EnterprisePM — Capmas has the data you need to know about the covid waves in Egypt.

Good afternoon, everyone and congratulations for making it to the weekend. While we do have another covid-heavy issue, we got plenty of other choice reads for you to zonk out to.

It’s the unofficial research study issue today, as we take a deep dive into two key studies that you should keep your eye on:

• Capmas issued what could be the most extensive data released on covid infections and deaths since the crisis began. We cover it chapter and verse in the Speed Round below.
• The International Labor Organization’s study into the impact of the pandemic on global employment, which we cover in today’s Macro Picture.

But before we begin, we’d like to offer our condolences to the family of Egyptian businessman and civil engineer Hussein Sabbour, who passed away today at age 85, reports Youm7. Since establishing Sabbour Consulting in 1957, Sabbour became a mainstay in the Egyptian construction sector, working on many seminal projects, including the construction of the Semiramis Hotel and the Ring Road, writes Al Masry Al Youm in its profile on the builder. Most recently, his firm has been one of the builders tapped to install utilities in the New Administrative Capital. Sabbour was also the chairman of the Egyptian Businessmen Association and was on the board in a number of well established real estate institutions.

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THE BIG GLOBAL BUSINESS STORY- Gamestop is baaack: US Markets are back to volatility, with GameStop resurging in the past two trading days. The company’s shares shot up 103.94% on Wednesday in a final-hour rally that brought the share up to monthly highs, reports Bloomberg. Trading in the video game retailer’s shares had to be halted twice yesterday, as stock exchanges’ automatic stabilisers kicked in. The surge comes about a month after a wild GameStop trading frenzy fueled by individual retail investors, many from the Reddit page WallStreetBets, causing the stock to jump around 1,600% in a matter of days. GameStop’s shares rose over 60% today in pre-market trading as of dispatch time.

Other meme stocks are also on the up, including AMC Entertainment, which rose 16% premarket after gaining 59% during the first three days of the week, while Koss Corp. surged 62% and Nokia Oyj climbed 7.2% in Europe.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum is coming into effect on 1 March, with the foreign ministers of Greece, and Cyprus expected to attend. The meeting is expected to see the organization’s charter, signed in September, activated next month and officially establish it as a regional organization.

First proposed in 2019, the Cairo-based forum will serve as a market platform for regional natgas players to develop existing resources and infrastructure, as well as regulate the region’s natgas policies. The founding member states — Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine — will exchange information and seismic data on potential gas finds, and negotiate ownership of fields that straddle maritime borders.

The timing is especially poignant, as the Damietta LNG plant came to life this month after an eight-year slumber. The final settlement of the ownership of the facility — our main gateway to LNG export markets and our ticket to global energy hub status — is expected to take place in the middle of the month, with trial runs taking place in the meantime.

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Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly is talking about Egypt’s economy in a webinar held by AmCham and the Egypt-US Business Council today at 4pm. The event, headlined "Egypt: 2021 and Beyond," will have Madbouly tackling Egypt’s strategy to curb the effects of the global downturn as well as revealing the country’s future plans to maintain economic growth.

A virtual session titled “How to Stay Safe in Cyberspace” is set to take place on Monday, 1 March as part of the AUC SpeakUp Dialog series. Speakers include: Facebook’s MEA Safety Policy Manager Sylvia Musalagani; TikTok’s North Africa Content Operation Director Hani Mohamed Kamel; the National Council for Women’s Cooperation Specialist Dina El Serafy; and AUC’s Computer Science and Engineering Association President Ahmed Khater. The event will be held in Arabic with simultaneous translation into English.

The deadline to register for the standardized Egyptian Scholastic Test (EST) is today at 9pm CLT. The EST will replace the SAT for American Diploma students to gain admission into Egyptian universities, according to an Education Ministry statement. You can register using the ministry’s website.

The World Shooting Championships is running until next Thursday, 4 March at the Shooting Club in 6th of October, the Youth Ministry announced in a statement.

The Aswan Forum for Peace and Development also begins on Monday, 1 March and will run until Friday, 5 March under the title “Shaping Africa’s new normal: Recovering stronger, rebuilding better.”

I-EVENTS is launching Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards (EEA) which aims to acknowledge and honor the state’s brightest entrepreneurs across various industries, according to a press release (pdf). The website is now up to introduce the awards and allow nominees to submit their applications while the awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in May 2021.

