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Wednesday, 24 Jun 2026

What We’re Tracking Today
Economy
Regulation Watch
M&a Watch
Also On Our Radar
Planet Finance
Hardhat
Calendar

Gov’t readies a subsidy switch, and the inflation question looms

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Today at a glance

1

Economy

Gov’t readies a subsidy switch, and the inflation question looms.
2

REGULATION WATCH

Senate committee backs Companies Law overhaul.
3

M&A WATCH

Hena Holdings launches mandatory offer to buy out IDH shareholders.
4

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Dana Gas receives final overdue payment, picks up production again.
5

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

ALCN looks to build an integrated logistics zone in Alexandria.
6

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

House clears tax clean-up package.
7

Also on our Radar

A call for private investors in agri-logistics hub in the Delta.
8

HARDHAT

Egypt’s smart cities have big goals — now they need to execute.

Wednesday, 24 Jun 2026

What We’re Tracking Today
Economy
Regulation Watch
M&a Watch
Also On Our Radar
Planet Finance
Hardhat
Calendar
1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Government sends USD 21.5 mn to Dana Gas

Good morning, folks. It’s a reform-and-disclosure kind of morning.

We take a look at what will happen when the government replaces the in-kind food subsidy system with cash support next fiscal year. The shift is what international lenders have been pressing for, and it’s happening just as the IMF program winds down.

The Senate’s joint committee has backed a Companies Law overhaul. The move gives EGX-listed companies new flexibility over their own shares, strips boards of a favorite stonewalling tool, and rewires how in-kind assets are valued. We have a breakdown of what’s behind the regulatory amendments.

ALSO- A London-listed Egyptian story: Hena Holdings — owned by IDH CEO Hend El Sherbini and her mother — has launched a mandatory offer for Integrated Diagnostics Holdings below last close.

***

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.

***

Paid in full, producing more

UAE-based Dana Gas received an additional USD 21.5 mn payment from the government, clearing its overdue receivables, the company confirmed in a press release (pdf). The announcement comes after the Oil Ministry said it completed the settlement of outstanding dues owed to international oil companies earlier this month — a key pillar of the strategy to revive upstream investment and reverse declining domestic gas output.

And the push is already showing results: Dana’s drilling in the Nile Delta is exceeding expectations as its latest well — the fifth under its USD 100 mn investment program — identified some 10 bcf of gas resource. That’s more than triple its original estimate of 3 bcf, opening up a further 12 bcf of potential resources across the concession area. The company plans to drill four additional wells before year-end.

Dana’s Egypt production rose 4% y-o-y in 1Q to 13k barrels of oil equivalent per day, marking its first increase in output since 2017. The gas producer drilled four wells and completed workovers on three others last year, adding some 30 mmcf / d of production and 36 bcf of reserves.

Zone in motion

Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling (ALCN) is moving to structure an integrated logistics zone in Alexandria. The company’s board granted in-principle approval for the project following a preliminary concept and feasibility study, according to a disclosure (pdf). Final implementation is subject to completing technical, financial, and regulatory studies. The zone’s location, capacity, cost, and expected completion date were not disclosed.

The company is now working out the project’s financing, structure, and delivery model. The project’s management team will determine final capex, assess funding and capital-structure options, secure the required approvals, and prepare detailed engineering, operational, and compliance studies. The team will also examine whether the zone should be developed directly by the company, through a special purpose vehicle, or with strategic investors.

BACKGROUND- ALCN operates two terminals with a combined capacity of 1.5 mn TEUs in Alexandria and El Dekheila ports, which handle about 60% of Egypt’s foreign trade. Together, its two terminals span approximately 1.6 km of quay length and connect directly to Egypt’s national rail network. In FY 2024/25, ALCN turned in an EGP 8.37 bn top line, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 64%.

Tax clean-up package clears House

The House gave final approval to a slew of tax bills covering EGX trading, fake invoices, and legacy tax disputes. The package brings stamp tax back to listed-share transactions, extends the tax dispute settlement law until the end of 2026, and amends tax-procedures laws to curb fake invoicing.

