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Air Cairo closes in on order for 15 Airbus A320 family jets.

Also on our Radar

Sahl is preparing to launch in DIFC to serve Egyptian expats in the UAE.

PLANET FINANCE

BTC’s rally shows signs of running out of steam.

Going Green

Egypt needs six more climate reforms to unlock SDR 600 mn from the IMF.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Value8 asks Dutch courts to freeze Orascom Construction’s proposed merger with Dutch-listed OCI Global

Good morning, everyone. Today’s issue has two stories from Egypt’s consumer economy — one about the brands worth keeping here, and another about the cost of staying healthy.

The first is about Creative Investments — a new Abu Dhabi-based platform backed by luxury exec Mohamed Talaat Khalifa, Onsi Naguib Sawiris, and MSMEDA. The platform closed a USD 20 mn funding round to buy heritage food, hospitality, and lifestyle brands across Egypt and the region. The pitch: patient institutional ownership of brands that regional markets have built but never properly scaled.

On the health front, the government is replacing the old invoice-heavy pricing system with a cost-element model that moves with the exchange rate — but only when the FX swings exceed 10% and hold there for months. Some prices could fall 30-40% as raw material prices ease. The framework is being finalized now.

***

ARE YOU MORE OF A LISTENER? Morning Drive is a 10-minute summary of today’s issue crafted for you to enjoy with your morning coffee, while getting the kids ready for school, or driving through the morning rush. And if you like it, tell your friends to tell their friends. They can find us on Apple, Spotify, or wherever they get their podcasts.

***

The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is back — and we’re devoting the full day to the singular set of questions on everyone’s mind: What does AI actually mean for your company, your people, your economy, your own job — and your kids’ future?

Every session on stage answers one question: “So, what do I actually do about it?”

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New hurdle for Sawiris merger

Dutch investment company Value8 is asking the courts to freeze Cairo-born contractor Orascom Construction’s proposed merger with Dutch-listed OCI Global — both backed by Egyptian bn’aire Nassef Sawiris — according to a statement (pdf). The petition, filed with the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal, includes keeping the transaction off the ballot at any OCI shareholders’ meeting and seeks an investigation into how OCI has been run. A ruling in Value8’s favor could hold up or sink the transaction, along with some related plays.

OCI thinks the petition has no merit, saying it mostly recycles arguments already in front of the same court. Value8, for its part, wants a look at how Nassef Sawiris has gone about taking OCI off the Amsterdam market via a merger with a company he also controls, Dutch outlet De Aandeelhouder reported, citing ABM Financial News, a Dutch financial newswire. REFRESHER- The Enterprise Chamber froze the OCI-side vote in January over Sawiris’ conflict on both sides of the table and installed two independent directors to police the process. Those directors only consented to convening an EGM on 1 July, the same day the board (excluding Nassef and Nadia Sawiris) backed the arm of the Sawiris family office NNS Holding’s EUR 4.10-a-share take-private. Value8 is asking for that consent to be undone.

What this means for Egyptian holders: Local shareholders of Orascom Construction, which is listed on both the EGX and ADX, already approved the merger on 22 January at an unchanged 0.4634 exchange ratio. Orascom said in July it expects OCI to finish its side in 4Q 2026, with a final deadline of 30 December to get the agreement done. That leaves under four months of runway for a court fight to run through.

FRA halts Ahram Printing

El Ahram for Printing and Packaging will see its shares suspended from trading for 15 sessions starting Thursday amid the ongoing seizure of the company’s assets, according to a statement (pdf) by the Financial Regulatory Authority carried on the EGX. The company now has until the suspension lapses to hand the bourse two documents: an operating plan explaining how it intends to keep the lights on, and a note from its lawyers on every case it’s fighting.

What’s next: The listing committee will then get a look and decide whether to restore trading and leave the shares listed, or delist them compulsorily.

A creditor has been carrying the company out of the building, piece by piece. Roughly half the plant’s machines were dismantled and driven off late last month, enforcing a court order over EGP 62.3 mn in promissory notes signed by the former managing director. The winning bidder is now custodian of whatever’s still bolted down, and staff have been locked out of the factory. The FRA’s accounting concerns go further, including a bank account opened in Deputy Chairman Nassim Mohy El Din’s name to keep suppliers paid after the company’s accounts were frozen. The auditor couldn’t verify it.

