PM — Long covid is still scratching heads

Good afternoon, wonderful people. We’re hitting the ground running at the start of the week as we jump straight into what is shaping up to be a busy news week.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

Student lifeline Selah El Telmeez is preparing to welcome a new majority owner: EFG Hermes and Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) education management firm Egypt Education Platform (EEP) has inked an agreement to acquire an undisclosed majority stake in education platform Selah El Telmeez (SET), according to a statement (pdf). The SFE will also acquire a minority stake in SET, the statement said. EEP Communications Director Amr Sherif declined to disclose the exact stake or value of the transaction when asked by Enterprise.

We have a new BNPL player in town: Consumer financing player One Finance — owned by Ayady for investment, Tamweely and Post for Investment (PFI) — has launched its services in Egypt, according to a press release (pdf). The company’s integrated consumer finance platform covers sectors like consumer goods and services, household appliances and durable goods, auto loans, education fees, and home finishing.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Leading the conversation in the international press this afternoon: Chinese President Xi Jinping’s address to China’s Communist Party Congress, which is expected to see him lock down an unprecedented third term in office. Among the topics Xi touched on during his speech (which lasted nearly two hours): Foreign interference in Taiwan, a slow green energy transition to ensure energy security, and his commitment to China’s zero-covid strategy. The story is on the front pages of Reuters, CNBC, Bloomberg, and the Financial Times.

HAPPENING NOW-

Cairo Water Week kicked off earlier today and runs until this Wednesday, 19 October. Some 18.5k attendees from 90 international and regional organizations are convening at the Nile Ritz Carlton in Cairo for the event, according to its website. The focus of this year’s edition is on preparations to discuss water resources at COP27. Catch the full agenda here.

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

• Agreement on IMF loan coming “very soon” following DC meeting: IMF staff and top Egyptian officials “agreed to finalize their work to reach a staff-level agreement on a long-awaited emergency loan package very soon, Fund Communications Director Gerry Rice said.
• To solve its energy crisis, Europe should invest in EastMed, says El Molla: Gas from Eastern Mediterranean countries could help tame Europe’s energy crisis — provided that development partners like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and European Investment Bank help fund the drilling, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said.
• Sharm’s biggest solar plant goes live ahead of COP27: Qalaa Holdings subsidiary TAQA Arabia has launched the largest solar power plant to date in Sharm El Sheikh.

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We explain the “golden licenses” granted to industrial and other types of investors for specific types of projects, which streamlines the licensing process for certain projects. These licenses were introduced five years ago, but the government has recently been expanding their scope to spur investments.

***

Take our EV survey: Are you an ex-petrolhead shopping around for your first electric vehicle? EV-curious and wondering what all the fuss is about? Or are you not ready to say goodbye to that sweet smell of benzene as you wait at the gas station?

We want to hear from you: We’re taking the pulse on how the nation feels about Egypt’s nascent EV transition. Take a few minutes to fill out our short survey. We’ll be back soon with the results.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The House is back in session today through Tuesday. On the agenda:

Kicking off the week: The House approved in principle amendments to the Agriculture Act that would introduce harsher penalties for illegally building on agricultural land, Youm7 reports. Under the amendments, illegally building on agricultural land could cost up to EGP 10 mn and up to five years in prison. The House Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee had approved the amendments earlier this month.

Bread reform is making its way through House approval process: The House Agriculture Committee is now tasked with studying Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy’s proposal to form an ad hoc committee to look into possible changes to the country’s massive bread subsidy program.

The auto bill that would regulate EV assembly (among other facets of the industry) is up for debate on Monday. “As it is a priority for the government, the bill could get a final approval in the House next week,” head of the House Industrial Committee Moataz Mahmoud told us last week.

What auto bill? The bill would set up a new regulatory body to set policies to localize the auto industry, including electric vehicles. Enterprise Climate has a deep dive.

Education Minister Reda Hegazy will answer questions in the House at some point this week, including on a shortage of public schools and teachers, the national curriculum, and a rise in private school tuition fees. Hegazy is also set to be asked about the state of public school buildings after the death of a child in a Giza school when a staircase collapsed made national news.

