EnterprisePM — e-Finance is reportedly looking to IPO its subsidiaries Khales and e-Cards and is also eyeing an international listing.

From e-finance probably spawning new listings to Alec Baldwin’s accidental shooting, it’s looking like an unusually busy Sunday, ladies and gentlemen.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY so far-

#1- e-Finance could IPO subsidiaries: After its blockbuster IPO last week, state-owned fintech and payments giant e-finance is looking to list two of its subsidiaries, Khales and e-Cards, Chairman Ibrahim Sarhan told Al Mal. The company is looking to spin-off its Khales subsidiary ahead of a potential offering on the bourse, Sarhan reportedly said. Khales itself will split into e-Retail and e-Hub. We are reaching out to e-finance for further details and confirmation on what was said.

#2- Telecom Egypt signed an agreement to obtain a USD 500 mn medium-term syndicated loan, to finance expenses and convert short-term USD overdrafts into longer-term loans, the company said in a statement (pdf).

#3- In tomorrow’s Blackboard: The World Bank wants nations across the world to revamp their post-secondary education systems. We look at their recommendations and analyse how far Egypt has come towards those targets.

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

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

• CBE to hold rates this week: With an eye on rising inflation, the Central Bank of Egypt is expected to keep interest rates on hold when it meets this Thursday, according to our regular poll of economists and analysts.
• e-Finance shares went pop: Shares in state-owned fintech platform and payment infrastructure provider e-Finance jumped 50% in their trading debut on the EGX last Wednesday, in what was Egypt’s biggest IPO since 2015.
• Analysts see GDP growing, but with an “uneven” recovery: Growth of the Egyptian economy will continue to accelerate in FY2021-2022, expanding at a 5.1% clip before climbing to 5.5% in the following two years, a Reuters poll showed.

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HAPPENING NOW- Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly is in Paris to sign an agreement with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), according to a cabinet statement. The agreement will set the cooperation framework between Egypt and the OECD. This is separate from the landmark OECD international tax agreement, which Egypt signed up for back in July.

Madbouly is also expected to hold talks with French government officials, French companies interested in investing in Egypt, along with the heads of a number of banks and investment funds, the statement reads.

EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi is in town today for Cairo Water Week, and is expected to address climate and environmental issues and hold talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Water Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty, according to a press statement (pdf). Cairo Water Week kicked off today and will wrap this Thursday, 28 October.

It’s the final day of Le Marché, the Cairo Furniture Show, the MENA region’s largest furniture, material and home accessories exhibition.

A high-level delegation of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development arrived in town yesterday to meet with government officials and visit projects. The delegation will be here through Thursday.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

PSA- Please check your props before using them: Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on the set of the upcoming Western film Rust. Halyna Hutchins was killed, while director Joel Souza, who was standing behind her, was wounded. The Hollywood actor was handed a gun to be used as a prop, but it turned out it contained a “live single round,” according to an email sent by International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Variety reports. Court records released yesterday found that the gun was handed to Baldwin by assistant director Dave Halls and told that it was “safe to use”, according to AP and BBC. Real firearms are often used in filming, but are loaded with blanks which create the same flash and bang without discharging a projectile.

El Face is also occupying a significant chunk of the international front pages this afternoon — for all the wrong reasons. Fresh off damning testimony given to Congress by a company whistleblower earlier this month, the under-fire social media company is again attracting heat, this time for its role in fanning ethnic violence and hate speech in India. Documents obtained by the Associated Press show that Facebook failed to curb hate speech on its platforms in India, despite internal researchers warning that they were being used to share violent content and misinformation and that its algorithms were helping to disseminate posts that may have inflamed communal tensions in the Asian country. (AP | NYT | Washington Post | Bloomberg | WSJ).

MARKET WATCH-

Earnings week for big tech: The Big Five — Amazon, Apple, Google parent company Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft — are all set to release their third-quarter earnings this week. Collectively they make up 22% of the S&P 500, meaning investors will be watching closely to see whether supply-chain disruptions including the chip shortage, regulatory concerns, and rising bond yields have impacted the high-growth stocks.

Most are expecting a strong showing from tech firms, following solid earnings already reported by banks and energy companies, according to Reuters. But with expectations running high, there’s more room to disappoint: "I would expect the potential for more volatility," one wealth manager told the newswire. "We just might get the possibility for some of these big companies to disappoint a little bit."