Legendary Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi is set to perform at Egypt’s El Qubba Palace on 2 April, she announced on Facebook. The event will mark the first time the historic venue will host a public concert since it was built in the mid-19th century.

???? FOR YOUR COMMUTE-

ESG revolution brought to you by crazy rich Asians: Impact funds and companies are turning to Asia to help fuel the ESG investing revolution. Among them is Warren Buffet’s grandson, who co-founded I(x) Investments, an impact investing asset manager that is marketing itself to rich East and Southeast Asian high net worth families, Bloomberg reports. So far, more than 65 families from 14 countries have so far invested in the company, supporting clean water, green homes and clean energy, under the promise of measurable impact.

Brazil’s rich, however, still haven’t gotten the ESG bug: The Moreira Salles family — worth over USD 20 bn — controls 80% of the world’s supply of a critical rare-earth metal. Bloomberg has a feature on how the family leveraged this to create one of the strongest family investment offices around.

Those bn’aires who made their wealth during covid, are at risk of their fortunes fading amidst the global covid-19 vaccine rollout, reports Bloomberg. These include covid-19 test kits makers, injection technology companies, and glove makers. Test kits maker Take Seegene and biotech company Alteogen saw their stocks rise at least 500% last year at their peak, with Seegene up as much as 919% by August. However, skepticism that the companies will be able to maintain such growth has seen Seegene’s 31% owner Chun Jong-yoon go from a wealth of USD 1.6 bn to USD 840 mn in the past few months, while Alteogen’s 25% owner Park Soon-jae is valued at USD 830 million compared with USD 1.4 bn at the peak.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

Sherlock Holmes’ sister makes for the perfect family movie night: Enola Holmes features a teenage girl by the same name who uses her sleuthing skills to find her missing mother and outsmart her big brother, you guessed it, Sherlock Holmes. You can check out reviews from The New York Times and The Verge. Fun fact: The makers of Enola Holmes were sued by Arthur Conan Doyle’s estate for showing a humane side to the detective, reports The Guardian.

FUTURE STREAMING (AND ANSWERED PRAYERS)- Beloved classic comedy Frasier is getting a revival by Paramount’s new streaming site Paramount+. The revival has been promised to have everything you loved about the original series including coziness, great writing, and a cast led by Kelsey Grammar.

⚽ Football here and abroad: El Entag El Harby and Enppi are already on the field in The Egyptian Premier League, with the score currently at 0-0. Meanwhile, Al Ittihad will play against Wadi Degla at 5pm CLT and El Gouna will play against Pyramids at 7:30pm CLT.

The Europa League is going full force today with 15 matches scheduled. A few matches to look out: Arsenal will face off against Benfica at 7:55pm CLT, while Milan will play against Crvena Zvezda, Man United against Real Sociedad, and Leicester City against Slavia Praha, all at 10pm CLT.

Al Zamalek FC are coming under fire after allegedly “exploiting” Ghanian forward Benjamin Acheampong out of an owed USD 1 mn. Acheampong joined the Cairo club on a four-year contract in 2017 but terminated his contract after 11 months, saying Zamalek never paid him correctly. He then joined Petrojet on a five-month loan in 2018, but was tricked into signing a document which stated he would forego his Al Zamalek salary for all of his contract as opposed to just the time at Petrojet, Acheampong told BBC Sports.

Switzerland’s Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) ordered Al Zamalek to pay him the sum two months ago, accusing the Egyptian club of "immoral", "intimidating" and "merciless" behaviour. In another twist, Acheampong’s former agent — former Egypt captain Nader El Sayed — reportedly falsified papers to enable him to act on Acheampong's behalf and agreed with Al Zamalek to a settlement of USD 250k. The Ghanian player has yet to receive a check for either figure and says the USD 250 payment was handed to El Sayed.

FIFA opened criminal proceedings against Al Zamalek on Thursday which could see the club dealt a transfer ban and possibly a points deduction or relegation as well.

IN OTHER FOOTBALL NEWS- Algerian club ES Setif have requested to play their first group stages game in the CAF Confederation Cup in Egypt, reports KingFut. The game will be played against the Orlando Pirates on 10 March. While Egypt is the club’s first choice, Mali has been submitted as a second option.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

What’s a better pairing than football and wings? With all these simultaneously-playing matches on today, we’re in need of a sports bar or two. First up, Buffalo Wings and Rings in Sheraton which has TVs up on almost every wall surface and serves some of our favorite wings in Cairo. We recommend their appetizer platter and their garlic parmesan and crazy wing flavors.

