President Abdel Fattah El Sisi pointed to the economic pressures the nation is enduring as the country undergoes reforms as part of its loan agreement with the IMF. “If this challenge forces me to place unbearable pressure on the public, we must review the situation with the IMF,” El Sisi said.

Finance ministers, central bank governors, and other big names in the worlds of finance and policy are in Washington DC for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings that run until Saturday.

Japanese real estate mogul and Titan Capital owner Kanazawa Kiyokyo is considering moving a portion of his USD8 billion in investments to the Egyptian market, he said during a meeting with the Housing Minister.

The Housing Ministry has published new income limits for low- and middle-income citizens wishing to apply for subsidized housing under the new offering by Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Support Fund.

The cost of the interest subsidy initiative for tourism company loans is estimated at EGP3.5 billion annually, government sources said.

Helios Investment Partners fund plans to invest about USD250 million in Egypt during the coming period.

The Egyptian government intends to reduce the cap on car imports by about 20% starting this month to 8,000 cars per month instead of the 10,000 cars set last June.

The Egyptian arm of Polish grain silo company Feerum has reportedly pulled out of an agreement to set up a factory to manufacture grain silos with with Egyptian construction and engineering firm Samcrete and the state-owned Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage.

The government reportedly plans to launch a tender to purchase 20 LNG cargoes during 1Q25. 

DOMT BoD has given the greenlight for Arla Foods to begin its due diligence process. 

According to local media, DOMT has invested EGP150 million this year to expand its bakery business and seize new export opportunities. The company plans to invest another EGP200 million in 2025 to purchase a new plot of land for expansion and to increase its production capacity.

Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade announced yesterday the start of an investigation to combat dumping imports of CR steel that are coming from Egypt, after a complaint submitted by the sole flat steel producer Maghreb Steel, claiming that Egyptian imports are sold in the Moroccan market at unfair prices.

RAYA gave the preliminary greenlight to Helios Investment Partners’ acquisition bid to acquire 49% of Raya Foods for USD40 million.

RAYA’s automotive unit Raya Auto plans to invest over EGP300 million in EVs over the next three years.

Weekly Commodities Update 

 |   | Last Price | WoW Change, %
| Brent, USD/bbl | 73.1 | -7.6%
| Diesel-HSFO Spread, USD/ton | 184 | -18.0%
| Egypt Urea, USD/ton | 406 | 0.0%
| Polyethylene, USD/ton | 980 | 0.0%
| Polypropylene, USD/ton | 970 | 2.7%
| Iron Ore 65%, USD/ton | 118 | -6.5%
| Steel/Iron Ore Spreads, USD/ton | 419 | 1.0%
| LME Copper Cash Price, USD/ton | 9,503 | -1.5%
| LME Aluminum Cash Price, USD/ton | 2,579 | -1.3%
| Egyptia Retail Cement, EGP/ton | 2,763 | 0.0%
| Steam Coal FOB Newcastle Australia, USD/ton | 145 | -0.9%
| SMP, USD/MT | 2,745 | -1.8%
| Last price may vary week over week in some indices due to time difference