{"id":682598,"date":"2026-01-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/01\/22\/govt-wants-to-slash-arrears-owed-to-energy-players-to-usd-1-2-bn\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T00:00:00","slug":"govt-wants-to-slash-arrears-owed-to-energy-players-to-usd-1-2-bn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/01\/22\/govt-wants-to-slash-arrears-owed-to-energy-players-to-usd-1-2-bn\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov\u2019t wants to slash arrears owed to energy players to USD 1.2 bn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Good morning, friends, and happy THURSDAY to you all. <\/strong>We\u2019ve got a particularly packed issue for you this morning, starting with a rundown on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u2019s appearance at the World Economic Forum yesterday with Donald Trump. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>The highlights: <\/strong>Trump made it clearer than ever that he\u2019s siding with us on Gerd \u2014 and El Sisi continues to single-out the importance of the private sector, signalling yesterday that he would be hosting a business conference in Egypt later this year. The president offered no details about the gathering. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>We also have for you this morning news that tweaks to the VAT could be in the works<\/strong> (good for manufacturers and professional services firms alike) <strong>and a sit-down with the head of the Egyptian Exchange<\/strong>, who dropped hints about who might be next in line to list after Gourmet. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">^^ All of that and lots more is below. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/enterpriseam-egypt\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">WISH THIS MORNING\u2019S ISSUE was a podcast? We\u2019ve got you. Tap or click here<\/a><\/strong> to listen to Morning Drive, our 10-minute audio version of today\u2019s issue, crafted for you to enjoy with your morning coffee, while getting the kids ready for school, <strong>or while stuck on the Ring Road behind someone who apparently has nowhere to be, ever<\/strong>.<br \/><strong>***<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>AND- <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/D7K5RXP\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Tap or click<\/a><\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.surveymonkey.com\/r\/D7K5RXP\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/strong><strong> to take our annual EnterpriseAM Executive Sentiment Survey<\/strong> and let us know what you think about: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Whether business conditions will improve in 2026;<\/li>\n<li>The biggest issue your business faces today;<\/li>\n<li>What you think AI will mean for your company; <\/li>\n<li>Where you see the EGP vs the USD this year;<\/li>\n<li>And more\u2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">^^ We\u2019ll have the results in an upcoming issue. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>WEATHER- <\/strong>It's going to be a warm day in Cairo, with a high of 24\u00b0C and a low of 13\u00b0C, according to our favorite weather app. Look for cool nights and warm days (20-24\u00b0C) for the next week or so. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Watch this space<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"> <a id=\"wwtt1\"><\/a> <strong>ENERGY \u2014 Egypt aims to bring arrears owed to energy companies down to just USD 1.2 <\/strong><strong>bn by June 2026<\/strong>, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EgyptianCabinet\/posts\/pfbid07wAFohjmWcErLzmRFiTBsaEL8111pXfYF6C4MfutuzAfcUztH2FXdTjAqejN6ZxRl\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> yesterday during his weekly presser. The state is following a structured repayment plan to bring arrears owed down from the USD 6.1 bn we had on the books back in June 2024. <strong>The move is part of a wider push to boost domestic production by convincing foreign oil <\/strong><strong>companies to once again start <\/strong><strong>investing here<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Happening today<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Shareholders of <\/strong><strong>Orascom Construction will meet today to vote <\/strong><strong>on the proposed merger <\/strong><strong>with Netherlands-listed OCI Global<\/strong>, the EGX and ADX-listed company said in a statement <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/1\/845.pdf\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">yesterday (pdf)<\/a>. The transaction is backed by Sustainable Capital Africa Alpha Fund \u2014 the company\u2019s largest shareholder outside the Sawiris family \u2014 despite the fund\u2019s reservations about the share-for-share exchange ratio.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>But the fate of the deal remains an open question. <\/strong>The merger has been <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/01\/21\/dutch-court-slams-brakes-on-orascom-merger\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">widely welcomed<\/a> in MENA, but a Dutch court <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/01\/21\/dutch-court-slams-brakes-on-orascom-merger\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">sided on 19 January<\/a> with a group of minority shareholders opposed to the transaction. The court flagged what it said were conflicts of interest and shareholders having to go open ADX brokerage accounts to remain on the cap table. The court also took issue with the standard marketing disclaimer on a third-party research note used to explain the transaction to investors. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Where do we go from here?<\/strong> We can\u2019t tell. The court appointed two temporary independent directors who effectively have veto power over any merger. The companies did not respond yesterday to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Egyptian-Swi<\/strong><strong>ss Business Circle and SwissCham Egypt will host a webinar on the future <\/strong><strong>of talent and leadership today<\/strong>, featuring Boyden executives from Cairo and Zurich. The discussion will touch on how organizations in the Middle East and Europe are rethinking executive pipelines to identify \u201ctomorrow's leaders.