The new companies that will run the Siemens-built power plant will clear their last major regulatory hurdle this week when the general assembly of the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) meets on Wednesday, Al Borsa reports. The assembly is set to approve the establishment of four companies: One for each of the Siemens plans in Beni Suef, Burullus and the New Administrative Capital and a fourth to manage assets that fall under the emergency electricity generation plan. State-owned investment bank NI Capital is advising on the process. Electricity Ministry Undersecretary Sabah Mashaly suggested last week that that each company will have initial capital of EGP 40 bn.

The House of Representatives is holding sessions on the automotive directive today and tomorrow, Al Mal reports. The House’s industry and budget committees met yesterday with representatives of auto companies including Bavaria Group and General Motors to discuss the legislation, said the head of the Egyptian Automotive Manufacturing Association Hassan Suleiman. The House Industry Committee will meet with other manufacturers today along with representatives of the Egyptian Auto-Feeders Association and the Tax Authority, Al Borsa reports. An unnamed committee member disclosed that the for the most part, the committee is satisfied with the tax breaks granted to companies as the price of boosting exports and building a domestic manufacturing industry. The committee is expected to conclude its review of the law and send its report to the full body of the House at the end of the week, with an eye to getting the law passed early next year. We had a rundown of the bill’s likely key features in our Spotlight yesterday.

Where, oh where have my VAT regs gone? Oh where, oh where can they can they be? While the date for the unveiling of the executive regulations of the value-added tax (VAT) has been shiftier than a desert sidewinder, the Finance Ministry has always maintained that they would be coming this month. Two days and counting.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Citi’s Global Consumer Conference takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday in London, OPEC meets in Vienna on Wednesday, and a Russian delegation is due in town sometime this week to finalize the Dabaa nuclear power plant agreements. (Are we alone in suggesting we tie their sainted nuclear plant to the resumption of direct flights?) Thursday is Consumer Protection Chief Atef Yacoub’s so-called “buy nothing” day.

Get your umbrellas ready and prepare for traffic jams from hell: The weather in Egypt will be “unstable” this week, with heavy rains and thunder expected on northern coasts along the Mediterranean, as well as the Delta, Cairo and Sinai. Our favourite weather app is showing a 25% chance of rain on Tuesday, rising to 55-58% on Wednesday and Thursday, with cooler temperatures on the weekend.