REMEMBER- FinMin initiated the dispute-settlement extension in March as part of a 33-step tax reform package aimed at rebuilding trust with taxpayers and easing legacy friction. The stamp-tax switch has also been in motion for weeks — a draft law seen by EnterpriseAM earlier this month scrapped CGT on EGX-listed shares in favor of stamp tax while keeping CGT in delisting cases as an anti-evasion measure. The government targets EGP 3.5 tn in tax receipts in FY 2026/27.

ALSO- Lawmakers approved VAT amendments, including the proposed tax on natural gas borne by companies. Furthermore, MPs approved a law transferring 5% of income from state-owned companies to the treasury, adding another revenue-support measure to the wider tax package.

Higher yields from NBE, BM

The National Bankof Egypt (NBE) and Banque Misr (BM) raised the interest rates they’re offering on three-year fixed-interest certificates of deposit by 50 bps. NBE’s Platinum Certificate and Banque Misr’s Al Qimma Certificate will each offer annual rates of 17.75% (disbursed monthly), up from 17.25%. Both banks also introduced a quarterly payout option for these certificates, offering an annual yield of 17.85%.

The state-owned lenders are also introducing a new saving product — a variable-rate savings certificate with rates currently at 19.25%. Rates are calculated based on the central bank’s overnight deposit rate plus 0.25 bps.

Another attempt to soak up liquidity? The two lenders made a similar move a couple of months back, hiking rates on their CDs by a more dramatic 125 bps in April in a bid to soak up liquidity at a time when regional war had investors spooked.

Eyes on the central bank: The Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee will next meet to review interest rates in two weeks. Banking expert Hany Abou El Fotouh previously said that raising rates independent of central bank action provides stability and keeps savers invested in the EGP without requiring policymakers to hike corridor rates and raise the government’s debt burden.

PSA-

We’re in for another long weekend: The public sector will be taking Thursday, 2 July off to commemorate the anniversary of the June 30 Revolution, according to a prime ministerial decision. Expect similar statements from the Labor Ministry, the Central Bank of Egypt, and the EGX.

WEATHER- There’s another high chance drivers in Cairo will face fog out on the roads this morning. Temps will reach a high of 35°C and a low of 24°C.

It’s slightly cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 31°C and a low of 21°C

The big story abroad

The latest update in the US-Iran war is a familiar one, with the US senate moving to end the conflict, mirroring a move by the House earlier this month. The largely symbolic decision signals growing reluctance among Republicans to back the war, just as the Trump administration is expected to petition Congress for tens of bns of USD to fund the conflict.

The selloff continues: Chipmaker equities saw losses amid a wider selloff yesterday, as investor confidence wanes amid expectations of rising interest rates and worries over the massive scale of Big Tech’s AI investments. Leading the drop were Micron and Qualcomm. Industry giant Nvidia also shed 4.1%, pulling its total market capitalization under the USD 5 tn mark.

Equities are on track to recover during today’s session, with Asia-Pacific markets already setting the stage — South Korea’s Kospi is up 2.7% this morning as investors buy the dip. US futures are trading higher as signs of increasing traffic crossing the Strait of Hormuz keeps oil prices down.

SpaceX raised USD 25 bn by issuing senior unsecured notes within two weeks of its blockbuster IPO. The company said it will use the proceeds to fully repay a bridge loan, cover associated fees, and fund general corporate operations.

Meta under scrutiny: Washington is reportedly pressuring Meta to submit its AI models for voluntary review in what seems to be an attempt to tighten oversight of the US AI scene. The pressure on Meta — the last holdout among major AI firms — echoes the government’s directive for Anthropic to restrict access to its programs earlier this month.

The young generation’s plan: As we inch closer to the largest transfer of wealth in history, the question of how the younger generation will spend the USD 83.5 tn estimated to be inherited over the next two decades is one on wealth managers and financial institutions’ minds. UBS tells CNBC that the shift may divert inherited wealth away from traditional family assets, especially real estate, as younger heirs diversify their holdings across different asset classes and global markets.

*** 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 look at how Egypt's smart city boom is being built — and why buying the technology isn't the same as making it work.