The balance sheet is no healthier: Equity of EGP 83.2 mn flips to negative EGP 106.9 mn once you strip out an EGP 190 mn revaluation surplus, against EGP 156.9 mn of accumulated losses, according to the FRA’s statement.

MARKET REAX- Shares fell 4.92% yesterday to EGP 10.83, having closed up 3.73% on Sunday with the failed EGM already public.

Shareholders were asked last week whether to wind the company up. Fewer than one in five turned up to answer. The 3 September EGM drew holders of 19.5% of capital, short of a quorum, marking the second failed attempt in two months, according to the FRA. It convened on Zoom, which is a standard option for EGMs made necessary by the fact that no one can enter the factory. Delegates from the FRA, GAFI, and the company’s own auditor are all recorded as absent, according to the meeting minutes (pdf).

REMEMBER- The same court rejected a bankruptcy petition from the same creditor, QNB Alahli, last month, with both sides in settlement talks outside the process.

We want more, AIIB

Egypt wants a bigger, more diversified Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) portfolio, prioritizing energy, transport, ports, and logistics, and a greater role for the private sector, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s office said, after a meeting with AIIB President Zou Jiayi, her first visit to Africa since taking office. Finance Minister and Egypt’s AIIB governor Ahmed Kouchouk named climate-resilient infrastructure, regional connectivity, transport, and green and digital transformation as the areas for expansion in a statement on LinkedIn.

IN CONTEXT- Egypt has been a non-regional founding member of AIIB since its 2016 launch — one of 57 founding members, a roster that has since grown to 111. It is the largest African capital contributor to AIIB with a USD 650 mn share. The bank’s Egypt portfolio stood at close to USD 1.58 bn across seven projects as of late 2023 and has since added an eighth: a USD 300 mn climate policy-based financing approved in December 2024 (pdf). Its local footprint also includes the Benban solar complex, the Damietta Port container terminal, and the Alexandria-Abu Qir metro line.

Taking flight in greater numbers

Air Cairo will finalize an order for 15 Airbus A320 family jets — along with options for 15 more — as soon as this week, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources it says are in the know. The order’s ticket was not disclosed.

The state of the fleet: The expanding Egyptian budget airline now operates a fleet of over 40 aircraft, including 33 Airbus A320s, six ATRs, and three Embraer jets, according to its website.). As of August 2025, its fleet size was approaching half that of national flag carrier EgyptAir. Air Cairo — which primarily flies smaller models — now runs over 500 weekly flights across 90 domestic, regional, and international destinations.

Data point

USD 57.2 bn — that’s where our net international reserves stood at the end of August, up USD 920.6 mn from July’s USD 56.29 bn and marking yet another record high, according to a Central Bank of Egypt statement. It’s a smaller monthly gain than July’s USD 1.22 bn jump, which itself trailed June’s USD 1.94 bn rise, when reserves first crossed the USD 55 bn threshold under the IMF program.

PSA-

WEATHER- Hope you have your fans on full blast. Cairo will see a high of 37°C today and a low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a bit kinder on the coast in Alexandria, with a high of 32°C and a low of 24°C.

The big story abroad

It appears that a key obstacle to resolving the regional conflict is being removed. Iran has signaled that an agreement to facilitate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is close to finalization after weeks of negotiations with Oman. The arrangement will involve determining a temporary safe route through the waterway for energy supplies, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.

Africa’s biggest IPO yet is on the horizon. Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals aims to list 4.1 bn shares at USD 0.4 a pop on the country’s stock exchange, launching what would be the continent’s largest-ever IPO. The company — led by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man — is looking to raise at least USD 1.6 bn from retail investors across the continent, offering them two shares without charge provided they are held for a specified period.

Chinese memory maker to list in Hong Kong: China Shenzhen Longsys Electronics — one of the world’s largest independent memory module manufacturers — is set to start trading in Hong Kong today, after raising USD 903 mn in an upsized share sale. The Chinese firm's debut will test investor confidence in the AI infrastructure expansion and volatile memory prices, which have surged this year due to tight supply.

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: EnterpriseAM’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We review Egypt’s next SDR 600 mn from the IMF, which hinges on six unfinished climate reforms.

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A strategic partnership shaping the next chapter of the Red Sea

Somabay and MARAKEZ come together in a landmark partnership, marking MARAKEZ’s first entry into Egypt’s Red Sea market and a significant step forward in the continued evolution of Somabay.

