PM — Zoom says Zoom isn’t enough for work

Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s a slow-ish start to this first work week of September, but we anticipate the news cycle to pick up soon.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The Finance Ministry has laid out the executive criteria for industry players looking to benefit from the amended customs tariffs approved by the House of Representatives in June, according to a cabinet statement. The criteria varies depending on the industry in question, but the general tune requires factory and establishment owners to provide additional transparency — in the form of letters and receipts — clarifying the purpose of their imports, attached with their customs declaration forms.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Germany unveils EUR 65 bn relief package to cope with rising inflation and energy prices, in the midst of Europe's harshest energy crisis in decades, the Associated Press reports. The announcement comes a day after Russia indefinitely froze gas deliveries to Europe’s largest economy via its Nord stream natural gas pipeline. “Russia is no longer a reliable supplier of energy,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said as he announced the details of the package. The measures include a one-time payment to pensioners and students to help cover rising energy expenses and plans for a price cap on a basic amount of energy usage for families and individuals. This brings the country’s total amount of relief since the start of the Ukraine War to around EUR 100 bn, France24 reported.

The story is getting a lot of ink in the international business press, including: Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal | Reuters

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Tell us how you’re feeling about your business and the wider economy and we’ll be back with the results just in time to give you a sense of what everyone else is thinking heading into budget season.

How has 2022 been for your business? And how do you feel about what’s left of the year? Are you investing? Do you plan to hire new staff (or make cuts to your existing staff) now or in 2023? What’s the USD / EGP rate you expect to use for your 2023 budget? Where do you see your industry as a whole heading?

Make your voice heard in our Fall Reader Survey. It won’t take more than a few minutes to complete.

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

• CBE, Trade Ministry mull fresh relief for importers: The Central Bank of Egypt and Trade and Industry Ministry could allow importers who are not able to retrieve a Form 4 customs document to pay six-month open letters of guarantee in exchange for the immediate release of their shipments.
• Egypt and Greece are working on a plan to add 9.5 GW of renewable power generation capacity in Egypt for export to Greece.
• The privatization program is still a “priority”: That was the key messaging coming from the government following a meeting between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and the heads of the EGX and Financial Regulatory Authority on Thursday.

*** 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 sit down with Arab Alloys CEO Medhat Nafei to discuss his company’s recently-announced plans to set up a EGP 1 bn ferroalloys industrial complex in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and how this complex fits into the government’s general push towards industry localization.

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The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce will commemorate 70 years of German-Egyptian business and economic ties with a gala celebration on 15 September.

Our monthly list of data points to keep your eye on over the next few days and weeks:

• Foreign reserves figures for August should be out during the first week of the month.
• Inflation figures: Inflation data for August from Capmas will land on Saturday, 10 September. Expect the Central Bank of Egypt to follow up on Sunday, 11 September with its inflation report.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, 22 September to review interest rates.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is set to hit a high of 38°C tomorrow, with a nighttime low of 25°C, our favorite weather app tells us.

DATA POINT- Our birth rate is declining: Egypt’s birth rate fell to 2.85 children per woman in 2021, from 3.5 in 2014, according to CAPMAS’ 2021 Health Survey (pdf). The falling number of births per woman is inching closer to the government’s target as part of its “Two is Enough” population control program, which aims to reduce the fertility rate to 2.4 children per woman by 2030.

ALSO- The number of girls aged 0-19 who have been (illegally) subjected to FGM is down to 14%, compared with 21% in 2014.

FROM THE DEPT. OF IRONY- Zoom execs don’t think a fully-remote workplace is the way to go: Working from the office remains an essential component of work life — but not to get work done, since the workplace has evolved into a social environment, Zoom executives tell the Wall Street Journal. An office’s main function now is to facilitate collaboration and build camaraderie, rather than perform productive work, they said. Companies all over the world are struggling with adjusting back to post-covid work life, as some employees head back to the office, others stay at home, and managers try to figure out how to get work done and have ideas flow even when you can’t be in the same room.

Few companies have greater financial incentives than Zoom to get the future of work right. After their once-niche product acquired a household name early in the pandemic, Zoom’s stock price skyrocketed, and the company was momentarily worth more than Exxon Mobil at its peak market capitalization of USD 159 bn last year — but has now dropped to around USD 24 bn. So far, they have learned that many people, including those at Zoom, want to work both in an office and remotely. Office work is better for team activities like meetings, training, and mentoring. In contrast, remote work is better for solitary jobs like writing, coding, and in-depth thought, Stanford University economist Nick Bloom told the WSJ.

