Tuesday, 11 October 2022

AM — Inflation hit a near four-year high in September

TL;DR

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. Fresh inflation figures and new developments in the Capiter saga unfolding in Startup Land are dominating the newsflow this morning.

THE BIG STORY here at home is another y-o-y acceleration in inflation in September. Inflation hit 15.0% y-o-y last month as the EGP continues to tick down against the greenback, leading to higher prices for everything from transport to fuel.

There’s still no word on an IMF facility for Egypt. As of dispatch time this morning, we still don’t appear on the public agenda for the body’s executive board, which would need to approve a fresh program. Egyptian officials from both cabinet and the central bank are in Washington, DC, with senior officials from the nation’s banks for the IMF and World Bank’s weeklong annual meetings.

ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY FRONT- The recession-o-meter is running hot. The first day of those meetings yesterday saw the heads of both multilateral lenders issue stark warnings of a coming economic downturn, Reuters reports. “There's a risk and real danger of a world recession next year,” World Bank President David Malpass told IMF head Kristalina Georgieva in a dialogue to open the meetings. Both called for more support to emerging markets to help weather the storm.

Dimon chimes in on the doom talk: JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon told CNBC that he expects the US economy to fall into a recession in 6-9 months.

ALSO- The World Bank is under pressure in DC to do more to finance climate action, Enterprise Climate reports this morning. Germany and the United States are calling on the bank to offer better borrowing terms to create incentives for countries to take action on climate issues — and to de-risk clean energy investments in developing countries. The WB has been under pressure recently after its president expressed doubt that climate change is being driven by human activity.

PSA- We have 27 days left until COP27, boys and girls.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The auto industry bill is up for a final vote in the Senate today. The Senate yesterday gave preliminary approval to the bill,which will set policies for the automotive sector in general, including EVs, and a fund to provide incentives to the industry. Enterprise Climate had the details of the legislation here last week.

The folks at the SFE’s pre-IPO fund are getting busy: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) pre-IPO fund has started marketing investments to financial institutions, who have shown interest and are “seriously studying” potential investments in the state-owned companies it will sell stakes in to strategic investors, according to a cabinet statement. The SFE has also finalized the procedures to set up the pre-IPO fund and drafting the legal contracts for the upcoming stake sales. This came during a sit-down with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and SFE officials to follow up on the progress of the state IPO program.

REMEMBER- The pre-IPO fund was set up to prepare state-owned enterprises for listing on the EGX and provide an alternative to public share sales while market conditions remain volatile. Shares held by the National Investment Bank worth up to USD 3 bn will be sold to strategic investors in the first phase, with a second similar sized phase coming later. The first phase could also see one of the Siemens-built power plants offered up to investors. The government has been planning to market companies to Gulf sovereign funds and investors in Europe and Asia during a roadshow this month.

Maait reminds us what the IPO program is up against: The risk-off rippling across equity markets in emerging economies and developed countries thanks to rising interest rates, heightened inflation, and the continued repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis.

MEANWHILE- The three-day Nigeria-Egypt Trade Conference and Exhibition enters its second day today. Nigerian and Egyptian companies as well as officials and ambassadors from Africa’s two largest economies are discussing joint investment and other forms of cooperation at the conference.

Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt Nura Abba Rimi called on Egyptians to invest in the Nigerian economy: “Any investor looking for a place to invest, build, thrive, innovate and succeed, there is no better place on Earth than Nigeria,” he said.

You don’t need to tell us twice: Enterprise took a trip to Lagos over the summer to get to grips with Nigeria’s flourishing startup scene. Here and here are tasters of what we found.

ALSO- MBZ is heading to Moscow: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to discuss issues of common interest, state news agency WAM said yesterday. This comes after OPEC+ cut oil production by 2 mn barrels per day in its biggest production cut since 2020 in efforts to support dropping oil prices — leading the US to say cartel leader Saudi Arabia is aligning itself with Moscow.

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 with the results in a couple of weeks.

THE BIG STORY ABROADRussia has launched its biggest aerial offensive against Ukrainian cities since the war began, in what Russian President Vladimir Putin said was retaliation for Saturday's explosion on a key bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. At least ten civilians died in Kyiv in the first strikes on the Ukrainian capital in months. The foreign press is calling the escalation a “turning point’ in the war that began in February.

