Hilton Hotels will open nine new properties in Egypt in the coming five years, adding another 1.7k rooms to its Egypt portfolio, Hilton Hotels Egypt Managing Director Mohab Ghali told Reuters. This will increase the number of rooms in Egypt by 28%. The international hotelier, which currently operates 14 hotels in the country, will launch its Waldorf Astoria, Hilton Garden Inn and DoubleTree hotel brands by 2026, Ghali told the newswire. Ghali is expecting widespread vaccine distribution and the inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum to help tourism pick up in the near future.

Akh Gold has identified a number of gold targets in its recently-awarded Eastern Desert blocks which it plans to commence fieldwork on shortly, parent company Altus Strategies said in a disclosure to the London Stock Exchange yesterday.

Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:

• Higher education: Mansoura University is ranked among the Top 100 Universities in emerging markets this year in the Times Higher Education Emerging Economies rankings. Meanwhile, the government is looking to establish 100 universities by 2030, as part of its plans to build one in each governorate.
• Exports: Exports of Egypt-grown Valencia oranges have risen 30% y-o-y this season after countries like Spain, Morocco and Russia resumed imports of the fruit amid weak international competition.
• Imports: The first cargo ship from Sudan to Egypt in five years arrived yesterday at South Sinai’s Al-Tor Port carrying some 11.5k heads of livestock.