PM — More celebrity interest in investment firms

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to a new week. Today’s news cycle is dominated pretty much entirely by the Madbouly government’s economic conference.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Are we going to say goodbye to L/Cs soon? The government is currently working on reversing the requirement for importers to issue letters of credit to buy goods “soon,” Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said during the economic conference (watch, runtime: 2:34:07). This comes weeks after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said that import challenges facing manufacturers should be solved within two months, without specifying that this would include L/Cs.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

China’s Xi secures unprecedented third term in power: Chinese President Xi Jinping will continue to lead the country for at least another five years, breaking a decades-long precedent that only allowed Chinese leaders to rule for two five-year terms. Xi has further cemented his power with a new governing body that replaces four members with men known to be a part of his inner circle. (Reuters | Wall Street Journal | CNN | The Guardian | Bloomberg)

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

• S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Egypt’s B credit rating with a stable outlook on the back of expectations that fresh financial support from the IMF and the GCC will help us meet our “large” external funding needs.
• A state committee left fuel prices unchanged at its latest quarterly meeting, defying expectations of another raise and ending a streak of six consecutive quarters of petrol price hikes.
• Hassan Allam Holding and Emirati renewables player Masdar will invest some USD 10 bn in their green hydrogen project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone over the next seven-10 years.

*** 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 profile the new EGP 4 bn black sands plant in Kafr El Sheikh’s Burullus, and how it fits into the global picture of rare earth material production.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Egypt and the UAE will host a gathering marking 50 years of bilateral ties. The conference takes place Wednesday-Friday (26-28 October) and is being produced in association with the two governments. Day one is an economic forum featuring ministers, senior officials and business leaders from the two countries, while the following day will feature a cultural forum.

AND- The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) will launch a promotional campaign ahead of COP27 on potential investments in the zone. The domestic campaign will be launched today before the international campaign kicks off tomorrow.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures in Cairo will hit 29°C tomorrow during the day before falling to 17°C in the evening, our favorite weather app tells us.

Leadership and employees remain at odds over the hybrid work model: 87% of employees believe they are working productively while 85% of surveyed managers believe the shift to hybrid work has challenged confidence in productivity, a Microsoft survey reports. In an earlier survey, the challenge of hybrid work was illustrated by 38% of hybrid employees reporting their biggest issue was knowing when and why to come into the office while only 28% of companies had established and defined the new parameters. A rise in digital exhaustion was also reported, with 13% of employees saying that working remotely had extended the work day by 46 minutes, and after-hours work on the weekend or in the evening had increased by 14%.

Luxury goods remain robust despite a looming recession: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE — the world’s largest luxury brand — reported robust sales up 19% y-o-y exceeding analysts estimates of a 13% increase, Reuters reports, citing data from Visible Alpha. The sharp rise in sales is due to wealthy shoppers in Europe, the US, and Japan splashing out on fashion and Americans in Europe capitalizing on a strong USD. “Luxury is not a proxy for the general economy,” LVMH’s CFO told analysts when asked about the “divorce” between the luxury industry and global economic circumstances, Bloomberg reports, explaining that affluent people have their own behavior which is not always completely in line with economics.

Growth despite price hikes: Fellow luxury company Hermes reported annual growth of 24% despite raising prices an average of 4%.The enormous rise in affluence around the world helps explain why demand for luxury products is rising with the easing of China’s Covid-related restrictions is also another contributing factor to the boost in shopping and spending.

Forget skincare, the latest celebrity founder craze is investment firms: Football player Lionel Messi is launching his own investment firm, Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC, according to a statement picked up by Bloomberg. The firm will focus on sports, media and technology, deploying funds to help startup founders build football-tech companies or invest in teams. “I am excited to extend our roots into Silicon Valley, and I am thrilled that Play Time will collaborate with daring entrepreneurs from all over the world,” Messi said. Last month, we reported that reality TV star Kim Kardashian and Carlyle’s former global head of consumer, media, and retail Jay Simmons, are launching a new private-equity firm, Skky Partners.