Investment Watch

Creative Investments Holding targets heritage food brand after USD 20 mn first close

The first target of the newly born Creative Investments Holding is potentially a heritage food brand. “A brand with history, an authentic DNA, and a story that reflects our culture — you can then scale it, optimize it, institutionalize it, and expand it regionally and globally,” Leo Equities founder and CEO Mohamed Talaat Khalifa (LinkedIn) tells EnterpriseAM, without disclosing further details on the brand. The ADGM-based vehicle just closed a USD 20 mn funding round en route to a USD 50 mn target, with an IPO in sight, according to a statement (pdf) released yesterday. The commitments are still subject to definitive agreements.

The full targets: The platform is eyeing “controlling and strategic” stakes in food, hospitality, fashion, and lifestyle businesses primarily in Egypt and the broader MENA region. Properties are also being evaluated for the platform’s first boutique hotel concept Casa Leo, where Khalifa, a former managing director of EGX-listed Concrete Fashion Group, says the focus is the experience rather than the asset.

Who is behind it: The platform is being set up through Leo Equities, the investment arm of Khalifa, which has a DAFZA and Milan presence. Leo Equities describes itself as a “House of Brands and Experiences” across creative and niche industries with a presence in Abu Dhabi and Cairo alongside Italy. Khalifa is running the platform with Heba Makhlouf (LinkedIn), former CIO of EGX-listed developer Sodic.

The pitch: “Money will always be funding, culture is the real capital,” Khalifa tells EnterpriseAM. For him, what the region has lacked is a patient institutional owner willing to take authentic regional businesses and turn them into international champions.

Who sits on the cap table: Founding investors include Onsi Naguib Sawiris, Ali Abubakr, and the state’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA). A government SME agency co-investing alongside private money in a vehicle whose stated ambition is luxury and lifestyle brands is not a combination we see often. Having an institution alongside individual investors and family offices helps with governance and institutionalizing the company, Khalifa tells us.

The split across investors stays confidential until the definitive agreements are signed, Khalifa said, and the platform will go after a wider group of investors in subsequent rounds on a timeline that hasn’t been set yet. The number of acquisitions the first USD 20 mn will cover is also open, and the investment strategy and how concentrated the portfolio will be are still being worked out, he tells us.

On picking a home for the IPO: Creative Investments Holding is eyeing Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, or London as potential listing venues within five to seven years, according to the release. The platform is regional rather than Egyptian, Khalifa says, pointing to businesses worth buying in Saudi Arabia, the Levant, and the UAE alongside Egypt. Where it ultimately lists will come down to where capital and investor access make the most sense at the time, he adds.

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And because this is Habib, the conversation does not stay nostalgic for long. AI as a builder’s tool, agentic commerce, and the future of entertainment all make it into the mix — including what happens when digital assistants start helping people search, book, buy, and pay.

Watch the full episode of Access Tomorrow, presented by Visa, here.

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PHARMA

The gov’t overhauls drugs pricing with FX band, smaller reference basket, and local production advantage

The government is preparing to launch a new drug pricing system in the coming days that keeps mandatory pricing but makes it more responsive to exchange-rate and cost swings — while handing locally manufactured products a structural price advantage over imports, a government official tells EnterpriseAM. The framework will be finalized after meetings with local and foreign manufacturers. The Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) remains the sole authority setting and reviewing prices, now based on a detailed review of actual cost elements, including active and inactive ingredients, packaging, manufacturing, electricity, fuel, wages, and ins.

The FX rule is the headline mechanic: No price moves while the USD moves within a 10% band; larger, sustained FX swings lasting up to six months can trigger reviews, with any increase based on the product’s actual cost rather than the currency move alone. The system also includes a mechanism to lower prices when sustained falls in input costs or the exchange rate warrant them, and periodic cost reviews will allow reassessment as raw material costs and production volumes change, the official says.

Reference pricing gets a regional tilt: The basket of countries used for external price comparisons will be cut from 35 to 15, while adding regional markets such as the UAE. Foreign products would be priced at the lowest suitable reference price minus a further 10% reduction for the Egyptian market, tying local prices to actual prices in comparator markets while keeping a margin in consumers’ favor. Locally manufactured products would be priced at 50-60% of the equivalent imported product — replacing complex invoice-based verification with set rules and percentages — and would enjoy a simplified pricing process, the official adds. Companies will also be able to get an advance estimate of a product’s expected price before completing registration, letting them factor pricing into feasibility studies, with applications and tracking to move online.