The Tap is also a good place to hunker down in front of a match, whether in their New Cairo, Zayed, or Maadi locations. Everyone raves about The Tap’s nero flavor wings, but we were personally a fan of their blazing Asian and mango habanero (and their nachos of course).

Finally, while we trying to rack our pre-covid brains as to whether Lord of The Wings has TVs set up (we’re pretty sure they do), their wings are *chef’s kiss*. The restaurant chain came out with a new menu last year that we’re still eating our way through and we haven’t been disappointed yet.

All three of these options also offer delivery, in case you’d like to end the week on the couch — or you’d like to surprise your housemates with a break from ‘akl beity’.

???? OUT AND ABOUT THIS WEEKEND-

The Egypt International Art Fair kicks off tomorrow at Dusit Thani Lakeview Cairo, and is set to wrap on Saturday, 28 February. Don’t forget to request invitations using this link.

A cookalong sounds like a perfect pandemic activity right about now: Mother and cook Engi Aboulfadl is organizing virtual cooking classes, with the first set to take place on Sunday at 5:30 over Zoom. DM her on her Instagram handle @engiaboulfadl to book a spot and get a list of ingredients for this week’s Mexican-inspired cod with corn mash.

Underground band Do'souqa will be playing at The Room in Garden City today at 9pm CLT. Meanwhile the art space’s New Cairo branch will host a violin night with Amr Darwish on Friday night at 9pm CLT.

Maadi’s Osana Wellness Center has an array of yoga classes on this weekend. You can check out their full schedule here.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Get familiar with the history of culinary arts — from before the discovery of fire: Ferran Adrià, the chef of the revolutionary restaurant El Bulli, has released his new book The Origins of Cooking: Paleolithic and Neolithic Cooking which is meant to be the first volume in a series of eight books exploring systematic history of Western cuisine, writes Bloomberg. The 592-page anthology lays out an evolutionary timeline about why those in the food industry do what they do, pointing out ties with the past to set the present in context. The book is thick with stylish lists, maps, photographs, diagrams and chronological tables as well as prehistoric menus with delicacies such as fresh horse brain, cheek and tongue of mammoth, and mashed crocodile meat.

???? TOMORROW’S WEATHER- There’s a 40% chance of light rain tomorrow, with highs of 22℃ and lows of 12℃, our favorite weather app forecasts. Saturday is a bit warmer during the daytime at 23℃, but drops to 10℃ overnight.

Everything you wanted to know about Egypt’s first and second waves, courtesy of Capmas: State statistics agency Capmas has put out one of the most extensive studies on covid infections, deaths, and impact by demographic we’ve seen to date. While the study focuses mostly on comparing the first and second waves of covid-19, it offers new data on geographic spread, impact by gender and age, as well as the rates of infected foreigners. The study looks at covid infections and death data from 14 October to 29 December.

As expected, the second wave spread faster and was more lethal than the first: During the first wave, it took us 85 days to pass 1k daily infections. The second wave only needed 31 days to break the same barrier. An average of 587 daily infections were accounted for during the second wave, compared to 429 during the first wave. On the death rate front, it took 90 days to break the barrier of 50 deaths during the first wave, compared to only 37 days during the second wave. As of this morning, Egypt has now disclosed a total of 180,051 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 52 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 10,495.

Men are more prone to infection and covid-related death due to a higher presence of ACE2 enzymes in men. The enzyme acts as a receptor, making it an entry-point for covid to inhabit human cells. Women were less likely to die as a result of covid, and slightly less probable to get infected. During the studied period, 55.9% of covid-related death cases were men, compared to 44.9% of women. The discrepancy lessens when looking at infections though—between 52% and 53% of infected Egyptians were male.

Worldwide, covid has been more lethal for the elderly, and Egypt is no exception. 91.5% of covid-related deaths were people aged 46 and above. Death rate amongst those aged 46-65 also slightly increased during the second wave. Of those who died due to covid and were aged 60-69 years, over 65% struggled with high blood pressure, almost 29% had diabetes and 6% suffered from lung diseases.

Matruh governorate witnessed the highest infection-rate per mn people at 1,179, followed by Port Said and Cairo. In terms of deaths, Port Said recorded the highest rate with 125 deaths per mn, preceding Alexandria and Matruh. Assiut registered the lowest rate among all governorates with 70 infections and 1.9 deaths per mn people. Since the pandemic entered Egypt and until 29 December 2020, Egypt recorded 1,343 infections per mn people.

