Today: We have news that CIRA is partnering with Accor to bring an Ibis Styles hotel to Badr University + news that Egypt's non-oil private sector recorded its sharpest contraction since January 2023. Let’s dive in.

🔔 EGX30 ended +1.0% by market close at 53,006 points, the EGX70 rose 0.5% to 16,215 points, and the EGX100 increased 0,5% to reach 22,032 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 236,340 spread across 12,545,138,948 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 4.045 billion.

🏷️International investors were the only net buyers. 

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included Saudi Egyptian Investment & Finance (+20.0%), Golden Textiles & Clothes Wool (+17.0%), Amer Group Holding (+12.8%)

📉 Top losers for the market included Tycoon Holding (-6.8%), Mena Touristic & Real Estate Investment (-6.6%), and Delta For Printing & Packaging (-4.8%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 were Juhayna (+4.4%), Orascom Development (+2.6%), and Misr Cement (+2.1%).

⬇️ Top losers for EGX30 included Valmore Holding -EGP (-2.9%), Raya Holding (-2.8%), and Emaar Misr (-2.0%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 6,691 per gram, up 0.4% day-on-day but down 9.5% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 48.76 at the National Bank of Egypt.

CIRA Education (CIRA) has partnered with global hospitality group Accor to launch an Ibis Styles hotel within the Badr University campus, according to a disclosure filed with the Egyptian Exchange.

The project is part of CIRA's strategy to develop "comprehensive university communities" that combine academic, residential, and lifestyle facilities within a single campus.

 The hotel will be located on Badr University's 58-feddan campus. CIRA also clarified that the project's final investment cost has yet to be determined, responding to a newspaper report that estimated the investment at nearly EGP 1 billion.

Higher education remains CIRA's growth engine:

CIRA reported a 67% year-on-year increase in normalized net profit to EGP 678.3 million in H1 FY2025/26, as revenues climbed 31% to EGP 2.8 billion. Higher education remained the company's main growth driver, with segment revenue rising 35% year-on-year to EGP 1.95 billion as enrollment jumped 39% to 36,000 students, supported by strong intake at Badr University and the continued ramp-up of Saxony Egypt University. Segment utilization also improved to 88%, up from 67% a year earlier.

Dates to keep an eye out for

July 15:

Hepco for Commercial Investments and Real Estate Development - record date for 0.8 bonus shares per original share. The distribution date is July 16.

July 26:

Lotus For Agricultural Investment- record date for 0.266 bonus share per original share. The distribution date is July 27.

July 29:

GB Corp - distribution date for EGP 0.15 per share. The record date was April 26.

July 30: 

Misr Fertilizers Production - distribution date for EGP 1 per share. The record date was May 3.

Talaat Moustafa Group - distribution date for EGP 0.15 per share. The record date was May 18.

Egypt's non-oil private sector recorded its sharpest contraction in nearly three-and-a-half years in June, with the seasonally adjusted S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) falling to 46.0 from 47.1 in May. The index remained below the 50.0 expansion threshold for a sixth consecutive month as weaker demand, liquidity constraints, raw material shortages, and disruption linked to the Middle East conflict weighed on business activity.

What this means

While June marked the weakest business conditions since January 2023, the PMI remains broadly consistent with annual GDP growth of around 3.8% by the end of the second quarter. S&P Global Principal Economist David Owen said the latest reading reinforces expectations of softer economic growth in Q2, with regional tensions contributing to the steepest decline in new business since November 2022.

Output weakens as demand softens

Business activity contracted for a fifth consecutive month, with the pace of decline reaching its fastest level since early 2023. New orders also fell at their sharpest rate in more than three-and-a-half years, prompting firms to cut purchasing activity and continue reducing headcount. Most companies said staffing declines reflected natural attrition rather than active layoffs.

Cost pressures remain elevated

Input costs stayed high in June, although inflation eased from May's near-record levels. Firms cited higher fuel and raw material costs alongside longer supplier delivery times caused by shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. Wage pressures also remained strong, marking the second-fastest increase in staff costs since January 2018. At the same time, softer demand limited companies' ability to pass higher costs on to customers, squeezing profit margins.

Outlook

Despite the challenging backdrop, businesses became more optimistic about the year ahead. Many expect regional disruptions to ease and government support to strengthen over the coming months. S&P Global added that lower energy prices and an improvement in regional stability could further reduce cost pressures and support a gradual recovery in business activity.