Good morning, wonderful people. We’ve got a banger of an issue for you this morning packed full of exclusives.

The Customs Authority is about to do something radical: assume you’re innocent. A new “whitelist” framework will let trusted importers move goods without the ritual of opening every. single. shipment. (and challenging every bloody invoice) — a genuine philosophical shift for a bureaucracy that has historically treated all cargo as suspect until proven otherwise. We have all the details below.

Also this morning: Exclusives on the government’s bid for a temporary EU carbon tax exemption, a preview of the next round of tax reforms, and deep dives into the property market (from the company that’s rolling out Egypt’s first all-digital mortgage) well as gold’s enduring appeal to Egyptian households.

PSA- When approaching a radar camera, you don’t get extra credit for going *below* the speed limit. Could we all stop with the “I’m going to slam on the brakes and go to 55 km/h in an 80 km/h zone because I’m approaching a radar camera” thing? Dakhleya isn’t going to give you a break on your total accumulated fines because you slowed to a crawl for 20 seconds.

And speaking of public service announcements: EnterpriseAM is off this coming Thursday for New Year’s day. We’ll be back in your inboxes at our customary time on Sunday.

From the debt markets

The debt market moved in opposite directions yesterday in its first major test for Egypt since Thursday’s 100 bps rate cut. While USD borrowing costs plunged to multi-year lows, the Finance Ministry found itself having to send investors a message on pricing of EGP debt.

The sukuk standoff: The Finance Ministry sold EGP 3.9 bn worth of local sovereign sukuk at an average yield of 21.07% — its lowest yet — in its latest issuance under the country’s first-ever local sukuk offering, according to official data. The ministry, which had sought to raise EGP 5 bn, received EGP 5.6 bn worth of bids.

Why did FinMin leave more than EGP 1 bn on the table? Auction data shows a deep divide in expectations. Bids climbed as high as 24.50%, dragging the total weighted average of bids to 21.47%. By walking away from over EGP 1 bn in available liquidity, the CBE signaled it would rather miss its short-term funding goal than allow sukuk yields to decouple from policy rates.

The USD signal: The story was markedly different in the hard-currency market, where the CBE sold USD 817 mn in one-year USD T-bills, according to the CBE data. The weighted average yield fell to 3.50% — the lowest level in more than three years — and down 25 bps from treasury sales earlier this month. The message is pretty clear: both international and local investors in our USD debt understand the risk premium is disappearing.

What’s next? This is all pretty normal. Investors are testing CBE and FinMin’s resolve — and looking to lock-in the best yields they can. We expect officials to stick to their guns — they know there’s no need to overpay given the policy maturity they’ve shown for more than a year now. Investors will get the picture in subsequent placements as officials close in on their target of raising EGP 200 bn through sovereign sukuk issuances by the end of June.

Watch this space

Elsewedy Electric wants to double down on Greece with plans to follow up its 100 MWhbattery energy storage system project in the country with two projects of the same capacity, Corporate Investment Director Omar Foda tells us. The first project is set to begin operation in 1Q 2026, and the other two are expected to follow in 2H 2027.

The company will own 100% of the projects, which will be eligible for support from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, Foda tells us. The first project already secured financial backing from the EU facility, helping it reach financial close earlier this year. Each project is estimated to cost some EUR 30-40 mn, he added.

What to look for: The company is focused on expanding in Eastern European markets, which are on a growth trajectory and they’re interconnected to the EU grid, Foda said, comparing them to their Western European counterparts, which have become overcrowded and highly competitive.

This is the latest sign that some big domestic players are switching up their expansion strategies, which have been heavily focused on the GCC for some time. Companies are now looking beyond the region in hopes of tapping new, less saturated markets.

IPO watch

The EGX expects at least eight new offerings in 2026, including players in the healthcare and tourism sectors, bourse Chairman Islam Azzam told Al Arabiya in an interview (watch, runtime: 08:12). He didn’t name names, but as we exclusively reported earlier this month, the landmark offering of Banque du Caire in 2Q will help set a new tone for the privatization program.

The state is gearing up for a busy year for privatization, with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly yesterday meeting with Azzam and FRA’s Ahmed Farid to set the tone for taking state-owned companies public next year. And while the readout from the meeting was light on details, it signals that the government is getting serious about its privatization push as we head into the new year.