The framework could drive some drug prices down 30-40% as global raw material costs ease and production volumes rise, Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Pharma Division head Ali Ouf tells EnterpriseAM. The current system — which verifies raw material invoices against officially announced global prices, often burdening companies with complex paperwork — would be replaced by cost-element pricing plus an investment income margin, he says. While operating costs have climbed on fuel, electricity, shipping, Iran-war fallout, and supply chain disruptions, prices have remained stable, according to Ouf. He estimates company income fell around 20% even as market sales grew 13% in the January-August 2026 period, after exceptional 25% and 40% growth in 2023 and 2024, driven by repricing.

IN CONTEXT- The reform lands as the government pushes to localize strategic drugs — biosimilars, insulin, blood derivatives, and vaccines — with active pharma-ingredient and excipient-localization investment set to exceed USD 500 mn, Ouf says. It follows the state’s incentives package for pharma unveiled last year, the industry’s renewed push for 10% hikes, and the government’s settlement of 90% of its arrears to pharma companies earlier this year. Prices were last moved in October 2024.

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A MESSAGE FROM AUC ONSI SAWIRIS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

AI: from strategy to execution

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Applications close on 20 September 2026. Apply here.

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Also on our Radar

Sahl is preparing to launch in DIFC to serve Egyptian expats in the UAE

Digital bill-payment platform Sahl is preparing to launch operations in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) to serve Egyptian expatriates in the UAE, following talks between Egyptian Planning and Economic Development Minister Ahmed Rostom and DIFC Governor Essa Kazim, according to a statement. The planned expansion aims to allow Egyptians living in the UAE to directly pay utilities, municipal fees, and financial obligations for their families back home.

IN CONTEXT- The DIFC expansion marks the primary operational step in executing a broader state-backed initiative launched last month. In August, Delta Egypt Payments — the app’s fintech firm, in which the state-backed National Investment Bank holds a stake — signed a cooperation protocol with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates to roll out digital bill-payment solutions for citizens residing abroad. Beyond fintech, discussions between Rostom and Kazim — who also serves as chairman of DP World — touched on expanding logistics operations and container-handling investments across the Suez Canal Economic Zone to draw on Egypt’s port infrastructure and enhance regional trade corridors.

Approvals for Azimut, Menthum

Azimut and Menthum Holding have secured Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) approval for investment fund platforms, according to an FRA statement. Azimut Investments-Egypt will set up a digital platform for private equity and venture capital funds, while Menthum Holding for Financial Investments can now receive subscriptions and process purchase and redemption orders for open-ended investment fund units.

ALSO- The FRA cleared Ashal for Digital Finance to offer microfinance through fintech platforms, and gave MNZL a final license to offer consumer and mortgage finance via fintech.

BACKGROUND- The FRA has kept up a steady drumbeat of fintech licensing this year. Granite received approval for a similar investment-fund subscription platform last January. In May, Fawry Healthcare-TreMed became the market’s first third-party healthcare administrator. Misr Reins. Brokerage was also granted a license to begin operations, and Horizon Securities and Bonds Trading was licensed for fund subscriptions.

Catching the phosphate rush

Elsewedy Capital Holding plans to begin production at a phosphate fertilizer plant in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) by late 2028, Asharq Business reports, citing an unnamed government official. The plant will produce 500k tons of fertilizer, with 80% earmarked for export and the rest sold domestically. The Oil Ministry pushed the consortium last month to speed up the project’s production timeline.

BACKGROUND- The Mineral Resources Authority signed a USD 500 mn shareholders’ agreement with Wadico and Elsewedy Capital in July to set up the company that will develop, build, and run the plant. The government is initiating several phosphate fertilizer projects. This week, we saw the SCZone add nine new industrial projects in Sokhna, including the Na Trans for Fertilizers and Chemical Industries project, which is running a USD 10 mn plant producing 100k tons a year, with a planned USD 45 mn expansion to lift capacity to 375k tons.

ALSO- Phosphate Misr has partnered with Indorama on a USD 525 mn Ain Sokhna complex, targeting 600k tons a year in its first phase, with 80% of it earmarked for export. The government is also breaking ground on the USD 658 mn Abu Tartour phosphoric acid complex in New Valley, built by CSCEC and East China Engineering, with an initial capacity of 250k tons annually for export.

