Is today the slowest news day of Ramadan?

We’re now officially in the dog days of Ramadan. How do we know? Well, for starters, there’s nearly no domestic news of any flavour today. Then there’s the fact that the biggest story on ‘Egypt’ in the international press this morning is confirmation that the next iteration of the popular video game Assassin’s Creed is set in Ancient Egypt (link includes a 5:27 clip of gameplay).

How slow is it? Bad enough we’re going back to our roots in entrepreneurship to take note of the Financial Times’ latest special report, this one headlined Understanding Entrepreneurs. The package is worth reading if only for one reason: It’s bold, up-front admission that most of us building businesses aren’t living a “startup” lifestyle and aren’t trying to build the next “unicorn.” Among the stories worth of note in the EY-sponsored package that’s been running for the last week or so:

“How to turn a start-up into a lasting family business” — a topic that should resonate with many of us here in Omm El Donia, starting with the quote, “When a business has been built from scratch, many entrepreneurs have difficulty letting go of running it, whether to experienced executives or their own children.”

“Sometimes the best thing a founder can do is sell out” reminds us that for some of us, our first business is a starter business — more than half of all entrepreneurs go on to start a second company. (And keeping in mind that the best thing you can do for your business is plan to sell it — even if you’re convinced you’ll only ever leave it feet-first on a gurney — we cannot recommend highly enough John Warrillow’s book Built to Sell: Creating a business that can thrive without you and thepodcast that it inspired.)

Stop complaining about doing business in Egypt: An EY survey of 2,340 chief executives and senior leaders of mid-market companies (which they define as those with USD 1 mn to USD 3 bn in revenues) found that 90% of respondents see uncertainty as an opportunity for growth.

Elsewhere this morning: The New York Times would very much like you to know that El Face founder Mark Zuckerberg is wrong — there really is such a thing as a “eureka” moment.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 6:57pm CLT in Cairo, and the cutoff time for sohour is 3:08am.

The stamp tax on capital market transactions could come into effect as early as this week.

The House of Representatives will tackle the Labor Act this coming Thursday in a plenary session, while the House Manpower Committee will hold hearings on the Labor Unions Act starting mid-July.

The House of Representatives has yet to confirm it is delaying its summer recess, but is nonetheless giving every sign that it will be reconvening after the Eid break.

The Nile Basin Initiative’s presidential summit kicks off on 22 June in Uganda. The summit was originally slated for mid-May, but was postponed to give Egypt the chance to decide whether it would resume its membership in the initiative, which it had frozen in 2010. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi discussed preparations for the summit with Ugandan President Yoweri Musevini during a phone call yesterday, Ahram Online reports.

As expected, the debate over the Tiran and Sanafir handover treaty in Parliament dominated the airwaves, and we expect it will continue to do so during the entire debate.

Over on Kol Youm, Amr Adib called MPs’ behaviour “embarrassing” as he aired footage of yesterday’s debate. What’s worse, he said, the real discuss about the sovereignty of the islands hasn’t even started yet: “They were just debating whether or not they should talk about it in the first place,” a perplexed Adib said (watch, runtime 2:57). We’re with the man on this one.

Lamees Al Hadidi spoke to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Omar Marwan during her live spot on CBC Extra. Marwan argued that the Administrative Court’s ruling overturning the treaty has no bearing on the House of Representatives’ ability to take a vote on it. As bodies from different branches of government, he suggested, parliament should have a say (watch, runtime 18:28).

Wafdist Rep. Mohamed Fouad thinks MPs are being rushed into passing the agreement. He said he’s worried about a public backlash, saying the state has failed to win over public opinion since the handover was announced last year and suggesting the matter should be taken to a national referendum.

Rep. Khaled Abdel Aziz, a member of the 25-30 Coalition opposition bloc, told Lamees that House Speaker Ali Abdel Aal had questioned the authenticity of documents the coalition had presented as proof the islands are Egyptian.

Rep. Mohamed El Sewedy told Lamees that experts invited to testify did not get a chance to share their two cents as MPs’ loud and divergent opinions dominated the debate.

Adib also reported that gadfly parliamentarian Mostafa Bakry wants to get ex-president Hosni Mubarak’s opinion on the agreement, since Egypt’s maritime border, which excludes both islands, were last defined under his rule in 1990 (watch, runtime 1: 29).