A total of 353 foreigners were infected in Egypt during the duration of the study. Aswan had the highest number of infected foreigners with 158, Cairo (63 infected) and Alexandria (39 infected) followed at second and third place. Lowest infection count among foreigners could be found in Beni Suef, Minya and Luxor, with 1 infection each.

Overall, Egypt ranks 64th worldwide in terms of infections, and 31st in terms of deaths. During the first wave, Egypt ranked 56th in terms of total infections and 34th in terms of deaths, with the 3rd highest infection rate in Africa, behind South Africa and Morocco, and 12th in MENA. We rank 2nd in terms of deaths in both regions. We did better during the second wave, though, dropping to 3rd place in Africa-wide infections and 10th in MENA.

You can find the full study on Capmas’ website here.

IN GLOBAL COVID NEWS-

S African strain vaccine gets NIH approval for clinical trials: The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) will “soon” begin clinical trials on Moderna’s variant-specific covid-19 vaccine candidate, the FDA said in a press release today. Moderna is the first vaccine maker to produce a shot targeting the virus variant discovered in South Africa, and shipped doses to the NIH yesterday with the trial expected to kick off once the FDA gives the greenlight. Moderna has so far found that its current two-dose regimen generates a weaker immune response against the mutant strain, though antibodies in patients remain above levels that are expected to be protective against the virus. This comes amidst growing concern about new, emerging variants of the virus, which could comprise the efficacy of administered vaccines both on the market and under development, writes CNBC.

SFE to get in on ADQ’s acquisition of Amoun Pharma: The Sovereign Wealth Fund of Egypt (SFE) is reportedly going to join Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ in its bid to acquire 100% of Bausch Health’s unit in Egypt, Amoun Pharma, sources close to the matter reportedly told Hapi Journal. The SFE is reportedly looking to nab a 10% stake in Amoun when the transaction is completed. While the fair value assessment has yet to be completed, the sources said that the entire transaction is valued at USD 700 mn. The two funds are expected to complete due diligence in two weeks’ time, the sources note. We have reached out to the SFE for comment on the move, but have yet to receive a reply as of dispatch time.

Advisers: EFG Hermes is reportedly acting as financial advisor for the transaction, while Matouk Bassiouny is acting legal adviser.

Background: The transaction is likely to be done through a USD 20 bn investment platform Egypt and the Abu Dhabi set up back in 2019 through their sovereign wealth funds. SFE and ADQ were expected to announce a number of new joint investments in 1Q2021, Planning Minister Hala El Said had announced last month.

The EGX30 rose 1.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.83 bn (20.7% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 7.12% YTD.

In the green: Orascom Development Holding (+8.8%), Orascom Investment Holding (+3.4%) and Cleopatra Hospital (+3.3%).

In the red: MM Group (-1.6%) and El Sewedy Electric (-0.3%).

EARNINGS WATCH- The Egyptian International Pharmaceutical Industries’ (EIPICO) net profits fell 27% in 2020 to EGP 486.5 mn, compared to EGP 670.6 mn the previous year, the company said in a financial release (pdf).

The Egyptian Financial & Industrial Company (EFIC) saw a y-o-y dip in net profits worth 37.6% in 2020, falling to EGP 126.9 mn compared to EGP 203.6 mn in 2019, the company said in an earnings release (pdf).

Mansoura Poultry’s net profits increased over 6000% in 2020 to EGP 20.2 mn, compared to EGP 326k in 2019, the company said in an earnings statement (pdf).

The no-diet diet: That’s one way to describe a food regimen that has been known for over two decades as “intuitive eating.” It’s when you basically forget about calorie counting, have no qualms about foods generally considered to be on the lower end of the healthy spectrum — and just eat without second thought.

PSA- Before we proceed any further, let’s just reiterate that we’re strictly not dieticians and that we are neither encouraging nor discouraging this food for thought (pun kind of intended).

Intuitive eating is essentially a diet where “good” and “bad” foods don’t exist. Or at least, their value is based on a broader range of factors, Amanda Mull says in this 2019 article for the Atlantic. As a concept, intuitive eating isn't that new. The first book on the topic was published in 1995 by dieticians Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. The Southern California-based clinicians were looking for a new approach other than the drawn-out way of looking at body weight as the first indicator of overall health. Since then, intuitive eating has grown in popularity.