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

It’s another busy week for conferences and exhibitions in Egypt:

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) will hold a seminar on financing water infrastructure (pdf) on Tuesday, 26 October at the Nile Ritz Carlton.
• A webinar on sustainable transport featuring keynote speeches by EU ambassador to Egypt Christian Berger and Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik will take place on Tuesday, 26 October at 10am. Register here.
• The two-day Intelligent Cities Exhibition & Conference takes place this Wednesday and Thursday, 27 and 28 October.
• The Middle East Angel Investment Network’s Angel Oasis runs from Wednesday to Friday in El Gouna, with separate pricing for in-person and virtual attendance.

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 an afternoon high of 29°C tomorrow, with the mercury falling to 17°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

El Face may no longer be the best place to get your alternative facts: The Donald announced he’s officially launching his social media network — only to see it immediately get hacked. The aptly-named “Truth Social” is set to launch next month “to fight back against the tyranny of Big Tech,” the former US commander-in-chief said last week. The front page of the Truth Social page was hacked following the announcement. The launch of the social media network under the umbrella of the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), comes several months after Trump was banned from social media networks after the January Capitol Hill riots.

TMTG is now eyeing a public listing via special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) after the two companies announced a definitive merger. The listing plans led TMTG’s shares to soar on the back of speculative trading, with Bloomberg reporting that “the stock gain drove the implied value of the new venture to more than USD 8.2 bn” despite a complete lack of details on the company’s financials or business plans. The valuation would make the former president richer than he’s ever been.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

(all times CLT)

It had to happen… Inside Job follows a fictional organization based off of QAnon. From lizard people to an operation to replace the president with a robot, every conspiracy theory we’ve heard this past year is brought to the screen in a humorous animated series. The show follows Reagan Ridley, one of the lead engineers at Cognito Inc. — which is actually the “deep state” — offering a workplace comedy in quite an unusual workplace. Inside Job pokes fun at the bizarre conspiracies while showing what the world would look like if they all were true. Nonetheless, The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg said the show made him “wince” on multiple occasions, but you can check out the trailer and decide for yourself (watch, runtime: 02:28).

⚽ The Egyptian Premier League is kicking off tomorrow, with the first games being played between Al Bank Al Ahly vs El Gaish (3pm); Smouha vs Al Ittihad Alexandria (5:30pm); and Future FC vs Pharco (8pm).

What you need to know to attend the live matches: Attendance at stadiums will be limited to 2,000 fully-vaccinated spectators (1k fans per team). Tickets can be bought through Tazkarti, where fans will need to register their QR vaccination code. Anyone under 16 looking to attend must be accompanied by an adult.

You will also have to be married to your team for this season, according to the conditions list. Fans will only be allowed to attend their chosen team’s games for this season.

Zamalek fans may want to switch allegiances this season as Mortada Mansour looks to make a comeback: The Administrative Court overturned Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi’s decision to suspend the Zamalek FC board and Mansour as chairman and ban Mansour from assuming leadership roles in domestic sports activities for four years, Mansour announced on his Facebook page. The court’s decision doesn’t put Mansour in the clear, as it could be again overturned, a judicial source told Ahram Gate.

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The latest in El Clásico: The most important La Liga match between Barcelona and Real Madrid will start soon at 4:15pm. Real Madrid is ranked third in the Spanish league, while Barcelona is eighth, but the difference between them is currently only two points. In another important match, Atletico Madrid (the fifth in the league with the same number of points as Real Madrid) will host Real Sociedad, the leader in the standings (20 points with one more game to go) at 9pm.

In the English Premier League today: Manchester United hosts Liverpool at Old Trafford in the last matches of the ninth week at 5:30pm. Meanwhile, Brentford is playing against Leicester City and West Ham against Tottenham as we dispatch the issue.

There are also two important matches in Serie A, with Roma hosting Napoli at 6pm while Inter Milan will face Juventus at 9:15pm. Both matches can be watched without charge on YouTube.

Finally, Ligue 1 will see Marseille face off against Paris Saint-Germain in the French League at 9:15pm.

