Don’t let the 49.8 PMI headline fool you as output continues to rise

Wednesday, 4 Feb 2026

Don’t let the 49.8 PMI headline fool you as output continues to rise

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Today at a glance

The Big Story Today

Non-oil private sector activity slips back into the red, but output hits longest expansion streak since 2020.

Manufacturing

EEC looks to solve freezone incentive gap to help hit USD 13 bn export target.

RETAIL

Global component crunch forces Egyptian mobile price hikes.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Serenity commits EGP 5 bn on professionalizing the Egyptian afterlife.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Connectivity concerns at the New Capital start to ease with regular international flight service.

Moves

Is Nissan positioning Egypt as its primary manufacturing and export hub on the continent with new Africa head appointment?

PLANET FINANCE

Indonesia’s emerging-market status under threat.

HARDHAT

In-the-works real estate developers law eyes 30% completion rate before developers can market or launch sales.

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Egypt tests private sector appetite for affordable housing projects

Good morning, and a happy Wednesday to you all. The Egyptian private sector is flashing a complex set of signals this morning as the January PMI data reveals a technical slip into contraction territory even as output hits its longest expansion streak since 2020.

Also catching our attention this morning is a draft law that could effectively end real estate’s historic reliance on pre-sales by mandating 30% construction completion before a single unit can be marketed.

Elsewhere, we’re tracking a major strategic pivot at Nissan that could see Egypt become the automaker’s continental hub following its exit from South Africa, AD Ports securing the final funding piece for its Safaga terminal, and much more in today’s issue.

^^ All of that and more in the news well, below.

BUT FIRST- Our friends at Khufu’s topped the 2026 list of 50 Best Restaurants in MENA. Four other local spots made it to the list, including Reif Kushiyaki Cairo — which also secured the Highest Climber Award — Kazoku, Zooba Zamalek, and Sachi Cairo.

***

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.
***

Watch this space

REAL ESTATE — Private developers will develop 10k units in a state social housing initiative, according to a cabinet statement. The project, which is part of a broader strategy to involve the private sector in sustainable development, will span two phases, with the first phase of land offerings for developers already in place.

The 10k-unit pilot will be done under a cooperation agreement with the World Bank and the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund, providing a key case study to test the private sector’s ability to maintain the state’s strict affordability standards.

The Housing Ministry has identified 381 acres across 11 cities to be offered to developers across two phases. Phase one targets industrial and emerging hubs like Hadayek October, Tenth of Ramadan, and New Sohag, while Phase two expands to New Burg Al Arab and New Assiut.

LOGISTICS — AD Ports Group has locked in the capital to finish itsSafaga multipurposeterminal in Egypt, according to a statement from the ADQ-owned logistics player. The group secured a USD 115 mn project finance facility — backed by a USD 61 mn loan from the International Finance Corporation and USD 54 mn from the National Bank of Kuwait Egypt. The 15-year tenor funding supports the development of the USD 200 mn Noatum Ports-Safaga Terminal — which is set to be the first internationally operated port in Upper Egypt.

Why it matters: The Safaga project aims to move freight from road to sea — potentially cutting emissions by 50k tons of CO2 annually — and reducing logistics distances for Upper Egypt’s mining and agricultural sectors by up to 500 km. For operators, the terminal is a key piece of the Golden Triangle project, designed to increase regional competitiveness by lowering transport costs for firms.

What’s next? The terminal is currently scheduled for completion in 2H 2026. Once operational, it will handle 450k TEUs and 5 mn tons of dry bulk annually, serving as a critical hub in AD Ports’ expanding footprint in Egypt.

SUEZ CANAL — More vessels make their way back to the Red Sea: Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will reroute the ME11 service through the Suez Canal starting mid-February, allowing for more efficient transit times. The shipping giants are looking to similarly reroute the AE12 and AE15 services to the Red Sea at a later stage.

A geopolitical caveat: The move “will remain dependent on the ongoing stability in the Red Sea area and the absence of any escalation in conflicts in the region.”

ICYMI: Shipping companies have been reluctant to make their return to the Red Sea — most recently CMA CGM rerouted three of its services back through the Cape of Good Hope citing “uncertain international context.” Maersk, however, appears to be more optimistic rerouting its MECL service back through the canal only weeks after its Sebarok ship passed through the Red Sea for the first time in two years in December.