The Madbouly government’s economic conference takes place Sunday-Tuesday next week. We’re hoping for more details in the coming days.

Egypt and the UAE will host a two-day conference marking 50 years of bilateral ties. The gathering will take place 26-28 October and is being produced in association with the two governments.

The EGX is looking to drum up interest in listed companies on a roadshow to Dubai and Abu Dhabi later this month, an EGX source told Enterprise. The bourse has tapped Al Ahly Pharos to help manage the roadshow, with EGX boss Rami El Dokany set to meet with as many as 100 regional and international financial institutions, the source said.

Fuel prices to rise this month? We’re expecting the government to hike fuel prices for the seventh consecutive quarter when the fuel pricing committee meets this month. Fuel prices have risen by as much as 28% over the past 18 months in response to heightened international oil prices, which surged earlier this year on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to be pleasantly sunny tomorrow in the capital city, with a daytime high of 29°C and a nighttime low of 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Still struggling with the aftereffects of your run-in with covid? You’re not alone: A Scottish study found 1 in 20 people suffer from “long covid” — with symptoms such as breathlessness, heart palpitations, chest pain and “brain fog” or reduced mental acuity —for over six months after infection. Researchers remain baffled by the variety of symptoms people report and the inability to give patients a prognosis, telling the Washington Post the long-lasting symptoms are affecting quality of life, employment, and schooling.

The results: Based on 100k participants’ experiences, the study found that 6% had not yet recovered six to 18 months after a covid infection and 42% had only partially recovered. Women, older people, and those who are economically disadvantaged are at a greater risk of long covid. Participants with preexisting conditions like respiratory disease and mental health issues were also prone to experiencing long covid. However, the study also found that vaccination affords people with some measure of protection from the likelihood of long covid and those who experience asymptomatic infections are not likely to suffer with long-term effects.

AI tools aren’t the answer for unbiased recruitment: Artificial intelligence tools have revolutionized the recruitment industry in recent years, with one Cambridge University survey of 500 human resource professionals estimating that nearly a quarter are now using AI for recruitment. These hiring tools promise to strip out variables like race and gender from the hiring process simply through automation — but many have found this claim of objectivity to be misleading. “These tools can't be trained to only identify job-related characteristics and strip out gender and race from the hiring process, because the kinds of attributes we think are essential for being a good employee are inherently bound up with gender and race,” one of the study’s authors tells BBC.

Even more problematic is the claim that AI tools can analyze videos and images of candidates to identify the “ideal employee” through tools that rate candidates for the “big five” personality traits: Agreeableness, extroversion, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. This type of technology is “pseudoscience” and has “no scientific basis,” the researchers say. These tools were found to be influenced by small physical changes, including adjusting the brightness of the photograph, one of the researchers said, after they created their own tool to emulate how they work. A German public broadcaster also found that wearing glasses or a headscarf in a video skewed candidates’ scores. Many companies — including Amazon — have ditched AI tools altogether after finding that they ultimately do detect candidates’ gender and/or race, and often end up discriminating against certain candidates, BBC notes.

Founder of EV truckmaker Nikola convicted of fraud: Founder and former chairman of electric heavy truck maker Nikola Trevor Milton was found guilty on one count of securities fraud and two counts of wire fraud on Friday, the foreign business press reports. The prosecution had accused Milton of making false statements on the company’s work to drive up its share price, including making claims that it had developed batteries “in-house” when it was proven it had been outsourcing them, and claiming the success of trucks that were defective. Milton will be sentenced in January, and could face up to 25 years in prison. (CNBC | Reuters | Wall Street Journal)

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

Go behind the scenes in the world of influencers: Chiara and Fedez Ferragni, one of the online world’s most followed couples, draw the curtain in their documentary/reality-TV show The Ferrangez. Chiara, a digital entrepreneur and the founder of her own namesake brand, launched her career with The Blonde Salad blog, while her husband, Fedez, is an Italian rapper. The couple live in Milan with their two Instagram-famous children, Leo and Vittoria, and their large extended families. Chiara and Fedez are widely known for their passion for work.

