Another big East Med gas find: Eni and TotalEnergies have made a “significant” gas discovery in a shared exploration block off the coast of Cyprus which the companies estimate to contain at least 2.5 tn cubic feet of gas, Eni said in a statement yesterday. “Preliminary estimates indicate about 2.5 tn cf of gas in place, with significant additional upside that will be investigated by a further exploration well in the area,” the Italian energy company said.

Some of that gas could one day be brought to Egypt for re-export to Europe: Egypt and Cyprus are planning to lay a pipeline connecting the Aphrodite field to Egypt’s LNG facilities where gas can be liquified and exported to Europe. Egypt is the only country with LNG facilities in the Eastern Mediterranean, making it a key partner for Europe which is trying to rapidly transition away from Russian fossil fuels. The EU signed an agreement with Egypt and Israel earlier this year laying the foundations for Israeli gas to be exported across the Mediterranean via Egypt.

MEANWHILE- Transport Vehicles Distribution (TVD) —a joint venture between GB Auto and El Ghalban Auto —will start assembling Chinese JMC trucks early next year at GB’s plants, GB Auto IR Manager Marina Kamal told Enterprise.

AND- Qalaa Holdings has denied reports that it sold a stake in its subsidiary Taqa Arabia, saying that a 14% rise in its EGX-listed shares over the past week was not driven by any “material events.” (Disclosure, pdf)

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

• Real estate developer MNHD posted a record EGP 1.5 bn in sales in July, driven by the launch of two new phases of its Elect development at Taj City, it said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. More than half the units across both phases have now been sold. The statement comes after the company said in its 2Q earnings it had booked record sales — and after its board rebuffed an acquisition bid from SODIC.
• Raya Customer Experience (Raya CX) signed a partnership agreement with Zain Saudi Arabia to provide customer services for the telecoms operator in KSA. (Statement, pdf)
• Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Egypt (ADIB) and Dubai-based payments firm SimpliFi will launch a card-as-a-service offering for companies in Egypt. (Statement, pdf)