☀️ Good morning, friends, and happy weekend. This week’s guide is a practical one for anyone with business to do over a meal — Cairo’s best restaurants for business dinners. We also have a Lebanese restaurant worth your time, The Truman Show for your Friday night rewatch queue, and a case for why Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours still sounds like it came out yesterday. We also tune in to Zawya’s podcast as the Downtown cinema dissects an Egyptian silver-screen classic.
But first, your weekly recap…
🗞️ LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-
ENERGY-
Two vessels caught fire after a drone strike at Damietta Port on Wednesday, the cabinet confirmed in an updated statement on Thursday. “After the relevant authorities conducted preliminary investigations into the incident, it was determined that the fire was caused by a drone. No party has claimed responsibility for the incident,” the statement reads. The cabinet added that it is taking “the necessary measures to safeguard Egypt’s interests and national security.” The Oil Ministry’s initial statement had confirmed the fire but made no mention of its cause — emergency teams contained the blaze across a regasification vessel and a storage vessel. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
MEANWHILE- Egypt’s petroleum product exports surpassed 2.3 mn tons in 1H 2026, matching 2025’s full-year figure as crude production hit a two-year peak. Backed by an 80% refinery utilization rate that has strengthened domestic supply and cut imports, export volumes are projected to reach 2.5 mn in 2H. Petroleum product exports between January and June 2026 generated some USD 2.3 bn in revenue.
AND- Aramco is turning to Egypt as traditional Red Sea routes face renewed risk. The Saudi oil giant is offering additional crude cargoes from the Sidi Kerir terminal on a spot basis, as Houthi threats put the Kingdom’s exports through Bab Al Mandab at risk.
ALSO- Two partners in Israel’s Tamar gas field signed a non-binding MoU with an unnamed Egyptian buyer for a potential USD 20 bn contract — which would mark the offshore field’s third long-term supply agreement with Egypt.
DEBT-
The European Commission disbursed EUR 1.5 bn to Egypt last week, the second of three installments under its ongoing EUR 4 bn Macro-Financial Assistance program. The concessional loan is meant to help Egypt cover part of its financing needs, preserve macroeconomic stability, and keep its economic reform program moving in step with the IMF.
TRADE-
Egyptian goods covered by the Section 301 investigation entering the US now face a 12.5% tariff — the higher of two rates under a new US forced-labor regime covering 60 trading partners — after US President Donald Trump’s temporary 10% global import surcharge expired last Friday.
REGULATION-
Mortgage finance companies can now pool funding for the same high-value property purchase after the Financial Regulatory Authority permitted “participatory financing,” allowing multiple lenders to split a single financing ticket. The move gives companies with smaller capital bases room to fund pricier units they couldn’t underwrite alone.
LOGISTICS-
Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling Company will introduce four new container charges and raise a fifth starting 1 September. The new charges cover full export container entry (USD 15-20), empty container handling (USD 10-20), container retention in the inspection yard (USD 10-20), and container movement for weighing (USD 30-60).
EARNINGS-
Real estate developer SODIC reported a 201% y-o-y increase in gross contracted sales to EGP 23.5 bn during the first half of 2026. Revenue rose 25% y-o-y to EGP 6 bn — led by deliveries at its West Cairo projects, with the VYE development alone accounting for 41% of delivered value — while netcash collections increased 18% to EGP 10.2 bn.
The EnterpriseAM Egypt Forum is back — and this year, we’re giving the full day to the one question on every business leader’s mind: What does AI actually mean for your company, your people, and your own job?
Leaders in New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore are asking the same things, and nobody has built a playbook that works yet. We’re all figuring it out in real time — and for Egypt, the stakes are unusually high.
Egypt could leapfrog a generation on the back of this technology — or watch AI hollow out the industries and jobs we can’t afford to lose. The leaders who get literate early will be the ones who get to decide which road we take.
Every session on stage answers one question: “So, what do I actually do about it?”