Everyone has coverage: FT | NYT | Bloomberg | Reuters | WSJ | Washington Post | AP.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

We’re celebrating 50 years of ties with the UAE in a three-day event in Cairo from 26-28 October, under the slogan “UAE and Egypt … One Heart,” according to a statement. The event will highlight the economic and investment ties the two countries have built over the decades, as well as cultural links.

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.

Smart Green Governorates shortlist coming next month: Egypt’s Smart Green Governorates initiative will announce the full shortlist of 60 projects for the initiative at a conference early next month, according to a cabinet statement. The initiative’s technical committee is currently in the process of whittling down the shortlist from 162 projects to 60 (10 projects from each of the six categories), which will be presented to a national jury to select the final 18 projects. These will be showcased to investors at COP27.

** Read more about the Smart Green Governorates initiative in our recent interview with Hisham Badr, co-ordinator of the initiative.

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

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*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We’re hosting the most important global climate event of the year come November. But how much does the average citizen know about climate change? We take a look at what can be done to improve so-called climate literacy here ahead of the COP27 summit.

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Oceanman African and Middle East championships at Somabay: Somabay will be hosting the first ever Oceanman African and Middle East Championships on 14-15 October, 2022. More than 750 participants between 7-70 years old from different countries will come together for the passion of open water swimming. Register now for all five races with different distances and qualifications. To find out more, visit https://oceanman-openwater.com/oceanman-somabay-egypt/

ECONOMY

Egypt inflation hits new four-year high

Inflation accelerated again in September as price shocks continue to linger, according to CAPMAS figures (pdf). Urban consumer price inflation rose to 15.0% y-o-y in September, up from 14.6 % last month, amid an ongoing surge in living costs fuelled by the war in Ukraine and a weaker EGP. This is the highest figure since November 2018, when inflation hit 15.7%. On a m-o-m basies, prices rose 1.6% m-o-m in September, accelerating from 0.9% in August.

We can no longer pin the blame on food and beverage inflation: Food and beverage costs rose 21.7% y-o-y in September — its weakest pace since March — and 2.3% m-o-m, according to the statistics agency. “The rise in the headline was driven entirely by non-food inflation,” Capital Economics MENA economist James Swanston wrote in a note yesterday. Rising food and beverage costs — the biggest component of the basket of goods and services used to measure inflation — have been the main contributing to price hikes for months.

The price of everything else was up: Transport was a pain point, with costs up 17.9% y-o-y. Housing, electricity, water, and fuel costs jumped 6.2% y-o-y. “Inflation increased across most major non-food price categories,” Swanston wrote, saying this was the result of the weakening EGP.

A weaker EGP = higher prices: The currency has lost around a quarter of its value against the greenback this year, thanks to a toxic mix of domestic economic pressure, the global economic fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the strengthening of the USD against just about every major global currency. The central bank went for a snap 15.9% devaluation in March, with the rest of the slide happening in gentle (but steady) increments since then. Enterprise readers see the EGP dropping to 22.12 — the figure they’re using (on average) for their 2023 budgets, according to our fall reader survey.

Core inflation is at its highest since 2017: Annual core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food and fuel, rose to 18.0% in September from 16.7% a month earlier, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (pdf). That’s the highest core inflation has been since December 2017.

It could have been worse: Arqaam Capital Associate Director Noaman Khalid expected price hikes to reach 16% y-o-y in September in anticipation of fiscal measures that will likely accompany the imminent loan agreement with the IMF and a possible shock devaluation of the EGP.

Most analysts think inflation still hasn’t peaked: Most analysts we’ve spoken to lately see inflation peaking at 18-20% by the end of the year, particularly in the event of a shock deval. Higher global commodity prices could also spur price hikes, Khalid told us. We’re expecting the government to hike fuel prices for the seventh consecutive quarter when the fuel pricing committee meets this month, as oil markets rise amid supply cuts by OPEC+.