MEANWHILE- Listed companies are divided over the bourse’s proposal to increase trading hours by one hour, with 54 voting for the proposal through a survey sent by the bourse, while 44 voted against, Azzam said, noting that the proposal is still under review. \\

(We’re still not sure that extending hours will move the needle — thank you to everyone who wrote in yesterday, whether you agreed with us or not.)

Qualitative metrics: Azzam reiterated his promise of launching new derivative, short-selling, and market maker mechanisms on the EGX in 1Q 2026, which Amr Helal, the CEO of CI Capital’s sell-side investment bank, told us earlier this month could materially expand the market’s toolkit. “The more financial products you have, the more depth and liquidity you get,” he said. Azzam noted that we also satisfy all the qualitative metrics for FTSE Russel to categorize us as a developed market, but we would first be required to ramp up some of the quantitative metrics.

Quantitative metrics: Azzam noted that the EGX is making progress on the quantitative criteria required by the global index provider. Echoing this, Monsef Morsy, CI Capital’s managing director and head of research, said rising market capitalization, improving trading liquidity, and a growing pool of stocks meeting foreign investors’ minimum size thresholds are strengthening the case for increased foreign participation, as many global funds require minimum benchmarks across these metrics before entering a market.

Data point

Over 10 mn — the number of mobile phones assembled in Egypt this year, CIT Minister Amr Talaat said. The significant jump from last year’s 3.3 mn figure signals that the state’s longstanding efforts to localize the smartphone industry are bearing fruit.

Sports

The Pharaohs’ faceoff with Angola last night ended in a goalless draw, putting Egypt in the lead of the Group B ranking and pushing Angola out of the 2025 AFCON. Egypt had already secured its place in the round of 16 ahead of the faceoff.

Thank you Captain Hossam Hassan: Reuters is out with a piece spotlighting the national team’s coach, the nation’s all-time leading scorer Hossam Hassan, who was tapped for the role in 2024, diving into the team’s performance under his leadership. With Hassan at the helm, the team “sealed smooth passage to the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage with seven points in their group, ending a run of six successive draws across the past two editions of the tournament.”

PSA-

WEATHER- Cairo is in for another chilly day, with a high of 20°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

CORRECTION

In Monday’s edition of EnterprisePM, we tripped on a detail about proposals to the tax exemption bracket. We incorrectly said that the tax exemption bracket would be pegged to inflation. Instead, the ministry is mulling a one-time amendment to the bracket to account for inflation. We’ve updated the story on our website.

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The big story abroad

It’s only fitting that AI remains squarely in focus in the global business press as 2025 roars to a close.

#1- SoftBank Group is doubling down on the physical backbone of artificial intelligence, agreeing to acquire US-based digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group in a USD 4 bn transaction that expands the Japanese conglomerate’s exposure to data centers, fiber networks, and other AI-critical assets.

Why it matters: The acquisition comes as SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son accelerates his push to position the group as a central player in what he calls “next-generation AI infrastructure.” Investors are racing to secure the computing power, connectivity, and energy capacity underpinning the AI boom.

#2- Nvidia has quietly completed a USD 5 bn investment in Intel, throwing another financial lifeline to the once high-flying US chipmaker.

MEANWHILE- It’s another geopolitics-heavy morning with sabre rattling heard from our corner of the world to the Taiwan Strait. Here’s what you need to know:

• After a meeting with Netanyahu, Trump has promised to “knock the hell” out of Iran if it rebuilds its missile or nuclear programs. “I’m not concerned about anything that Israel is doing,” he told reporters at a joint presser in Florida.
• Trump sidestepped questions about what’s next for Gaza.
• Protests continue in Iran, with people taking to the streets in Tehran and other major cities to denounce the high cost of living.

AND- US stocks lagged emerging markets and just about everyone else this year. Here’s the breakdown:

• S&P500 — up 17.4% YTD
• MSCI All Country World ex-US — up 29%
• MSCI Emerging Markets — up 31.8%
• EGX30 — Up 40.3%

The S&P lagged China, Japan, Germany, and the UK as even “relatively unloved” markets made a comeback, the Financial Times notes.

*** 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 look at the latest efforts from the government to shield industry from the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism taking effect in the new year.