Eat Korean fried chicken tonight — with a heaping side of M&A news

Good afternoon, everyone — we the end of your workday is in sight.

THE BIG NEWS here at home this afternoon: We’re seeing lots of M&A in the finance industry and turnover on the EGX broke the EGP 2 bn mark as retail investors continued to dominate flows. The benchmark EGX30 is now up 6.3% for the year after losing 0.7% at the closing bell today. We have more on both stories below.

THE BIG NEWS GLOBALLY: US President Joe Biden is planning competition, but not conflict, with China and will “work with Beijing when it’s in America’s interest to do so.” The competition, he suggested, will be extreme. Meanwhile, Biden’s predecessor faces the kickoff of his second impeachment trial — and the GOP a reckoning — tomorrow.

HAPPENING NOW- Egypt is leading an emergency Arab League meeting with Arab foreign ministers as part of a bid to add new impetus to peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has held high-level talks with French, German, EU and Jordanian officials in recent weeks to push things ahead.

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You’re reading Issue #2 of EnterprisePM, our afternoon briefing on what’s going on in Egypt and emerging markets — and your guide to where you may want to spend your time and money tonight.

EnterprisePM is designed to help you leave work behind when you check out of the office, whether your commute is across town, down the hall to your family room or entirely fake.

Thank you to everyone who has written in with nice words and great suggestions. Keep the feedback coming on editorial@enterprise.press — a real, live human being reads and considers every email.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization will be hosting a MENA x CEO panel on venture capital and entrepreneurism in the region. The gathering headlined “Investor Perspectives from New York to North Africa” takes place on 17 February. Lots of friends are among the panelists, including Global Ventures Managing Director Amal Enan, HOF Capital Managing Partner Onsi Sawiris, AAF Management General Partner and CFO Omar Darwazah and AUC Entrepreneurship Professor Ayman Ismail. Tap or click here to register.

???? FOR YOUR COMMUTE-

Oil may have just broken past the USD 60 / barrel barrier, but that may not be enough to save companies whose finances are in “tatters,” the Financial Times argues. “ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP and Shell recorded more than USD 50 bn in losses between them last year, as the pandemic-driven crash in oil demand crushed crude prices and forced them to slash their spending plans,” and Exxon and Chevron have discussed a mega-merger. And it’s going to be tricky for the “supermajors” to recast themselves not as oil giants, but as energy companies with a rising contribution of clean(er) energy. The answer? M&A, of course, but of what form? That’s the question the FT raises in Big oil’s huge losses raise prospect of mega mergers.

Can you have green aluminum? No matter how you pronounce (or spell) it, aluminum is ridiculously energy-intensive to produce, and one of the most common sources of that power is none other than coal (which ain’t clean no matter how you burn it). As climate nerds, it makes us want to cry. As gadget lovers, we can’t get enough of it. It’s why we cheered a little bit when we heard that Emirates Global Aluminum is going to be the first company globally to start commercial-scale manufacturing of aluminum using solar energy under a contract with BMW. Bloomberg has the news, and both EGA and BMW are out with statements.

The “genius equation” is G=SxNxD, with ‘S’ standing for Significance of the degree of impact or change effected, N for the Number of people impacted, and D for the Duration of impact, explains Yale University Professor Craig Wright, the noted musician and musicologist who has studied how history’s greats nurture ideas and turn them into works of genius. He reflects on what he’s learned in an excellent essay on Aeon. Want more? Wright has also published a book called The Hidden Habits of Genius.

What are the “first and second spouses” doing in the Biden White House? Dr. Jill Biden will continue to teach (as she did when her husband was Obama’s veep), while entertainment lawyer Doug Emhoff (who recently left DLA Piper) needs to figure out what it means to be the US’ “first second gentleman.”

Okay, but how are throwaway metal capsules good for the environment? Nestle to double sustainability spending at Nescafe coffee brand.