Join us on 5 October in Cairo. Seats are limited and attendance is by invitation only.
Request your invitation here.
🌍 AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-
This week’s headlines were dominated by a brief pause in the US-Iran war, which raised hopes of a diplomatic off-ramp — before Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shattered it with a fresh attack on a US base in Jordan. Wildfires across southern Europe and a semiconductor rout rounded out a bruising week. Here’s the rundown.
After 13 consecutive nights of US strikes, Washington halted its bombardment over the weekend — advisors citing a depleted arsenal and a shortage of viable targets. Iran reciprocated, with a senior official telling Reuters it would hold fire as long as the US did. By Tuesday, Trump said both sides were having good talks, and Oman put forward a Gulf-backed proposal for voluntary Hormuz transit fees. The pause held for four days — until the IRGC launched an attempted surprise attack on US bases in Jordan on Wednesday, snapping the ceasefire.
Iran renewed missile attacks on US forces in the early hours of Thursday, with Washington responding with fresh strikes. Oil followed the arc: Brent, which had briefly surged, retreated before Wednesday’s attack reset the clock.
The week added a new front to an already sprawling conflict: Ukraine confirmed it struck an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea during the pause, killing one sailor — Tehran summoned a Ukrainian diplomat in protest. Zelenskyy was at the White House on Tuesday, seeking anti-ballistic defense support as the two wars increasingly intersected.
MEANWHILE- Wildfires have displaced more than 300k people across France and Spain, with firefighters battling blazes near Bordeaux and Madrid during the country’s fourth heatwave of the summer. France alone has seen nearly 98k hectares burned — a new national record.
IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Blackstone, KKR, and Brookfield agreed to acquire a USD 16 bn, 49% stake in Kuwait’s national oil pipeline network — the country’s largest-ever foreign direct investment ticket. The semiconductor sell-off deepened, with SK Hynix and Samsung both dropping more than 13% as the MSCI Semiconductor World index recorded its worst month since 2022. Grant Thornton acquired rival CBIZ for USD 5 bn in an allcash agreement, cementing its rank as the biggest US audit and consulting firm outside the Big Four.
Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT debuted on the Shanghai exchange, with shares jumping 472% after raising CNY 66.6 bn — the second-largest IPO in China’s history — positioning Beijing to cut its reliance on foreign chip suppliers. And Shein’s planned Hong Kong listing hit turbulence, with its prospectus revealing a 39% drop in net income in 2025 even as revenues rose 8%.
☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND-
It’s another intensely hot weekend, with Friday kicking things off with an indoor-advised scorching high of 39°C and a slightly cooler overnight low of 26°C. The North Coast brings some relief, with a high of 32°C and a cooler low of 23°C. Saturday brings more of the same, with a sweltering high of 39°C and an overnight low of 27°C in Cairo, while temperatures up North climb to a high of 33°C with a low of 23°C, according to our favorite weather app.
🎤 HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-
No Sahel plans this weekend? The Tiatro Romano festival continues tonight, bringing performances from Reda El Bahrawy, Rahma Mohsen, and Ahmed Sheba at the Roman Theater in Al Alamein’s Marina 2. Expect a night of live vocals and plenty of sing-along moments. The concert kicks off at 10pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.
Sharmoofers are joining this summer’s Sahel concert lineup, performing at this year’s Localine, taking place tonight at Masyaf in Ras El Hekma. The event brings together a mix of local brands, shopping, and live entertainment. The concert kicks off at 8pm, with tickets available on TicketsMarché.
Staying in Cairo? Hesham Maged is back with another comedy project for your summer comedy fix, this time with his first-ever play, Khayal Mareed, at Theatro Arkan. Running every day at 8pm until Saturday, 8 August, the interactive play stars Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Hanady Mehanna, Ahmed El Rafaie, Dina Diab, and more. You can secure your tickets on TicketsMarché.
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