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2

Economy

Goodbye, ration card

The government is preparing to replace Egypt’s decades-old in-kind food subsidy system with cash support beginning next fiscal year, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a cabinet meeting this month. The shift — long pressed by international lenders seeking tighter targeting of state spending — would end access to subsidized sugar and cooking oil, instead giving households funds to purchase these goods at market price. Bread will stay under the old system for now but is expected to join the new system eventually.

Madbouly framed the move as better allocation, not retrenchment. “The state is not targeting, in any way, a reduction in the value of subsidies allocated to citizens in the state budget,” he said, stressing that the goal is to ensure support reaches those who need it most.

BACKGROUND- The food subsidy system covers roughly 68 mn Egyptians. An ongoing review could remove 10-12 mn beneficiaries while keeping an appeals process, Al Arabiya reports, citing unnamed sources. Beneficiaries would be sorted into four tiers, with the lowest eventually exiting the system. Support could run EGP 300–350 per person a month — EGP 1.2–1.4k for a four-person household — delivered via smart cards rather than direct transfers. The program would expand coverage to as many as 30 products, including meat and poultry.

This isn’t the state’s first move in that direction. The House approved Takaful and Karama in January 2025 as the distribution vehicle for direct cashbased subsidies to citizens who fall below the poverty line, in addition to the elderly, orphans, widows, and people with disabilities. By the end of the year, Suez was chosen as the pilot governorate for a full switch to cashbased subsidies. Additionally, inflation-adjusted support rates were floated as a potential option in September 2024. Together, they suggest a phased transition already under construction, rather than a sudden switch.

The inflation question

The mechanism — not the idea — is what economists worry about. “The biggest challenge does not relate to the idea of cash subsidies itself, but rather to the implementation mechanism,” Thndr economist Esraa Ahmed tells EnterpriseAM. “The philosophy of cash subsidies is to provide money instead of subsidizing goods, while those goods are sold at market prices. The question is: How will the government reach market pricing? Will this happen within one year or over several years? And will the transition be gradual or rapid?”

The greater worry is inflation. “In my view, the main concern is not the effect of cash subsidies on inflation, but the effect of inflation on cash subsidies themselves, and the state’s ability to keep pace with continuous price increases through equivalent increases in cash support, while preserving beneficiaries’ purchasing power over time,” Ahmed says.

Financial analyst Mostafa Adel frames the same risk from the other side. “The biggest challenge for cash subsidies is that their value is fixed and increases slowly. In periods of elevated inflation, the purchasing power of the cash declines rapidly. In-kind subsidies ensure access to goods regardless of price fluctuations,” he says, arguing the system will need an automatic inflation-indexation mechanism to work.

Banking expert Ahmed Shawky agrees success hinges on accurate databases, transparent eligibility, periodic reviews, and “indexing support levels to inflation and changes in living costs to prevent beneficiaries’ purchasing power from eroding over time,” the member of the Egyptian Society for Political Economy, Statistics, and Legislation adds.

The efficiency argument

Despite these challenges, the system has benefits. “It could improve the efficiency of targeting support to the most vulnerable groups, reduce the leakage of subsidies to those who are not eligible, enhance social equity by linking the value of support to actual levels of need, and give households greater flexibility to allocate spending according to their own priorities,” Shawky tells us.

“This is where a tiered system becomes important,” Shawky says. “It allows a larger share of resources to be directed toward the most vulnerable groups while creating a more flexible framework that can adapt to changing economic and social conditions.” According to Madbouly, the government is designing mechanisms to ensure the system remains responsive to changing economic conditions.

Done right, the system also frees fiscal room. “This, in turn, would give the government greater room to direct resources toward investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure,” Shawky says. Adel adds a second-order argument: “The funds reaching beneficiaries are spent directly in local markets, creating an economic cycle that supports domestic trade rather than limiting spending to subsidized goods alone,” he says.

A phased transition

Ahmed expects the transition to be staged, rather than abrupt. “It does not seem politically or socially feasible to implement large and sudden increases in the prices of subsidized goods within a short period,” she says. “This in itself suggests that the government is not moving toward an immediate elimination of in-kind subsidies, but rather a multi-stage transition process.”

