How Ahmed El Masry gave Villa Atouta a second life

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

Finance Ministry looks to lock in lower rates with up to USD 2 bn Eurobond sale in Q1

Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to the almost-weekend. We have a brisk issue for you today, with news of Egypt eyeing a return to global debt markets as early as this month. Elsewhere, safe-haven assets keep climbing, and we sit down with the man behind Villa Atouta to talk heritage hospitality.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

? Egypt is in advanced talks with transaction advisors to issue between USD 1-1.5 bn in Eurobonds as early as this month or the next, a senior government official tells EnterpriseAM. The Finance Ministry is looking to capitalize on a sharp narrowing in Egypt’s risk premium, with five-year credit default swaps falling below 270 bps — their lowest level in six years.

Why it matters: The country is moving to reassert its presence in global debt markets to secure lower-cost funding as its credit rating improves. Yields on Egyptian international bonds have retreated by 300-400 bps year-on-year, offering a window to raise capital that was effectively closed to Egypt 18 months ago.

If market appetite remains high, the government may expand the issuance to USD 2 bn, our source told us. Later on in the year, the ministry also plans to issue USD 500 mn worth of green samurai bonds before the fiscal year comes to a close in June.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

? Growing geopolitical tensions continue to drive the increasing demand for safe-havens as gold reaches a record high on Wednesday, with spot gold jumping another 0.9% to over USD 4.6k per ounce. Silver broke the USD 90 mark, with spot silver jumping 4% to USD 90.55 per ounce.

^^Read more on: CNBC and Reuters.

Meanwhile, oil prices have risen as protests in Iran intensify, with WTI crude and Brent seeing price increases of more than 2.5%. Iran is under an internet blackout and the death toll has reached 2.6k, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. Tehran has threatened to hit US bases in neighboring countries like Qatar if Washington maintains threats to intervene in the protests.

^^Read more on: CNBC and Reuters.

In other business news, Saks Global, owner of luxury outlet Saks Fifth Avenue, filed for bankruptcy, carrying a debt of USD 2 bn after a USD 2.7 bn merger with retailers Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman in 2024.

^^Read more on: Semafor

ALSO- Netflix is preparing an all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery to secure and expedite its takeover of the studios and fend off the opposing bid from Paramount.

^^Read more on: The Guardian.

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

Real estate developers could soon receive a 10-year tax break for launching projects in remote areas, away from the country’s current urban clusters;
We may be close to self-sufficient when it comes to sugar production, but manufacturers say they’re bleeding money. As the sugarcane harvest kicks off in Upper Egypt, a sharp divide has emerged between the narrative heralding the strategic success of boosting domestic supply and the difficult financial reality facing the country’s refiners as they work overtime to ensure supply targets are met;
The board of B Investments has green-lit the IPO of Gourmet, the high-profile grocer and food brand. This comes after last week’s reports that the PE-backed grocer had filed for approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority to push ahead with the initial public offering.

☁️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for a cloudy day with some sunshine here and there in Cairo tomorrow. Temperatures are set to peak at just 21°C before dropping down to 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Breathing new life into Villa Atouta

Villa Atouta is the latest addition to the rising trend of branded boutique residences in Cairo. Located in Maadi, where many historic homes have been replaced with nondescript buildings, the 22-unit red-brick residence operated by Lemon Spaces is a defiant reminder of the charms of a foregone era.

EnterpriseAM sat down with architect, property developer, and founder of Villa Atouta Ahmed El Masry to discuss Cairo's heritage hospitality.

EnterpriseAM: Can you give us a brief history of the property?

Ahmed El Masry: The original building was constructed in 1945 and acquired by Syrian-French developer Youssef Takla, who owned multiple properties across Cairo, including Le Riad Hotel. In 1999, he built an annex to the original building, which sat on 2.1k sqm of land. The majority of the spaces were larger apartments that he rented out to expats.

My grandfather bought the property in 2005 as a USD-yielding asset. Two decades later, the building had started to depreciate. I wanted to find a way to repurpose the space that would maximize the value of the property.

EnterpriseAM: Why did you go for a boutique residence concept, and specifically the short-term rental (STR) model?

AEM: I knew that I wanted to bring Villa Atouta back its original glory. My challenge was maximizing the number of keys. I could see clearly that four-bedroom apartments were not in demand. Simultaneously, tourism was starting to boom, and Egypt had set a national goal of reaching 30 mn keys.

