EnterprisePM — The House is formally debating the return of the capital gains tax with FinMin + EGX.

It’s been an atypically busy Sunday, with some good news coming out of the state privatization program, the Finance Ministry and the central bank. But since it is Halloween, we will start with something scaring fund managers here…

WATCH THIS SPACE- The capital gains tax (CGT) is getting its day in the House of Representatives, where Finance Minister Mohamed Maait is discussing the ramifications of reintroducing the tithe, Al Borsa reports. Representatives from GAFI, the bourse, and the Financial Regulatory Authority are also attending the debate, which MPs had formally requested earlier this month. The 10% tithe on gains from EGX transactions is expected to come into effect on 1 January 2022, Maait confirmed last month, but has been met with resistance from fund managers, figures in the securities industry, and MPs alike. The CGT has been in the pipeline since 2015 but has since been postponed several times, including last year, when it was pushed due to the pandemic.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY-

PRIVATIZATION WATCH- Misr Ins. Holding has signed on for EGP 15 mn worth of shares in Ghazl El Mahalla FC’s IPO, out of a total EGP 37 mn worth of shares that will be allocated for private placement, Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik told Hapi Journal. The remaining EGP 22 mn worth of shares will be marketed to institutional investors. The private placement portion of the sale is set to go through in November, the minister said, with the public portion of the club's IPO now set to hit the market in December, after having earlier been slated for November.

The sale is expected to raise EGP 135 mn, which would be done via newly-issued shares that would see up to two-thirds of the club listed on the exchange. Another EGP 98 mn will be earmarked for sale to individual retail investors, Prime Holding CEO Mohamed Maher — whose firm is quarterbacking the debut— had told us over the summer.

On to the Finance Ministry, which said in a statement that tourists shopping in Egypt will soon be able to claim VAT refunds via a digital system. The rollout of the digital system, which will eventually be available at all of Egypt’s airports, seaports, and border stations, is set to begin before the end of the year in Sharm El Sheikh.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly deposited an additional USD 3 bn in the central bank, as well as extending the tenor of its current deposits worth 2.3 bn, in a move that should shore up our foreign currency liquidity, sources told Bloomberg Asharq. We’re reaching out to the CBE for confirmation.

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

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HAPPENING NOW- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad are in Glasgow today as COP26 gets underway. The summit, which will run until November 12, will make climate change the top story for the next several days as politicians attempt to reach an agreement on steps to reduce emissions and slow down global warming.

El Sisi is set to meet with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the summit, the Ittihadiya statement notes. Egypt is set to host next year’s COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh. The president will also meet with other unnamed leaders and politicians in Glasgow to discuss cooperation, as well as regional and international issues.

On that front, no climate breakthrough among G20 nations ahead of COP26: After a tough night of negotiations in Rome, the climate agreement between G20 nations had to be watered down to get everyone to sign off, making it largely unchanged from the 2015 Paris accords, Bloomberg reported after seeing a copy of the document. The failure to arrive at tonight’s COP26 opening with a more ambitious commitment will disappoint climate scientists and activists, and could derail the sumit’s chances of success, according to Reuters.

The latest country to announce a green target ahead of today’s COP26 summit: Qatar, which said it is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 in a national climate change action plan launched today, according to Reuters. The plan will also see the Gulf country reduce the “carbon intensity” of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities by 25% by the same year by intensifying carbon capture and storage. Qatar is the world’s largest producer of LNG with plans to expand production to 127 mn tonnes annually by 2027.

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KUDOS- Souad is Egypt’s Oscars pick: Egyptian director Ayten Amin’s film Souad, which received glowing reviews when it hit international screens this year, has been chosen as Egypt’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at next year’s Academy Awards. The committee will review all submissions before choosing the five films to be nominated, with the winner announced at the Oscars ceremony next March. Don’t hold your breath: no Egyptian film has ever made it to the nominees shortlist, though there are definitely some gems to add to your watchlist among the Egyptian submissions down the years.

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

• CBE leaves rates unchanged: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy #2 Committee left interest rates on hold for the eighth consecutive meeting on Thursday, citing a slowdown in global economic activity and expectations that international financial conditions will remain accommodative in the medium term.
• Higher utility bills coming for factories: The government hiked natural gas prices for industry by up to 28%, more or less reversing price cuts enacted last year to help industrial producers withstand the covid-19 crisis.
• Bread subsidy cuts coming … eventually: The price of subsidized bread will likely be increased as global wheat prices rise, but the Supply Ministry is still working on a framework for the subsidy cuts that will “take time” to enact.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Exit polls are predicting Japanese PM Fumio Kishida's ruling coalition to stay in power following today’s parliamentary elections, Reuters reports. That said, the PM’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is expected to lose seats after receiving criticism over its handling of the pandemic. Kishida called the elections last month in an attempt to consolidate his mandate soon after taking over leadership from his predecessor Yoshihide Suga, but the anticipated lackluster result could see the world’s third-largest economy return to political uncertainty.