And while we’re eagerly awaiting the day vessels start flowing through the canal like they did a few years ago, some aren’t as excited about the return to normalcy. A handful of shipping giants are expected to turn in weaker earnings this year as the eventual return to Red Sea transit drags freight rates down, Bloomberg reports. The return is expected to worsen already existing overcapacity, especially with new vessel capacity expected to increase 36% in the five years leading up to 2027.

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Happening today

Erdogan is in town: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will land in Egypt later today, where he will meet President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to discuss regional developments and chair the Turkish-Egyptian High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, Ala Masouleety’s Ahmed Moussa said (watch runtime: 4:51). The two heads of state are scheduled to oversee the signing of around 20 agreements and MoUs covering a variety of sectors.

Happening tomorrow

RiseUp Summit kicks off at the Grand Egyptian Museum tomorrow under the theme The Turning Point. The three-day event will bring together up to 20k attendees — including founders, investors, and professionals — from the region and beyond to talk all things startups. You can book your ticket on the event’s official website.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s a sunny day in Cairo today, with a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

The sun will also be out in Alexandria, with a high of 21°C and a low of 10°C.

The big story abroad

US downs Iranian drone as negotiations continue: The simmering US-Iran situation saw a minor flare up after US forces shot down an Iranian drone approaching an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea yesterday. US military officials claim the strike was in self defense, as the drone approached the USS Abraham Lincoln aggressively. Diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran, however, are still ongoing, US President Donald Trump confirmed.

The skirmish rattled oil markets, sending Brent crude up 1.6% to USD 68 a barrel. With markets anticipating escalations, Brent volatility has reached a peak since the last regional conflict.

MEANWHILE, IN MARKET NEWS- Analytics and software stocks fell sharply after Anthropic debuted AI tools that automate legal and analytical work, dragging down tech-heavy Nasdaq by 1.4% and S&P 500 by 0.8%. Analytics heavyweights Gartner and S&P Global saw 21% and 11% drops, respectively. Investors warned that the selloff could spill over to AI hyperscalers, since software companies are among their largest customers.

PLUS- Walmart made history as the first retailer to cross the USD 1 tn valuation mark yesterday, after rising roughly 26% in the past 12 months.

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: EnterpriseAM’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We take a look at an in-the-works real estate developers law that eyes a 30% completion rate before developers can market or launch sales.

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real estate WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

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The Big Story Today

Non-oil private sector activity slips back into the red, but output hits longest expansion streak since 2020

Egypt saw its non-oil private sector slip back into the red for the first time in four months, but it’s not all bad news. The country’s headline figure in January slipped 0.4 percentage points to 49.8, positioning the sector — but hopefully not too, our optimism — just below the all-important 50.0 mark is the threshold separating contraction from growth and just above its long-run average, according to S&P Global’s latest Purchasing Managers Index report (pdf).

On the plus side, output rose for the third consecutive month, marking the longest streak of expansion since late 2020. This was supported by stronger demand from abroad, though overall new orders slipped slightly compared to December.

With output rising but new work falling, firms focussed on clearing backlogs at the quickest rate in nearly three years. This increase in spare capacity led companies to leave positions vacant, resulting in the largest decline in employment since October 2030.

In a positive turn, cost pressures softened, with total input costs rising at their joint-slowest pace in ten months. This allowed firms to reduce their selling prices for the first time since mid-2020, a move intended to stimulate client spending.

Why it matters: The contraction in the headline PMI is a technicality in many ways. While the 49.8 reading suggests a slight dip, the index remains significantly above its long-run average and consistent with healthy annual GDP growth. The pivot from five years of relentless price hikes to the first actual drop in selling charges since July 2020 is the clearest signal yet that the private sector is moving from a survival stance to be focused on being competitive when it comes to prices.

The drop in price indices is fueling expectations for an aggressive monetary easing cycle. “Both the input and output price components fell to their lowest since 2020, adding to the signs of disinflation and supporting our view that the Central Bank of Egypt will cut interest rates by 700 bps, to 13.00%, this year,” Capital Economics’ James Swanston wrote in a note.

