PM — Bring out your umbrellas
Plus: See you all after Christmas

Happy THURSDAY, wonderful people. It’s been a mad rush of a week, but judging by the volume of out-of-office replies landing in our inboxes today, a number of you are taking some much-needed time off with which to end the year.

*** We’re following your lead and will be taking an extended weekend ourselves. EnterpriseAM and EnterprisePM will not be publishing on Sunday, 25 December, and will be back in your inboxes at the usual time on Monday, 26 December. We hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

First filling begins for Elsewedy + Arab Contractors’ dam in Tanzania: Tanzanian officials began the first filling of the Julius Nyerere Dam, which was built by Elsewedy Electric and Arab Contractors under a USD 2.9 bn contract, according to a Housing Ministry statement. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Housing Minister Assem El Gazzar attended the filling ceremony, alongside Tanzanian President Samia Hassan and representatives from Elsewedy Electric and Arab Contractors.

CORRECTION- A story we picked up from the domestic press in this morning’s edition of EnterpriseAM incorrectly reported that one of the three consortiums qualified to bid on the Alexandria metro project is an alliance of Arab Contractors and France’s Alstom. The consortium is led by our friends at Hassan Allam, and Arab Contractors is not part of the consortium, an executive at Hassan Allam confirmed to Enterprise. The story has been amended on our web edition.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There are a couple of stories vying for attention in the international business press this afternoon. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s trip to Washington to request more aid and military assistance for its war with Russia is still on the front pages of the Financial Times and CNBC. Meanwhile, Bloomberg is leading with the Turkish central bank’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged for the first time in five months, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to raise the national minimum wage amid soaring inflation.

HAPPENED TODAY-

Rabie addresses questions on new SCA law + Suez Canal fund: Suez Canal Authority boss Osama Rabie held a press conference today to review details regarding draft amendments to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) law (watch, runtime: 2:23). Rabie addressed questions about the amendments, which if approved, would establish a EGP 10 bn fund, which would be deployed to help the SCA absorb external economic shocks.

REFRESHER- The House of Representatives gave its initial approval on the amendments earlier this week. The amendments require final approval in a plenary session.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee is meeting for its final meeting of the year. Seven of the nine analysts and economists we surveyed last week are forecasting the central bank to raise rates, with five of those surveyed expecting a 200-bps hike to support the currency and tackle rising inflation . This would take the policy rate to 15.25%, its highest level since early 2019. A Reuters poll found similar results.

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

• Gov’t discusses imports, support measures as it prepares to lift curbs: Getting imported goods into the country was the subject of a meeting yesterday between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Central Bank of Egypt chief Hassan Abdalla, the finance and trade ministers, and the head of the Customs Authority.
• Energy companies can bid for 12 new oil and gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta starting next week in an international tender set to be launched by state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company.
• To sell or not to sell? Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) could respond to the takeover offer from Dubai-based National Paints Holdings (NPH) as soon as early January.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Senate will be back in session next Sunday, 25 December, while the House of Representatives is in recess until Monday, 2 January.

Ten days until the e-invoicing registration deadline: Companies have until 31 December to register with the Tax Authority’s e-invoicing system after the Finance Ministry earlier this month gave companies another two weeks. Only 150k companies had signed up to the new system as of the end of November, well below a sought goal of 1 mn companies to register under the system.

REMEMBER- This deadline no longer applies to the self-employed: The Finance Ministry pushed the deadline for self-employed professionals — including doctors, pharmacists and lawyers — to 30 April 2023 after widespread opposition to the system.

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

????️TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for quite the rainy weekend: Be ready for a sunny day with chance of showers tomorrow and a cloudy with showers on Saturday. We'll see daytime highs of 18-20°C this weekend before the mercury falls to 11-12°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.

Our affiliation with sports teams is just another ego-boosting mechanism: Sports fans are more likely to brag about their team and wear clothing or accessories with the team’s logo or colors — to clearly assert affiliation with the team — when their team lands a victory, studies have shown. That likelihood of displaying affiliation drops off significantly when the team loses, the studies found. The outcome of sporting events also tends to affect fans’ vernacular, with researchers finding that fans are likely to refer to their team as a group they are part of, using terms like “we” and “us,” whereas the fans of losing teams tend to distance themselves by referring to the teams as “they.” Research has found that the outcomes of sporting events can even affect fans’ physiology, with fans more likely to have elevated testosterone levels following successes.

These findings are far from new: The behaviors — known as “basking in reflected glory” for winning teams and “cutting off reflected failure” for losing teams — were described in a 1976 study. “These behaviors are all interconnected and they all have to do with self esteem,” an associate professor of sports administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told the Washington Post. This mindset can also be seen beyond sports — in political elections, brand loyalty, and any other forms of affiliations.

Unessential viewing: The global media industry was one of the hardest-hit sectors this year, with more than USD 500 bn wiped off the market value of the biggest companies, the Financial Times reports. The slump hit traditional broadcasters and streamers alike, with familiar favorites Netflix, Disney, Spotify, and Roku amongst those reporting declining market value. While the pandemic initially boosted subscriptions to entertainment services, the subsequent creation of new options flooded the market. And raising subscription prices are not making up for falling customer numbers. Now operating in a competitive sector alongside a cost-of-life crisis leading customers and advertisers to tighten their wallets, media companies are looking to increase prices, cut jobs and input new ad-supported tiers.