Automakers are bringing back their most iconic models minus the carbon footprint. If super sharp, futuristic Tesla-type cars do not appeal to you, fret not. Now you can have your muscle car and be environmentally conscious too, the Washington Post reports. Ford, Volkswagen, Jaguar, and Dodge are among the big household names opting for the upgrade. Imagine charging the legendary 1960s Volkswagen bus before taking it for a spin. Exciting — but the only hiccup is the price tag, with the electrified version of the vehicle retailing at USD 65k. (A hefty price, but we’ll think of it as a long-term investment — both for the planet and our monthly fuel expenditures.)

Will it feel the same, though? Are you really driving a Dodge Charger Daytona if people don’t hear you coming? Parent company Stellantis took into account important details like engine sound and will incorporate an electronic roar for a more authentic experience.

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Lord of the Rings fans, you will not be disappointed by Amazon Prime’s prequel: The Rings of Power is Prime Video's latest premium TV crown jewel. The first two episodes dropped over the weekend, and we are happy to report that the show is epic fantasy at its most magnificent. The series acknowledges J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic writings while still telling a compelling original story in a fictional realm that is rich in a dizzying amount of history. The drama takes place thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as a group of familiar and new characters face the long-feared return of evil to Middle-earth. The series heralds the start of an illustrious era for Prime Video.

Fun fact: The Rings of Power is set to be the most expensive show ever made, costing a record-breaking USD 1 bn over five seasons, Time reported. To give you an idea of how much this money is, each episode of The Rings of Power will cost USD 89 mn. This is almost three times what each episode of Stranger Things 4 cost and almost four times what each episode of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon reportedly cost HBO, according to Xfire.

⚽ Manchester United and Arsenal will face off at 5:30pm, concluding Gameweek 6 of the English Premier League. As we hit dispatch, Brighton and Leicester City are out on the field, and have been battling it out since 3pm.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise Fantasy League is heating up. If you haven’t joined yet, simply click on this link, or enter this code: 8o4sut.

La Liga: Athletic Bilbao will face Espanyol in the Spanish League shortly after we hit send at 4:15pm, while Villarreal plays against Elche at 6:30pm, and Valencia faces Getafe at 9pm.

With the return of the German Bundesliga to beIN Sports, we recommend tuning in today at 5:30pm to watch Borussia Monchengladbach play against Mainz.

Serie A: Roma faces Udinese at 8:45pm, with a chance to earn the Italian championship title if they come out on top.

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Step into a beautiful, bygone era at Villa Belle Époque’s Acacia: Amid the lush greenery of Enterprise’s neighborhood of Maadi, lies the 1920s-era boutique hotel Villa Belle Époque, home to an underrated restaurant: Acacia. The restaurant has an outdoor seating area by the pool, and an indoor area inside the villa’s lavish yet understated period decor. It’s hard not to be impressed by the venue’s unique blend of ancient history and modern Egyptian art. But let’s get to the part we all care about the most: The food. The menu boasts an array of carefully crafted international dishes, and every single one we’ve tried was exquisite. The glazed salmon was grilled to perfection, served atop a bed of spinach cream and with a side of noisette potatoes, the beef tagliatelle pasta was brimming with slow cooked beef, and the balsamic grilled chicken was a joy to devour.

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It’s a Latin night with Mona & Las Encantadoras at Cairo Jazz Club tonight at 9pm: You don’t want to miss this if you’re into Spanish folk, latin jazz, flamenco and gypsy tunes.

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The Milky Way is the juicy tell-all of our galaxy: After watching life on Earth for a few bn years, observing 100 bn people go about their daily lives, feeling somewhat lonely, and hearing its own story told by others, it’s time for the Milky Way to tell its own tale. In this simple yet astounding autobiography of the namesake galaxy, astronomer and folklorist Moiya McTier channels The Milky Way, outlining everything we know — from its origin to its inevitable demise, along with what we still don't know about this fascinating galaxy we call home. Unlike typical science books that tend to be filled with dry data, this book makes facts and figures considerably more interesting, memorable, and humorous, by weaving a tale and inventing cosmic characters.

The EGX30 rose 0.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 920.6 mn (5.3% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 16.3% YTD.

In the green: Madinet Nasr Housing (+5.5%), Ezz Steel (+3.2%) and Eastern Company (+3.0%).

In the red: Rameda (-2.8%), Telecom Egypt (-1.0%) and CIB (-0.4%).