WATCH THIS SPACE: Madbouly said cross-ministerial consultations are underway ahead of a conference that will set out the final design and timelines for the new system. As Shawky puts it, the system’s success will ultimately be measured not by the savings it ensures but by “its ability to improve living standards for targeted groups while strengthening social equity and economic protection for citizens.”

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3

REGULATION WATCH

Buybacks are just the beginning

Newly-proposed amendments to the Companies Law could give EGX-listed companies new flexibility over their own shares. Boards would lose a favorite tool for stonewalling shareholders and in-kind asset valuations would move out of the General Authority for Investment and Freezones’ (Gafi) hands to licensed appraisers registered with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) if the amendments are passed. The package of proposed amendments (pdf), submitted by MP and former investment and international cooperation minister Sahar Nasr, was approved by a joint Senate committee last week.

REFRESHER- The Companies Law No. 159 of 81 (pdf) — the primary legislative framework governing joint-stock companies, limited liability, and single-shareholder companies — was first issued in 1981 and has been amended several times since. The most recent amendment was in 2018, when single-shareholder companies and regulated shareholders’ agreements were introduced for the first time, among other changes.

The headline change for listed companies: buybacks. Firms could repurchase up to 20% of their own shares — double the current 10% cap — and hold them for up to two years, up from one. That turns treasury shares from a short-term exercise into a usable corporate finance tool, giving companies room to hold, reuse, and deploy stock over a longer period. The amendments would nudge Egypt closer to its regional peers — Saudi Arabia relaxed its buyback regime in late-2024, while the UAE continues to cap repurchases at 10%.

Boards would lose the ability to derail general assemblies by not showing up. Annual general meetings could proceed and exercise their full powers as long as the shareholder quorum is met, even if board attendance falls short, while directors who skip without a valid excuse could face fines. Under the current law, an assembly cannot validly convene unless a minimum number of board members attend — a requirement the committee’s report says some boards have used to dodge shareholder scrutiny.

Remember the ERC showdown? This law would have made for a different battleground. The Egyptian Resorts Company’s dispute ultimately turned on quorum mechanics as much as shareholder numbers, with a minority shareholder bloc seeking to use a general assembly to force a board reshuffle. Under the new framework, board attendance would be far less effective as a lever for shaping or stalling the outcome of an assembly.

Valuing in-kind capital contributions could become faster and more specialized. Valuation duties would shift from a Gafi committee to licensed appraisers registered with the FRA, leaving the committee to focus solely on verification, thereby raising the bar for quality. The inspection timeline would also be shortened to 30 days, down from 60.

The amendments take aim at two longstanding market frictions. The first is trading flexibility — the two-year lock-up on founder shares and shares issued against in-kind contributions would be relaxed, with the details left to the executive regulations. The second is disclosure — companies would have to submit quarterly financial statements to the FRA on top of annual filings.

The bill would also give some dormant penalties a much-needed update. Fines under the Companies Law have barely budged since 1981, leaving some violations punishable by a maximum of just EGP 10k. The amendments would raise penalties for serious offenses — including publishing false information in share and bond prospectuses — to EGP 2 mn. Fines for procedural violations would increase to EGP 250k, according to the committee’s report.

Introducing two new articles: The first would require companies to follow governance rules set by the competent minister — including female board representation — and report annually on their compliance. The second new article would create an FRA registry for auditors of companies with issued capital above EGP 10 mn, though the Senate committee has recommended dropping this article and leaving the matter to executive regulations.

What’s next: The recommendation should now go to a full Senate vote and then to the House of Representatives before the president ratifies it into law. Executive regulations — governing the treasury share program, a new FRA appraisers registry, and quarterly disclosure templates — should follow, but no fixed dates were given.

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4

M&A WATCH

The family buyout

Private family vehicle Hena Holdings launched a mandatory offer to buy out the shareholders of Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH) — the Cairo-born, London-listed diagnostics group — at a price that values the company at USD 290.7 mn, according to a filing to the London Stock Exchange. The USD 0.50-per-share offer is a roughly 11.2% discount to IDH’s last close of 56.3 cents. Hena is owned by IDH CEO Hend El Sherbini and her mother Moamena Abdul Wahab Kamel. IDH’s independent directors are reviewing the offer.