What this means for interest rates: Rising inflation, the weakening local currency and the global monetary tightening wave all add up to pressure on the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to resume rate hikes, Swanston said. “We expect the CBE will raise interest rates by 150 bps to a peak of 12.75% by early next year. This is more tightening than the consensus expects and we think the risks are skewed firmly to the upside,” he said. The CBE could also pull the trigger on a shock devaluation and immediately follow up with an unscheduled monetary policy committee meeting to raise rates, Arqaam’s Khalid said. “We expect the CBE to hike rates by 2-3% in upcoming meetings,” he said. The central bank has repeatedly said it will temporarily allow inflation to overshoot its target of 7% (±2%) on average in 4Q 2022, and local media has reported that it could announce new inflation targets soon.

REMEMBER- The CBE left interest rates unchanged last month for the third consecutive month, surprising analysts who expected up to a 100-bps increase in a bid to curb rising inflation and the weakening EGP. The bank instead raised the reserve requirement for all banks to 18% from 14%, which it said would “complement the tightening stance that the CBE is maintaining.”

The foreign press took note of the news: Bloomberg.

STARTUP WATCH

Capiter’s co-founders take legal action against board over their dismissal

Capiter meltdown could end up in court: The two co-founders of B2B e-commerce startup Capiter have filed a lawsuit with the public prosecutor’s office against the company’s board of directors over their recent firing, co-founder Mahmoud Nouh told Bloomberg Asharq (watch, runtime: 8:19). The pair were dismissed by the board in September amid accusations of financial impropriety at the crisis-stricken firm.

A recap for nonresidents of Planet Startup: The Nouh brothers were dismissed last month by the company’s board, which in a statement said they had failed to attend board meetings or to fulfill their fiduciary duties. The firing came amid a storm of allegations on social media accusing the two brothers of financial impropriety at the high-profile company, which last year raised USD 33 mn from regional and global investors.

The Nouhs’ case: In their complaint to prosecutors, the Nouhs argue that their dismissal was illegal as they never received formal notification of it from the board, which they allege deliberately and unlawfully sought to isolate them from the business, Mahmoud told the broadcaster. They refute the board’s claim that they stopped showing up to board meetings, saying they attended three separate meetings in the week leading up to their dismissal. The pair are seeking compensation for damages, Nouh said.

The brothers wanted to liquidate Capiter when it became clear that the startup would no longer be able to fulfill its obligations, including those to employees — but the board refused, Mahmoud claims, blaming global economic trouble spurred by the war in Ukraine for the company’s downfall. He declined to say how much Capiter owes, but said it was the board that had failed to fulfill its financial obligations after dismissing him and his brother, noting that employees still haven’t received their August salaries.

The Nouhs want to know who fired up the rumor mill: The lawsuit also demands an investigation into the source of social media allegations that the brothers had embezzled funds from the company. “Tens and thousands of companies fold, but it doesn’t need to be due to a problem or a scandal … the complaint will investigate who is behind this fake news” on social media, Nouh said.

The brothers want board members to go on the record about what happened: “The investigation will reach the heads of the funds [who invested in Capiter] in efforts to get to the bottom of what happened and find out who is responsible for the company going to ruin,” he said. Quona Capital and MSA Capital led the USD 33 mn series ‘A’, with participation from Savola, Shorooq Partners, Foundation Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, and Derayah Ventures.

Mahmoud sought to dispel the idea that the co-founders “fled” the country: Capiter has a branch in the UAE and there are no restrictions on which country company execs can work from, Mahmoud said, adding that he often worked from abroad before the scandal broke and has a visa to stay in the Emirates. The brothers had received threats in Egypt thanks to the social media storm, he claimed.

Nouh also claimed that Capiter’s HQ has been looted since their dismissal, alleging that assets including money and company documents have been stolen.

What’s next? The Nouhs say they’re still calling for liquidation so the company can pay some of the money it owes, especially to employees. Meanwhile, Capiter’s board is discussing its response to the allegations, Al Sharq quotes interim CEO (and former CFO) Majid El Ghazouli as saying. The board said last month that internal and external investigations had been launched into the scandal, but Mahmoud told Asharq he and his brother have received no official notification of any ongoing investigations.

There have been reports that Capiter could get hoovered up: Saudi fintech platform Sanad Cash reportedly wants to acquire 60% of the startup, offering to clear out Capiter’s debt in return for the shares. Key investor Quona Capital could also be in the frame to buy 70-80% of Capiter’s shares.