\u201d The webinar starts at 10am and runs until 11:30am. You can <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/events.teams.microsoft.com\/event\/c720b826-b61d-4ca9-be5f-38dbb27077a8@dbc5915f-bca3-4990-bc41-524d0cdc750d\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">register<\/a> here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a id=\"wwtt2\"><\/a> <strong>It\u2019s da<\/strong><strong>y four of the <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/meetings\/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2026\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">World Economic Forum Annual Meeting<\/a><\/strong><strong> in Davos \u2014 and senior figures <\/strong><strong>from Egypt\u2019s private and public sectors are once again taking the stage. <\/strong>Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk will join the panel <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/meetings\/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2026\/sessions\/a-prosperity-agenda-for-the-middle-east\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">A Prosperity Agenda for the Middle East<\/a>, alongside CIB CEO Hisham Ezz El Arab and others. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Day three was plenty eventful<\/strong>, with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi sitting down with US President Donald Trump to discuss the Gerd dispute among other things. El Sisi also delivered a speech that touched on Egypt\u2019s economic reforms and urged investors to take advantage of the facilities and incentives currently offered. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">^^ We dive deeper into what went down during day three of the forum in the news well, below.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Happening next week<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a id=\"wwtt3\"><\/a> <strong>AmCham\u2019s flagship real estate conference takes place next Tuesday, 27 January <\/strong>at the Nile Ritz Carlton, with registration from 8:30am. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Patrick, our editor-in-chief, is moderating a panel on the market for real estate as an <\/strong><strong>investment<\/strong>, with appearances by our friend HIsham Ezz Al-Arab from CIB alongside Hazem Badran from Palm Hills Developments, and Tamer Nasser from City Edge Developments.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/amchamegypt.beefreecontent.com\/ZUqu9-annual-real-estate-conference\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Tap or click here to check out the full agenda<\/a><\/strong> or <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amcham.org.eg\/events-activities\/events\/online-paid-registration\/1929\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">visit this link to register<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Smart policy<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a id=\"wwtt4\"><\/a> <strong>A digital platform to streamline land legalization requests: <\/strong>The Madbouly government launched the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nplr.estrdad.gov.eg\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">National Platform for Regularizing the Status of State-Owned Land<\/a>, allowing citizens to submit and track requests to legalize their stay on state-owned land online, according to a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/1185592663787184\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>. Egypt has a massive backlog of land legalization requests, following the introduction of the regulatory framework that sets out the rules and timeline for the process last year. The framework granted citizens a six-month window to apply to legalize their status.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>It\u2019s about a lot more than just regulation: <\/strong>By ensuring squatters legalize their stay, the state is hoping to attract more investments into state-owned land. <\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 subscribe-box-panel\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<div class=\"title\">\n<h4 class=\"fw-lighter mb-10\">   Get <b style=\"font-weight: 700\">Enterprise<\/b> daily   <\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-10\">The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>  <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/egypt\/en\/user\/NewsLetters\" type=\"button \" class=\"btn-green px-3 d-flex align-items-center\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe here<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>** DID YOU KNOW that we cover <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterprise.news\/ksa\/en\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Saudi Arabia<\/a><\/strong><strong>, the <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterprise.news\/uae\/en\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">UAE<\/a><\/strong><strong> and the <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterprise.news\/mena-india\/en\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">MENA-India<\/a><\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterprise.news\/mena-india\/en\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Corridor<\/a><\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>** Were you forwarded this email?<\/strong> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterprise.news\/egypt\/en\/user\/news-letters\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Tap or click here<\/a> to get your own copy delivered every weekday before 7am Cairo time \u2014 without charge.