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FOR TOMORROW-

Tomorrow’s the start of a new month. Here are dates for some key news triggers as we enter November:

• PMI: November’s purchasing managers’ indexes for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will land on Wednesday, November 3.
• Foreign reserves: October’s foreign reserves figures will be out sometime during the first week of November.
• Inflation: Inflation figures for October will be released on Wednesday, 10 November.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Will the Fed announce a taper this week? All eyes are on the Fed ahead of its two day meeting on 2-3 November, in which it is widely expected to announce the winding down of its USD 120 bn a month asset purchase program instituted at the start of the pandemic to stimulate the economy. Fed head Jerome Powell had previously said the central bank could begin to taper off its program in November, while policymakers signalled that they could move to raise interest rates next year. Rising US rates could spell challenges for emerging market assets — including Egypt’s — as investors are tempted to sell-down riskier assets in favor of higher-yielding US treasuries.

We could soon find out this week which commodities will be traded on Egypt’s long awaited commodities exchange when it launches early next year. Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy told Al Borsa last week that we should expect an announcement following a meeting set for this coming week with EGX boss Mohamed Farid and head of the Internal Trade Development Authority Ibrahim Ashmawy.

☀️WEATHER UPDATE-

There’s a medium chance of rain later today in Greater Cairo, while coastal cities could experience thunderstorms tonight, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority forecasts.

TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is still too high in our opinion, with an expected afternoon high of 31°C tomorrow which will fall to 20°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

Big Oil isn’t too big on capex spending — even amid the spiraling energy crisis: Oil majors Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Chevron are funneling their excess liquidity into share buybacks and dividend payouts next year, rather than ramping up supplies, Bloomberg reports. Wary of repeating the early-2010s scenario, when fossil fuel shortages prompted a massive boom in capital spending that led to a lack of cost control and surplus in production, oil players are slashing capital spending to 20-30% of pre-covid levels.

The move towards renewables and the Paris Agreement’s pledge to slash greenhouse gas emissions puts further pressure on the companies, who are “stuck between two extreme populations — the ESG crowd and cashflow hungry shareholders,” one analyst told Bloomberg. Exxon will devote 15% of its budget to low-carbon investments, while Shell is devoting less than half of its budget to oil, directing the bulk towards gas, renewables and power.

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The supply chain crunch is causing staffing shortages and more costly wages as the US labor market tightens, the Financial Times reports. Employers in all sectors are struggling to meet rising consumer demand as “labor inflation” hits US companies, the salmon-colored paper says. With markets reopening and supply chains backed up, companies are rushing to make new hires to get operations back on course in the wake of the country’s ”Great Resignation.” McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Amazon all saw wage costs increase, with all of them reporting difficulties in “recruiting and retaining workers.” Both Amazon and Starbucks reported weaker-than-expected 3Q2021 results last week on the back of labor market woes and supply chain shortages. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, wages and benefits rose 1.3% in 3Q2021 — the fastest uptick since 2001 — as employers offer higher wages to incoming staff and adjusted wages to existing employees as the market reopens.

… which is in turn leading companies to slash their advertising budgets amid concerns that they can’t meet increased demand in 4Q2021, according to the Wall Street Journal. The budget cuts come ahead of the holiday season — advertising’s most lucrative quarter. Large media organizations, including Facebook and Snap, are feeling the impact of the supply chain shortages, reporting advertising pauses from clients including fast-food chains, car manufacturers and telecommunications companies.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

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Enterprise staff’s scary movie picks for Halloween: A few of us here are into watching films they describe as “creepy,” “seriously scary,” and “messed up,” and they’ve chimed in with some of their favorite picks that raise their goosebumps.

Of ghosts, gore and guts: Ari Aster’s recent films Midsommar and Hereditary top the list, with Midsommar following a group of friends who visit a Swedish village and are forced to participate in viscerally disturbing activities, and Hereditary exploring the trauma and family secrets that are passed down through generations.

The alien apocalypse: Providing a twist on the classic alien invasion story, A Quiet Place is reminiscent of Bird Box (but better) and is set in a world where the vicious alien creatures who have landed on our planet are drawn to sound, forcing humans to remain silent to survive. If you watched the first and want more, there’s a sequel out last year, and a third installment in the works.