Wait, isn’t eating what we want exactly why we get fat in the first place? According to its proponents, intuitive eating isn’t about glorifying pizza-binging couch potatoes, and is rather a doctrine to help people disconnect from the stress and guilt they might attach to not eating right all the time, say Tribole and therapist Molly Bahr.

You might overeat some of the “bad stuff,” but once you’ve had your fill of burgers and donuts, your body will really appreciate some broccoli. Or at least that’s what advocates of this lifestyle suggest: When you’ve overdone it in one direction, your body will intuitively (hey, there’s that word again) send signals for what it needs.

Much of the lifestyle is about mind over matter: Restriction creates a mental pathway that attaches food we enjoy with negative feelings like guilt, and can reinforce a “forbidden fruit tastes sweetest” mentality that pushes us further into the embrace of a vat of ice cream. So since you want what you can’t have, why create these “can’t-haves in the first place? And while we’re at it, ditch the scale and stop obsessing over the numbers. Instead, prioritize how your body and psyche feel, and work on developing a healthy attitude toward food without worrying too much about weight and set aside cultural biases toward certain foods and lifestyles, Mull explains.

Here’s how much global employment suffered from the pandemic: The global economy lost the equivalent of as many as 255 mn full-time jobs in 2020, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a recent report (pdf). That’s around 8.8% of global working hours relative to 4Q2019, creating an unprecedented level of damage that’s four times worse than that caused by the global financial crisis. The damage led to 114 mn in global job losses, fewer hours for those who retained their jobs, and a USD 3.7 tn drop in global labor income (or 4.4% of global GDP), the ILO said.

1H2020 was a bit more of a silver lining: “A stronger than expected rebound in working hours,” particularly in low-middle income countries, played out favorably, the ILO said. The organization revised downward its working-hour loss estimates for 3Q2020 to 7.2%, from a previous expectation of 12.1%. And in 4Q2020, the report says that global working hours dropped 4.6%, which is still significant, but lower than a previous forecast.

Will 2021 see a trend reversal? Maybe, but it won’t be easy: The ILO’s baseline scenario expects 2021 to bring further working hour losses equivalent to 90 mn jobs, or a 3% loss relative to 4Q2019. In a more optimistic scenario, losses will be contained to 1.3% compared to pre-crisis levels (the equivalent of 36 mn jobs). Meanwhile, if things go south and vaccine progress falls behind, losses are projected to come in at 4.6%. That’s to say: 130 mn jobs.

Uneven impact: Certain geographical clusters were more impacted than others, the ILO said. On a regional level, losses were the highest in the Americas and the lowest in Europe and Central Asia — as job schemes, particularly in the EU, helped. There was also disparity in sector impact, with job losses peaking in the hard-hit accommodation and food services, arts and culture, and retail sectors. By way of contrast, the least affected sectors (including ICT and some financial services) made job gains.

In relative terms, job losses were higher among women (5%) and young workers (8.7%) than among men and older employees.

Recovery: “The signs of recovery we see are encouraging, but they are fragile and highly uncertain,” Bloomberg quoted ILO Director-General Guy Ryder as saying. The rebound could also be disproportionate and uneven, and there are “serious concerns” that employees and businesses most affected stand to benefit less from a recovering global economy, the ILO said.

What about Egypt? While the report doesn’t specifically mention us, the drop in working hours across Africa (7.7% drop compared to pre-pandemic levels) was smaller than in other regions. This can be explained by the fact that only one in five African workers live in countries with mandatory workplace restrictions or closures in place, the ILO said. The sharpest drop in working hours was in the southern part of the continent, followed by northern Africa (which includes Egypt), and eastern Africa. In 2021, job losses are expected to remain mild across the region, with an expected 2.5% reduction from pre-pandemic levels under a baseline scenario, a 1.4% drop in a more optimistic turn of events and 4.2% if the effects of covid are prolonged.

Unemployment in Egypt hit a near two-year high of 9.6% in 2Q2020 as the pandemic took hold. The jobless rate promptly returned to pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of the year, falling to 7.3% after the government eased lockdown restrictions in late June 2020.

February: France’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, is set to visit Egypt.

6-27 February (Saturday-Saturday): Mid-year school break (public schools — enjoy the break from bumper-to-bumper traffic).

