Good morning, everyone, and welcome to a packed issue to start our holiday-shortened workweek.

It’s official: The national holiday in observance of the 30 June Revolution will take place on Thursday, 1 July, cabinet confirmed in a statement yesterday.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

French transport firm RATP Dev will take the reins of Cairo Metro Line 3 today under a 15-year contract agreed last year, Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir told Al Masry Al Youm. RATP Dev — a subsidiary of RATP, or Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens — was due to take over management of the line at the end of February before the hand-over process was delayed while the sides finalized details in the contract.

It’s the second day of the Big 5 Construct Egypt at the Cairo International Convention Center.

There are two all-Egyptian finals at the 2020-2021 CIB PSA World Tour Finals. Nouran Gohar — who knocked out reigning champion Nour El Sherbini in the quarters — booked her place in the final by defeating Australia’s Joelle King yesterday. She will play world no.2 Hania El Hammamy, who defeat France’s Camille Serme. In the men’s draw, surprise finalist Mostafa Asal will meet fifth seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in the final. Asal knocked out world no.1 Ali Farag in the quarters and second seed Tarek Momen in the semi, while El Shorbagy beat New Zealand’s Paul Coll yesterday to secure his place in the final.

IN THE HOUSE THIS WEEK-

MPs have at least two weeks to go before they’re allowed out for summer vacation — and a packed legislative agenda to keep them busy until then.

On the agenda for today: A bumper World Bank loan for the national health system: MPs will also today discuss taking a USD 400 mn loan from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support the rollout of the government’s national health ins. system.

Also: SCC to get veto power over international rulings? The House will discuss in plenary session draft amendments that would give the Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) the authority to rule on the local implementation of international court and arbitration rulings. The changes could, among other things, give the prime minister the authority to ask the SCC to rule on international verdicts that the government believes are unconstitutional. The House Legislative Committee approved the proposed changes earlier this month.

Tomorrow: The long-awaited Sovereign Sukuk Act is up for a final vote tomorrow, paving the way for the issuance of our maiden sharia-compliant bonds on local and international debt markets.

Crackdown on civil servants linked to terrorism: The bill that would allow civil servants to be automatically dismissed for having ties to the banned Muslim Brotherhood is up for a final vote tomorrow. The legislation was given preliminary approval by MPs earlier this month.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- The collapse of a 12-storey residential tower block in Florida on Thursday is everywhere in the US media this morning. Five people have been pronounced dead and more than 150 others remain missing. Reuters I Associated Press | Wall Street Journal I New York Times I Washington Post | Bloomberg.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

OPEC+ meets this week — and it isn’t likely to do much to halt rising prices: Oil exporters are likely to disappoint the market when it meets on Thursday as prices continue to surge due to low supply. Bloomberg reports that the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers will probably increase supply only slightly, with Saudi Arabia reportedly wanting to proceed “cautiously.” The International Energy Agency and oil importers are urging the cartel to increase production to fill the supply shortfall.

Oil prices are now at a two-year high, surging above USD 75 / bbl last week and causing a number of market players to forecast a return to USD 100 oil. “This market’s on fire,” said one analyst. “The Saudis don’t seem inclined to signal a substantial increase in supplies. But even if OPEC+ adds barrels, prices are going to stay strong.”

***CATCH UP QUICK with the top stories from Thursday’s edition of EnterprisePM:

• Our exclusive sit-down with International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat: The minister outlined how Egypt’s economic diplomacy has fostered multilateralism and international cooperation ahead of the launch of her book “Stakeholder Engagement Through Economic Diplomacy.”
• Middle-income homebuyers are now eligible for shorter mortgage terms: The minimum term for home mortgages under CBE-supported home lending programs has been reduced to five years from a previous seven years in a move that is meant to help homeowners fully own properties within a shorter period of time.
• Small cap index companies must hire advisors within two months: Nilex-listed companies have up to two months to hire nominated advisors to help them upscale their operations and promote their stock to investors, with advisors obligated to stay on board with a company for at least eight months.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Cairo International Book Fair will open its doors at the Egypt International Exhibition Center on Wednesday, 30 June. The two-week event will run through to 15 July.

The Clean Energy Business Council (CEBC) MENA are holding a webinar titled Energy Efficiency in the MENA region: Status and Outlook on 6 July at 3:30pm. The session will focus on energy efficiency developments and provide recommendations for businesses and policymakers. Later on next month, CEBC will also host the webinar Women Entrepreneurs in Clean Energy on 21 July at 3pm in cooperation with the initiative, Women in Clean Energy MENA and WiRE.

The British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) is organizing a virtual education week from 5-6 July with three seminars planned. The first, taking place at 10am on 5 July, will discuss skills-based learning while the future of investment in education will be the topic on the table at 12:30pm the same day. On 6 July, a talk on the digitalization of education in Egypt will be held at 12pm.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.