About Capiter: Capiter caters to micro and small businesses in the food and beverage, FMCG and consumer electronics segments. It has a multi-headed business model: You can think of it as a marketplace in which businesses can order inventory, arrange delivery, and access buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financing facilities through one app.

Want more? We dive deeper into what all this means for the local startup scene in our What’s Next vertical, here and here.

CAPITAL MARKETS

CI Capital launches equity fund tracking Capped EGX 30 index

CI Capital Asset Management has launched an equity fund tracking the EGX30 Capped index, which it says is the first of its kind in the local market, the company announced in a press release (pdf). The door for subscription to the open-ended fund — dubbed “Misr Equity” — opened yesterday.

SOUND SMART- A tracker fund allows investors to purchase shares in companies listed in a specific index, bringing them long-term, cumulative returns based on the performance of the index over a specific period of time. We outline how this works — and the different kinds of tracker funds — in our explainer on passive investing here.

What they said: “The fund targets investors looking for long-term returns,” CI Capital Chief Investment Officer Tarek Shahin said in the statement. “Despite the current pressures on the global economy and the effect on the performance of equities in emerging markets, this has meant that companies are currently trading at very attractive valuations that do not reflect their growth trajectories, meaning they could outperform these prices in the long term.”

Shahin told us he wants the fund to be among the ten largest in Egypt by the end of 2023.

REMEMBER- The EGX30 is down some 16.7% YTD, as inflationary pressures and higher rates batter global equities markets and recessionary risks see foreign investors exit riskier emerging market stocks.

What’s the EGX30 Capped? Launched in 2019, the index puts a 15% limit on the weight accorded to any one security. Capped indices are calculated in much the same way as regular ones, but prevent stocks with a high freefloat percentage from causing disproportionate swings in the index — which is why CI Capital chose the capped index for this tracker fund. “The capped index has the essence of the main index, but offers more diversification and better sector representation,” Shahin tells Enterprise. (Read: The index is less likely to be swung one way or another by the performance of a single share, such as CIB, which dominates the EGX30.)

Who can subscribe? The fund is open to CI Capital and CI Capital Asset Management’s clients, as well as clients of Misr Capital Brokerage and Mubasher. The minimum investment is EGP 100, or 10 mutual fund units at EGP 10 each. “We really want to democratize the investment industry,” Shahin says of the low minimum buy-in, adding that the fund targets both retail investors and institutions.

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ENERGY

Government doubles gas prices for cement producers

Cement producers are going to be paying more than double what they used to for natural gas after the government issued a decree earlier this week enforcing a price hike of c.108%. Natural gas will now be sold to cement manufacturers at USD 12.00 per mmBtu, from USD 5.75 / mmBtu previously, according to the Official Gazette.

The decree also raises natgas prices for some other industries:

  • Brick kilns will be charged EGP 110.00 per mmBtu, up from EGP 73.00 / mmBtu;
  • Petrochemical companies producing ethane-propane blends will be charged according to a price formula that will be updated monthly by the state’s Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), with a set floor of USD 4.50 / mmBtu;
  • Other petrochems producers will see no change to their natural gas prices, which were set last October at USD 5.75 / mmBtu.

The exceptions: The decree does not apply to companies whose natural gas purchases have been priced into their supply contracts.

MOVES

Hesham Radwan (LinkedIn) was appointed general manager and managing director of Danone Egypt and Northeast Africa, according to a statement (pdf). Radwan has worked at Dnone Egypt in various roles for the past 14 years. He succeeds Haitham Sadek (My Morning Routine), who has moved on to become the company’s senior vice president of Europe operations.

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LAST NIGHT’S TALK SHOWS

The National Dialogue was everywhere on the airwaves after its board of trustees concluded a meeting last night.

The National Dialogue will discuss what’s said at the government’s upcoming economic conference, which is scheduled for 23-25 October, MP and assistant rapporteur for the political track’s local committee Alaa Essam told Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 28:12). We were told earlier this week that the dialogue itself won’t begin until after the economic conference and the COP 27 climate summit wrap.

On the agenda for the dialogue’s economic track: Inflation, public debt levels, the budget deficit, fiscal reform, investment priorities, state ownership and private sector participation, industry, agriculture, food security, social justice, and tourism, the dialogue’s organizers said.

