PM — Happy International Women’s Day

Good afternoon, friends, and happy almost-THURSDAY — and International Women’s Day. We have a relatively brisk news day on our hands today here in Omm El Donia as the world celebrates International Women’s Day.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Pachin is waiting on more offers before it moves forward with a sale: The shareholders of Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) will not consider a revised acquisition offer from Dubai-based National Paints Holding (NPH) until two other bidders for the company submit their own revised offers, Al Mal reports citing unnamed sources it says have knowledge of the matter.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international business press isn’t leading with one big story this afternoon. Among the headlines making the rounds:

• Saudi’s Public Investment Fund is planning to start investor meetings this month for its planned USD 1 bn IPO of ADES International Holding. (Bloomberg)
• Elon Musk is facing backlash after criticizing the work ethic of a disabled Twitter employee who was disabled. (CNBC)
• US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is returning to the Senate for a second day of testimony this afternoon. (Wall Street Journal)

HAPPENING NOW- US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in town to meet with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, after landing a few hours ago. Austin is broadly expected to bring up Washington’s human rights concerns, the Financial Times reports, citing a senior US defense official. The Biden administration decided to withhold USD 205 mn in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns in September 2022. Annual aid from the US to Egypt amounts to about USD 1.3 bn.

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

• AFC plans to invest USD 1 bn in Egypt’s energy + industrial sectors: The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has identified an “immediate project pipeline” of investments worth more than USD 1 bn in Egyptian infrastructure projects.
• The gov’t is studying a stake sale in TE: The Finance Ministry yesterday confirmed that the government is working on a feasibility study regarding the sale of an undisclosed stake in Telecom Egypt
• Elevate Healthcare to acquire 100% of Nile Scan: Investment banking outfit Elevate Capital’s Elevate Healthcare fund is reportedly looking to fully acquire clinical radiology and lab service provider Nile Scan & Labs for EGP 500 mn.

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- We’re likely ending the week on a warmer note, as our favorite weather app tells us to expect a daytime high of 27°C before the mercury falls to 16°C in the evening.

Wary investors question whether developments in AI will bring sizable returns. “Generative AI” tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT are generating a lot of excitement but several Silicon Valley VCs, fresh off a tech slowdown and slumping crypto valuations, are advising against investing in hyped-up startups, The Financial Times reports.

Funds have already begun flowing into the novel tech: Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that it made a “multiyear, multi-bn USD investment” in OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT. Just last week, Character.ai received a USD 200 mn investment, led by Andreessen Horowitz, which pushed its valuation up to USD 1 bn. However, some skeptical VCs are skipping out on the investments, discouraged by sky high valuations and the enormous amount of resources and funds AI companies need to build foundation models — machine learning systems which require massive quantities of data and processing power to run.

So, when are they worth the investment? “Companies are extremely overvalued and the only justifiable investment thesis is to get in incredibly early,” one investor said. Another niche cohort can stand to make gains: companies/investors that have “nation-state level wealth” and are equipped to take on the undertaking of building foundation models.

TikTok is introducing Series, a new feature that allows creators to charge for a set of premium videos up to 20 minutes long each, the company announced in a blog post. Series enables qualifying creators to post Collections of premium videos that they can charge viewers to access. Creators can set a price for their collection that “best reflects the value of their exclusive content.”

The premium content “can be purchased for access via direct in-video links or through a creator’s profile.” One Series can include up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long (double the 10-minute maximum length for regular TikTok videos). For a limited time, creators will receive the entirety of their Series earnings, after platform and processing fees, Variety reports, citing a TikTok representative. The new feature gives creators, who have long complained of low payouts from the platform’s Creator Fund, another way to monetize their content.

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

Thriller with a side of cannibalism: Fresh follows Steve (Marvel’s Sebastian Stan) and Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a new couple who appear too good to be true (spoiler alert: they were). What first appears to be a cute romcom quickly transforms to a bone-chilling thriller that captures its audience for its almost two-hour duration. The movie keeps you on your toes until the very last scene, unveiling twist after twist with both Stan and Edgar-Jones delivering excellent performances. A fair warning: This is not for the faint of heart or the more squeamish among us, with its bloody nature, graphic scenes, and gorey subject matter. Fresh is available for streaming on Hulu.

⚽ In the UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich plays host to Paris Saint-Germain for the round of 16 home game at 10pm. The Bavarian team came out on top in its away game at Paris’ Le Parc des Princes with a clean sheet, meaning a tie at any score would suffice for it to qualify to the round of 8.

AC Milan is being hosted by Tottenham, which lost its away game in Italy 0-1 thanks to an early goal from Brahim Diaz. Tonight’s match kicks off at 10pm as well.

And in the Egyptian Premier League: Al Ismaily meets Pharco at 6pm.

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

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

Not an adaptation of the Adel Imam movie, just the exact same name: The El Tagroba El Denmarkeya play is on at the Falaki Theater tonight at 7pm and runs through this Friday, 10 March. You can get tickets for tonight, tomorrow, or Friday.

The Goethe Institute in Cairo is hosting a screening of Ayten Amin-directed film Souad, followed by a discussion on the film with Amin. The screening begins at 7pm.

Experience a musical fusion of spiritual and cultural traditions tonight 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 tonight 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 tomorrow through Thursday, 23 March, the exhibition is held in celebration of International Women's Day.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Missing the summertime? How about a Beach Read: The cozy romance novel by author Emily Henry is a fun, easy read that explores the relationship dynamics between two fiction writers, January Andrews and Augustus Everett. The two start off on the wrong foot but that quickly changes as they keep running into each other in the small town they both took residence in. The novel dives into themes of love, loss, family, and career, all wrapped up in an easy read that will take you back to your favorite summer memories.

The EGX30 fell 0.7% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.6 bn (21.9% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 11.8% YTD.

In the green: Telecom Egypt (+4.8%), CIB (+1.9%) and Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (+0.9%).

In the red: Eastern Company (-10.9%), CIRA Education (-5.4%) and Ibnsina Pharma (-4.8%).