????EAT THIS TONIGHT-

The Sage choice for breakfast, lunch, or dinner: The restaurant is located in New Cairo’s Polaris Mall and offers a selection of international cuisine. For breakfast, they serve a huge jar of greek yogurt piled high with granola, berries, and nuts as well as avocado toast, egg burritos, and healthy oatmeal pancakes. For lunch, Sage’s most popular items are its pizzas, with all the classics available from pepperoni to frutti di mare. Dinner is also a grand affair at the restaurant with dishes such as its seafood spaghetti, fillet mushroom risotto, and crispy stuffed chicken mushroom.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

(all times CLT)

Art D’Égypte’s Forever is Now is taking place at the Giza Pyramids, with 3D works of art by internationally renowned artists such as JR on display. The contemporary art exhibition brings together bold and creative works that use the pyramids as a backdrop to combine the old and the new. The event also features a talk series in collaboration with AUC. Tonight’s schedule includes Places with a Past by Brazil’s Simon Watson from 4-5pm as well as The Making and Meaning of Eternity Now by Los Angeles-based Gisela Colon from 5-6pm. The exhibition will run until November 7.

Other art events to check out this week:

• Cairo International Art District is also organized by Art D’Égypte, with the ongoing festival featuring group and individual exhibitions across different venues in Downtown Cairo.
• Group exhibit Sedimentary is on display at Soma Art Gallery, showcasing art by Karim El Hayawan, Nevine Hamza, and Pance Ahmed.
• Ubuntu Art Gallery is hosting Resurrection, a sculptural exhibit by Khaled Zaki who has won multiple awards for his works.

Meanwhile, Sharkiat Fathy Salama is performing his Cinema Electronica set at the Cairo Opera today at 8pm. Salama is a local composer who has worked with everyone from Amr Diab and Mohamed Mounir to Massar Egbari and Sharmoofers.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Our taste buds can’t wait for travel to be fully back: Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventurer’s Guide by Cecily Wong and Dylan Thuras chronicles some of the best foods to eat from all seven continents. Created by the minds behind Atlas Obscura, the guide acts as an exploration of the food wonders of the world, whether they’re local delicacies or just the best place to get international favorites. From a Texas vending machine that sells entire pecan pies, to the Thailand Monkey Buffet Festival, to making beer using fog in Chile, it’s full of edible masterpieces that will attract foodies and culture seekers alike.

The EGX30 rose 0.5% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.40 bn (8.1% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 3.1% YTD.

In the green: Abou Kir Fertilizers (+10.5%), Orascom Development Egypt (+10.0%) and Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (+4.0%).

In the red: Fawry (-6.3%), Pioneers Properties (-2.8%) and Gadwa Industrial Development (-2.6%).

How the energy crisis is hurting the green transition of Big Oil: “Climate-conscious” fund managers may become a little less climate-conscious thanks to surging energy stocks. Divesting from fossil fuel companies was easy in the years when their stocks were struggling. Now doing the right thing means missing out on the 54% rebound in the S&P 500’s energy sector this year, far and away the biggest gain of any sector in the US benchmark index. Drawn by the highest US crude-oil prices in seven years, some investors are ready to exchange their principles for energy stocks, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It is a test of your conviction,” one financial services exec told the paper. “It’s hard not to ride the wave when you see a [chance].”

How is this being played out with the world’s largest oil company? Saudi Aramco aims to reach net-zero emissions from its operations by 2050, the company’s CEO Amin Nasser announced on Saturday, according to Bloomberg. Nasser also announced plans to invest in renewable energy, including solar, wind and blue and green hydrogen. That said, the company will continue to invest in its crude production capacity, with plans to increase its investments in gas, Nasser said at the Saudi Green Initiative conference in Riyadh.

So how’s this supposed to work? The target only applies to its own internal operations and NOT its actual business. Meaning, they’ll continue to invest and sell oil and gas to customers (perpetuating the climate crisis) but, hey, at least its offices will be “green”. The pledges come ahead of COP26, which is due to kick off next week.

Did we really imagine something different? The world’s largest oil and gas companies aren’t actually doing much to reduce their carbon footprint, according to a policy forum piece, with only two of the 52 companies studied having established science-based climate targets. The authors, who also looked at emission intensities or CO2 emissions from operations and use by customers, which combined make up the biggest contributor to emissions, noted that “only 23 of the companies listed numbers for customer use.” A little over half of the 52 companies had released future emission intensity projections, with the estimates having “unambitious goals.”