Duty calls, margin falls

Egypt DutyFree Shops’ (EFSCO) net income fell 21% y-o-y in FY 2025/26 to EGP 317.2 mn from EGP 400.4 mn, according to a bourse filing (pdf). EFSCO pins the decline on a 2023 ministerial decision that raised the dutyfree alcohol allowance for travelers entering Egypt — first to two liters in February, then to three in July, while layering on customs fees of up to 25% per liter — which the company says cut its dutyfree alcohol sales by around two-thirds.

But the numbers say otherwise: Dutyfree gross income fell EGP 1.5 mn, or about 1.5% of the company’s EGP 103.4 mn pre-tax income decline, by our math. Much of the decline came from somewhere EFSCO doesn’t explain — gross margin in its far larger non-dutyfree business compressed to 36.7% from 43.1%, costing c. EGP 62.6 mn in gross income even as segment sales grew 4.3% to c. EGP 1.3 bn.

What’s next: EFSCO says it’s lobbying the prime minister and finance minister to reverse the alcohol allowance rules and expects a real sales bump if that happens. On the ground, the company opened a Marsa Alam Airport branch in February, is opening a new Sharm El Sheikh hotel branch to replace one whose lease expired, and is still pursuing a customs license for a branch inside the China-Egypt Teda economic zone at Ain Sokhna.

Four-year freeze finally melts

Egypt’s National Railways Authority (ENR) has set in motion a USD 82 mn contract with Austria’s Plasser & Theurer to import 14 track maintenance machines after making a 15% down payment, a government official told Al Manassa. This marks the authority’s largest-ever single order of maintenance equipment; it had been frozen for four years by Egypt’s FX crunch. ENR paid around USD 12.3 mn to Plasser & Theurer after lining up local-currency bank loans to open letters of credit, with all 14 machines expected for delivery within a year.

REMEMBER- This isn’t ENR’s only modernization push this year. In June, ENR signed four contracts worth EUR 690 mn (c. EGP 39.5 bn) with an Alstom-led consortium to modernize the 6th of October-Alexandria corridor and the Belbes-10th of Ramadan line.

On a different modernization track, the World Bank recently flagged “high” fiduciary risk on a USD 440 mn loan it extended to ENR for the railway improvement and safety project. The project started about the same time, in 2021, along the Alexandria-Cairo-Nag Hammadi corridor, with a drag on the Cairo-Beni Suef segment specifically, the one segment the project was responsible for building from the ground up. The delay was attributed to material procurement, design reviews, site handover needs, technical scheduling, and contract management. However, track renewal is underway on roughly 107 km of line in parallel with the safety work, a government official told us earlier.

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ALSO ON OUR RADAR customs digital infrastructure Financial Regulatory Authority Manufacturing

PLANET FINANCE

BTC’s rally shows signs of running out of steam

BTC's had a rough couple of weeks, and analysts are split on whether a recent rally is here to stay. Recent weeks had seen it rise by 30% to around USD 82.8k, before later dropping back down below the 80k mark. The rally had legs from Fed Governor Christopher Waller signaling he could support leaving interest rates unchanged this month, plus a weaker USD — but a hot jobs report reversed both almost overnight.

BTC dropped 2.8% to USD 79.2k the moment the jobs data landed, as the USD strengthened and two-year Treasury yields climbed, according to Bloomberg. US payrolls rose 162k in August — well above forecasts — reviving wagers on a September rate hike, which would tighten liquidity and dent risk appetite for an asset like BTC in one move. The Fed's next decision, at its 15-16 September meeting, is now the thing the whole market is waiting on.

For now, the bulls still have room to work with. BTC stays in bullish territory as long as it holds above roughly USD 71.8k — the midpoint of last month's rally, per Reuters' technical read. But the case for caution is building too. “A clear rebound doesn't settle the debate, it arms the hawks,” Sygnum Bank's Fabian Dori told Bloomberg.

The quality of the demand behind the rally is the bigger question mark. US-listed BTC ETFs booked two days of sizable outflows in the past week, Bloomberg reported separately. The seven-day average of the Coinbase premium — which tracks whether US buyers are paying above the global price — has stayed negative for more than four months, and even last month's rally wasn't enough to flip it positive. Translation: the American buying that usually powers BTC's bigger runs hasn't shown up for this one.