The political, economic and social tracks of the dialogue will each meet on a different day of the week. Essam said. Some 30 contributors will take part in each session, including members of political parties, experts in the field, and government officials, Essam said. The news also got coverage from Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 2:46).

ALSO GETTING AIRTIME- Cement prices will rise only slightly on the back of the government’s decision to double natgas prices for cement producers, head of the cement division of the Federation of Egyptian Industries Ahmed Sherine told El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 9:24). Natural gas covers just 10-15% of the energy needs of the few cement producers that even use it, with most relying on coal, he said. We have the details on the price hikes in today’s Energy section, above.

EGYPT IN THE NEWS

It’s more of the same for Egypt in the international press as scribes rehash some of their favorite topics:

  • The Financial Times is the latest to take a look at climate activists’ access — or lack of it — to COP27.
  • The new withdrawal limits on using debit and credit cards abroad as banks work to conserve their limited USDs get ink from Reuters.
  • The Guardian is jumping on the Rosetta Stone story amid the opening of the British Museum’s exhibit celebrating its discovery.
  • The Africa Report returns to the eviction of residents of Warraq island, whose houses the government is demolishing so that it can redevelop the area.

ALSO ON OUR RADAR

Real estate players should tune in to the government’s economic conference: Prime Minister Mdbouly said there would be a dedicated session for the sector at the conference scheduled for 23-25 October, according to a statement. Madbouly made the comments at meeting with real estate developers and Housing Minister Assem Al Gazzar on ways to boost the sector. El Gazzar said the government was particularly interested in proposals to attract foreign and Egyptian expat property buyers. Developers at the meeting called on the government to help diversify financing options for would-be homebuyers, and asked for permission to sell to foreign buyers in USD.

Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:

  • The Madbouly government is looking to launch a national tourism strategy in 1Q2023 to help the country attract 30 mn tourists a year. Some 13 mn tourists visited Egypt in 2019. (Statement)
  • Egypt-based T&D Design plans to begin operating a EGP 150 mn office furniture factory in 1Q 2023. (Al Mal)
  • Saudi SME fintech player Geidea is partnering with Visa on e-payments (Statement)
  • UAE proptech startup Stella Stays is setting up furnished apartments and coworking spaces in New Cairo through a partnership with real estate developer Tameer. (Statement)
  • El Badr Plastic is now qualified to move from the small-cap Nilex to the EGX after the company’s board approved raising its authorized capital to EGP 250 mn from EGP 17 mn. EGX listing requirements include a minimum issued capital of EGP 100 mn or its equivalent in foreign currency. (EGX statement)
  • UAE-based G42 and Benya Technologies will develop AI and other digital infrastructure including data centers, telecom towers, and cloud technology here as part of an equity-based partnership. (Zawya)
  • President Abdel Fattah El Sisi approved a KWD 750k (USD 2.4 mn) loan from Kuwait to fund the feasibility study of a planned railway linking Egypt with Sudan. (Al Mal)

PLANET FINANCE

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Are the IMF and World Bank stretched too thin? Economists are concerned that world’s biggest lenders are stretching themselves too thin bailing out emerging market economies, leaving them with less space to maneuver should future crises arise, the Wall Street Journal reports. The IMF had a record USD 135 bn of loans outstanding as of the end of September — up 45% from 2019 — while the World Bank’s lending has risen 53% since 2019 to a record USD 104 bn in September. Since the pandemic, the two lenders have also shifted their focus from short-term loans with strings like spending cuts and policy overhauls attached to looser, longer-term emergency loans.

Economists want them to tighten their pockets: “Now with a potential of a global recession and many countries having bouts of payment problems, they need to go back to their original function,” said a former World Bank official. “They are the lender of last resort.”

MEANWHILE- BoE doubles down on bond market support amid crisis: The Bank of England (BoE) introduced a handful of measures to relieve pressure on pension funds and alleviate worries about its emergency purchase program expiring at the end of this week, according to a BoE statement. The bank brought in the two-week emergency support at the end of September after Prime Minister Liz Truss and her numbers guy Kwasi Kwarteng set off a historic fire sale of UK assets and sent the gilts market into cardiac arrest with their unconventional mini-budget, which Included GBP 45 bn in unfunded tax cuts. The government has since U-turned on much of the budget. We broke down the gilts crisis in a nifty explainer here.

