PM — Personality tests for employees

Happy Monday, wonderful people. It’s a brisk news day so far as the EFG Hermes One on One in Dubai wraps its first day — and there’s a slew of privatization stories coming out of Om El Donia.

Just testing you: We mistakenly sent out this morning’s edition of EnterpriseAM from our “test” address. The issue was final and complete. Please accept our apologies for any confusion.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Two or three companies in the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) pre-IPO fund are expected to see stake sales before the end of April, SFE CEO Ayman Soliman said, according to CNBC. The SFE is also planning to make an announcement about investments in the seven state-owned hotels bundled into one firm as part of the state privatization program, Soliman said.

#2- New stake sale in TE? The government is reportedly planning to sell a 10% stake in state-owned Telecom Egypt, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. The government currently holds 80% in the company.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

We have a very mixed bag in the international business press this afternoon. Among the front-page stories:

• Harris Associates, one of Credit Suisse’s biggest shareholders, has offloaded its entire stake in the bank. (Reuters | Financial Times)
• Turkey’s opposition party is putting up a united front to face off against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in upcoming elections. (Bloomberg)

HAPPENING NOW- The EFG Hermes One on One conference in Dubai is winding down its first day, with one-on-one meetings between global investors and execs from top frontier and emerging market companies. EFG Hermes Research Managing Director and head of strategy Simon Kitchen also ran the conference’s customary live poll earlier today. You can catch the results of the poll — along with our full coverage of the first day of the conference — in tomorrow morning’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

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

• Private sector contracts at a slower pace in February: Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector contracted for the 27th consecutive month in February, albeit at a slower pace.
• Egypt needs to “overhaul” its business environment for the latest IMF program to succeed: That’s the conclusion of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which published a report last month following a visit to Cairo to talk with policymakers and representatives of financial institutions, including the IMF.
• Signs of more investment from ADP? The CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports was in town yesterday for talks with President El Sisi about developing ports and logistics zones.

We are delighted to share with you that the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will be taking place on Monday, 15 May at the Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza.

DO YOU WANT TO ATTEND? The first wave of invites is going out soon. If you’re a C-suite exec, exporter, investor, official, banker, or someone who should be part of the conversation, please TAP OR CLICK HERE to request a spot at this exclusive event.

What’s the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum? It is the latest in our series of must-attend, invitation-only gatherings for C-suite-level business leaders. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will discuss the critical topics of exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) in Egypt.

We will be taking an in-depth look into some of the most vital industry topics, including:

• How to effectively break into new export markets
• How to leverage domestic trends in order to create export opportunities
• What foreign investors are looking for
• What the government's role should be

Why now? Exports and foreign direct investment (FDI) have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses — than in the wake of the float of the EGP. We think we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for FDI, and all the benefits that will come with it for our nation.

Think of the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum as a hands-on lab for how to turn the devaluation of the EGP into something that will turbocharge your company and our economy.

WANT TO ATTEND? Hit this link to let us know.

WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY ON STAGE? Drop a note to Patrick here and let’s talk.

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

We have a date for CIFF: The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) will kick off at the Cairo Opera House on Wednesday 15 November and run through to Friday 24 November, the festival’s admins said in a statement last week.

Thanaweya Amma exam schedules are out: Thanaweya Amma exams are scheduled to take place between 12 June and 15 July, the Education Ministry said last month.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury in the capital is set to dip in the coming days following a brief balmy spell, with daytime highs falling to 21-23°C through to Wednesday, according to the latest forecast from the Egyptian Meteorological Authority. Temperatures will rise to 26°C by the end of the week.

Facial recognition: A Black Mirror episode come to life. What started off as a simpler method of unlocking smartphones has given rise to more concerns about tech advancements and security, the Wall Street Journal writes, citing data industry experts. The technology has been adopted for a variety of uses, including home security and as a replacement for boarding tickets, but what it brings from convenience, it offsets with privacy invasion. Just like the majority of the things we share online, our facial features can be very easily sold from one company to another, with still-shaky laws on the matter. However, technology is expected to continue to have a more prominent presence in our lives, as part of our travels, entertainment, education, and law enforcement.

As they try to manage remote teams, employers are increasingly turning to personality tests, which provide insights into how employees feel and think, the New York Times reports. Personality tests have burgeoned into a USD 2 bn industry, according to Harvard University psychology professor Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Employers use the exams to better understand their employees’ working styles and to help them develop professional relationships, in addition to being used to inform decisions about hiring and promotions. However, critics have long questioned the validity of these tests, arguing that they do not always incorporate the latest developments in research and social changes. Psychologists are now beginning to address these concerns and making adjustments to make them better suited to hybrid work.

The Big Five: Psychologists have identified what’s referred to as the “Big Five” personality traits — extroversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism — that are universal. Extroversion, the extent to which a person is energized by social engagement, and openness, which relates to a person’s creativity and desire for new experiences, are two personality traits that have a particularly large impact on how people behave at work.