The company triggered a forced buyout. Hena bought a 21.67% stake from activist investor Elliott Investment Management at USD 0.50 a share — lifting its holding to 49.62% from 27.94% and tripping Rule 9 of the UK Takeover Code, which obliges a buyer crossing that threshold to place an offer for the rest. The rule also caps the price at the highest Hena paid in the prior 12 months, which is why the buyout sits at the same USD 0.50.

How it’s financed: El Sherbini and her mother are putting in equity of USD 43 mn to USD 150 mn, alongside a loan of up to USD 60 mn from RMBV — the Netherlands-registered private equity firm. Full acceptance would require Hena to pay a further USD 146.4 mn. RMBV has been building an Egyptian consumer portfolio, after its EGP 2.5 bn takeover of Spinneys Egypt and its move last month to establish a SPAC on the EGX.

What’s next: The offer decides IDH’s listing. Below 75% acceptance, Hena intends to keep IDH listed in London with independent non-execs on the board. At 75% or above, it intends to apply to cancel the London listing — sharply cutting liquidity for any holder who didn’t sell.

ADVISORS- Canaccord Genuity is financial adviser to Hena, according to the filing, and Baker McKenzie is its counsel. Meanwhile, Strand Hanson is financial advisor to IDH.

In other M&A news

Khaled El Assal took full control of Misr Italia Holding after acquiring the remaining 49.9% stake held by his co-founding brother Hany El Assal in a Gafi-brokeredasset swap. In return, Hany El Assal assumed full ownership of Mousa Coast Tourism Development, according to a statement seen by EnterpriseAM, formally unwinding the brothers’ shared holdings and bringing a years-long shareholder dispute to a close.

What’s changing hands: The transaction — reportedly valued at EGP 1.42 bn — gives Khaled El Assal control of Misr Italia's entire operating platform, including five subsidiaries spanning real estate, construction, urban development, and tourism. Together, the businesses oversee a portfolio of residential, commercial, hospitality, and coastal projects covering some 6 mn sqm with investments exceeding EGP 100 bn.

The mechanics behind the split: The buyout was structured to avoid a large upfront cashpayment. The consideration package reportedly included EGP 100 mn in banknotes, EGP 475 mn in post-dated checks, and EGP 736.1 mn worth of real estate units. Khaled’s exit from Mousa Coast was valued at EGP 109.3 mn.

ADVISORS-EFG Hermes quarterbacked the transaction, with Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy providing counsel alongside Hany Sarie-Eldin, according to the statement.

REFRESHER- Last year, Mohamed Khaled El Assal said that Misr Italia wants to develop 2.5k hotel rooms and serviced apartments across the North Coast, the New Capital, New Cairo, and Ain Sokhna as part of a EGP 30 bn, seven-year push into the hospitality sector, with plans to launch three new hotels in 2027.

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5

Also on our Radar

Who’s interested in the Wadi El Natrun dry port?

Egypt is seeking private-sector interest for the USD 220 mn dry port and logistics zone in Wadi El Natrun. The General Authority for Land and Dry Ports is preparing a tender to offer a 200-feddan plot in Beheira for private investors under a build-operate-manage framework, according to the official tender notice. Interested companies have until the end of November to submit their expressions of interest.

This is more agri-logistics than plain container play: The facility will feature sorting, packing, cold storage, refrigeration, and infrastructure designed to curb waste and slash transport costs for regional supply chains. There are also long-term plans to link the hub to the freight rail network to divert heavy cargo off roads.

BACKGROUND- Cabinet and presidential decrees laid the groundwork for this move last year by reclassifying the Wadi El Natrun plot from agricultural reclamation to logistics use. The project plugs into Egypt’s broader nationwide logistics-corridor push — which we looked at in March — designed to shift customs clearance inland and link key production hubs directly to ports via expanded rail and road networks.

The fertilizer windfall is cooling off

Local fertilizer prices are coming off their post-war high as global demand eases, Al Arabiya reports. Prices are still hovering around 10% above pre-war levels — which had ranged between USD 420-450 per ton — but the trajectory has flipped.

The drop is beginning to pinch local margins: The slide in global prices is squeezing producer sales, especially since a three-month export duty of USD 90 per ton was imposed in early May on nitrogen fertilizers, Al Arabiya says, citing an unnamed source at a private fertilizer company.