Psychological thrillers: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca — which was recently the subject of a somewhat lacklustre adaptation — wasn’t originally meant to be a horror movie, but the uncomfortable filming style and unsettling events pushed the film into that genre, and it remains a classic to this day. Charlie Kaufman’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things falls into the not-quite-horror-but-still-creepy category, with the psychological thriller following a woman who visits her boyfriend’s parents in a remote farm, only for the trip to take a dark turn. Further proving that isolation is the perfect setup for an intense psychological horror, The Lighthouse follows two lighthouse keepers who struggle to hold onto their sanity on a remote and mysterious New England island.

For more of our Halloween recommendations, check out the latest Your Wealth issue that looks at everything from films and podcasts to costumes and horror stories.

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⚽ The ahwa scene is on today: El Gaish is playing Al Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League tonight at 5:30pm, at the same time as the Pharco and Pyramids match. Meanwhile, Al Ahly will meet with the National Bank of Egypt at 8pm.

Gameweek 10 in the English Premier League continues today and has proven a bad week for most fantasy players: Norwich City and Leeds are hitting the field soon at 4pm, while Aston Villa will play against West Ham at 6pm.

In La Liga: Atletico Madrid faces Real Betis at 5:15pm, Getafe will compete with Espanyol at 7:30pm, and finally Real Sociedad is up against Athletic Bilbao at 10pm.

Rome and Milan are competing in an epic Serie A match tonight at 9:45pm. Milan occupies the second place in the league standings after the current leaders Napoli, who will also be playing today against Salernitana at 7pm.

???? EAT THIS TOMORROW-

Celebrate World Vegan Day with an open buffet at Maadi’s Vegan In Our House: Vegan In Our House offers a 100% vegan menu with over 30 food items. To celebrate World Vegan Day, the restaurant is holding an event tomorrow that will feature an open buffet, live music, board games, and a series of talks in an effort to create a community of vegans and enjoy great food together. We’re not sure what the spread will entail tomorrow, but the rooftop restaurant offers appetizers such as vegan nuggets and spring rolls, pastas galore, main dishes including potato gratin, moussaka, and okra, and a variety of sandwiches from beyond meat to vegan kofta and sausages. You can find out how to register for tomorrow’s open buffet from the Facebook event page.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

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The 15-day Arab Music Festival and Conference kicks off tomorrow at 8pm at the Opera House’s Fountain Theater.

An exhibition showcasing the works done by participants in Cairopolitan’s Inktober month is taking place at the art group’s space in Garden City today, starting at 6pm.

James Ketterer will be giving a lecture titled Jazz Diplomacy at AUC’s Oriental Hall tomorrow at 6pm, exploring how Jazz was used as a form of expression that is influenced by a myriad of cultures and historical experiences.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Anthony Bourdain fans… there’s more: Tom Vitale — who spent years working as part of Bourdain’s crew — offers a behind the scenes view of traveling and working with the ubiquitous foodie in his new book In the Weeds. The book is an affectionate recollection of memories, but also details the many complications faced while in action and trying to shoot Bourdain’s mesmerizing series. It also looks at Bourdain himself, who despite an affable, snarky, and confident TV personality, remained intensely private and deeply conflicted about his fame. For Vitale, Bourdain became a boss, a friend, a hero and, sometimes, a tormentor. Bourdain’s untimely death by his own hand in 2018 left his fans reeling, and many will relish the chance to get to know the foodie more closely through this book. One thing is for sure: what happened off camera was often way more interesting than what the public got to see.

The EGX30 fell 0.8% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.18 bn (22.9% below the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 5.3% YTD.

In the green: Raya Holding (+10.3%), Aspire Capital (+6.3%) and Speed Medical (+4.2%).

In the red: Ezz Steel (-11.8%), Abou Kir Fertilizers (-6.1%) and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (-5.5%).

Have an Emo friend you want to get out of the house? Let them jump on the dark tourism bandwagon, which promises ghosts, historical deaths, and most importantly, a scare. For the many fans of the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, getting to visit the imposing Germanic-Romanesque prison where the movie was filmed sounds like a dream come true. However, for many of the 180k annual visitors, the biggest appeal wasn’t standing in the same spots as Morgan Freeman but the spooky reputation the site held. The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society — which saved the prison from being demolished — started offering ghost tours, ghost hunts and “private paranormal investigations,” on the site, using income from the endeavors to maintain the property. The idea was in no way revolutionary, with other countries and organizations seeing the money making potential of getting people spooked, leading to the coining of terms such as haunted tourism, ghost tourism, or the more widely used, dark tourism.