Want to know your own employee personality? You can take this nine-question personality test that determines your working style and assesses if you’re better suited to work from home or from the office.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Don’t Worry Darling, you can now catch the 2022 psychological thriller on Hulu. The Olivia Wilde-directed movie is set in an idyllic 1960s little town in California, where the husbands spend their days working on a top-secret mission and the wives doing nothing of value, between shopping, cooking, gossiping, and tidying up. Things appear to be perfect until one of the wives disappears and the protagonist, played by Florence Pugh, starts asking questions, which she was under strict orders to avoid. The movie made headline after headline all throughout its production and shortly after its release, but not because of its storyline (which was subpar at best). Instead, it was the tension between the cast members — at-the-time couple Harry Styles and Wilde, Pugh, and Chris Pine — which was topped by the internet going into a frenzy trying to determine whether Styles spit on Pine.

⚽ In the last day of the English Premier League’s Gameweek 26: Brentford hosts Fulham at 10pm.

Join the Enterprise Fantasy League for a chance to earn a special prize. To join the action, click here or enter this code 8o4sut.

Meanwhile in the Egyptian Premier League: El Dakhleya v Ghazl El Mahalla kicked off at 3pm, with El Dakhleya currently leading 1-0, while Al Masry and Tala’ea El Gaish hit the field at 5pm.

KUDOS- Liverpool star Mohamed Salah became the club’s all-time top scorer in the English Premier League yesterday, after scoring two goals in yesterday’s thrashing of Manchester United, which ended 7-0. The goal was his 129th for the club in the league, beating out Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler’s all-time record of 128 goals.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-
(all times CLT)

She Arts Orchestra will take center stage at AUC Tahrir Cultural Center tomorrow at 8pm. The night will feature two renowned soloists — Manal Mohie Eldain from Egypt on harp and Ginevra Rizzi from Italy as soprano — all under the baton of Italian conductor Isabella Ambrosini.

Experience a musical fusion of spiritual and cultural traditions this Wednesday at 7pm with Abu Al Gheit Ensemble — a unique amalgamation of Sufi and Zar traditions rooted in the Delta of Egypt. The mystical sounds originate from Tariqa Ahmadiyya Gitaniyya, a sufi order founded by dervish Hassan Abu al-Gait at the dawn of 19th century. The live show will be held at Al Sehemy House‎.

One night, two brilliant performances at Cairo Jazz Club 610: Ahmad El Haggar and Wust El Balad will take the stage this Wednesday at 9pm for a fusion of classical Egyptian sounds infused with jazz & neo soul from the former, as well as upbeat indie pop hits from the latter.

Get ready to be inspired by some of Egypt's most talented female artists with Art d’Egypte’s Kaon exhibition at the Arts’ Hub in Zamalek. Taking place from this Thursday, 9 March through Thursday, 23 March, the exhibition is held in celebration of International Women's Day.

Catch Cirque du Soleil’s OVO next month: The event features 100 performers taking the stage with their acrobatic acts. OVO will host 16 shows between 8-18 March at Cairo international Stadium Hall, courtesy of real estate developer Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (pdf).

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

99% true and 1% exaggeration: That’s how John Berendt described his lineup of eccentric characters in his 1994 novel, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Retelling Berendt’s own time spent living in Savannah, Georgia, we meet entertainer The Lady Chablis, bankrupt jazz bar owner Joe Odom and chemist Luther Driggers with flies attached to his shirt collar with threads, among others. Savannah’s streets are lined with Spanish-moss draped oaks shadowing the historic houses and their inhabitants, a sleepy and secluded postcard town of the old world. The elitist and largely white society prefers to turn a blind eye to the odd and uncomfortable. But Savannah’s dirty underside comes to light when a member of the elite, Jim Williams, is put on trial for the murder of his lover. Voodoo and midnight graveyard rituals follow in this story of a self-absorbed town populated by a Greek chorus of remarkable characters.

EARNINGS WATCH-

State-owned telecoms firm Telecom Egypt’s net income grew 9% y-o-y to EGP 9.2 bn in 2022, according to the company’s earnings release (pdf). The firm reported EGP 44.3 bn in revenues during the year, rising 19% y-o-y. On a quarter basis, Telecom Egypt’s bottomline rose 30% y-o-y to EGP 3.0 bn on revenues of EGP 12 bn, up 12% y-o-y.

MARKET ROUNDUP-

The EGX30 fell 0.1% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.9 bn (6.5% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 15.1% YTD.

In the green: Elsewedy Electric (+2.4%), Juhayna (+1.5%) and Heliopolis Housing and Development (+1.2%).

In the red: Telecom Egypt (-3.7%), Egypt-Kuwait Holding (-2.5%) and Mopco (-2.2%).