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><a href=\"https:\/\/omny.fm\/shows\/enterpriseam-egypt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2025\/11\/780.jpg?ssl=1\"\/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<hr style=\"height:2px;border-width:0;color:gray;background-color:gray\">\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">The big story abroad <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>US President Donald Trump\u2019s about-turn on Greenland and a potential detente betw<\/strong><strong>een the US and the EU is dominating headlines everywhere<\/strong>, after he said the US has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-01-21\/trump-holding-off-on-greenland-tariffs-citing-framework-deal?srnd=homepage-middle-east\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">agreed on a framework for a future deal<\/a> on the Danish country after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Trump had earlier threatened to impose tariffs on eight European countries who had opposed his plans to take over Greenland, and the EU bloc was mulling ways to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2026\/01\/20\/this-morning-imf-sees-mena-growing-3-9-in-2026\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">retaliate<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Market reax:<\/strong> US stocks rallied on the news, while the USD recovered from an earlier slump this week. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>ALSO- More Middle East countries have joined the US\u2019 Board of Peace<\/strong>, including Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar. The board is set to begin executing Trump\u2019s 20-step Gaza peace plan, and then reportedly address other global conflicts. (<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/saudi-arabia-turkey-egypt-jordan-indonesia-pakistan-qatar-uae-join-trumps-board-2026-01-21\/\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Reuters<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>In AI news, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been meeting with investors in the Middle East, including state-backed funds in Abu Dhabi<\/strong>, ahead of a new investment round that could see the ChatGPT maker raise up to USD 50 bn, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-01-21\/openai-s-altman-meets-mideast-investors-for-50-billion-round?srnd=homepage-middle-east\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Bloomberg<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>ALSO- Siri is set to be revamped and turned into<\/strong> <strong>an AI chatbot<\/strong> as Apple looks to move ahead in the AI race. (<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-01-21\/ios-27-apple-to-revamp-siri-as-built-in-iphone-mac-chatbot-to-fend-off-openai\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Bloomberg<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\">\n<p class=\"tag-border-left\">Morning must-read<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>\u201cIf you\u2019re not at the table, you\u2019re on the menu.\u201d <\/strong>When future historians try to explain the world order post Trump II, they\u2019re going to do it through the lens of this speech by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the World Economic Forum. Invoking V\u00e1clav Havel, Carney declared the rules-based order dead \u2014 a \u201crupture, not a transition\u201d \u2014 and called on middle powers to stop pretending otherwise. Canada\u2019s response: radical diversification, doubling defense spending, and building coalitions issue-by-issue with whoever shares enough common ground to act. <\/p>\n<p style=\"padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1.15;orphans:2;widows:2;text-align:left\"><strong>Carney got a <\/strong><strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/20\/world\/canada\/carney-speech-davos-trump.html\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">standing ovation<\/a><\/strong><strong> for his remarks <\/strong>earlier this week. He arrived in Switzerland after a swing through China and Qatar to build ties and attract investment. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pm.gc.ca\/en\/news\/speeches\/2026\/01\/20\/principled-and-pragmatic-canadas-path-prime-minister-carney-addresses\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Tap or click here to read his remarks<\/a> or catch the speech in full <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=btqHDhO4h10\" style=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">on Youtube (watch, runtime: 17:08)<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good morning, friends, and happy THURSDAY to you all. We\u2019ve got a particularly packed issue for you this morning, starting with a rundown on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u2019s appearance at the World Economic Forum yesterday with Donald Trump. The highlights: Trump made it clearer than ever that he\u2019s siding with us on Gerd \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":682599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7204],"tags":[72,91,74],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-682598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-what-were-tracking-today","tag-enterpriseam","tag-oil-and-gas","tag-what-were-tracking-today","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"e170d42f-9c4a-4a9d-a03e-ed7f642efa92","order":"2","is_powered_by":true,"story_type":"4","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2024\/10\/1027.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Egypt wants to slash arrears owed to energy players to USD 1.2 bn","related_issue":[682596],"teaser":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gov\u2019t wants to slash arrears owed to energy players to USD 1.2 bn - EnterpriseAM Egypt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2026\/01\/22\/govt-wants-to-slash-arrears-owed-to-energy-players-to-usd-1-2-bn\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gov\u2019t wants to slash arrears owed to energy players to USD 1.2 bn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Good morning, friends, and happy THURSDAY to you all. We\u2019ve got a particularly packed issue for you this morning, starting with a rundown on President Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u2019s appearance at the World Economic Forum yesterday with Donald Trump. 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