FINALLY: A gratuitous video of a lemur that really wants the kid to keep on petting…

Today’s Google Doodle commemorates Egyptian actress and singer Shadia on what would have been her 90th birthday. Shadia was considered a darling of the Arab entertainment industry for close to forty years. She appeared in over 100 roles, from movies to radio plays and her song “Ya Habibty Ya Masr” is a patriotic anthem played during many national events.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

Al Ahly versus Bayern Munich at 8pm CLT tonight. The two teams will go head to head in the semifinals of the FIFA Club World Cup, in a highly anticipated match that marks the third time the clubs compete. Egypt recorded a win against Bayern Munich in 1977 but lost to the Bundesliga club in the latest friendly game in 2012, reports EN24. The winner of today’s match will play the final of the competition this Friday. Check out The Hard Tackle for possible team line ups, key stats, and a match prediction.

Al Ahly’s coach doesn’t seem too confident… Coach Pitso Mosimane told FIFA that Al Ahly “are just going to have fun”.

Other matches tonight: The English Premier League’s Leeds and Crystal Palace will hit the field at 10pm CLT. Meanwhile, La Liga will see Atlético Madrid play against Celta Vigo also at 10pm CLT. There are no Serie A matches for you today.

ON NETFLIX TONIGHT- “Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer”: The documentary follows two detectives hunting down serial killer Richard Ramirez in 1985 Los Angeles. Ramirez murdered at least 13 people between 1984–85. Not convinced? Here’s a review from The Guardian.

FUTURE TELEVISION- You can’t watch it yet by Seekoseeko in the City is making a comeback, looking at how Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte are faring in their 50s. Actress Kim Cattrall (Samantha) is sitting this one out after a spat with Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie). (We’re not being cutesy with the use of “seekoseeko” instead of the three-letter English word — the algos that determine whether we’re admitted to your inboxes won’t allow it.)

And for future Netflix and Chill sessions: The streaming giant has announced its 2021 film slate.

EAT THIS TONIGHT-

???? Kokio (eat-in and delivery, branches in Maadi or New Cairo) serves up the best fried chicken in Cairo, full-stop. Double-fried the Korean way, it’s incredibly crispy and quality has been consistent throughout the pandemic. (Trust us: It’s the only takeout we order, figuring the bug that causes covid can’t withstand being deep-fried. Twice.) Order a whole or half Kokio Chicken — though how a “whole chicken” has five drumsticks and three wings, all of different sizes, we’ll never know. Then throw in an order of soy chicken. The spicy chicken nuggets are also not to be missed if you’re feeling indulgent. The resident 13-year-old’s rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

For Maadi peeps, antique furniture store Darb 15 Beit Arafa (Google Maps) is holding a book fair in collaboration with book delivery platform Book Stop. The fair will run until next Sunday.

Art Cafe has a ton of classes and workshops on for the duration of the month that you adults or your kids can attend at their branches in Maadi (Google Maps) or Sheikh Zayed (Google Maps) or from the comfort of your own home on Zoom. The classes include digital painting, art universities preparation, and photography & photoshop. You can check out their full schedule here.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

In the era of QAnon and other conspiracy theories, comes Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler who follows a woman who discovers her partner is a popular internet conspiracy theorist. Her newly-released debut novel is an exploration of what it means to live our lives online and it’d influence on our ideologies. You can check out the book’s reviews from The Guardian and The Nation.

???? TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re looking at two more days of sunny skies with cloudy periods and unseasonably warm daytime heights of 28°C tomorrow and 26°C on Wednesday.

E-payments giant Fawry is looking to make up to two acquisitions this year, founder and CEO Ashraf Sabry tells Reuters in an interview picked up by the local press. The company is apparently exploring seven or eight startups offering B2C digital payments services, with a plan to acquire shares in one or two of them by the end of the year, he added.

It’s also looking at further expansion in MENA: Sabry noted that Fawry is looking to expand its footprint to at least two other MENA region companies this year, without revealing where. Fawry had launched operations last year in the UAE with a partnership with Dubai Islamic Bank.