Non-oil companies remain positive about the next 12 months, but the level of optimism is described as “marginal: as firms maintain a cautious stance of future activity levels.

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PMI S&P THE BIG STORY TODAY

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Manufacturing

Egypt’s engineering exporters look to solve freezone incentive gap, South America and West Africa exports to help hit USD 13 bn export target

Egypt’s engineering exports are eyeing a massive leap from USD 6.5 bn in 2025 to USD 13 bn by 2030, Engineering Export Council (EEC) Chairman Sherif El Sayyad said yesterday at a conference attended by EnterpriseAM. To get there, the council is betting on a 15% annual growth rate — which the sector nearly met last year with a 13% y-o-y uptick.

To get there, the ECC has a few ideas up its sleeve, including allowing freezone factories to trade rebates for rents. The council is currently lobbying the government to let manufacturers in freezones — who are currently ineligible for tax-offset incentives given to onshore exporters due to their unique tax status — credit these export subsidies directly against their General Authority for Investments and Freezones-mandated fees and rent.

Efforts will also be helped by a Made in Egypt brand incentive, with the export rebate program set to include an extra 1% for companies exporting under their own registered Egyptian trademarks to reward those moving away from low-margin white-labelling. To move beyond simple assembly, the council is also looking to attract foreign investment in critical production inputs, such as refrigerator compressors and EV motors.

Advanced talks are underway to establish a permanent logistics hub for Egyptian exports in Côte d’Ivoire, intended to serve as a gateway to West African markets.

The EEC is also looking West as far away as South America for export markets, with plans to launch its first exploratory trade mission to Brazil and Argentina in June. The move aims to capitalize on the Egypt-Mercosur Agreement, which is set to lower customs duties on most Egyptian engineering products to 0% by the end of 2026.

Tags:

automotive exports Manufacturing trade

RETAIL

Mobile prices rise as much as 20% as AI chip demand triggers manufacturing cost increases

Mobile phone prices in Egypt have jumped by as much as 20% this week as manufacturers pass on a massive surge in global component costs, Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s Mobile Division head Mohamed Talaat tells EnterpriseAM. In response to a 50% rise in the cost of local production inputs since the start of the year, brands including Vivo (up 17%), Oppo (up 15%), and Samsung (up 5%) have updated their price lists, we were told.

This isn’t just about local inflation, it’s the result of AI’s expanding need for chips. Manufacturers in Taiwan and South Korea are aggressively shifting production capacity toward high-margin chips used in AI data center servers. This has starved the consumer electronics market of smaller semiconductors and memory chips, driving global prices for these components up.

And what it’s certainly not about is reacting to reduced competition from the recent ending of customs-free phone import exemptions for individuals, Talaat said. But many will be wishing the exemption still existed, with handsets that sell locally for around EGP 45k, priced at no more than EGP 27k in the Gulf, we were told. For iPhones, the difference is even greater with models in Egypt going EGP 98k, going for nearly half that at EGP 57k in Gulf, which a separate source told us was supported by a EGP 10k price rise for the Apple devices as distributors have a limited supply ahead of the release of a new model.

What’s next? The finance and CIT ministries in partnership with several companies are planning to introduce installment plans for customs fees on imported phones, we were told.

Tags:

Manufacturing retail TELECOMS

Moves

Nissan Africa taps its Egypt head to oversee its operations across the continent

Nissan Motor tapped Mohamed Abdelsamad (LinkedIn) as managing director of its Africa operations, Abdelsamad said in a LinkedIn post. The 14-year veteran of the Japanese automaker will take up the role after most recently serving as the managing director of Nissan Egypt since 2023. Abdelsamad brings over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, having previously worked with other industry players, including Mitsubishi Motors Egypt and ALJ Daihatsu Misr.

Why this matters: The appointment of an Egyptian and the former managing director of the automaker’s Egyptian arm could be a signal that Nissan is looking to double down on Egypt as its main base of assembly — and hopefully manufacture. The timing also gives us confidence to speculate, with Nissan announcing at the start of the year that it’s selling its Rosslyn plant in South Africa, which has for a long time stood as its primary manufacturing hub on the continent and centerpiece for its regional export strategy.