The kingdom’s green plans sound more like an actual transition: Saudi Arabia will shift operations in a large part of a USD 110 bn gas field to produce blue hydrogen instead, Energy Minister Abdulaziz Bin Salman said at the conference, according to Bloomberg.

Mid-October: The Egyptian Banking Institute, the Financial Services Institute, and I-Score will begin airing in mid-October the Digital Credit Scoring Webinar Series, a line-up of webinars on the banking sector and banking regulations.

21-24 October (Thursday-Sunday): The Cairo International Furniture Show, Le Marche, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

23-28 October (Saturday-Thursday): A high-level delegation of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will visit Egypt to meet with government officials and travel to IFAD-supported projects in the country.

24-28 October (Sunday-Thursday): Cairo Water Week, Cairo, Egypt.

26 October (Tuesday): EIB seminar (pdf) on water project financing in Egypt. Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

27-28 October (Wednesday-Thursday): Intelligent Cities Exhibition & Conference, Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski, Cairo, Egypt.

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

28 October (Thursday): Second tranche of overdue subsidy payouts will be handed to eligible exporters.

30 October – 4 November (Saturday-Thursday): The first edition of Race The Legends, Egypt.

30-31 October (Saturday-Sunday): G20 Leaders’ Summit, Rome, Italy.

31 October (Saturday): World Cities Day, Luxor, Egypt.

November: The French-Egyptian Business Forum is set to take place in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

November: Egypt will host another round of talks to reach a potential Egyptian-Eurasian trade agreement, which can significantly contribute to increasing the volume of Egyptian exports to the Russia-led bloc that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

1-3 November (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Energy exhibition on power and renewable energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

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

2-3 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): The Federal Reserve meets to review interest rates.

7-10 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT 2021, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo.

8 November (Monday): Egypt CSR Forum, International Citystars, Cairo.

15-21 November (Monday-Sunday): Intra-African Trade Fair 2021, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

16-17 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Africa fintech summit, Cairo.

25-27 November (Thursday-Saturday): RiseUp Summit, Cairo, Egypt.

26 November-5 December (Friday-Sunday): The 43rd Cairo International Film Festival.

29 November-2 December (Monday-Thursday): Egypt Defense Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Centre.

7-8 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): North Africa Trade Finance Summit.

8-10 December (Wednesday-Thursday): Global Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research (GFHS), Cairo, Egypt.

12-14 December (Sunday-Tuesday): Food Africa Cairo trade exhibition, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo, Egypt.

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

14-19 December (Tuesday-Sunday): The Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theater.

14-15 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): The Federal Reserve meets to review interest rates.

15 December (Wednesday): Deadline for joint stock companies and investment companies in Cairo to join e-invoicing platform.

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

1Q2022: Launch of the Egyptian Commodities Exchange.

7 January 2022 (Friday): Coptic Christmas.

27 January 2022 (Tuesday): National holiday in observance of 25 January revolution anniversary / Police Day.

14-16 February 2022 (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Petroleum Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo, Egypt.

19 February 2022 (Saturday): Public universities begin the second term of the 2021-2022 academic year.

1H2022: The World Economic Forum annual meeting, location TBD.

2 April 2022 (Saturday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

22-24 April 2022 (Friday-Sunday): World Bank-IMF spring meeting, Washington D.C.

24 April 2022 (Sunday): Coptic Easter Sunday (holiday for Coptic Christians).

25 April 2022 (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

25 April 2022 (Monday): Sinai Liberation Day.

May 2022: Investment in Logistics Conference, Cairo, Egypt.

2 May 2022 (Monday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

16 June 2022 (Thursday): End of 2021-2022 academic year for public schools.

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

30 June 2022 (Thursday): June 30 Revolution Day, national holiday.

2H2022: IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum, Egypt. Date + location TBA.

8 July (Friday): Arafat Day.

9-13 July (Saturday-Wednesday): Eid Al Adha, national holiday.

30 July (Saturday): Islamic New Year.

6 October (Thursday): Armed Forces Day, national holiday.

8 October (Saturday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.

18-20 October 2022 (Tuesday-Thursday): Mediterranean Offshore Conference, Alexandria, Egypt.

**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.