Smurf Island debate kicks off in the House of Representatives: The House was the scene yesterday of a “raucous” debate of the agreement to hand over Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi, the Associated Press says. The government’s report to the House on the matter says that Egypt will maintain administrative control over the two islands even if their transfer to Saudi Arabia is approved, Reuters say. But MPs remain divided over the agreement. Some, such as the 25/30 coalition, are debating whether or not it should be discussed by the House at all since it was already struck down by the Administrative Court. Others have threatened to resign in protest, according to Al Shorouk. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Omar Marwan, however, defended MPs right to deliberate on the agreement, arguing that other courts (albeit lower in the judicial hierarchy) had overturned the Administrative Court’s verdict. Discussions will continue today and for the rest of the week, with government officials expected to make appearances and testimonies.

Trade and Industry Ministry forms committee to break deadlock over automotivedirective: The Trade and Industry Ministry is forming a committee of Federation of Egyptian Industries and Industrial Development Authority (IDA) officials to look into resolving the deadlock on the automotive directive, Al Borsa reported last Thursday. The move is the latest in an attempt to push for progress on the bill — which offers incentives to encourage local assemblers to move further up the value chain into manufacturing — and has been lingering in the House of Representatives’ Industry Committee due to opposition from car importers.

Are importers willing to hammer out a compromise? Importers and the bill’s detractors, including Bavaria Auto Group and Fiat Chrysler, have been lobbying for amendments to the legislation that would reduce the minimum requirement for local content a vehicle would have to include as a condition of benefiting from incentives under the law, said Samir Allam, head of the FEI’s transportation division. This could be their opening position in the talks set to take place to reach a compromise. The ministry had said last month that it would revisit unspecified sections of the legislation to ensure that none of its clauses violate any of Egypt’s trade liberalization agreements with the European Union.

The central bank had earlier backed into forming its own task force to study alternatives to the legislation and was expected to submit its report sometime in the beginning of June. The CBE’s authority to look into the issue remains an open question.

The Saudi Fund for Development disbursed last week a USD 400 mn tranche of its USD 1.5 bn loan for the development of Sinai, Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said, according to remarks carried by Al Mal. The loan is set to fund King Salman University, King Salman Bridge, upgrades to the Kasr El Aini hospital, housing projects and roads, among others. Egypt had received USD 500 mn of the facility as of last August. Talks reopened in April after a court ruling to reject the handover of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia stalled progress January.

World Bank, African Development Bank in town for talks on USD 1.5 bn in funding: Separately, a World Bank delegation will arrive in Cairo this week to discuss the disbursement of a third USD 1 bn tranche of the bank’s USD 3 bn development loan, Minister Nasr said, according to Ahram Gate. An African Development Bank delegation will also be discussing the draw-down of a third and final USD 500 mn tranche of its USD 1.5 bn loan.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Berlin today, where he’s expected to sign agreements worth a combined EUR 207 mn. El Sisi will meet talk terrorism and illegal migration with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the trip. The two leaders had made headway on cooperation on migration during her visit to Egypt in March, at which time she  pledged USD 500 mn in new aid for Egypt and promised El Sisi additional help to help thwart human trafficking and illegal migration. El Sisi is expected to attend the G20 African Partnership Conference that launches today; in addition to other African heads of state, attendees will include representatives of the World Bank, IMF, and African Development Bank.

El Sisi is set to deliver a speech and attend a roundtable on private investment in Africaninfrastructure at the German Chancellery. Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser who will also speak on projects in Egypt. El Sisi will kick off the Egyptian-German Business Forum, Egyptian Ambassador to Berlin Badr Abdel Aty said, Al Mal reports. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for an interview with a German TV channel.

Amazon signs agreements with Egyptian companies: A number of Egyptian companies have inked agreements with Amazon that will see the global web retailer distribute their products in Europe and the US through its platform, Mintra CEO Hany Casis tells Al Ahram while wearing his hat as vice-chairman of the Chemical Industries Export Council. Mintra had closed an agreement with Amazon in March. Casis said at the time that the retail giant was looking to contract three companies in Egypt to handle the flow of products to and from Europe and the States. Amazon was also said in March to be looking at establishing a distribution center in Egypt.