Tags:

automotive Mohamed Abdelsamad moves Nissan

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

Capital International Airport takes its first real step toward functional reality

The New Capital’s mostly dormant Capital International Airport launched its first regular international flight service on Sunday, marking a step toward becoming a fully functioning airport, Bloomberg reports. But for readers of EnterpriseAM — and the foreign investors that flock to Bloomberg — one big takeaway is that the desert megaproject seems to be making progress in fixing the connectivity concerns that have put off corporate and embassy relocations to the country’s new administrative center.

The news itself isn’t massive, but what’s to come could be. After mainly welcoming government delegations and the occasional seasonal pilot flight — excuse the pun — state-owned carrier Air Cairo, in a logical first step, now operates six weekly flights to Jeddah, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry statement that announced the news. If this first regular international route goes well and proves commercially viable, other airlines may follow.

Tags:

Air Cairo aviation Egypt in the News NEW CAPITAL tourism

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Serenity commits EGP 5 bn to professionalizing the Egyptian afterlife

Serenity commits EGP 5 bn to professionalize the Egyptian afterlife

Serenity for Investment and Real Estate Management broke ground on its first project, Serene, a 58-feddan memorial garden project in the New Capital, according to a state ment (pdf) from the company. With an estimated phase-one investment of EGP 5 bn, the project marks the debut of Egypt’s first developer specialized exclusively in the burial sector, Chairman Shamel Aboul Fadl tells EnterpriseAM.

At present, visiting loved ones for many Egyptians is “daunting and such a difficult experience to live through,” Aboul Fadl said, pointing to the often unkept, unsecured, and littered state of many cemeteries today. “It was always in the back of my mind: why do we have to live through that experience instead of celebrating loved ones?”

Serenity is looking to fix this by redefining “the concept of cemeteries in Egypt through a well-organized, dignified, and contemporary framework” and a primary focus on visitation, according to the statement. The in-the-works memorial ground will include landscaped green spaces, round-the-clock security, designated parking, a mosque, and an administrative unit to run the site and facilitate visits.

What’s next? The planned phase one launch in 1Q 2026 will just be the beginning, with the pilot project marking the “start of redefining the space,” Aboul Fadl tells us. While Egypt is Serenity’s main focus today — and burial customs vary across the region — the company could potentially eye regional expansion in the future, “as there’s always room for improvement,” he added.

Planned shutdown and margins drop weigh on Qalaa Holdings’ top line in 2Q 2025

Qalaa Holdings’ revenue fell 34% y-o-y to EGP 25.1 bn in 2Q 2025, according to the company’s latest earnings release (pdf). Meanwhile, the company’s bottom line showed a net loss of EGP 1.2 bn for the quarter, narrowing from the EGP 1.4 bn loss recorded in 2Q 2024.

Driving the fall in the company’s top line was a drop in its subsidiary Egyptian Refining Company’s (ERC) USD-denominated revenues, which fell 42% y-o-y to EGP 20.0 bn, caused by “a 32-day pre-planned production shutdown for maintenance, as well as the decline in refining margins.”

When excluding ERC’s revenues, Qalaa’s top line grew 48% y-o-y to EGP 5.1 bn during the quarter, as the rest of its portfolio companies saw “solid growth.”

EBank completes EGP 3.8 bn tourism asset divestment

EBank finalized a EGP 3.8 bn sale of tourism holdings, with proceeds received in full, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The divestment was executed through its subsidiaries Egypt Capital Holding and El Masry Real Estate Investments, which exited their entire stakes in Egyptian Tourism Development and Tourism Investments in Sahl Hasheesh.

Tags:

ALSO ON OUR RADAR earnings watch EBank infrastructure Qalaa Holdings real estate tourism

PLANET FINANCE

MSCI threatens Indonesia with frontier status over “deep-fried stocks”

The Indonesian stock market is facing a reckoning: Index provider MSCI warns of a potential downgrade to the ASEAN country’s status unless reforms are made by May, the Financial Times reports. The move comes amid growing alarm over the country’s “deep-fried stocks” — where concentrated ownership and opaque shareholding structures fuel extreme volatility and raise concerns about coordinated trading that distorts price formation.

