Hello all you wonderful people, and welcome to Tuesday. Today our issue is chock full of new investments, AI market updates, and all the recs you never knew you needed.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

#1- Egypt has officially returned to international debt markets with its first USD bond issuance in nearly two years, issuing USD 2 bn in 5- and 8-year bonds, according to a disclosure by JPMorgan Securities to the London Stock Exchange. The bonds carry an initial yield of 9.75-10%, with the yield expected to drop 1-2 percentage points below the indicative range at trading, a senior Finance Ministry official told EnterpriseAM.

The bonds will trade with a price stabilization period beginning today and running through 28 February, with an additional 5% worth of bonds on the table to be allocated if desired.

#2- AOI has another solar panel factory up its sleeve: Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) is reportedly looking to set up another solar panel manufacturing facility — a USD 100 mn factory in partnership with Omani investors, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed government sources.

What we know: The factory will have a production capacity of 300 MW, most of which will go to Gulf markets with a smaller percentage feeding the local market, according to the sources.

Remember: AOI inked an agreement with Sweden's Sunshine Pro lastmonth to build a joint solar panel manufacturing project with investments of USD 200-300 mn. The project will have a production capacity of 1 GW of panels, all of which will be exported to European markets. The facility will kick off operations in July.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

As markets continue to grapple with Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek’s proverbial flippingof the AI table following the reveal of its low-investment ticket, high-quality model (more on that in today’s Commute), much of the international news remains focused on US president Donald Trump’s barnstorming entrée into office.

The White House has directed the US’ Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to pause federal financial assistance programs — with the exception of Social Security, Medicare, and vaguely defined “assistance for individuals” — cutting off bn’s of USD worth of funding for nonprofits, public education, and healthcare. It was not immediately clear which programs would be impacted by the law, with acting OMB director Matthew Vaeth framing the decision in a memo as part of an effort to eliminate “the use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism and Green New Deal social engineering policies.” (NYT | Reuters)

Meanwhile, newly confirmed US treasury secretary and bn’aire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent has proposed an initial 2.5% tariff on imports that would rise monthly to combat unfair trade practices, though Trump has signaled he wants steeper, more immediate tariffs put in place to “bring production back.” (Reuters | Financial Times)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• Bonyan will be making its EGX debut “by late February or, at the latest, April,” CEO Tarek Abdel Rahman said at a press conference yesterday attended by EnterpriseAM. The announcement closely follows the Compass subsidiary and real estate investment firm receiving preliminary approval for a temporary listing last week in preparation for its upcoming IPO.
• Fitch Solutions’ research unit BMI sees Egypt’s real household spending growing by 3.1% y-o-y in 2025 to EGP 2.1 tn, a slowdown from the 7.5% recorded for 2024.
• Nile Fund draws closer to listing: Nile Industrial Direct Investment Fund is set tosubmit its prospectus to the Financial Regulatory Authority early next month to list on the EGX.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The capital will maintain its morning chill tomorrow, with the mercury set for a high of 21°C and expected to dip to a chillier 11°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.