7-28 February (Sunday-Sunday): The Finance Ministry will receive applications from companies wishing to take part in the second phase of its program for the immediate payout of export subsidy arrears to exporters, minus a 15% fee.

17 February (Wednesday): MENA x CEO MENA Entrepreneurship & VC Panel: Investor Perspectives from New York to North Africa will be hosted by the Columbia Entrepreneurs Organization.

20 February (Saturday): Final results of applications for private university places will be announced on the Higher Education Ministry’s electronic university admissions site

22-24 February (Monday-Wednesday): Second Arab Land Conference on land management, efficient land use, among other topics.

22 February- 5 March (Monday-Friday) Egypt will host the World Shooting Championship in 6 October’s Shooting Club, with 31 countries set to participate

26 February (Thursday): The Afro Future Summit will take place virtually.

26-28 February (Thursday-Saturday): The second edition of the Egypt International Art Fair will be held at Dusit Thani Lakeview Cairo.

28 February (Sunday) Deadline for businesses, sole traders, and those generating income from sources other than their day job to file wage tax returns through the electronic filing system.

March: Potential visit to Cairo by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

1 March: Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum comes into effect.

1-5 March (Monday-Friday): Aswan Forum for Peace and Development will take place virtually.

4-6 March (Thursday-Saturday): Cairo Fashion & Tex trade show, Cairo International Convention Centre, Cairo, Egypt

8 March (Monday): The IDC Future of Work Egypt conference will be held virtually featuring experts from Egypt and Jordan.

9-11 March (Tuesday-Thursday): EduGate 2021 – Enter The Future conference, Kempinski Royal Maxim Hotel, Cairo, Egypt.

18 March (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

23 March (Tuesday): The second edition of the Egypt Retail Summit takes place at the Nile Ritz Carlton hotel.

25-27 March (Thursday-Saturday): The Real Gate real estate exhibition, Egyptian International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

31 March (Wednesday): Deadline to visit the moroor and get an RFID sticker affixed to your car’s windshield — or run afoul of the Traffic Police.

1-3 April (Thursday-Saturday): HVAC-R Egypt Expo.

2 April (Friday): Legendary Lebanese singer Majida El Roumi will perform at Egypt’s El Qubba Palace

8-10 April (Thursday-Saturday): The TriFactory’s Endurance Festival at Somabay.

13 April (Monday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

25 April (Sunday): Sinai Liberation Day.

29 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC),

29 April (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1 May (Saturday): Labor Day (national holiday).

2 May (Sunday): Easter Sunday.

3 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

13-15 May (Thursday-Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25-28 May (Tuesday-Friday): The World Economic Forum annual meeting, Singapore.

1 June (Tuesday): The IMF will conduct a second review of targets set under the USD 5.2 bn standby loan approved in June 2020 (proposed date).

7 June-9 June (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo, Egypt.

17 June (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

24 June (Thursday): End of the 2020-2021 academic year (public schools).

26-29 June (Saturday-Tuesday): The Big 5 Construct Egypt, Cairo International Convention Center, Cairo, Egypt.

30 June (Wednesday): 30 June Revolution Day.

1 July: (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 30 June Revolution.

30 June- 15 July: National Book Fair.

1 July (Thursday): Large taxpayers that have not yet signed on on to the e-invoicing platform will suffer a host of penalties, including removal from large taxpayer classification, losing access to government services and business, and losing subsidies.

19 July (Monday): Arafat Day (national holiday).

20-23 July (Tuesday-Friday): Eid Al Adha (national holiday)

23 July (Friday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

5 August (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

9 August (Monday): Islamic New Year.

12 August (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Islamic New Year.

16 September (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

30 September-2 October (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Projects 2021 expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

1 October (Friday): Expo 2020 Dubai opens.

6 October (Wednesday): Armed Forces Day.

7 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Armed Forces Day.

18 October (Monday): Prophet’s Birthday.

21 October (Thursday): National holiday in observance of the Prophet’s Birthday.

28 October (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

1-12 November (Monday-Friday): 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, United Kingdom.

13-17 December: United Nations Convention against Corruption, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

16 December (Thursday): The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to review interest rates.

27 June – 3 July 2022 (Monday-Sunday): World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

Note to readers: Some national holidays may appear twice above. Since 2020, Egypt has observed most mid-week holidays on Thursdays regardless of the day on which they fall and may also move those days to Sundays. We distinguish below between the actual holiday and its observance.