The firm’s expansion comes as fintech and e-payments join NBFS and healthcare as super-hot sectors. Fawry processes around 3 mn transactions daily and plans to increase its points of sales to 280k from a current 200k, Sabry said.

AND IT’S NOT JUST FAWRY as state-owned bank Banque Du Caire (BdC) looks at establishing an e-payments company in partnership with an unidentified foreign investor, Ahram Gate quotes Chairman Tarek Fayed as saying in an interview. The move comes as part We’ll have more on BdC’s strategy in tomorrow’s EnterpriseAM.

Meanwhile, state-owned investment bank NI Capital is planning to make non-banking financial services one of three key sectors of its EGP 1.5 bn private equity investment plan this year, NI Capital MD Mohamed Metwally told Al Mal this morning. The other key sector? Digital media services, said Metwally without elaborating.

These activities place fintech and NBFS in a heated battle with healthcare as the hottest sectors in Egypt at the moment. We noted yesterday how Speed Hospitals — a subsidiary of diagnostics and healthcare firm Speed Medical — is looking to acquire a 100% stake in Six of October’s New Al Safwa Specialized Hospital ahead of a possible IPO. This would make it the third major M&A in healthcare in as many months following the Cleopatra Hospital – Alameida merger late last year and the potential acquisition of Alexandria Medical Services by Mabaret Al Asafra Hospitals and Africa-focused investment firm Tana Africa Capital.

Are state-owned banks making a play for some of the country’s leading investment banks?

CI Capital shares soared more than 9% today as Banque Misr made an offer to acquire an undisclosed stake, according to a statement by the Financial Regulatory Authority (pdf). Banque Misr already holds a 24.7% stake in the EGX-listed investment bank, which has a robust Egyptian IPO pipeline right now and is consistently the #2 ranked securities brokerage in the country. We’re keeping our eye on the situation and hope to have an update in time for the AM edition tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Banque du Caire hasn’t bought HC Securities. Reports this morning that BdC was snapping up a controlling stake in investment bank HC Securities need to be taken with a grain of salt: BdC has not made a formal acquisition offer, nor has an agreement been reached, officials at HC tell us, adding that nobody is doing due diligence on the firm right now. The story started in Al Borsa, which cited an unnamed source.

There’s precedent: Look no further than the (fairly recent) acquisition of Pharos by NBE’s Ahly Capital and of Arabeya Online by NI Capital.

CI Capital has been getting plenty of attention in recent weeks after a management webinar piqued the interest of the sell-side amid ongoing investor interest in Egypt’s booming non-bank financial services sector. Prime’s Sherif El Etr notes that CI is “a couple of years late” to the non-bank financial services game (pointing specifically to consumer and mortgage finance), but says “there is ample room for these segments to grow in this under-served market, hence we believe CICH will eventually see its ventures bear fruit.” Pharos’ Dalia Bonna leads with the expected 1Q IPO of Taleem, the education platform in which CI Capital holds a c. 16.5% stake. CI doesn’t have a traditional private equity arm, but invested in Taleem from its own balance sheet under its merchant banking program. Bonna also notes that CI Capital doesn’t expect to be negatively hit by provisions for bad loans thanks to covid or by rate cuts.

CI Capital shares closed up 9.4% today at EGP 4.54 amid word of Banque Misr’s intention to up its stake.

What Pharos is saying: CICH is a “buy” with a fair value of EGP 5.00 per share.

What Prime is saying: Go “overweight” with a fair value of EGP 5.20 per share.

Other ways into the same sector: EFG Hermes (+5.3% YTD) was the first of the investment banks to launch an NBFS division and now offers exposure to leasing, factoring, consumer finance, payment solutions, microfinance and merchant finance, among other offerings. Orascom Financial Holding will offer exposure to investment bank Beltone Financial (+19.9% YTD), consumer and structured finance player Sarwa Capital (flat so far this year) and future NBFS ventures when it’s spun out from OIH in the weeks to come.

The EGX30 closed today down 0.69% on turnover of EGP 2.14 bn (34.1% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 6.25% YTD.

