PM — Where we stand on Industry 4.0

Happy Sunday, ladies and gentlemen. As we expected this morning, the news slowdown exists only in our dreams now, as rising inflation on the back of soaring global commodity prices and fresh FDI set us up for a busy week ahead.

SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? You’ll be breaking your fast at 6:19pm CLT this evening in the capital city, and fajr prayers are at 4:04am.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Annual urban inflation rose in March to 10.5% — its highest in nearly three years — from 8.8% in February, as the Russia-Ukraine war’s impact on global commodity markets led to rising food and energy price inflation, according to figures released by statistics agency Capmas today. Monthly inflation was up 2.2%. The rise brings the headline rate above the Central Bank of Egypt’s 7% (±2%) target range.

#2- More FDI afoot: French cement producer Vicat Egypt has submitted a mandatory tender offer to acquire the remaining 42.12% stake in its subsidiary Sinai Cement Company, to bring its total stake in the company to 100%. Vicat is looking to buy 56.06 mn shares of Sinai Cement at EGP 6.74 apiece in a transaction that values the company at around EGP 897.1 mn, the EGX said in a bulletin.

BUDGET WATCH-

The government’s draft social and economic development plan for FY2022-23 is now with the Senate’s financial affairs committee to discuss and prepare a report, Youm7 reports. The Senate will then debate the draft plan — which reportedly includes ramping up public spending to develop education, health, sanitation, transportation — in a plenary session, before it moves on to the House of Representatives.

^^We’ll have more on these and other stories in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

• The Madbouly government now expects the budget deficit to contract to 6.2% this fiscal year, down from a previous 6.9% target, as the economy absorbs the initial shock of the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
• Reserves decline as CBE deployed excess liquidity to “calm the markets”: Egypt’s foreign reserves declined last month for the first time since the early days of the covid pandemic as the conflict in Ukraine rattled the global economy, and the central bank “mobilized excess foreign currency reserves to calm the markets during periods of exceptional stress.”
• ADQ could buy up National Investment Bank’s entire stake in Abu Qir: Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ is on course to acquire the National Investment Bank’s entire 21.5% stake in Abu Qir Fertilizers as part of its USD 2 bn investment in Egypt.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Are more Russian attacks expected against eastern and southern Ukraine? The EU’s military committee held an extraordinary meeting to discuss expected aggression by Moscow on Ukrainian cities and Ukraine’s request for more weapons, Bloomberg reports, citing an EU official speaking off the record. The meeting came days after Russia fired a missile against a train station in eastern city of Kramatorsk, killing at least 50 people.

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: Industrial automation has made strides in the past few years, fueled by the pandemic’s disruption of work-as-usual and an acceleration in the adoption of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics. But how is Egypt faring in the transition? Today, we look at where Egypt’s manufacturing industries stand when it comes to automation in comparison to its regional and global peers.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Companies have just under two weeks to file their first quarterly ESG compliance report: Listed firms and non-bank financial services companies need to submit their first quarterly ESG report by 20 April, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) announced last week. The regulator is making it mandatory for corporates to publicly disclose their performance on key environmental, social and governance metrics each year when they submit their annual financial statements, starting 2023. Reach out to Moustafa Taalab at InkankIR, our parent company, if you need some help.

State-backed Rowad 2030 is now accepting applicants between the ages of 22-40 for its masters program in entrepreneurship and Innovation in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Cairo University. Learn more about the program requirements and application process here.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Don’t let last week’s heat wave fool you: It’s really cold at night. We realized after freezing during sohour this weekend that the sunny days can be deceptive. Tomorrow’s temperature will reach a daytime high of 31°C and a nighttime low of 13°C, our favorite weather app tells us.

Musk thinks people can live forever, in robot form: Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes that humans will eventually be able to download their brains into robots to preserve their memories and characteristics in another form, he tells Business Insider’s parent company. The technology is a gradual evolution of computer memory as we’ve already “amplified our human brains massively with computers,” he said. Musk isn’t alone: Princeton Neurology Professor Michael S.A. Graziano wrote a WSJ piece in 2019 exploring the same subject. Creating the artificial brain would be relatively straightforward, Graziano said, but the remaining problem is how to build a scanner that doesn’t kill the subject (the people from Upload certainly haven’t figured it out). Musk has already forayed into this space with his brain-chip startup Neuralink, which is currently working to develop “brain-machine interfaces” that can store human memories.

