Wednesday, 30 November 2022

PM — The science speaks

TL;DR

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

Happy almost-THURSDAY, ladies and gentlemen. We’re in that final stretch before the weekend, with plenty of news (and interesting World Cup matches) to keep us busy.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

AMEA Power gets funding to build 1 GW of renewable energy plants in Egypt: Emirati firm Al Nowais subsidiary AMEA Power has locked in USD 1.1 bn in funding for a 500 MW solar plant and 500 MW wind farm in Egypt, according to a cabinet statement. A number of banks, including Standard Chartered, the IFC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, provided the funds. The company plans to complete the construction of the plants within two years.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Eurozone inflation takes a bit of a breather: Eurozone inflation slowed for the first time in over a year in November thanks to a drop in energy prices, according to data from the European Commission’s statistics office (pdf). Despite the cool-off, analysts are skeptical this means a downward slope from here, CNBC wrote. “We would not be surprised to see the headline inflation rate rise again in December or January given the volatility in the monthly numbers,” one economist wrote in a note, adding that “there is little doubt that it will fall rapidly next year.” The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times also have the story.


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

  • ALC’s Bahaa Alieldean on why freezones are key for FDI and exports: After reading our five-step recipe for turning Egypt into a global export hub and FDI magnet, ALC’s Bahaa Alieldean told us why the enabling environment — including freezones — are a critical component of an export-focused economy.
  • An international JV now represents BMW and Mini in Egypt, says it’s restarting local assembly: BMW has made Global Auto Group its new importer and agent in Egypt.
  • Saudi Arabia is extending by one year its USD 5 bn deposit at the Central Bank of Egypt, which forms part of over USD 22 bn pledged in investments and deposits by our GCC neighbors.

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Amr Allam, co-CEO of Hassan Allam Holding is joining us for the Enterprise Climate X Forum, taking place at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Are you? We’re proud to announce that our friend Amr Allam is going to be speaking at the forum on why he thinks climate is the most compelling industry of our generation. He is joined on stage for that discussion by Mohamed Ismail Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Infinity (Amr and Mohamed are working on a ton of projects together) and Sherif El Kholy, partner and head of MENA at Actis (a long time investor in climate themes).

They’re not the only ones: Among the top execs, bankers, and development finance folks speaking at the conference are: Todd Wilcox, CEO and deputy chairman of HSBC Egypt; Tarek El Nahas, group head of international banking, Mashreq; Khalid Hamza, director and head of Egypt at European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); Simon Kitchen, head of strategy at EFG Hermes Research; Nader Abushadi, group treasurer at Dar Group; Karim Hussein, managing partner at Algebra Ventures; Aly El Tayeb, CEO and co-founder of ShiftEV; Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe; Khaled Naguib, CEO of Hydrogen Egypt, and Leslie Reed, Mission director for Egypt, USAID.

Topics and live interviews will include:

  • What is green hydrogen, why is it important, and what signs will tell us that USD 85 bn in framework agreements are real?
  • How CEOs across global emerging markets are dealing with climate change.
  • What’s the difference between sustainability-linked and climate finance? How much do CEOs need to know about their supply chain?
  • Meet the startup and VC in line to be Egypt’s first climate b’naires.

For the full agenda please click here.

** Have you confirmed your attendance? We’ll be sending you on Sunday, 4 December the QR code you’ll need to gain admission to the Grand Egyptian Museum, along with a Google Maps link and some other pointers — including a reminder that the event takes place under Chatham House Rules. Only confirmed invitees who can present their personal QR codes will be able to gain admission to the GEM on event day.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

International business expo BizNex kicks off tomorrow at Mamsha Ahl Misr. The event will run through this Saturday, 3 December.

ALSO THIS WEEKEND- French luxury fashion house Dior is hosting its men’s pre-fall collection show against the backdrop of the Giza Pyramids. The show will mark the first time Dior brings its traveling men’s pre-fall collection shows to Egypt.

The House Manpower Committee will continue hearings on the new draft Labor Act next Wednesday, 7 December. The session will see representatives from the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) and the Egyptian Trade Union Federation in attendance. The bill, which was approved by the Senate in February, extends both maternity leave and notice periods, caps working hours, and changes minimum raise increments, among other things. We have more on the bill’s finer points here.

Next week’s OPEC+ meeting goes WFH: The oil cartel and allies will hold a much-discussed 4 December meeting online instead of in Vienna as planned, Bloomberg reports, citing sources it says are in the know.

Would OPEC make major policy changes over Zoom? The shift to an online meeting is leading market watchers to wager that the meeting won’t see the cartel change its October decision to cut supply by some 2 mn barrels per day. Five OPEC+ sources told Reuters that it’s likely to keep policy unchanged, while two other sources said that further cuts could be on the table in a bid to boost prices.

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 a day much like today in the capital city. Our favorite weather app expects a sunny afternoon bringing the mercury to a daytime high of 25°C before cooling down to a nighttime low of 14°C.