In the green: CI Capital Holding (+9.4%), Orascom Investment Holding (+7.6%) and Fawry (+2.2%). CI rose on word Banque Misr was making an offer for an additional stake, OIH is rallying ahead of the spinout of Orascom Financial Holding (which will include stakes in Beltone and Sarwa Capital), while Fawry climbed on word that it’s in the market to acquire stakes in other fintech players.

In the red: Orascom Development (-2.7%), Abu Qir Fertilizers (-2.4%) and Pioneers Holding (-2.3%).

IN THE HOT SEAT TODAY- HC Research’s head of macro and financials Monette Doss, HC Research’s head of consumers Noha Baraka, Sigma Research’s senior equity analyst Dareen El Arousy

STILL ON THE UPSWING: GB Auto (up +0.8% today and +4.1% yesterday) has surged more than 140% from its low of EGP 1.32 at the bottom of the March 2020 rout of emerging markets. What’s driving the recovery of a share that billed itself as “everything on wheels” during its IPO more than a decade ago?

The automotive industry as a whole is recovering from covid, says Baraka, and still has plenty of room to advance. A lighter hand on regulation since 2016, has helped, but the market supported by significant pent-up demand for passenger cars. That demand is fueled by population growth and wealth formation — and accrued when prices skyrocketed in the run-up to the float of the EGP (does anybody else remember receipts to take possession of new cards effectively becoming a form of currency?). Hyperinflation in the period after the float made even more would-be buyers wait another day. Today, demand is supported by reasonable inflation and stability in the EGP’s rate of exchange against key currencies.

All of this is driving growth in earnings per share, Baraka says, and while this is part of a wider trend of the large caps seeing recovery, there’s still a lot of runway, she adds.

Non-bank financial services arm GB Capital, is “a very strong driver for the company with impressive net interest margins,” says Baraka, and has “cushioned” the group for the last five years. GB Auto has been a pioneer on the NBFS sector, starting with ventures financing three-wheelers and offering fleet leasing and growing exponentially from there.

“The boom in car sales in 2020 was a pleasant surprise,” says Sigma’s El Arousy. The auto arm of the company kicked-off the year with “a slight but promising expansion in margins” and were able to liquidate their loss making models, she adds. The interest rate cuts last year were a win-win, as the company relies on banks to finance its working capital, she says, while consumers who purchase cars using bank loans also benefit from the 400 bps interest rate cut across 2020.

MEANWHILE, ON THE MACRO FRONT: Could rising treasury yields cap stock market performance? HC’s Doss is watching daily treasury auctions, and a downward trajectory for yields from January’s highs could give the stock market a boost. Doss expected treasury yields to start cooling off in 2021, responding to last year’s CBE interest rate cuts by 400 bps, “but this didn’t come around as expected due to monetary tightening in Turkey, as a result of inflationary hikes, which took the rates on its 15M treasuries to 15.97% in January up from an implied rate of 10.66%.” This higher competition from Turkish treasuries is expected to continue over the coming months. HC is calling for a total of 100 bps worth of cuts this year.

MORE ON THAT FRONT- The Finance Ministry made a USD-denominated local bond sale today, Reuters reports. The three-tranche issuance saw yields of 4.38% for the 5-year tranche, 6.25% of the 10-year tranche, and 7.87% for a 40-year tranche.

Strategic and public market investors alike are closely following M&A trends in the healthcare and banking sectors, with both industries having plenty of room to grow, says Doss. The Sisi administration’s financial inclusion drive will boost the deposit base in the banking sector and expand the formal economy, attracting more interest to healthcare and financial services as opposed to oil and gas, a previous stalwart of foreign direct investment now suffering amid the global slump in demand.

Sovereign wealth funds are piling into green investments, especially clean tech, as the push to combat climate change picks up steam, according to Barron’s. The move towards green investments comes as part of the general uptick in funding for sustainable projects and appetite for environmental, social, or governance (ESG) impact, said CEO of private investment group Full Circle Capital, Makram Azar. And with the incoming Biden administration, which is expected to roll out a USD 2 tn strategy to hit a net-zero domestic carbon emission target by 2050, clean tech will become increasingly popular, Azar said.

