Egypt is planning to develop six “new cities” across the country, as part of its urban development plans, Deputy Housing Minister Walid Abbas said at a real estate conference yesterday. The government is currently conducting feasibility studies on the new cities, which would follow in the footsteps of other new developments such as New Alamein and New Mansoura, Abbas added.

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

• Snackfood maker Edita will reduce its issued capital (pdf) from EGP 145.1 mn to EGP 144.6 mn by cancelling 2.3 mn treasury shares.
• The Agriculture Ministry has issued the executive regulations for the Organic Farming Act, bringing into effect the seven-part bill, which governs tariffs, imports and exports, oversight mechanisms, and other aspects of the organic farming industry.
• The Central Bank of Egypt will provide subsidized funding through local banks to bakeries to encourage them to convert to natural gas, under an MoU signed with the Supply Ministry.
• State-owned Canal Sugar’s Minya factory has begun trial operations and commercial production will start before June — likely in May — and aims to reach maximum capacity of up to 1 mn tons of sugar by 2022.
• The Public Prosecutor has referred three defendants involved in the Fairmont case to the Criminal Court after they were accused of committing another assault against a woman on the North Coast in 2015.