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FOR YOUR COMMUTE

The booming markets for luxury properties: Dubai, Madrid, Dublin, Lisbon, LA: Dubai’s property boom could be reaping its benefits soon, with prices of luxury properties in the city forecast to grow by 13.5% in 2023 amid a rising interest by foreign buyers, Bloomberg reports, citing a report by Knight Frank on prime residential price growth for next year. Dubai tops the ranking, with forecast growth more than double that expected for luxury Miami property, which came second with an expected 5% gain, followed by Dublin, Lisbon, Los Angeles at 4%. A relative affordability and an influx of Russia’s wealthy into the city is solidifying the Gulf hub’s growth in terms of high-end property pricing. London is set for a slowdown, with prices expected to fall by 3% next year. Yet central London, where the wealthy usually reside, is expected to grow 3.5% in 2023.

Brain fog is a real health condition: Brain fog is a cognitive dysfunction that’s common in patients with serious illnesses such as long term covid, cancer and other chronic diseases, a neural cell study shows. Patients claim that brain fog is drastically impacting the quality of their life — preventing them from engaging in regular activities such as going out with friends, talking to family, or even doing their jobs. Although brain fog symptoms are becoming more common, it still takes a strong medical team to diagnose it, The Washington Post says. In most cases, people suffering from brain fog will be dismissed as normal and typically learn to live with it.

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ENTERPRISE RECOMMENDS

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

We’re feeling nostalgic, and Full House doesn’t get old. The iconic 80s and 90s sitcom classic centers on a big family living in San Francisco. The show kicks off with Danny Tanner (Bob Saget), a recently widowed father, who is completely clueless on how to raise his three daughters, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle. Tanner finds his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier) coming to the rescue and help raise his daughters. The series is a forever classic in that it’s always a breezy watch to come back to — with the added bonus of remembering when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (who play Michelle Tanner) were just babies. Michelle never failed at bringing the show’s adult audience to tears with laughter. Full House’s eight seasons are available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Will Saudi’s World Cup journey come to an end? And who will qualify to play against France? The final round of the World Cup group stage continues today with the last four deciding matches before we move on to the knockout stage.

Group C: Saudi will face Mexico in its final group stage encounter today at 9pm, at the same time as Argentina and Poland hit the field. The teams participating in the 16th round, as well as the teams exiting have yet to be confirmed. Saudi Arabia must defeat Mexico to automatically qualify without waiting for the results of other matches, but could still make it through to the next round if Messi leads Argentina to a victory against Lewandowski and his team.

Group D: France, which has already qualified, will face Tunisia tonight at 5pm in a must-win for the Carthage Eagles, who need to secure a victory to qualify, while waiting for a gift from the Australia-Denmark encounter.

GROUP C-

P

W

D

L

GD

Points

???????? Poland

2

1

1

0

2

4

???????? Argentina

2

1

0

1

1

3

???????? Saudi Arabia

2

1

0

1

-1

3

???????? Mexico

2

0

1

1

-2

1

GROUP D-

P

W

D

L

GD

Points

???????? France

2

2

0

0

4

6

???????? Australia

2

1

0

1

-2

3

???????? Denmark

2

0

1

1

-1

1

???????? Tunisia

2

0

1

1

-1

1

In case that’s not enough football for you, there’s also the Egyptian league: Al Ittihad Al Sakandary will play against Ghazl El Mahalla tonight at 7pm.

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

Samajam International Show is on tonight at the Marquee Cairo Festival City. The family oriented musical will run in slots all day from 12pm until 10pm for four days.

It’s Bubblegum Kollective, Top of the Pops House Classics night at Cairo Jazz Club in Agouza playing the best 90s and 2000s music at 9pm.

Don’t miss out on Funkenstein funk rock tunes playing tonight at The Tap East at 9 pm.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

All My Rage is an emotional read as it tackles some sensitive topics: The book by Pakistani-American Sabaa Tahir masterfully depicts feelings of loss, struggle, failure, and other forms of pain — all of which give way to a proverbial rebirth, where forgiveness abounds. These emotions are evoked against the backdrop of sensitive topics like racism, substance abuse, and Islamophobia as the story follows newlyweds Misbah and Toufiq, who decide to leave their hometown in Lahore in search of a new life in the US. At the same time, All My Rage follows the second generation with a storyline focused on Misbah’s son, Salahudin, and his friendship with Noor, with whom he shares a similar racial background — and a special bond.

GO WITH THE FLOW

The EGX30 rose 0.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 3.53 bn. Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 11.0% YTD.

In the green: EFG Hermes (+5.8%), e-Finance (+4.1%) and Orascom Construction (+3.9%).

In the red: Eastern Company (-7.1%), Ibnsina Pharma (-2.3%) and Palm Hills Development (-2.2%).

CALENDAR

NOVEMBER

20 November-18 December (Sunday-Sunday): 2022 Fifa World Cup, Qatar.

27-30 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT and Pafix, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo.