⚽ It’s El Clasico and Liverpool City Summit day: Football fans are in for an adrenaline-filled football fiesta as Spain and England kick off two matches that could be the biggest and most exciting of the season.

In the Spanish League: Real Madrid will host Barcelona at the historic Santiago Bernabeu stadium today at 4:15pm. With equal league scores, the top two teams are separated by one goal differential.

At the second and eleventh summits: Liverpool will kick off the English Premier League playing against Manchester City at 5:30pm. ManCity is currently second in the ranking behind Arsenal, while the Merseyside champions lag to 11th place, 13 full points behind the traditional rival less than 10 weeks after the start of the season.

You can still join the Enterprise Fantasy League through this link or using this code: 8o4sut.

The rest of today's matches in the English Premier League began at 3pm (just a few minutes before we hit dispatch) and are currently ongoing: Leeds v Arsenal; Aston Villa v Chelsea; Manchester United v Newcastle; and Southampton v West Ham.

In Spain’s La Liga: Espanyol v Valladolid (6:30pm) and Real Betis v Almeria (9pm).

Borussia Dortmund will face German league leaders Union Berlin today at 5:30pm, while the defending champion Bayern Munich will play second-place against Freiburg at 7:30pm.

In Italy’s Serie A: Lazio v Udinese and Spezia v Cremonese are both currently ongoing, after hitting the field at 3pm. Later tonight, Naples faces Bologna at 6pm, while Verona and Milan go head-to-head at 8:45pm.

The most important match of France’s Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain will host its rival Marseille at 8:45pm.

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Planning a dinner party and need some innovative catering? Meat Party serves up flavorful food with impeccable Louisiana and Texas BBQ that never fails to please the carnivores, and there are seafood options for the piscivores too. Exceptional presentation and a wide selection will suit any type of gathering, and the marination seals in the tenderness of the meat leading to mouthwatering results. Meat Party also offers a delivery menu with a range of buns and rolls including their OG certified Angus beef burger, crispy chicken sandwich, truffle Shiitake cheesesteak roll and a range of delicious sides and sauces. We’re sure the Joey Tribbiani in you will love this place.

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

Head to El Sawy Culturewheel to catch Bits, a musical performance presented by the Neveen Allouba Academy inspired by a course by performer/director Amir Zarkani.

Hit all of the exhibitions in Art D'Egypte’s Second Edition of the Cairo International Art District Exhibition by taking a walk through Downtown Cairo. Exhibitions are open Monday-Saturday from 12-4pm and from 5-9pm through to 30 October in the following locations: Founders Spaces, El Falaki Gallery, 5 Shops, Access Art Space and Cinema Radio.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

China’s rising ambition: “China harbors the intention and, increasingly, the capacity to reshape the international order,” US President Joe Biden wrote in a national security strategy document earlier this month. This outlook is the crux of The Long Game, a book by Rush Doshi, the current director for China in the US National Security Council. In the book, Doshi argues that China is following a long-term plan to overtake the US as the world’s leading state by 2049. He draws on extensive research and Chinese primary sources including leaked documents, party documents, and memoirs written by party leaders to analyze China’s strategy dating back to the 1980s. In its final chapter the book offers “an asymmetric competitive strategy” that does not require matching China “USD-for-USD, ship-for-ship, loan-for-loan” to counter their long game. Given Doshi’s role, the book offers an insightful look into the American strategy regarding their rivalry with China and the future.

The EGX30 rose 2.0% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 935.96 mn (4.1% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 15.9% YTD.

In the green: EFG Hermes (+4.4%), Madinet Nasr Housing and Development (+4.0%) and Oriental Weavers (+3.7%).

In the red: Cleopatra Hospitals (-2.0%), Mopco (-0.7%) and Telecom Egypt (-0.2%).