Who’s leading the pack: Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, which is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has a host of green investments under its belt and has even moved to create an investment blacklist of companies whose core business carries a “risk of contribution to severe environmental damage.” Masdar, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, made an investment in EDF Renewables North America to snap up half of its 1.6 GW clean energy portfolio. Also making significant green investments are China and Singapore’s sovereign funds, says Barron’s.

What about the Sovereign Fund of Egypt? The fund, which was set up back in 2019, has plans to set up a sub-fund to channel investments into renewables, among other industries, Planning Minister Hala El Said has previously said. The SFE is already eyeing the energy industry as a whole, with its plan to acquire a 30% stake in the Siemens / OC / Elsewedy combined-cycle power plants — one of the country’s biggest energy projects.

How can SWFs expand their green investments? SWFs have ample potential over the next decade to become “an important game changer in green investing,” the World Bank said in 2019 (ie pre-covid-19). The bank suggests that two possible paths to ramp up green investments is through private equity — which could prove challenging for some funds that lack “asset-related skills and knowledge” — or to tap debt markets.

Part of what’s holding back green investments is that the market for debt-based vehicles is still rather nascent, says the World Bank. Investors are also “becoming increasingly aware” of the environmental issues caused by fossil fuel projects, with appetite now growing for green bonds and other similar financing tools for low-carbon energy solutions, but as of 2019, green bonds only accounted for c.1% of all bonds issued worldwide.

Egypt became the first in the region to sell the climate-friendly securities when it took a USD 750 mn issuance to market last September. The issuance was almost 5x oversubscribed, attracting some USD 3.7 bn worth of orders for the bonds, pointing to growing appetites for green bonds worldwide. Some USD 500 mn of the proceeds from the issuance have been earmarked for five environmentally-friendly projects in the transport, water, and waste-management sectors, Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said after the sale. CIB, meanwhile, has a green bond about to go to market.

It’s not enough to read about something new to stay fresh in middle age and beyond — you need to learn to DO something new, too. One of the best things about being a journalist (or a research analyst or investment banker or CEO) is that you’re constantly learning something new: A new company. A new industry. A new regulation. A new problem to solve. This results in a building up of what’s called “declarative knowledge” (knowing that or what), and it helps keep us mentally fresh.

But it’s not enough — we need to learn HOW, too. How to play tennis in our late 40s. To learn to paint in our 50s. To pick up Lightroom in our 60s and learn the digital version of the chemicals-and-paper darkroom you hung out in back in high school. And don’t just learn in the abstract: Set out the be the best master’s player, the best sculptor — or to be fully fluent in a new language.

If you do nothing else tonight, go read Is it really too late to learn new skills? in the New Yorker. The answer (not much of a spoiler) is “No,” as this thoughtful meditation-as-book-review proves. In fact, doing it “might feel like a whole new beginning.”

February: France’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, is set to visit Egypt.

6-8 February (Saturday- Monday) Students will be able to upload their educational certificates on the Higher Education Ministry’s electronic university admissions site.

6-20 February (Saturday-Saturday): Mid-year school break (public schools — enjoy the break from bumper-to-bumper traffic).

7-28 February (Sunday-Sunday): The Finance Ministry will receive applications from companies wishing to take part in the second phase of its program for the immediate payout of export subsidy arrears to exporters, minus a 15% fee.

8 February (Monday): Egypt leads an emergency Arab League minister-level meeting on the Israel-Palestine peace process.

8 February (Monday): AUC will hold a webinar titled ‘The Rise of Citizen Capitalism’ featuring Michael O'Leary, the managing director of Engine No. 1, and Warren Valdmanis, a partner at Two Sigma.

9 February (Tuesday): International Conference on Global Business, Economics, Finance and Social Sciences, Ramses Hilton, Cairo, Egypt.