The MSCI announcement triggered an immediate crisis in Jakarta, wiping more than USD 80 bn off the Jakarta Composite Index last week, followed by an additional 4.5% drop on Monday. The sell-off has alarmed regulators, who fear a downgrade could trigger bns of USD in capital outflows. Indonesia’s financial regulator and stock exchange chiefs have since resigned.

Just a blip, says the FinMin: Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa characterized the sell-off as a “temporary shock,” maintaining that the country’s economic fundamentals remain strong despite the market volatility.

Why it matters

The “emerging-market” classification, used by MSCI and FTSE Russell, ranks countries between frontier and developed markets, signaling investability while acknowledging some volatility. Indonesia’s status as an emerging market has attracted steady foreign investment, building Southeast Asia’s largest equity market. A downgrade to frontier could trigger up to USD 13 bn in forced outflows, weaken the IDR, raise borrowing costs, and slow growth and job creation, Goldman Sachs told Bloomberg.

Indonesia’s pain points-

The “deep-fried” problem: Investors have long flagged a disconnect between Indonesia’s blue-chip stocks and a group of closely-held companies owned by powerful tycoons. These “deep-fried” stocks often have restricted free floats — the portion of shares available to the public — allowing prices to be easily manipulated or driven to surges on thin trading. Last year, the MSCI Indonesia index fell 3.6%, while the Jakarta Composite rose 20.7%, the widest gap on record.

IN CONTEXT- MSCI’s warning also lands amid broader investor unease over President Prabowo Subianto’s fiscal stance and institutional independence. Steps seen as weakening central bank autonomy and loosening long-standing fiscal discipline have raised concerns over inflation, currency stability, and governance standards.

Don’t hold your breath: A total downgrade to frontier status is unlikely given the sheer size of the Indonesian economy, James Johnstone, co-head of emerging and frontier markets at investment manager Redwheel, told the salmon-colored paper. Still, the MSCI threat is seen as a “bold and dramatic” catalyst for reform, piling pressure on regulators to address long-standing governance issues and boost transparency and liquidity ahead of the May deadline to avoid a major outflow of international capital, he added.

It seems to be working

Regulators have moved to contain the fallout, announcing plans to double the minimum free-float requirement to 15% to improve liquidity and curb volatility, though this is still well below the 25% standard seen in regional peers like India and Hong Kong. MSCI said it will continue engaging with Indonesian authorities and market participants before deciding on next steps.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asia-Pacific markets are mixed this morning in early trading as investors react to the tech-led selloff on Wall Street. Markets are also closely following the results of Japan’s Lower House election, which are also expected to significantly impact the JPY.

EGX30	48,978	+2.9% (YTD: +17.1%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 46.93	Sell 47.06
USD (CIB)	Buy 46.94	Sell 47.04
Interest rates (CBE)	20.00% deposit	21.00% lending
Tadawul	11,329	+0.1% (YTD: +8.0%)
ADX	10,473	+1.3% (YTD: +4.8%)
DFM	6,614	+0.6% (YTD: +9.4%)
S&P 500	6,918	-0.8% (YTD: +1.1%)
FTSE 100	10,315	-0.3% (YTD: +3.9%)
Euro Stoxx 50	5,995	-0.2% (YTD: +3.5%)
Brent crude	USD 67.85	+2.3%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.31	+2.3%
Gold	USD 4,935	+6.1%
BTC	USD 76,804	-2.2% (YTD: -12.4%)
S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index	1,015	+0.2% (YTD: +2.2%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	151.39	-0.1% (YTD: -0.3%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	USD 18.29	+11.9% (YTD: +8.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 2.9% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 9.6 bn (70.5% above the 90-day average). International investors were the sole net sellers. The index is up 17.1% YTD.

In the green: Fawry (+8.0%), Raya Holding (+7.0%), and Telecom Egypt (+6.2%).

In the red: Orascom Investment Holding (-0.8%) and Heliopolis Housing (-0.6%).

Tags:

Indonesia Planet Finance

HARDHAT

In-the-works real estate developers law eyes 30% completion rate before developers can market or launch sales

The government is putting the final touches on a draft law to regulate real estate development that could fundamentally dismantle the industry’s reliance on pre-sales to fund construction, two informed sources tell EnterpriseAM. The legislation — drafted in coordination with the Real Estate Developers Division and slated for a parliamentary debut next month — will introduce developer tiering and a 30% construction threshold before sales can begin.