DECEMBER

1 December (Thursday): Sphinx International Airport will begin operating international flights.

1 December (Thursday): Contractors to break ground on Egypt-Saudi interconnection project.

1-3 December (Thursday-Saturday): BiznEX kicks off at Mamsha Ahl Misr.

3 December (Saturday): Dior Men’s pre-fall collection show in Giza.

4 December (Sunday): House back in session.

4 December (Sunday): OPEC+ meeting.

5-8 December (Monday-Thursday): QS Reimagine Education Awards and Conference, multiple locations.

5-7 December (Monday-Wednesday): Food Africa 2022 kicks off at Egypt International Exhibitions Center.

6 December (Tuesday): Enterprise Climate X Forum, Grand Egyptian Museum.

7 December (Wednesday): Euromoney Egypt 2022 conference

10 December (Saturday): The TriFactory’s Pyramids Half Marathon.

10-12 December (Saturday-Monday): The 2nd edition of the Nebu Expo for Gold and Jewelry kicks off.

13-14 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

13-15 December (Tuesday-Thursday): US-Africa Leaders Summit.

15 December (Thursday): European Central Bank monetary policy meeting.

20 December (Tuesday): EGX-listed Pachin will brief shareholders on offers received to acquire the company in an ordinary general assembly.

22 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

December: The Sixth of October dry port will begin operations.

December: Egyptian Automotive Summit.

December: Egypt to expand Sudan electricity link capacity to 300 MW.

December: Chinese President Xi Jinping visit to Saudi Arabia

JANUARY 2023

January: EGX-listed companies and non-bank lenders will submit ESG reports for the first time.

January: Fuel pricing committee meets to decide quarterly fuel prices.

January: Infinity + Africa Finance Corporation to close acquisition of Lekela Power.

1 January (Sunday): Use of Nafeza becomes compulsory for air freight.

1 January (Sunday): Residential electricity bills are set to rise as per the government’s six-year roadmap (pdf) to restructure electricity prices by 2025.

7 January (Saturday): Coptic Christmas.

24 January-6 February: The 54th Cairo International Book Fair, Egypt International Exhibition Center

25 January (Wednesday): 25 January revolution anniversary / Police Day.

26 January (Thursday): President El Sisi will visit India as “chief guest” at celebrations to mark the 74th anniversary of Indian independence.

26 January (Thursday): National holiday in observance of 25 January revolution anniversary / Police Day.

30 January-1 February (Monday-Wednesday): CI Capital’s Annual MENA Investor Conference 2023, Cairo, Egypt.

FEBRUARY 2023

11 February (Saturday): Second semester of 2022-2023 academic year begins for public universities.

13-15 February (Monday-Wednesday): The Egypt Petroleum Show (Egyps), Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

23-27 February (Thursday-Monday): Annual Business Women of Egypt’s Women for Success conference.

MARCH 2023

March: 4Q2022 earnings season.

23 March (Wednesday): First day of Ramadan (TBC). Maghreb will be at 6:08pm CLT.

APRIL 2023

1 April (Saturday): Deadline for banks to establish sustainability unit.

17 April (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

22 April (Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25 April (Tuesday): Sinai Liberation Day.

27 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC).

Late April – 15 May: 1Q2023 earnings season.

MAY 2023

1 May (Monday): Labor Day.

4 May (Thursday) National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

22-26 May (Monday-Friday): Egypt will host the African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh.

JUNE 2023

19-21 June (Monday-Wednesday) Egypt Infrastructure and Water Expo debuts at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

28 June-2 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY 2023

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day.

Late July-14 August: 2Q2023 earnings season.

SEPTEMBER 2023

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28 September (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

OCTOBER 2023

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

Late October-14 November: 3Q2023 earnings season.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2H 2022: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

2H 2022: IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum, Egypt. Date + location TBA.

2H 2022: The government will have vaccinated 70% of the population.

3Q 2022: Ayady’s consumer financing arm, The Egyptian Company for Consumer Finance Services, to release its first financing product.

3Q 2022: Swvl to close acquisition of Urbvan Mobility.

End of December/early January: SFE’s pre-IPO fund to kick off roadshow.

4Q 2022: Electricity Ministry to tender six solar projects in Aswan Governorate.

4Q 2022: Raya Holding subsidiary Aman and Qalaa Holdings’ Taqa Arabia to launch their fintech company.

4Q 2022: Saudi Arabia’s Jamjoom Pharma to inaugurate its EGP 1 bn pharma factory in El Obour.

End of 2022: Decent Life first phase scheduled for completion.

End of 2022: e-Aswaaq’s tourism platform will complete the roll out of its ticketing and online booking portal across Egypt.

2023: Egypt will host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in 2023.

1Q 2023: Adnoc Distribution’s acquisition of 50% of TotalEnergies Egypt to close.

1Q 2023: Internal trade database to launch.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

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