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

Paul McCartney’s daughter, Mary, recounts Abbey Road Studio’s nine-decade history in If These Walls Could Sing. The studio is one of, if not the most, famous recording studios on the planet, with fans visiting every year to get a picture at the famous zebra crossing. Iconic songs recorded at the studio include John Lennon’s Imagine, the Blackbird by The Beatles, Pink Floyd’s Breathe (In The Air) and James Bond theme song Goldfinger. The documentary features interviews with some of the legends behind the music recorded at the studio, from Kate Bush to Noel and Liam Gallagher, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, and Roger Waters. The documentary also features archival footage and interviews with producers, composers and the studio’s engineers and staff that guide viewers through the history of the world’s longest-running studio. McCartney and her father also step in to share their personal memories at the studio.

⚽ How did the World Cup affect football teams’ global rankings? FIFA is out with an update to the global men’s football rankings, with notable changes including a significant jump for Morocco’s team to the 11th spot globally, from 22 before the Qatar World Cup. Morocco is now the top-ranked African football team. Brazil maintained its spot at the top of the ranking by a small margin over world champion Argentina, which moved up one spot to #2 globally. France also rose one spot to #3. Belgium, meanwhile, fell back to #4 on the back of an early exit from the World Cup. Italy retreated to the eighth spot, opening up the door for the Netherlands to rank #6 and Croatia to rank #7. Egypt’s ranking at 39 remains unchanged.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming with the Carabao Cup: Manchester City take on Liverpool at 10pm, competing for the final spot in the quarterfinal. Seven teams have already qualified for the quarterfinals: Southampton, Wolverhampton, Newcastle, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Charlton Athletic and Manchester United. The quarterfinals are scheduled to begin on 9 January.

Over in the Egyptian League this weekend: On Friday, we have Al Ittihad v Ceramica Cleopatra (5pm) and El Dakhleya v Pyramids (7pm). Saturday has a busy lineup, including Aswan v Enppi (2:45pm), Haras El Hodood v National Bank (5pm), Ghazl El Mahalla v Pharco (5pm), and Future v Talaea El Gaish (7pm).

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Sour Yard will give you a taste of exquisite woodfired baguette right at your doorstep: Instead of requiring you to leave the comfort of your home for a delicious loaf of bread, chef Ramy Rainer set out to introduce truly good bread to the Egyptian market. From its smell, to the crunch and taste — it feels like a flawlessly constructed piece of art. Rainer also makes it a point to post the bread-baking process on social media, keeping you aware of the ingredients you’re choosing to consume, as well as highlighting the care and labor that goes into making it. Sour Yard is open for delivery only Friday through Monday, and dedicates the rest of the week to bake your orders with love.

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

Ebda3 Men Masr is organizing a Christmas bazaar this weekend starting today and until Saturday from 11am to 7pm, at Foroseya Club Gezira – FCG.

Celebrate Christmas weekend with DJunkie playing our favorite hits tonight at The Tap West at 9pm.

It’s Electric Thursday at Cairo Jazz Club 610 featuring Mohasseb B2B Ashmawy’s beats at 9pm.

Laugh your heart out tonight with Comedy Stuff X Room Vol.IV at ROOM Art Space in Garden City, at 9pm, featuring the funniest Egyptian comedians of all time.

???? EARS TO THE GROUND-

Mispriced Markets, Miserable Outlook: It’s all in the title. In a recent episode of the Moody's Talks – Inside Economics podcast, guest Greg Jensen, co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, shares his predictions for inflation, financial markets and the economy — and they’re pretty grim. The episode is hosted by Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, Cris deRitis and Marisa DiNatale and together with Jensen they look and the causes behind current inflationary pressures, including the Russia-Ukraine invasion and take a deep dive into Fed policies, supply chain disruptions and share their predictions. If you’re confused about how all these topics tie in together or need a catch up on the latest economic developments, this one-hour episode is a good place to start.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

“I am haunted by humans”: The Book Thief: The novel, written by Markus Zusak, tells the story of historical events, following the encounters of a teenage girl named Liesel Meminger, who lived through World War II in Nazi Germany. Liesel endures hardship with the abandonment of her Communist biological father, and the death of her brother. Her mother is then forced to give her up to a foster home, out of fear from Nazi persecution. Liesel establishes a strong bond with her new foster father, Hans, who teaches her the power of words and instills in her the love of reading. As the war gets worse, Liesel begins to steal books that were sentenced to be destroyed. She also delves into writing, which saved her life — coming out the only one alive from a raid on her neighborhood. This book is narrated by the voice of “death,” revealing to Liesel her passing and the manuscript — that saved her — she lost as she fled the horror scene of war and grasped a new chance at life in peace.

The EGX30 fell 0.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.84 bn (19.4% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 21.2% YTD.

In the green: Egypt Kuwait Holding – EGP (+4.0%), CIRA Education (+2.8%) and Mopco (+2.7%).

In the red: Heliopolis Housing (-4.5%), Qalaa Holdings (-4.4%) and Eastern Company (-3.5%).