The origins of dark tourism: The aptly named form of tourism involves visiting places historically associated with tragedy, death, grief, or crime. The term dark tourism was first used in 1996 by two researchers from Glasgow Caledonian University, John Lennon and Malcolm Foley, who later wrote a book together on the subject. New labels aside, these experiences have been attractive to people for centuries; from watching gladiator and bull fights to visiting cemeteries, human beings have long had a fascination with death.

There are several types of dark tourism: Disaster tourism shows off sites such as Hiroshima or Chernobyl, war tourism entails tours of places where large battles occured, banditry tourism takes people to places where famous criminals ran their operations, haunted or supernatural tourism featuring ghosts, witches, or other spirits, and necrotourism which involves morgues, graves, or other places where people were buried.

The psychology behind it: It’s simple really. People can enjoy a good scare as long as they know it’s in a controlled environment. And in our current consumerist-driven societies, commodifying experiences related to death and danger has never been easier, Lennon and Foley wrote in their book on the subject. Whether through VR-experiences, macabre-themed escape rooms, or visits to dark historical sites, there are a massive number of purchasable experiences now catering to our dark desires.

Some of the most popular dark tourism attractions around the world are found in Europe, given it’s long history of war and plagues, and its abundance of old castles. The continent counts Auschwitz concentration camps, bubonic plague catacombs, and mass graves among its macabre attractions. But it still boasts several less known spots that ghost hunters claim are a hotbed of paranormal activity including Poveglia in Italy, which was once a quarantine zone for people suffering from the plague and was also used as an insane asylum in the early 20th century. It is now known as the world’s “most” haunted island. Germany’s Burg Wolfsegg and France’s Château de Brissac are castles haunted by their previous female owners — both of whom were murdered by their respective husbands.

North America also has some picks: In the US, ocean liner The Queen Mary saw more than 50 deaths during its time at sea and is now marketed as a haunted ship that visitors to California can experience. If you’re ever in Canada, the gorgeous Fairmont Banff Springs is home to the "Ghost Bride" who awaits people in the hotel ballroom.

Too [REDACTED] soon? The next dark tourism trend might be covid-inspired. The Chinese city of Wuhan has already been seeing an increase in travelers in the wake of the pandemic, ranking first among domestic destinations Chinese travelers would like to visit, according to the Tourism Research Centre in China, reported Skift. With many people still suffering from the pandemic, it’s unlikely covid dark tourism will arise soon, but given humanity’s track record, it’s kind of inevitable.

Egypt has its fair share of dark locations: Named after the mn’aire Belgian industrialist who was its original owner, the Baron Empain Palace was neglected for years and rumored to be home to ghosts who would flash lights in the middle of the night, writes ABC. It has now been renovated, and it is unclear whether the alleged ghosts are still around. Meanwhile, the home of Egypt’s most infamous criminal duo Raya and Sakina is open to the public to explore (you can take a little video tour here).

Umm El Donia has often missed out on ways to monetize ghost stories, such as an apartment building in Alexandria that was dubbed “3omaret el 3afaret,” but was demolished in recent years. As a nod to the building’s history, the new apartment complex built in its place hosted an exhibit featuring newspaper articles and relics from the original haunted building.

Pyramids, tombs, mummies, don’t count: Even though they all center around the concept of grand deaths that were preserved through time, their visitors don’t think of them as monuments of death, but as impressive architectural and artistic feats in the ancient world.

If you don’t want to book a big vacation, you can head over to Airbnb and search for the nearest haunted house: At least, that’s the case abroad, where many homeowners in the US, Russia, and the UK are adding descriptions of hauntings to attract guests to their properties. Bustle has the rundown on a few including cottages, mansions, and bed and breakfasts. Airbnb itself jumped on the trend and now has a worldwide directory of Spooky Stays you can look through. Not convinced? Neither were we, but a reporter who booked a haunted property for this piece in the Washington Post managed to scare us a bit.

Want to know more?

• Netflix has an entire series called Dark Tourism which follows journalist David Farrier as he visits these unusual tourism spots around the world.
• Haunted Heritage by Michele Hanks is a book that explores the “the cultural politics of ghost tourism, populism, and the past.”
• Thirty of the world’s most famous dark tourism attractions are featured in this slideshow from Travel + Leisure.
• Trip Advisor has a list of the world’s spookiest hotels.

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 (Sunday): 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.

31 October -12 November (Sunday-Friday): 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, United Kingdom.

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

6 November (Saturday): Deadline to apply to Nahdet El Mahrousa’s Rabeha, a women entrepreneurship accelerator program.

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.

18-19 November (Thursday-Friday) British royal family members Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visit 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.

30 November (Tuesday): Launch of open call by GIZ and KfW for green project proposals in Egypt as part of their Investing for Employment facility (pdf).

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.