EARNINGS WATCH- Transport solutions provider Egytrans grew its net profit after tax more than threefold in 1Q2017 to EGP 20.3 mn, from EGP 6.1 mn 1Q2016, according to a company release (pdf). The increase comes on the back of a 282% rise in revenues, which came in at EGP 111 mn this quarter, driven by the company’s participating in major power projects. “The rate of change in our financial metrics has been significant over the last twelve months,” Egytrans Chairman Abir Leheta says. “We continued to focus our portfolio around high-margin, high rate-of-return business, implement meaningful cost reductions across our business, and strengthen our financial position, while seeing structural improvements.”

Children born to women who later become Egyptian citizens can themselves claim citizenship –court. The Supreme Administrative Court ruled yesterday that two children have a legitimate claim to Egyptian citizenship even though their Jordanian-born mother didn’t become an Egyptian national until after the two were born. It’s the first such verdict from the court, Al Shorouk reports. Until yesterday’s verdict, children could only claim citizenship via maternal inheritance if their mother was an Egyptian citizen (born or naturalized) at the time of the child’s birth. Two cheers from us this morning for common sense in the judiciary.

52 websites are being blocked, not 21, including Medium, the noted dispenser of corporate platitudes and millennial drivel: The Association of Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE) claims that an unnamed “sovereign authority” has ordered blocked 52 websites and not 21 has been previously reported. Al Bedaya news website, which AFTE doesn’t list, has also reportedly been blocked, its Chief Editor Khaled El Balshy tells AMAY. Access to 21 news websites, including Al Jazeera, Mada Masr, and Huffington Post, was restricted last month amid allegations they had published fake news and / or were hosting pro-terror content. Oddly enough, blogging platform Medium (a favourite of millennials and corporate “thought leaders” alike) is included on the list (and does not open for us this morning).

Is Uber CEO Travis Kalanick on his way out? Uber’s board reportedly met on Sunday to discuss whether co-founder and controversial CEO Travis Kalanick would be stepping back. Kalanick could go on temporary leave or shift into another role, write Leslie Hook and Tim Bradshaw for the Financial Times. Kalanick wouldn’t be the only one to fall either. Long time deputy and Senior Vice President of Business Emil Michael could also be sidelined. The move comes on the back of a report into Uber’s internal practices and diversity prepared by former US Attorney General Eric Holder. The report looked into allegations, which have increased over the past year and includes [redacted] harassment and falsely obtaining medical records. Recode looks at who could take over in the interim. Reuters and the New York Times also have the story.

Chicago White Stockings played baseball by the Sphinx in 1889: Before hosting concerts and squash tournaments by the Giza Pyramids was commonplace, the Chicago White Stockings — forebearers of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs — came to play ball by the Sphinx in 1889 as part of a world tour meant to promote the sport. After finishing the game they were there for, the players scaled the Sphinx for this picture that “is perhaps their most famous portrait,” James E. Elfers writes in his book on the world tour. According to Elfers, they even took turns throwing a baseball at the monument “to see who could give the Sphinx a ‘black eye,’” — as if a missing nose wasn’t enough.

Topping coverage of Egypt in the foreign press this morning are wire pickups of the debate in the House of Representatives on the agreement to hand Tiran and Sanafir over to Saudi Arabia. The stories take a doom and gloom tack, suggesting that the ratification of the treaty (which Hamza Hindawi writes for the AP is a foregone conclusion in the AP) could ignite protests, et cetera.

Freedom of speech NGO the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, founded by high-profile human rights lawyer Gamal Eid, used the occasion to condemn what it alleges is the Egyptian government’s silencing of dissent when it comes to the issue. The statement was picked up by All Africa.

From a US perspective, “it is hard to make the case that the Qataris are uniquely problematic,” Steven A. Cook writes in Salon, suggesting that all of the other US allies in the region are also “lousy.” Cook takes the hammer to Egypt and quotes former Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, who once said the US-Egypt relationship is like a “mature marriage.” He notes “no doubt the Qataris have undeniably poor judgment when it comes to their support for the Muslim Brotherhood and especially Hamas … Al Jazeera is pretty terrible — but then, so is Fox News. The Qataris regard Iran as a problem to be managed rather than rolled back. That is likely a misjudgment … It seems that Qatar’s real crime, then, is to resist the regional consensus forged by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the United States under Trump.”