Why it matters: While the initiative is part of a move to institutionalize a fragmented market and prioritize market stability, not everyone will be impacted equally. Although larger players may be able to adjust to the proposed changes, it threatens to squeeze out small-to-mid-sized players who lack sizable balance sheets to build before they sell or be overlooked in land allocations.

30% completion rule, tiering developers pose challenges to the sector — especially smaller players

Under the draft law, developers cannot market, sell, or collect a piastre from buyers until they have completed 30% of construction and secured all ministerial approvals, we were told.

Egypt’s real estate market has been built on this interest-free loan model as developers have used buyer down-payments and installments to fund the actual construction. By mandating 30% completion before the first sale, the government would be effectively cutting off this cheap liquidity, which means that for a project with a EGP 1 bn construction cost, a developer now needs EGP 300 mn upfront just to earn the right to sell.

This provision remains contentious, as developers have rejected the requirement, citing high financing costs and liquidity constraints that could slow project execution. Developers argue that buyers who purchase before construction begins are effectively partners and benefit from preferential pricing. But nothing is yet set in stone, as discussions are still ongoing to strike a balance between protecting buyers and avoiding harm to investors, one source told us.

This could pose a serious challenge for smaller developers, as while large developers with deep pockets and access to bank financing may be able to navigate the financial barrier, small- and mid-size players that rely on pre-sales to break ground will have a much harder time.

Complicating things further for smaller players, is the proposal to classify developers according to their financial capacity to execute a project in government land allocations, with the aim of making sure that developers can complete a project, do it on time, and not end up leaving customers out of pocket, our sources told us. Under the draft law, you won’t be able to get the land if you don’t have the balance sheet, reducing the pool of potential projects for smaller players.

The draft law is also said to contain a mandatory requirement to opening of a dedicated, project-specific bank account for every development. While this is intended to ensure customer investments are protected and delivered according to contractual timelines, this full financial separation between projects will undoubtedly cause a headache for developers — and again much more so for smaller developers.

Developers would no longer be able to use funds from a successful project in one part of the country to plug a funding hole in another, preventing developers from moving capital across its projects to where it’s most needed.

Also proposed is a new standardized legal contract to protect the rights of both developers is also being developed by the Real Estate Development Chamber, which will be binding to prevent legal disputes and sale and purchase agreements. The contract will put on paper and clearly define the contractual terms, tax and procedural obligations for both parties, and regulations for real estate exports.

Protection from project delays will also be caked into the contracts, with legal provisions put in regarding timelines and a dispute framework to protect buyers.

The state is also moving to institutionalize property management through a separate legislative package aimed at building maintenance and longevity. Beyond just new builds, the government is looking to mandate that maintenance fees for residential compounds be held in independent, project-specific accounts

Tags:

construction Hardhat real estate

CALENDAR

2026

FEBRUARY

5-7 February (Thursday-Saturday): RiseUp Summit.

10 February (Tuesday): Capmas expected to release inflation data for January.

10-12 February (Tuesday-Thursday): Gitex Global’s AI Everything Middle East & Africa Summit .

12 February (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s first meeting of 2026.

19 February (Thursday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

MARCH

15 March (Sunday): IMF to hold its seventh review of Egypt’s USD 8 bn EFF arrangement.

21 March: (Saturday): Eid El Fitr starts (TBC).

30 March – 1 April (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt International Energy Conference and Exhibition 2026 (EGYPES)

APRIL

2 April (Thursday): Monetary Policy Committee’s second meeting of 2026.

12 April (Sunday): Coptic Easter.

25 April (Saturday): Sinai Liberation Day.

MAY

1 May (Friday): Labor Day.

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

27-29 May (Wednesday-Friday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

JUNE:

30 June (Tuesday): National holiday in observance of June 30 Revolution (TBC).

JULY

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

23 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day (TBC).

AUGUST

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

26 August (Wednesday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

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

Early 2026: Passenger operations on the New Administrative Capital–Nasr City monorail scheduled to begin.

Early 2026: The government will launch the second package of tax breaks.

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

1Q 2026: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to visit Egypt

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

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

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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