Egypt leaves rates unchanged + Apex Health gearing up for IPO?

The Central Bank of Egypt left interest rates unchanged for the second time in a row at its meeting yesterday, pointing to “inflation dynamics amid an unfavorable external environment. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the overnight deposit rate at 19.0% and the overnight lending rate at 20.0%, in line with the projections of the majority of analysts and economic experts polled by EnterpriseAM.

Watch this space

Estithmar Holding’s Apex Health could become the third company to IPO on the Qatar Stock Exchange since 2020, with the Al Khayyat family-owned company reportedly tapping Rothschild & Co. on a potential listing, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the matter. No details are available on the potential size or timing of the listing.

Regional construction giant Hassan Allam Construction could be working on Syrian aviation infrastructure projects, after company representatives discussed expanding, rehabilitating, and boosting the operational readiness of Deir Ezzor and Qamishli airports with Syria’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday. The meeting follows a sit-down earlier this month in Damascus between President Ahmad Al Sharaa and Hassan Allam Holding CEO Hassan Allam to discuss partnerships across real estate, construction, and infrastructure rehabilitation.

IN CONTEXT- Damascus has been pushing to reposition Syria as a regional transport hub across air, land, and sea. Earlier this month, Latakia Port welcomed its first Ro-Ro (roll-on/roll-off) transit vessel, a key step in linking Gulf overland freight with Mediterranean shipping routes via Syria. Saudi officials have been in talks with Syria and Jordan to revive the historic, Ottoman-era Hejaz railway, which could eventually reconnect Saudi Arabia to Turkey. These developments come as reconstruction efforts in Syria — as well as Lebanon, Libya, and Palestine — have broadly stalled after the regional war broke out, as we previously reported.

Sign of the times

Hajj travel package prices are up “three or four times” this year as the ongoing regional war drives up aviation costs and forces fewer flights into regional airspace, Semafor reports, citing a Jeddah-based travel agent.

British Airways flights to the Middle East are set to resume a month later than planned, with the return of flights to Doha, Dubai, and Tel Aviv now set for 1 August, Reuters reports. The airline will also cut the number of flights to these three cities to one per day once services resume.

Data point

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports dropped to a record low of 5 mn bbl / d in March, down 2.3 mn bbl / d, according to Jodi data. Refinery crude throughput dropped by 746k bbl / d to 2.3 mn bbl / d. Crude production also fell by 3.9 mn bbl / d to a record low of 7 mn bbl / d. Meanwhile, direct crude burn also increased by 82k bbl / d to 330k bbl / d.

REMEMBER- Opec and the IEA both cut their 2026 global oil demand growth outlooks amid the war’s economic fallout. Opec now expects demand growth of 1.2 mn bbl / d in 2026, down from 1.4 mn bbl / d previously. The IEA, meanwhile, flipped from forecasting a surplus to projecting a 1.8 mn bbl / d supply deficit in 2026.