…Separately, Al-Monitor’s Ayah Aman suggests that “Cairo has achieved great political and diplomatic progress by taking part in the Gulf’s decision against Qatar. It found a decisive response to Qatar’s practices, which the Egyptian regime has always regarded as a direct threat to its national security.” Qatar was “a longstanding thorn” in Egypt’s side, Ramadan Al Sherbini writes in Gulf News.

Hamas was apparently warned by Egyptian authorities to distance itself from Iran, according to the Algemeiner. The move reportedly follows recent declarations by officials in Tehran that a restoration of ties with the Gaza Strip-ruling Islamist group — including a renewal of funding — was in the works. Egypt relayed the demand at a meeting last week with Hamas’ top official in Gaza Yehia Sinwar. Sinwar was told that rapprochement between Hamas and Iran could prompt Egypt to nix plans to expand the hours of operation of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza and loosen travel restrictions.

Human Rights Watch is demanding Egypt scrap death sentences handed down by military courts. The rights organisation cites a specific case where the defendants say they were denied basic due process and their confessions were obtained under duress.

On rapping and rebellion in Egypt: DW looks into what it says are risks Egyptian rappers take in rapping about politics and themes of rebellion in a politically charged climate. The rappers, the German outlet says, risk reprisal from the state.

Egypt’s auto industry could have taken leaps over the past 60 years had we had the right policy framework in place, Abbas El Tarabily writes for AMAY. He points to the success India has enjoyed in that area, whereby it began its journey in the 1960s as an assembler and eventually managed to manufacture a car made entirely of local components. India did not achieve this feat by chance or with loud statements, but rather by taking decisive action to spur the development of its auto industry, including barring imports of foreign cars, El Tarabily notes. Egypt, by contrast, has yet to learn how to manufacture tuk-tuks, which are far simpler than cars, and still imports their parts to be assembled locally. We need to follow India’s example, he concludes.

If you’re climbing the corporate ladder, this package is for you. Bloomberg Businessweek has run its How Did I Get Here feature for some four years now. Think of it as a weekly illustrated, annotated CV for some of America’s top CEOs — not all of them personally household names, but the majority of them folks running big-name companies you will recognize. Past examples have included the bosses of Levi Strauss, Mars Chocolate North America, Grey North America, and pension fund TIAA-CREF. One of the series’ primary authors has just compiled an epic list — sorted by category — of some of the best of 500 nuggets of wisdom from some 168 business leaders. Categories include:

• Starting out
• Planning your ascent
• Picking the right job
• Hiring superstars
• Finding your moral compass
• Being a decent human being
• Building the business
• Practicing good office politics

And plenty more. It’s all pablum, but there are kernels of wisdom in there worth reading. We’re not so sure about the whole “print out these pages and uncap that highlighter” bit, though. Read: How to Succeed in Business While Really Trying.

Is Herbalife really a pyramid scheme worth a USD 1 bn short? That’s the position hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has taken — and the subject of the riveting documentary Betting on Zero. On a tip from a Bloomberg reporter, Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital dug deep into the business model of multi-level direct marketing company Herbalife. He was sure that the company, whose revenues reached USD 3.8 bn in 2014, was nothing more than a pyramid scheme. The film details his fight to bring the company to the attention of regulators, his attempts to dodge accusations of market manipulation, and a battle with arch rival Carl Icahn, who attempts to squeeze Ackman’s short.

The company’s revenues derive mostly from distributors signing on and finding more distributors to buy Herbalife products in the hope of roping more distributors under them. The film explores Herbalife’s shady marketing practices which target poor immigrant communities, unable to report the scam. It also looks into attempts to file class action lawsuits by some of the victims who have been burned in the operation designed to only see a small portion of distributors making money.

You can catch the documentary on Netflix or watch the trailer (runtime: 2:02).