MEANWHILE- A USD 320 mn incident at a Bitcoin sidechain is the wildcard. Self-described white-hat hackers exploited a software bug in Liquid Network's Elements code to withdraw roughly 4k of the 4.2k BTC held in its Liquid Federation wallet, Liquid said in an X post. Blockstream, which built the sidechain, says no keys were compromised, and unlike most crypto hacks, the funds haven't moved since, and the parties involved are negotiating an on-chain return once the bug is patched. That's a different animal from Bybit's USD 1.5 bn theft last year, which triggered a selloff that dropped BTC by as much as 28.2% — but a market that's already jumpy on ETF demand doesn't need another crypto-security headline right now, whatever the eventual outcome.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asia-Pacific markets surged in early trading, with South Korea’s Kospi up 1.4% and Japan’s Nikkei up 0.5%. Meanwhile, Wall Street equities were broadly in the red, weighed down by the Middle East conflict and escalating US-Canada trade tensions.

EGX30	56,628	-0.1% (YTD: +35.4%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 50.84	Sell 50.98
USD (CIB)	Buy 50.80	Sell 50.90
Interest rates (CBE)	19.00% deposit	20.00% lending
Tadawul	11,025	-0.4% (YTD: +5.1%)
ADX	9,976	0.0% (YTD: -0.2%)
DFM	5,931	+0.8% (YTD: -2.7%)
S&P 500	7,719	-0.4% (YTD: +12.8%)
FTSE 100	10,822	-0.1% (YTD: +9.0%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,404	+0.2% (YTD: +10.5%)
Brent crude	USD 97.00	+0.8%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.97	-0.3%
Gold	USD 4,452	-0.6%
BTC	USD 79,237	-0.9% (YTD: -9.6%)
S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index	1,112	+0.1% (YTD: +11.9%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	150.68	-0.1% (YTD: -0.8%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	15.30	+5.3% (YTD: +2.3%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.1% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 19.3 bn (69% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 33.4% YTD.

In the green: GB Corp (+3.7%), Rameda (+3.6%), and Mopco (+3.2%).

In the red: Orascom Construction (-3.0%), Alexandria Containers and Goods (-2.5%), and Raya Holding (-2.3%).

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Financial Markets Planet Finance

Our weekly deep dive into the green economy and ESG issue in Egypt.

Published every Tuesday in EnterpriseAM.

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Going Green

Egypt needs six more climate reforms to unlock SDR 600 mn from the IMF

Egypt is heading into the next review of its IMF-backed climate reform program. Six remaining reform measures stand between the government and SDR 600 mn under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to the IMF’s latest staff report.

The funds become available from mid-November and are tied to completion of the third RSF review, which is expected to take place alongside the eighth review of the USD 8 bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) — the last scheduled review before the arrangement expires on 15 December 2026. Each of the six measures carries its own SDR 100 mn disbursement, meaning Egypt won’t necessarily collect the full amount if any one of them falls short.

SOUND SMART- A special drawing right (SDR) is the IMF’s reserve asset, valued against a basket of five major currencies. It isn’t a currency; it can be exchanged for freely usable currencies among IMF members. SDR 600 mn is equivalent to some USD 820 mn.

REMEMBER- The IMF approved the SDR 1 bn RSF — equivalent to some USD 1.3 bn — in March last year to support reforms intended to strengthen the country’s resilience to climate and other long-term economic shocks. Unlike the EFF’s conventional macroeconomic stabilization agenda, the RSF focuses on climate-related public finance, investment, energy, water, and financial-sector risks.

Egypt has already pocketed SDR 400 mn of the SDR 1 bn total. The government received SDR 200 mn after completing the first two measures, covering the renewable-energy implementation schedule and banks’ exposure to companies vulnerable to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Another SDR 200 mn was released in July for measures three and four, one of which was completed ahead of schedule, according to the IMF.

Public investment now has to show its climate math. Climate considerations are now incorporated into the appraisal and selection of major public projects worth more than EGP 500 mn. The government has also expanded its public-asset registry to cover large assets overseen by the transport and housing ministries and begun mapping their exposure to location-specific climate risks. The initial assessment covered six major projects with a combined cost of EGP 27 bn, with the findings incorporated into the FY 2026/27 climate fiscal risk documentation.

Climate risk enters the budget: The Finance Ministry has published a quantitative assessment of long-term climate-related fiscal risks and climate-sensitive contingent liabilities. The reform is intended to put climate exposure — including risks carried through state-owned companies and public-private partnerships (PPPs) — into the government’s fiscal-risk management rather than treating it as a separate environmental issue. The analysis was published in June, according to the IMF, but remains one of the measures formally linked to the final review.