Happy Easter, from Darwin: Two of naturalist Charles Darwins’ notebooks have been mysteriously returned to the Cambridge University Library after going missing for over two decades, the university announced. The 200-year-old manuscripts were found undamaged and wrapped in a pink gift bag in a public space in the library with a note reading “Happy Easter” addressed to the librarian, with no clue whatsoever on who returned them. The notebooks have Darwin’s notes as he mapped his theory of evolution, with one including his iconic “Tree of Life” sketch from 1837 which portrays his theory of natural selections.

Do you know how many calories you’re about to order? UK restaurants now have to disclose calorie counts on menus: A new law has made it compulsory for large restaurants in the UK to show nutrition data for every dish and soft drink on the menu, along with a statement disclosing that “adults need around 2k kcal a day.” The move is part of the UK government’s strategy to tackle obesity, and aims to help people make healthier choices when they’re eating out or ordering takeaway. The law came into effect last week for food businesses with 250 or more employees, and it has since had mixed reactions: Supporters believe it can help them make more informed decisions, while detractors argue labeled menus may raise anxiety among people suffering from eating disorders.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

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We’re over a week into Ramadan, meaning we have a pretty good grasp of which mosalsalat to keep watching. At the top of that list — and keeping our eyes glued to the screen, tissues in hand — is Faten Amal Harby, a new social-issue drama series starring favorite Nelly Karim as Faten, a civil servant at a real estate registry. The series (which, in some ways, is similar to Faten Hamama’s Oreed Hallan / I Want a Solution) covers issues of partner violence, divorce, and the injustice and hardships Egyptian women face when opting for separation, including guardianship rights. On top of her battle to end her marriage and maintain custody of her young daughters, Faten files a lawsuit against the Personal Status Act in a bid to change a law that — as it stands — may deprive her of her rights and children. The social-issue series renews the real-life debate on controversial amendments to the act, which were shelved by the House of Representatives last year after backlash. Faten Amal Harby is available on Shahid and WatchiT.

⚽ It’s a packed day for football with most games across the main European leagues beginning in the afternoon today. In the English Premier League, six teams are already on the pitch as we dispatch: Brentford v West Ham United, Leicester City v Crystal Palace, and Norwich City v Burnley.

But the most important game of all today is the clash between the Premier League’s top two: Manchester City v Liverpool at 5:30pm. With only seven games left in the season after this weekend, the Reds and Citizens’ clash could be a decider for the league’s title, as Pep Guardiola’s team is currently leading by a narrow one-point difference.

Moving to La Liga, Osasuna v Deportivo Alavés is currently ongoing as we dispatch, while other games in the pipeline include Espanyol v Celta de Vigo at 4:15pm, Elche v Real Sociedad at 6:30pm, and Levante v Barcelona at 9pm.

Shifting to Serie A, Lazio beat Genoa 4-1 earlier today, with three games kicking off as we dispatch: Napoli v Fiorentina, Sassuolo v Atalanta, and Venezia v Udinese. More exciting games include Roma v Salernitana at 6pm and Torino v AC Milan at 8:45pm.

????EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Simplicity is the antithesis of Ramadan desserts, but that’s exactly what the doctor ordered with Dara’s Ice Cream’s latest creation: The Eshta Disc, a disc of fresh clotted cream, to spread on your favorite Ramadan dessert staples this month, be it basbousa or konafa. Also on Dara’s menu this month: Their signature honeycomb mango ice cream cake, pistachio and mastic ice cream cake, and rice pudding with your favorite ice cream flavor or caramelized nuts.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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Room New Cairo will be hosting Irtigalia at 9pm, a 2018-founded improvisational comedy group by Ramsi Lehner, which sees sketches suggested live by audience to allow them to have a firsthand experience in comedic live performance.

On the exhibitions front, “Madaad…Madaad” art exhibition begins today at 8pm at Gallery Khan Almaghraby. The exhibition will showcase work by artist Ahmed Selim, Azza Abouelsoud, Evelyn Ashamallah, Ibrahim Al beridy, and Omar Abdelzaher.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

How strenuous is the battle of overcoming a troubled childhood towards self-innovation? Educated by Tara Westover is a powerful memoir and New York Times bestseller that chronicles a young woman’s escape from her Mormon fundematlist family in Idaho. Lacking any kind of education or any basic aspects of life due to the isolation of her family, her life has been only limited to preparing for the end of the world by stockpiling food and suffering injustice among her older brothers. But Tara knows there’s more to the world, beginning to educate herself enough to enroll at Brigham Young University as a history student.

The EGX30 fell 1.8% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 597 mn (38.3% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were net sellers. The index is down 8.8% YTD.

In the green: Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (+0.2%), Credit Agricole Egypt (+0.1%) and e-Finance (+0.1%).

In the red: Fawry (-7.1%), Ibnsina Pharma (-5.8%) and Madinet Nasr Housing (-5.8%).