Good afternoon, folks. As we anticipated this morning, it’s shaping up to be a rather busy week for business news — and it’s only Sunday. A busy news day is just what the doctor ordered to help us get over our collective heartbreak over Liverpool (read: Mo Salah) didn’t walk away with the Champions League title last night.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The state plans to sell a 25% stake in EGX-listed Egypt Aluminum (Egyptalum) to an Arab sovereign fund, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik said at an Al Mal conference, according to a press release (pdf) from the conference organizer. The transaction will take place through a capital increase, Tawfik added, without providing a timeframe for the sale.

ADQ to invest USD 10 bn in UAE-Egypt-Jordan industrial partnership: Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ will set up a USD 10 bn investment fund for projects linked to the new industrial partnership between the UAE, Egypt, and Jordan, state news agency WAM reports, citing a speech by UAE Industry and Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al Jaber during the partnership’s launch event. It’s still unclear how much Egypt and Jordan will be investing into the partnership. The announcement comes as Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly is in Abu Dhabi to launch an “industrial partnership” with Jordan and the UAE, with the aim of attracting fresh FDI into the country, bolstering “industrial integration, and [serving] development objectives.”

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s looking like that EU ban on Russian oil could be materializing soon: The EU is looking to ban imports of Russian oil via sea, while continuing imports from the Druzhba pipeline — Hungary’s main source of crude imports — in efforts to cater to the country’s objections, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says have knowledge of the matter.. Hungary has so far refused to budge on its opposition to a Russian oil embargo, leading the EU to draft a revised plan which would see nations phase out their imports of seaborne crude in six months and refined petroleum products in eight months, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

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

• Siemens Mobility, Orascom Construction and Arab Contractors have signed a contract with the government for the second phase of the planned 2k-km high-speed rail line.
• Moody’s has cut its outlook on Egypt’s credit rating to negative as tightening financing conditions puts pressure on the country’s ability to make external debt repayments.
• The EU is working on an agreement to import more Israeli gas through Egypt as the bloc tries to secure new supplies and cut imports from Russia

*** 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: The government has been targeting substantial increases of our non-oil exports, with last year’s launch of a new structural reform program indicating a heightened focus on exports, as we noted previously. And recent data suggests that their efforts may have started to bear fruit, with our non-oil exports seeing a 20% y-o-y increase in 1Q2022, rising to USD 9.18 bn up from USD 7.67 bn in 1Q2021. Today, we look at which sectors and markets have seen the biggest increases, and give a run-down of the government’s plans for boosting exports in areas including textiles, metals and construction materials between 2022 and 2025.

FOR TOMORROW-

Public consultations on non-bank financial services: Public consultations on the second phase of the Financial Regulatory Authority’s (FRA) strategy to develop the non-banking financial services sector will begin tomorrow, the regulator said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. The FRA has identified six key priorities for the four-year strategy including boosting use of fintech, accelerating digital transformation, achieving financial inclusion, and improving risk management.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Tuesday is the last day for EGX-listed companies to file their earnings for 1Q2022, after the Financial Regulatory Authority granted listed companies a two-week deadline extension.

Tuesday is also the application deadline for ITIDA’s annual Export IT program. The program is designed to encourage local IT companies to boost exports while reducing related costs.

Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer is set to chair the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Annual Meetings, which will be held in person in Washington, DC. The meetings have been held virtually since the start of the pandemic. Amer will give the opening speeches at both meetings alongside the head of each of the two lenders and will chair the board meetings of the World Bank, the IMF, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the central bank said in a statement. The meetings will be held on 10-16 October.

Spring conference season is in full swing this week. Among the events taking place over the next few days:

• Egypt Can with Industry begins tomorrow and wraps on Tuesday, 31 May.
• The Islamic Development Bank’s 2022 annual meetings are scheduled for this Wednesday-Saturday, 1-4 June in Sharm El Sheikh. Enterprise will be attending the annual meetings and bringing you updates from there.
• The Islamic Corporation for the Ins. of Investment and Export Credit will hold two high-level parallel meetings on climate action and digital transformation during IsDB’s annual meetings.

It’s official: We’re hosting next year’s African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meeting. The meeting will be held in Sharm El Sheikh from 22-26 May, 2023, the bank said yesterday.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Wear a hat and stay hydrated tomorrow, because the mercury is going to hit a high of 41°C in the capital city. The evening should be a bit cooler with a low of 24°C.