10-11 February (Wednesday-Thursday): Egypt will host an arm of the World Conference on Science Engineering and Technology, Hotel Pavillon Winter, Luxor, Egypt.

12 February (Friday): Deadline to reach a settlement with the Tax Authority on overdue income, value-added, or real estate taxes without all the late fees. Late taxpayers are still eligible for a 50% exemption on interest fees and late penalties until 12 February under a bill passed last year, Tax Authority boss Reda Abdel Kader said.

12-15 February (Friday-Monday): Students will be able to apply for placement at private universities on the Higher Education Ministry’s electronic university admissions site

17 February (Wednesday): MENA x CEO MENA Entrepreneurship & VC Panel: Investor Perspectives from New York to North Africa will be hosted by the Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization.

20 February (Saturday): Final results of applications for private university places will be announced on the Higher Education Ministry’s electronic university admissions site

22-24 February (Monday-Wednesday): Second Arab Land Conference on land management, efficient land use, among other topics.

22 February- 5 March (Monday-Friday) Egypt will host the World Shooting Championship in 6 October’s Shooting Club, with 31 countries set to participate

26 February (Thursday): The Afro Future Summit will take place virtually.

28 February (Sunday) Deadline for businesses, sole traders, and those generating income from sources other than their day job to file wage tax returns through the electronic filing system.

March: Potential visit to Cairo by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

1-5 March (Sunday-Friday): Aswan Forum for Peace and Development will take place virtually.

4-6 March (Thursday-Saturday): Cairo Fashion & Tex trade show, Cairo International Convention Centre, Cairo, Egypt

8 March (Monday): The IDC Future of Work Egypt conference will be held virtually featuring experts from Egypt and Jordan.

9-11 March (Tuesday-Thursday): EduGate 2021 – Enter The Future conference, Kempinski Royal Maxim Hotel, Cairo, Egypt.

18 March (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1-3 April (Thursday-Saturday): HVAC-R Egypt Expo.

8-10 April (Thursday-Saturday): The TriFactory’s Endurance Festival at Somabay.

13 April (Monday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

25 April (Sunday): Sinai Liberation Day.

29 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC),

29 April (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1 May (Saturday): Labor Day (national holiday).

2 May (Sunday): Easter Sunday.

3 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

13-15 May (Thursday-Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25-28 May (Tuesday-Friday): The World Economic Forum annual meeting, Singapore.

31 May-2 June (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo, Egypt,

1 June (Tuesday): The IMF will conduct a second review of targets set under the USD 5.2 bn standby loan approved in June 2020 (proposed date).

17 June (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

24 June (Thursday): End of the 2020-2021 academic year (public schools).

26-29 June (Saturday-Tuesday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center, Cairo, Egypt.

30 June (Wednesday): 30 June Revolution Day.

1 July: (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 30 June Revolution.

30 June- 15 July: National Book Fair.

1 July (Thursday): Large taxpayers that have not yet signed on on to the e-invoicing platform will suffer a host of penalties, including removal from large taxpayer classification, losing access to government services and business, and losing subsidies.

19 July (Monday): Arafat Day (national holiday).

20-23 July (Tuesday-Friday): Eid Al Adha (national holiday)

23 July (Friday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

5 August (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

9 August (Monday): Islamic New Year.

12 August (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year.

16 September (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

30 September-2 October (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Projects 2021 expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1 October (Friday): Expo 2020 Dubai opens.

6 October (Wednesday): Armed Forces Day.

7 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Armed Forces Day.

18 October (Monday): Prophet’s Birthday.

21 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Prophet’s Birthday.

28 October (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

13-17 December: United Nations Convention against Corruption, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

16 December (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

27 June – 3 July 2022 (Monday-Sunday): World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

Note to readers: Some national holidays may appear twice above. Since 2020, Egypt has observed most mid-week holidays on Thursdays regardless of the day on which they fall and may also move those days to Sundays. We distinguish below between the actual holiday and its observance.