Good morning, and welcome to Telda Lens — your daily pulse on Egypt’s markets.

Today: Updates from Ajwa, Qalaa Holdings, EGAS, and more, plus a five-year high recorded for our non-oil private sector.

🔔 EGX30 ended +1.76% by market close at 41,342 points, the EGX70 rose 0.41% to 12,431 points, and the EGX100 increased 0.48% to reach 16,540 points.

💸 The number of transactions reached 144,325 spread across 2,906,417,934 stocks leading to a turnover of EGP 6.9 billion.

🏷️ International investors were the only net buyers.

📈 Top gainers for the market as a whole included General Silos & Storage (+19.98%), Al Khair River For Development (+10.33%), and Egyptians For Investment & Urban Development (+9.80%).

📉 Top losers for the market included Gmc Group For Industrial Commercial & Financial Investments (-4.72%), Delta For Printing & Packaging (-4.67%), and B Investments Holding (-4.18%).

⬆️ Top gainers for EGX30 included Egypt Aluminum (+6.1%), CIB (+4.8%), and Misr Cement (+4.7%).

⬇️ Top losers included Ibnsina Pharma (-1.9%), Beltone Holding (-1.5%), and GB Corp (-1.3%).

Other Important Stats: 

🧈 24K Gold reached EGP 6,469 per gram, up 0.27% day-on-day and up 6.46% month-on-month.

💲 The USD reached EGP 47.53 at the National Bank of Egypt.

📝 Ajwa Group for Food Industries (AJWA) plans to propose a capital increase from EGP 200.95 million to 500 million at its next general assembly, issuing 29.9 million shares to existing shareholders at the nominal value of EGP 10 each. Ajwa also intends to take a 10% stake in the newly established company engaged in food manufacturing, processing, distribution, and supply chain management. The company’s share value is up 31% since the start of the year.

⬇️ El Sewedy Cement has reduced its stake in Qalaa Holdings (CCAP) from 6.3% to 2.92%, selling around 143 million shares for a total of EGP 564.8 million at an average price of EGP 3.94 per share. The sale comes after the company had previously increased its stake from 4.97% to 8.73%. Qalaa’s shares are up 71% since the beginning of 2025.

💸 Egypt Gas (EGAS) posted a net profit of EGP 225 million in the first nine months of 2025, marking a 25% year-on-year increase. Its revenues also rose 18% year-on-year, reaching EGP 6 billion. The firm’s shares are up almost 12% since the beginning of 2025.

🧱 The general assembly of Arabian Cement Company (ARCC) yesterday approved cash dividends of EGP 1.102 billion for shareholders, equal to EGP 2.94 per share, from last year’s profits. Remember, the company reported a net profit of EGP 2.52 billion from January to September 2025, up sharply from EGP 664.72 million in the same period of 2024. The company’s share price is up 204% since the beginning of 2025.

🔔 Gourmet may be heading for an initial public offering in the first quarter of 2026, according to Hazem Barakat, co-founder and chairman of B Investments (BINV), which owns 53% of the premium grocery chain. The potential IPO follows a near-sale to a foreign buyer last year that fell through, and improving market conditions on the EGX are making a public listing an appealing exit option. B Investment’s share value is up 48% since the start of the year.

📈 Egypt’s non-oil private sector recorded its strongest expansion in five years in November, as S&P’s Purchasing Managers’ Index rose above the fifty mark on the back of higher output and new orders across manufacturing, services, and construction. (Read more in our Deeper Look section.) 

🚢 Egypt Gas Holding is preparing to export four LNG shipments in December, totaling around 550,000 cubic meters, to incentivize foreign partners to invest in deepwater gas development in early 2026, a government official told Al-Arabiya Business. The revenues from these shipments will be used immediately to help settle part of the foreign companies’ outstanding payments, which currently range between USD 1.7 and 2 billion, with the government targeting to pay around USD 750 million by the end of Q1 2026.

💵 Kuwait has extended a USD 2 billion deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt for an additional year beyond its April 2026 maturity, shoring up Egypt’s foreign currency reserves. The move is part of a broader USD 4 billion Kuwaiti deposit portfolio that is regularly rolled over, reflecting ongoing Gulf financial support at a time when Egypt’s FX reserves have climbed above USD 50 billion. The extension comes alongside wider efforts to deepen economic and investment ties between Cairo and Kuwait.

Egypt’s non-oil private sector showed a marked improvement in November, with the S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rising to 51.1 from 49.2 in October. The latest reading reflected the strongest expansion in output and new orders in five years, supported by gains across manufacturing, construction, and services, while wholesale and retail activity saw a slight decline.

What this means:

The PMI serves as a key barometer of economic health. A reading below 50 indicates that business activity contracted compared to the previous month, while a figure above 50 reflects growth.

With the PMI above the 50 mark, the data signals that non-oil business activity expanded in November, suggesting a strong end to 2025. The upturn was driven by higher market demand and a broad increase in orders, with the index at its highest level since October 2020. Historically, a PMI reading of 51.1 correlates with annual GDP growth above 5%.

Hiring holds steady amid cautious optimism:

Despite the sharp increase in new orders, companies kept employment levels unchanged, continuing a subdued trend in staffing. This contributed to a rise in outstanding work for the third consecutive month. Input inventories stabilized after a marked contraction in October, although purchases of new inputs fell at a faster pace.

Rising costs ease:

Overall input cost inflation slowed to its lowest level in eight months. Firms attributed part of this relief to a stronger Egyptian pound against the US dollar, which helped reduce import costs, although wages continued to rise. With cost pressures easing, average prices charged by non-oil companies increased only marginally — the slowest rise in seven months.

Outlook:

Business sentiment remained positive, albeit slightly softer than in October, with firms expecting only a mild improvement in activity in the near term. According to David Owen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, the robust upturn in November hints at sustained growth in the non-oil private sector and potential GDP growth above 5% in the fourth quarter, with hope that stronger demand and easing costs may encourage firms to expand staffing and procurement activity.

Stay curious, stay invested — we’ll see you tomorrow.

Your daily market lens, signing off.