Banks get a climate-risk rule book: The Central Bank of Egypt has instructed banks to implement an Environmental and Social Risk Management System (ESRMS), requiring them to identify, assess, and manage environmental and climate risks, with full implementation due by January 2028. This goes beyond the earlier requirement for banks to report their exposure to companies facing CBAM risk. Banks will now be expected to incorporate wider environmental and social risks into their internal risk-management systems.

Disaster financing: The government is preparing a national disaster-risk financing strategy with technical support from the IMF and World Bank. The strategy is intended to determine how the state would finance the economic costs of natural disasters while integrating social-assistance measures into the response.

Water governance is also on the checklist: Egypt has established the National Water Council and issued a circular setting out the responsibilities of government bodies for producing and sharing water supply and demand data. The remaining work includes publishing a national water-allocation framework governing how competing demands are prioritized across sectors and regions.

Separately, the wider regulatory framework is changing: Law 172 of 2025 establishes a licensing framework allowing private companies to build, operate, and manage water and wastewater systems. “Its executive regulations are expected next month,” a government official familiar with the sector tells EnterpriseAM. The regulations will establish the rules governing private-sector participation, the source says.

Oil and gas companies will have to account for their emissions: The Oil Ministry is working on a monitoring, reporting, and verification system covering flaring, fugitive methane, and vented methane emissions at the operator or project level (we did a deep dive on this in July). The reform also requires a ministerial decree ordering operating companies to submit emissions-reduction targets aligned with Egypt’s nationally determined contributions.

PPPs face greater scrutiny: The final reform measure seeks to improve the government’s oversight of PPPs used to finance climate mitigation and adaptation. The government must review the procurement methods used for PPP projects awarded or contracted between FY 2020/21 and FY 2024/25 and publish a summary of its findings. The Finance Ministry must also gain access to information on all PPPs regardless of the legal framework under which they were contracted and begin publishing annual indicators covering the number and value of projects, procurement methods, and number of bidders. The measure was later expanded to also include two climate-related PPP pre-feasibility studies — one on adaptation, one on mitigation.

A more carbon-constrained export market is also getting attention. Efforts to bring industrial sectors in line with safety and emissions standards are moving forward as part of the RSF’s sustainability criteria, and are also meant to protect Egyptian exports by “assessing the impact of the EU’s CBAM on trade and the Egyptian economy,” another government official tells EnterpriseAM. The work covers emissions intensity and the competitiveness of exports from the cement, iron, steel, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen sectors.

Policy responses are also on the table. Work will also center on analyzing possible responses, including regulation, financial incentives, and carbon-pricing instruments, while setting up industrial monitoring units in areas where emissions-intensive industries are concentrated, the source says. The findings could form the basis of a national climate-compatible trade strategy to help exporters.

OUR TAKE- The RSF is building the plumbing behind climate policy: risk data, reporting rules, institutional responsibility, and investable projects. The remaining SDR 600 mn hinges on proof these systems actually work, not just by announcing targets. And the timing raises the stakes: this review lands alongside that of the final EFF, where Egypt is fighting a separate battle over debt, divestment, and the state’s footprint. Closing both tracks at once leaves little room for either to slip.

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CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

8-10 September (Tuesday-Thursday) El Alamein International Airshow, El Alamein International Airport.

10-12 September (Thursday-Saturday): Egyptian Entrepreneurship Sector Diagnostics Report Summit, El Gouna.

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.

28-29 September (Monday-Tuesday): Egypt Mining Forum, St. Regis Hotel New Capital.

30 September - October 3 (Wednesday-Saturday): Cityscape, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

OCTOBER

5 October (Monday): The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum.

6 October (Tuesday): Armed Forces Day.

10-11 October (Saturday-Sunday): Egypt Women’s Health Summit (EWHS), Cairo Marriott Hotel.

26-28 October (Monday-Wednesday): IEX Egypt, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

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

NOVEMBER

6-8 November (Friday-Sunday) : Global Entrepreneurship Festival, JW Marriott Hotel, New Cairo.

8-11 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT Forum.

DECEMBER

7-10 December (Monday-Thursday): Food Africa, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

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

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

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

2026: The Egyptian-American Economic Forum.

4Q 2026: Banque du Caire IPO.

2027

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

1-3 February (Monday-Wednesday): Agri Expo, Cairo International Convention Center.

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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