Short-term rentals are the easiest and fastest way to turn apartments or villas into a yielding hospitality asset. I set out to try and find the sweet spot between a boutique hotel and a serviced stay. A few months into the project, the government announced new regulations for the STR, or “holiday home” market, moving it away from an informal “gray market” into a regulated industry. This was great for us, because it solved the problem of having to classify ourselves as either a hotel or apartments. I like to call Villa Atouta a boutique serviced stay.

EnterpriseAM: When did you start renovating and how did the original property change?

AEM: I started in late 2023 with a fantastic team of local architects and designers. Pinnacle did the architectural design, Nina June worked on the furniture design, and we manufactured all the furniture with INCA. By January 2025, we were done. The original 1945 building was turned into eight apartments and the annex into 14 units. We also created public areas — a reception/lounge, a gym, terraces, and a pool. The official launch was in September 2025, but we were already up and running six months prior to that.

EnterpriseAM: Why did you decide to go with Lemon Spaces as the operator?

AEM: Lemon Spaces have an excellent track record and a strong network with multinationals and embassies. Within the first couple of months we were sold out through their direct bookings. I think what they have done to develop the prop tech sector in Egypt is very impressive, so they were definitely the right fit for us.

EnterpriseAM: Who are your guests, what is their average length of stay, and what have your occupancy rates been like thus far?

AEM: The majority of my guests are tourists looking for authentic experiences, but we also see a huge market for business travellers. The Riads of Marrakech were one of my biggest inspirations when I was building the space. They take hospitality to a different level. The appeal is all based on culture and great hospitality, which is what I tried to recreate at Atouta.

The average length of stay is three nights, but we can also accommodate a six-month lease or longer. November and December 2025 have been really good months for us, and for Egyptian tourism in general. We broke 80% occupancy during those months, but on average, I’d say we're around 75%. I think being in Maadi is also a huge plus — it’s central, they can walk, take the metro, and there are lots of good food outlets nearby.

EnterpriseAM: What’s next for you personally, and for Villa Atouta?

AEM: We’ve been hosting some very successful pop-up dinners in collaboration with local chefs and heritage brands we love, and I’d like to develop our own F&B model to ensure that we deliver a full experience for our guests.

I'm also looking into flipping another villa that we own in Maadi into a serviced stay, and I'm consulting as a development manager on a property that is owned by another family in Zamalek.

These projects preserve our cultural heritage and grow our tourism sector. Our neighbors in Morocco and Lebanon have been doing this very successfully for a very long time, and in Egypt, where we have even more to offer travellers, there is real demand.

A Map for the Missing is a historical fiction with a beating heart

? Belinda Huijuan Tang’s 2022 debut novel A Map for the Missing is a slow, melancholic read that rewards patience. If you’re looking for a page-turner, this isn’t it, but if you’re looking for something that quietly burrows into your brain and stays there, read on.

Yitian is a young Chinese man living in the US, a near-miraculous leap from his rural upbringing. Now a professor of mathematics, he grew up taunted by his family for his bookishness, finding kinship only in Hanwen, a like-minded friend, before the years pulled them apart. When Yitian’s aging mother calls to tell him his estranged father has gone missing, he returns home, his only hope of finding him lying with Hanwen.

The title is apt: this is a novel about people who have lost their way in every sense — but it’s also historical fiction at its finest. Spanning the 1960s to the 90s, Tang traces a pivotal stretch of modern Chinese history: the Cultural Revolution. Through Yitian, Hanwen, and a sharp cast of secondary characters, we see what China’s upheaval meant for people across different social strata.

Though told in third person, the prose is intimate, moving through characters’ interior lives with care. In under 400 pages, Tang takes on cultural expectations, classism, corruption, and generational trauma. Chapters alternate between decades and perspectives, letting readers piece the timeline together themselves.

Tang’s sentences are unadorned, but precise, and her characters feel lived-in rather than constructed. For a debut, she writes with unusual restraint, and seasoned talent.

WHERE TO GET IT- You can find A Map for the Missing as an ebook and audiobook on Amazon. Keep an eye out on Cherry Blossom Books for a restock of the paperback edition.

Will the Pharaohs make the cut? Egypt and Senegal go head-to-head in tonight’s AFCON headliner

⚽ We’re in for a highly-anticipated face-off tonight as AFCON semi-finals kick off to determine who will make it to the final fixture on Sunday, 18 January.

