Happy Monday, wonderful people. The slow late-August stretch we thought we were up against has made an about-face, giving us a big news day here at home.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Maait sets more ambitious target for budget deficit: Egypt’s budget deficit is expected to narrow to 5.6% in FY 2022-2023, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told reporters today, according to Bloomberg Asharq. This figure is a more ambitious target than the 6.1% deficit that was originally penciled into the state budget for the current fiscal year. The government has also revised upwards its primary surplus target by 0.1 percentage points to 1.6%.

#2- A handful of Chinese companies are currently in talks to build a USD 2.3 bn industrial complex to manufacture components for solar power plants, Bloomberg Asharq reported, citing four unnamed governmental sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The talks come as the government is pushing to localize industry, the sources say.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s another hodge-podge day in the international business press: Denmark, Finland and Sweden have all warned Norway that its proposed electricity export cuts undermine the European market, the Financial Times writes. The “very dangerous step and nationalistic” step, according to head of Finland’s network operator, comes as Europe’s energy crises continues to get worse with gas prices reaching a record EUR 343 per MWh over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal and CNBC are closely watching US markets as concerns mount that the US Federal Reserve will further tighten monetary policy.

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

• We just launched Enterprise Climate: Our first issue of Enterprise Climate — the essential Middle East and North Africa publication for senior execs who work in or care about what we think is fast becoming the world’s largest and most significant industry — went live this morning.
• Bloomberg beats the drum (hard) on the need for devaluation: Portfolio investors are “jittery” about Egypt’s external position coming under pressure.
• Egypt-headquartered SaaS startup Zeew secured USD 630k in a seed round led by Plug and Play Ventures, Poland Prize and a number of angel investors.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWEIF) is taking place in Cairo for the first time on 26-27 September, according to a press release (pdf). The hybrid event will bring together more than 60 African and global policy and business experts to discuss how gender integration can boost SME growth.

Egypt’s National Organization for Social Ins. (NOSI) will participate in the Arab Pensions and Social Insurance Conference on 28-29 September in Sharm El Sheikh, a statement by NOSI read. The conference will bring together social ins. organizations and public and private pension providers to discuss widening coverage through region-wide pension reform.

PSA #1- Your deadline to catch a 65% break off late payment fines for your taxes is coming up this Wednesday, 31 August. The waiver applies to late payment fees for customs tariffs, income, real estate, and sales taxes, VAT, and stamp duties among others. The remaining 35% of your due payments will need to be paid before next March.

PSA #2- Exporters have until 15 September to apply to join the fifth phase of FinMin’s export subsidy program, according to a statement. Cabinet has given its approval to pay a total EGP 10 bn out to exporters, with payments to be made on 1 October and 1 December. The program allows exporters to receive overdue subsidies in a single payment rather than in installments over four to five years, in return for a haircut.

Ration card holders now have until 30 September to register their mobile numbers to their cards, in a move meant to make it easier for the Supply Ministry to contact them, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a daytime high of 40°C tomorrow and a nighttime low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.