???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
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The app that changed the music industry: Netflix’s The Playlist is a fascinating six-part dramatization of how Spotify was created. Daniel Ek, the programmer who developed the software, was a nervous, bald, socially awkward outsider from a humble family who soon rose to the top of the music industry. In the first episode, we meet Ek in 2004 when he used coins to buy an Aretha Franklin CD for his mother. Google turns him down for being undereducated, and motivated by this rejection, Ek embarks on revolutionizing the music industry with tech. The show deftly shifts viewpoints in every episode to keep things interesting, meaning we get to peek into the financial side of things through the eyes of Sony Music’s managing director.

Our verdict: The Playlist is a well-written show with excellent performances and an intriguing premise. The series examines the benefits and drawbacks of streaming music, as well as who will be left out in the cold when the dust settles (watch trailer, runtime 1:51).

⚽ It’s a busy day for football fans, starting with our Egyptian Premier League. Ceramica Cleopatra face Zamalek at 5pm, followed by El Ahly v Aswan at 7pm. Pyramids FC and Al Masry are battling it out on the field as we dispatch — their game started at 3pm.

English Premier League: Tottenham v Newcastle will kick off at 5:30pm, and four games have already kicked off at 3pm: Southampton v Arsenal, Wolverhampton v Leicester City, Aston Villa v Brentford, and Leeds v Fulham.

In Spain’s La Liga, these are the games you should keep an eye on:

Barcelona v Atletico Bilbao (9pm)

Villarreal v Almería (6:30pm)

Real Betis v Atletico Madrid (4:15pm)

In Italy’s Serie A, you don’t want to miss Roma v Napoli at 8:45pm

???? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Maadi’s Madeleine is the crème de la crème of bakeries: This charming spot specializes in classic French pastries, from delicate eclairs and flaky croissants to decadent tarts and rich chocolate mousse. All the flavors we tried were little bites of carb heaven, but the coffee-based eclairs and salted caramel tarts are particularly popular. Our personal favorite is the lemon meringue tart, with a perfectly crisp crust and light, tangy filling. Their savory bites were just as delightful — don’t miss out on their mini quiches. No matter what you order, you'll be impressed with the skill and artistry that goes into each and every Madeleine pastry.

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Head to Zamalek’s Gallery Misr for The Light of Black Ink exhibition: Self-taught artist Jamal Abdul Rahim constructs his works of art in response to social change. His work is heavily influenced by the mythology, religion, and language of the ancient Arab world. The exhibition opens at 7pm tonight and runs through 10 November.

Improv group Irtigalia is taking the stage at Room Art Space in New Cairo to perform sketches made up on the spot and chosen at random by the audience. The fun kicks off at 9pm.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Settle in and pay attention: How High We Go in the Dark gets intense: Sequoia Nagamatsu’s novel opens eight years from now in Siberia, where scientists discover the remains of a young woman with the genetic features of a starfish or octopus which triggers the unleashing of a deadly virus that attacks human organs. After this unsettling scene setter, the story shifts to a theme park called the City of Laughter, where children infected with the virus can spend one final happy day before being killed on a roller coaster. We then get introduced to a sad scientist who gets a second chance at fatherhood when one of his research pigs develops the capacity to speak like a human. Finally, we meet a widowed artist and her teenage granddaughter travel across space and time in an attempt to find a new planet to call home. Although each chapter appears like a standalone short story, the tales are part of a wider narrative. From hotels for the dead to interstellar starships, readers embark on a journey that spans continents, centuries, and even celestial bodies to tell a story about the strength of the human spirit and the universal bonds that bind us all.

The EGX30 fell 0.15% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 976.9 mn (3.7% below the 90-day average). International investors were net sellers. The index is down 14.15% YTD.

In the green: GB Auto (+2.0%), Fawry (+1.7%) and Alexandria Containers and Cargo Handling (+1.6%).

In the red: Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (-3.7%), Telecom Egypt (-1.9%) and Cleopatra Hospitals (-1.8%).