REMEMBER- Egyptian urea export prices had climbed 105% y-o-y to USD 835 per ton at the height of disruption in April, as Gulf producers trapped behind the strait blockade ceded export shares to Egypt.

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6

PLANET FINANCE

Private debt > venture capital?

Private debt has quietly overtaken venture capital as the Gulf's dominant startup financing tool for the first time as non-dilutive capital becomes increasingly attractive in a global VC environment that remains cautious, according to a report by Stride Ventures.

GCC private debt deployment hit USD 4.1 bn in 2025, up 8.2x from USD 500 mn a year earlier, according to the report. For the first time, structured credit outpaced venture capital in the region’s startup funding mix — VC deployment came in at USD 3.3 bn, out of USD 7.4 bn in total tracked startup investment.

Fintech’s dominance is striking even within private debt — the sector accounted for 95.5% of total GCC deployment, or USD 3.9 bn, with the rest spread across agritech, proptech, SaaS, and logistics. The concentration signals that the market is still early: fintech’s large, legible cashflows make it the obvious first home for structured credit, but the playbook hasn’t yet spread to other sectors at scale.

A lot of the funds are targeted toward Saudi: Saudi Arabia accounted for roughly USD 3.9 bn of the region’s total private debt deployment — about 95% — driven by a handful of very large transactions. Tamara pulled in USD 2.4 bn, Lendo USD 740 mn, and Deem USD 400 mn. The UAE was a distant second at USD 211 mn, with CredibleX (USD 100 mn) and Kitopi (USD 50 mn) among the larger transactions. Bahrain saw USD 22 mn in private debt transactions.

Growth credit still dominates: The entire volume of venture debt deployed across the GCC from 2018 to 2025 — USD 2.8 bn — was surpassed by growth credit activity in 2025 alone, which came in at USD 3.9 bn. Venture debt in 2025, by contrast, stood at just USD 249 mn.

Founders are using this capital offensively, not defensively. The report’s founder survey is telling: 54% of respondents said they used private debt for growth and expansion, while 36% used it to bridge between equity rounds. Working capital optimization and runway extension each came in at 27%. Only 9% cited M&A or capex.

Who’s driving the market? GCC policymakers surveyed by Stride identified dedicated private credit funds as the most active players, ahead of international cross-border lenders, government and DFI institutions, and non-banking financial services firms and specialty lenders.

EGX30

51,770

-1.6% (YTD: +23.8%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 49.64

Sell 49.77

USD (CIB)

Buy 49.65

Sell 49.75

Interest rates (CBE)

19.00% deposit

20.00% lending

Tadawul

11,034

-0.4% (YTD: +5.2%)

ADX

10,025

-0.1% (YTD: +0.3%)

DFM

6,105

-1.3% (YTD: +1.0%)

S&P 500

7,365

-1.4% (YTD: +7.6%)

FTSE 100

10,429

-0.1% (YTD: +5.0%)

Euro Stoxx 50

6,231

-1.3% (YTD: +7.5%)

Brent crude

USD 76.70

-0.5%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.15

+0.1%

Gold

USD 4,112

-0.9%

BTC

USD 62,574

-2.1% (YTD: -28.6%)

S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index

1,066

0.0% (YTD: +7.4%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

152.09

-0.1% (YTD: +0.1%)

VIX (Volatility Index)

19.49

+12.8% (YTD: +30.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.6% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 9.1 bn (4.0% above the 90-day average). Regional investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 23.8% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Investment Holding (+3.7%), Telecom Egypt (+0.2%), and Abu Qir Fertilizers (+0.1%).

In the red: Raya Holding (-5.1%), Egypt Aluminum (-2.9%), and Heliopolis Housing (-2.9%).

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Our weekly deep-dive into infrastructure in Egypt.

Published every Wednesday in EnterpriseAM.

Read Hardhat
7

HARDHAT

How developers will decide the fate of Egypt’s smart cities

Egypt’s smart city buildout is moving from the master plan to the operating test. The Madbouly government has spent years laying the groundwork for 38 new smart cities across 530k feddans, with room for 30 mn people and a planned investment bill of up to EGP 700 bn. Around 70% of the bill is being carried by the state to build central networks and core utilities, while private developers are financing the remaining 30% through residential and commercial development.