Qatar tensions easing? Qatari officials are ready to consider the concerns of their neighbors and respond to these efforts, said Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Subah Khaled Al Subah in a statement. He added that resolving the rift was an inevitability. "Is this the beginning of wisdom and reasonable thinking? I hope so," UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said, according to Reuters. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain issued joint statements announcing setting up of a hotline to handle humanitarian issues of Qataris. The Financial Times is noting the timing of this easing follows a call by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to the GCC to ease the blockade on Qatar. The move, however, follows Egypt raising its threat level out of concerns of an escalation of terror attacks following Qatar’s blockade.

Investment Minister Sahar Nasr discussed Egypt’s investment map and investment promotion with representatives from AmCham and Egypt-US Business Council, according to a ministry statement. The meeting also included a discussion of the Investment Act’s executive regulations, set to be completed within a month. An AmCham delegation recently completed the annual Doorknock mission in Washington DC.

Trade and Industry Ministry imposes mandatory on-site inspections of leather exports: Egypt’s leather exports will have to be inspected by the General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC) at the production site before they are shipped off, a new decision by Trade and Industry Minister Tarek Kabil states, according to Al Ahram. The move is meant to tighten quality control measures and ensure that export fees are being paid.

Petrojet has completed the construction of deepwater facilities on the Zohr gas field one month ahead of schedule, Al Masry Al Youm reports. Petrojet had also announced earlier this month that it completed construction on offshore platform for the gas field four months before it was due.

Italy’s Edison is looking for a partner to begin drilling the first deepwater well at its North East Hapi concession. Drilling costs could surpass USD 100 mn, an unnamed EGAS source tells Al Shorouk. Edison had signed an USD 86 mn agreement with EGAS in January for E&P operations and drilling two new wells in the concession.

Egypt failed to attract tourists who opted to move away from destinations like Turkey recently, Red Sea Tourism Investment Association vice president Hossam El Shaer told Al Shorouk. The slight rebound in arrivals figures is because of the relative degree of stability Egypt saw recently, El Shaer says. He blames the “failure” on Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed’s policies, saying promotion was inadequate and cooperation with foreign tour operators is weak. El Shaer also criticised some of Rashed’s policies, including disregarding subsidising charter flights, and says his decisions that did not take industry experts’ opinions into consideration, led to a number of them resigning from tourism boards.

EgyptAir will resume direct flights to Japan starting 29 October between Cairo and Narita, Al Mal reports. Flights were suspended four years ago due to a decrease in demand. The flights will be operated on Saturdays, potentially increasing if demand picks up.

The Alexandria Port Authority signed a EGP 3 bn agreement with Sesco Trans to design, construct, manage, and maintain a bulk terminal at the Dekheila Port under a 30 year usufruct, Al Borsa reports. The terminal is expected to take up to two years to construct, according to Transportation Minister Hisham Arafat.

Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) chief Mohab Mamish ratified on Sunday contracts for 15 new projects in the Ain Sokhna industrial zone with a collective investment value of EGP 1 bn, Al Shorouk reports. The move follows a resolution pf a land dispute between the SCZone and the Suez Industrial Development Company, the company which will develop utilities of the zone.

Seoul-based LG Chem was awarded a license to supply water treatment filters to a desalination plant in Egypt managed by Metito, The Korea Times reports. LG Chem will provide reverse osmosis membranes for the plant, which will be able to produce up to 300,000 tons of desalinated water, enough to supply one mn people. The contract’s value was not disclosed.

The Supply Ministry issued another warning that it will suspend subsidy cards whose holders fail to update or complete their missing data by the 30 June deadline, Assistant Supply Minister Mamdouh Ramadan tells Al Shorouk. Ramadan did not clarify how many of the approximately 19 mn beneficiaries have responded to the government’s calls to update their card data.

World number one squash player Mohamed El Shorbagy won the PSA Dubai World Series over the weekend, edging out England’s James Willstrop in the final match of the championship, Arabian Business reports.

Syrian refugees in Cairo have carved out a new community in Sixth of October that’s being featured in a photo gallery carried by Xinhua, China’s state news agency.

Egyptian sand is being featured at an exhibition in São Paulo as part of the Sands of the World exhibition, Brazil-Arab News Agency reports. The exhibition is a scientific presentation about where different kinds of sand originate. The sample from Egypt was taken from Cairo and can “be seen up close with a magnifying glass. The wall text explains that they are fragments of limestone, which was used in building the pyramids. The sample is light-colored and pasty-looking.”