Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s a slow-ish start to this first work week of September, but we anticipate the news cycle to pick up soon.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The Finance Ministry has laid out the executive criteria for industry players looking to benefit from the amended customs tariffs approved by the House of Representatives in June, according to a cabinet statement. The criteria varies depending on the industry in question, but the general tune requires factory and establishment owners to provide additional transparency — in the form of letters and receipts — clarifying the purpose of their imports, attached with their customs declaration forms.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Germany unveils EUR 65 bn relief package to cope with rising inflation and energy prices, in the midst of Europe's harshest energy crisis in decades, the Associated Press reports. The announcement comes a day after Russia indefinitely froze gas deliveries to Europe’s largest economy via its Nord stream natural gas pipeline. “Russia is no longer a reliable supplier of energy,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said as he announced the details of the package. The measures include a one-time payment to pensioners and students to help cover rising energy expenses and plans for a price cap on a basic amount of energy usage for families and individuals. This brings the country’s total amount of relief since the start of the Ukraine War to around EUR 100 bn, France24 reported.

The story is getting a lot of ink in the international business press, including: Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal | Reuters

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Tell us how you’re feeling about your business and the wider economy and we’ll be back with the results just in time to give you a sense of what everyone else is thinking heading into budget season.

How has 2022 been for your business? And how do you feel about what’s left of the year? Are you investing? Do you plan to hire new staff (or make cuts to your existing staff) now or in 2023? What’s the USD / EGP rate you expect to use for your 2023 budget? Where do you see your industry as a whole heading?

Make your voice heard in our Fall Reader Survey. It won’t take more than a few minutes to complete.

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

• CBE, Trade Ministry mull fresh relief for importers: The Central Bank of Egypt and Trade and Industry Ministry could allow importers who are not able to retrieve a Form 4 customs document to pay six-month open letters of guarantee in exchange for the immediate release of their shipments.
• Egypt and Greece are working on a plan to add 9.5 GW of renewable power generation capacity in Egypt for export to Greece.
• The privatization program is still a “priority”: That was the key messaging coming from the government following a meeting between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and the heads of the EGX and Financial Regulatory Authority on Thursday.

*** 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: We sit down with Arab Alloys CEO Medhat Nafei to discuss his company’s recently-announced plans to set up a EGP 1 bn ferroalloys industrial complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and how this complex fits into the government’s general push towards industry localization.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce will commemorate 70 years of German-Egyptian business and economic ties with a gala celebration on 15 September.

Our monthly list of data points to keep your eye on over the next few days and weeks:

• Foreign reserves figures for August should be out during the first week of the month.
• Inflation figures: Inflation data for August from Capmas will land on Saturday, 10 September. Expect the Central Bank of Egypt to follow up on Sunday, 11 September with its inflation report.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, 22 September to review interest rates.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is set to hit a high of 38°C tomorrow, with a nighttime low of 25°C, our favorite weather app tells us.