But the projects’ success will not be decided by state infrastructure alone. It will come down to whether developers can turn those backbone networks into communities that actually work for residents, tenants, and businesses. These outcomes are now being tested in real time.

Developers are becoming one of tech’s biggest B2B customers. Real estate companies are no longer treating tech as an add-on. It is becoming a core value driver. That shift is pushing developers to sign large-scale partnerships with tech and telecom players to turn projects into fully connected digital communities, Orange Egypt CEO Hisham Mahran tells EnterpriseAM.

That is already playing out in the New Capital and East Cairo, where developers are racing to bake cloud infrastructure and IoT into their projects. Talaat Moustafa Group’s cloud applications for Noor City — developed with Huawei — are not just about city management, they are meant to support economic activity and deliver better services to residents and businesses, Mohamed Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO of Talaat Moustafa Group’s The Spine, said. Madinet Masr is taking a similar route: CEO Abdallah Sallam said its partnership with Telecom Egypt to provide integrated telecom and smart city services is designed to create more sustainable, connected communities across its residential and commercial units.

The same logic now applies beyond flagship new cities. A strong tech partner allows developers to build the high-efficiency digital infrastructure needed to deliver a safer living experience that keeps pace with market expectations, Mountain View co-CEO Wael Lotfy said. Even in coastal destinations and established communities, tech spending is becoming unavoidable. In El Gouna, Orascom Development framed its renewed partnership with Orange Egypt for smart city and IoT services as a way to keep the town attractive not only to residents, but also to startups and entrepreneurs.

The spending is there. The design discipline still has to follow. Egypt has the budgets and the partnerships, but buying the technology is not the same as making it work. Capex gets wasted when systems are not designed around real use cases, Ahmed El Harrany, CEO of Saudi STC subsidiary pulse by solutions tells EnterpriseAM. The challenge is not absorbing the technology itself — it is understanding precisely what the end user actually needs before a single contract is signed.

Smart infrastructure only works if the physical build is designed to support it from the ground up. Infrastructure has to be built with enough flexibility to support sustainability use cases from day one, Omar El Gammal, Redcon Properties supply chain director, tells EnterpriseAM. That means embedding sensor-enabled systems into the construction phase itself — not retrofitting them later — and including waste management infrastructure that can optimize garbage collection routes in real time.

The software layer is becoming more local — data centers are being built here, and applications are being developed in Egypt — but the hardware stack still leans heavily on imports. Panasonic’s launch of its KNX-based home control systems in Egypt shows the gap: the company has set up a local R&D unit, but complementary devices such as screens and control units are still manufactured and assembled abroad. That import dependence could sharply raise developers’ capex whenever the FX structure shifts or shipping disruptions hit, Vantage Urban Developments founder and Chairman Mohamed Abdel Gawad said.

Regulatory sandboxes could help close the gap. Test environments are becoming more important as the distance between fast-moving technology and institutional frameworks widens. Sandboxes reduce that friction, allowing innovation to accelerate and technologies to be localized without disrupting existing systems, Omar El Monayer, CEO of Sigma Fit and Chief Innovation Officer of Meska AI, tells EnterpriseAM.

What's next? Cairo's eight-place drop in the IMD Smart City Index 2026 — from 117 to 125 — is the verdict. Neither the state nor developers have answered the structural questions: who sets the interoperability standards governing 38 cities worth of proprietary tech stacks, and who bears the cost when those systems need to be maintained or handed over? More partnerships will not answer it. A regulatory framework that treats the private digital layer as infrastructure, not a product, will.

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CALENDAR

JUNE

23-25 June (Tuesday-Thursday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

23-25 June (Tuesday-Thursday): Watrex Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

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

19 August (Wednesday): Connected Banking Summit, Fairmont Nile City Hotel

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

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

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.

OCTOBER

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.

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

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.

4Q 2026: Banque du Caire IPO

2027

16-18 January (Saturday-Monday): Agri Expo, Cairo International Convention Center.

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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