We were looking forward to hearing overnight that the Ismail cabinet had signed off on the executive regulations of the Investment Act yesterday. That didn’t come to pass — cabinet postponed the meeting on the regs until next week, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr said, according to AMAY. The expectation is that regulations should come into effect before the end of August.

Also next week: The cabinet will also conclude talks on the new Leasing and Factoring Act, and we’re still waiting to hear details of the 600 projects that make up the government’s investment map.

The Supreme Judicial Council should be nominating its picks for the National Elections Commission in the next days, according to Al Masry Al Youm.

August should be an interesting time for the nation’s healthcare sector, as the Universal Healthcare Act will be reviewed by the cabinet at the end of the month, with an eye to completing the act and presenting it to the House during its next session in September.

Pharma companies should also expect some disappointment this month as the government looks set to do away with a price increase on meds. Not to be outdone in populism, the House Economics Committee will do its level best to drive a dagger into the heart of the idea when they meet this month to discuss it. A committee created by the Ministry of Health met Wednesday with the Pharmacists Union in an attempt to end a six-day strike. The union presented a list of demands to do with pricing and regulating pharmacies and it was agreed they would meet again next week after compiling more data.

The House of Representatives will be focusing on tax-related legislation when it reconvenes this fall, according to Budgeting Committee MP Yasser Omar, who tells Al Borsa that amendments to the tax code will be geared towards increasing collection.