The Pharaohs vs. The Lions of Teranga: Led by Hossam Hassan, our homegrown national team is in for a pivotal match against Senegal at the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier. The history is one of heated rivalry — their last meeting was the 2021 final (played in February 2022), which Senegal snagged on penalties.

The Pharaohs are looking for redemption tonight and hope to move one step closer to a long-awaited eighth title. The match kicks off at 7pm and will be broadcast on BeIN Sports Max 1.

AND- With the backing of the home crowd, Morocco is warming up for a decisive fixture against Nigeria at 10pm. While the Super Eagles seek to improve their knockout stage record, fans of the Atlas Lions are wagering that their national team will walk away victorious. The match will also be broadcast on BeIN Sports Max 1.

English footie is also under the spotlight tonight with a fiery London Derby. Chelsea and Arsenal are facing off in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinals at 10pm. Last night, Man City sent the defending champions home packing 2-0, strengthening their position ahead of the return leg. You can watch the match on BeIN Sports 1.

Other major European fixtures on our radar:

Real Madrid vs. Albacete — Copa del Rey (10pm, watch on MBC Shahid);
Inter Milan vs. Lecce — Serie A (9:45pm, watch on Starzplay);
FC Köln vs. Bayern Munich — Bundesliga (9:30pm, watch on MBC Action).

Bibliophiles, your favorite book fair is back

? It’s the time of year to stock up on books. The Cairo International Book Fair returns to the Egypt International Exhibitions Center for its 57th year, running from Wednesday, 21 January until Tuesday, 3 February. Catch the opening night on Friday, 23 January, which celebrates the centennial of iconic filmmaker Youssef Chahine with a special performance by the Philharmonic Orchestra led by maestro Nader Abbassi.

What the markets are doing on 14 January 2026

The EGX30 fell 1.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 4.7 bn (12.2% below the 90-day average). Local investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 2.9% YTD.

In the green: E-finance (+3.7%), Valmore Holding- USD (+0.9%), and Palm Hills Developments (+0.5%).

In the red: Beltone Holding (-4.1%), Misr Cement (-4.0%), and Juhayna (-3.7%).

THE ENTERPRISEPM ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

?️ JANUARY

12 December - 15 January (Friday-Thursday): Cairo Art Fair at TAM Gallery, Abu Rawwash.

21 December - 18 January (Sunday-Sunday): The Stadium at District 5.

11-14 January (Sunday-Wednesday): Sync School: Filmmaking workshop with Mohamed Mashish at Majarrah, Sheikh Zayed.

12 January - 31 March (Monday-Tuesday): Al Rawi Awards submission period.

15 January (Thursday): Winter Music Festival II: Tamer Hosny at Open Air Mall, Madinaty.

15-16 January (Thursday-Friday): Umm Kulthum Musical at Movenpick’s The Theater, 6th of October City.

16 January (Friday): Amr Diab concert at Al Manara Arena.

16 January (Friday): Hamid El Shari ft Andy Cheiko at CJC 610.

16 January (Friday): Ain Gamal Vol.56 at Theatro Arkan.

21 January (Wednesday): Black Theama x Wust El Balad at CJC 610.

21 January - 3 February (Wednesday-Tuesday): Cairo International Book Fair.

22 January (Thursday): Tablet El Sitt in Downtown at Hilton Cairo Grand Nile.

22-24 January (Friday-Thursday): El Sett Art exhibition at Cinema Radio.

23 January (Friday): Cairo International Book Fair opening ceremony.

23 January (Friday): Saad Eloud at Hilton Cairo Grand Nile.

23 January (Friday): Amr Selim at Cairo Opera House, Zamalek.

24 January (Saturday): Mahmoud Rodaideh at CJC 610.

25 January (Sunday): January 25th Revolution / National Police Day.

30 January (Friday): Cairo Marathon normal registration ends.

FEBRUARY

6 December - 15 February (Saturday-Sunday): Cairo Prints at Cairopolitan in Garden City.

6 February (Friday): Cairo Marathon at Heliopolis, Merryland Park.

11-15 February (Wednesday-Sunday): Animatex at AUC Tahrir Square.

17 February (Tuesday): First day of Ramadan (TBD).

MARCH

20 March (Friday): Eid Al-Fitr (TBD).

APRIL

2 April (Thursday): Hany Shaker at Theatro Arkan.

13 April (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

25 April (Saturday): Sinai Liberation Day.

MAY

1 May (Friday): Labor Day.

26 May (Tuesday): Arafat’s Day.

JUNE

16 June (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

30 June (Tuesday): June 30th Revolution.

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