Happy Tuesday everyone!

The region’s fast-food and construction giants are reshaping strategies amid shifting markets and political headwinds. Americana, operator of KFC and Krispy Kreme, is pivoting toward local brands after a bruising Gaza-related boycott. Saudi burger chain Hamburgini collapses into bankruptcy following a deadly food poisoning scandal. And Egypt’s Orascom Construction is preparing a high-profile move to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange to tap deeper pools of capital. Here’s what you need to know, what’s happening, why it matters, and what’s next.

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Markets

Americana to Diversify into Local Brands After Gaza Boycott

🔹 What Is It About

Americana, the Middle East’s largest fast-food franchise operator known for KFC, Krispy Kreme, and Pizza Hut is shifting its focus toward homegrown brands after a year of consumer boycotts linked to U.S. support for Israel. Profits plunged nearly 40% to $159 million in 2024, despite the company expanding to 2,638 outlets across the region. Chair Mohamed Alabbar said the boycott accelerated cost-cutting efforts and spurred plans to acquire Middle Eastern brands in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon.

🔹 Why It Matters

Americana’s reliance on Western franchises made it highly vulnerable to political backlash. With major shareholders including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the company faces pressure to reduce exposure to U.S. brands and appeal to local consumers. The Middle East and North Africa’s fast-food market is worth $33 billion and growing at nearly 9% annually but changing tastes and geopolitics are reshaping the competitive landscape.

🔹 What’s Next

Alabbar confirmed active talks to acquire “one or two or three winners” among regional brands, using Americana’s low debt levels to raise capital for expansion. The boycott impact has eased, but the diversification strategy is now central to the group’s future and rivals like McDonald’s are watching closely after reporting a rebound in regional sales earlier this year.

Saudi Burger Chain “Hamburgini” Files for Bankruptcy After Food Poisoning Scandal

🔹 What Is It About

Hamburgini, once one of Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing homegrown burger chains, has filed for bankruptcy after a botulism outbreak in 2024 devastated its reputation. More than 70 people fell ill and one person died after eating contaminated mayonnaise supplied to its Riyadh outlets. Regulators traced the issue to a tainted product, but Hamburgini’s parent company, Asasiyat Al Ghitha Trading Co., was unable to recover from the financial and reputational damage.

🔹 Why It Matters

Hamburgini was hailed as a Saudi entrepreneurial success story, opening 57 branches in just six years and targeting a market listing. Its collapse highlights how food safety failures can wipe out even dominant players in the Kingdom’s $5+ billion fast-food market and shows the increasing rigor of Saudi regulators on food quality.

🔹 What’s Next

The Riyadh Commercial Court ordered liquidation in August 2025, with creditors given 90 days to submit claims. The bankruptcy clears the way for new players to capture Hamburgini’s market share, while serving as a warning to other fast-food chains to invest heavily in supply-chain monitoring and crisis management.

Egypt’s Orascom to List on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)

🔹 What Is It About

Orascom Construction, one of Egypt’s biggest engineering and contracting groups, will list on the ADX on September 11 after delisting from Nasdaq Dubai. The company will maintain its secondary listing on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). The move comes after shareholders approved a transfer of incorporation from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to attract deeper liquidity and regional investors.

🔹 Why It Matters

This listing marks another win for the ADX, which is competing with regional exchanges to become a hub for large-cap issuers. Orascom’s solid financials $1.9 billion in revenue and $82.7 million in net income in H1 2025 and a $9.6 billion backlog make it one of the region’s most significant infrastructure players. Its shares are already up 27% year-to-date.

🔹 What’s Next

The opening price on ADX will be pegged to Orascom’s EGX closing price on September 10, converted to AED using the UAE central bank’s rate. Investors will watch whether the move increases trading volumes and boosts valuations, as Orascom pursues $1.6 billion in new awards across the Middle East and Africa secured in the first half of 2025.

👨‍💻From Smashi Business’ Desk

• Dubai Police Foil Dh4.4M Drug Smuggling Plot in “Operation Toxic Buttons”

• Turki Al-Sheikh Backs Shawarmer: Saudi Chain Fights Boycott with Jobs and Discounts

• Huspy Co-Founder Khalid Ashmawy Raises $3M for Munify to Revolutionize Remittances

🔍In other news…

• Saudi Arabia surpasses 2025 homeownership target a year early 

• Egypt offers over 1,300 industrial plots to boost economic development

• Finastra ‘weighs $1bn sale of Gulf and Asian banking unit’

• Lebanese budget airline unlikely to succeed, analysts say

• AI tools help business break down Arabic language barrier

• Dubai real estate sector recorded $4.4bn of transactions last week, including $10m Bugatti apartment

🏦 Crypto Corner

• Michael Saylor — Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy and one of Bitcoin’s most vocal corporate advocates — will make his first-ever appearance in the UAE at Bitcoin MENA in Abu Dhabi.

• Hut 8, part of a American BTC which is partially owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, Gets Approval to Operate in Dubai Financial Hub.

• Abu Dhabi Judicial Department now accept AE Coin.

We are launching a Smashi Crypto newsletter in September 2025! Subscribe to it here to get the weekly updates from the world of digital assets.

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