Also worth knowing about this morning:

  • Nissan could invest in its French partner Renault’s future electric vehicle unit, as part of ongoing discussions between the two companies about the future of their alliance. (Statement)
  • Shares of Chinese chipmakers suffered sagged and the Nasdaq saw its lowest close since July 2020 as Washington’s new export restrictions. (Financial Times | Wall Street Journal)

Up

EGX30

9,949

+0.1% (YTD: -16.7%)

None

USD (CBE)

Buy 19.60

Sell 19.71

None

USD at CIB

Buy 19.63

Sell 19.69

None

Interest rates CBE

11.25% deposit

12.25% lending

Down

Tadawul

11,530

-0.3% (YTD: +2.2%)

Down

ADX

9,831

-0.8% (YTD: +15.8%)

Down

DFM

3,339

-1.0% (YTD: +4.5%)

Down

S&P 500

3,612

-0.8% (YTD: -24.2%)

Down

FTSE 100

6,959

-0.5% (YTD: -5.8%)

Down

Euro Stoxx 50

3,357

-0.6% (YTD: -21.9%)

Down

Brent crude

USD 96.19

-1.8%

Up

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 6.57

+2.0%

Up

Gold

USD 1,676.50

+0.1%

Down

BTC

USD 19,194.86

-1.1% (YTD: -58.6%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.1% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.15 bn (15.9% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is down 16.7% YTD.

In the green: Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (+3.0%), Housing and Development Bank (+2.6%) and Alexandria Containers and Cargo Handling (+1.9%).

In the red: Qalaa Holdings (-2.1%), Orascom Construction (-1.6%) and Ibnsina Pharma (-1.4%).

It’s a mixed picture for Asian markets in early trading this morning, with the Japanese and South Korean indices both trading lower as they reopen following a Monday bank holiday. Futures suggest European indices will largely open in the red, while Wall Street stocks could open in the green as they rebound from yesterday’s losses.

DIPLOMACY

Russia-Ukraine war hits our squash courts: Ukraine’s squash federation has said the country will not participate in the Women’s World Team Squash Championship Egypt is hosting in December, citing an unconfirmed allegation that an Egyptian observer somehow helped oversee the recent Russian referendums in Ukrainian territories. The referendums were widely denounced by Ukraine and its western allies as a pretext by Moscow to annex occupied land.

The Foreign Ministry categorically denied reports that any Egyptian observers were present for the referendums, according to a statement.

greenEconomy

Hosting COP27 is creating a buzz around climate change in Egypt. With conversations about climate change and COP27 dominating the airwaves and the country gearing up to host some 35k visitors in Sharm El Sheikh in November, climate action is taking center stage in public consciousness. But just how climate literate are we?

People in urban areas struggle to relate: Manar Ramadan, co-founder and head of research and development at Banlastic, an Alexandria-based social enterprise that wants to ban single-use plastics in Egypt, tells us that while educated people and urban communities are often aware of the concept of climate change, they rarely connect it to what is happening in their lives.

Awareness is much lower in rural areas, but its effects are prompting people to ask questions: Ali Sayed, founder of Roaya, a Quseir-based NGO that works on raising awareness among the local population about climate change, says that although climate awareness has traditionally been low in Quseir and Red Sea Governorate, it’s quickly rising as the local population feels the impact of climate change. He explains that fishermen are being forced to change their fishing patterns due to fish shortages, rising sea temperatures and coral bleaching. Farmers confront the effects of climate change on a daily basis, grappling with water shortages and heat waves affecting their yields.

Climate literacy is jargon-heavy, which makes it inaccessible. It also creates a lot of room for misunderstanding — and Egypt is no exception. A recent piece in the Financial Times reported that even the most common terminologies used by climate experts like mitigation (read: reduce) and adaptation (read: actions taken to adapt to climate change) are misunderstood in Europe and the US.

There is a dearth of literature on how climate change affects our lives: Ramadan tells us that understanding how climate change affects lives and livelihoods in Egypt is largely missing from most local climate literature. “We always talk about how sea levels will rise, but we never talk about flash floods or extreme rain and how that affects the infrastructure of cities like Alexandria, for example,” says Ramadan. Even in Quseir, where the effects of climate change are felt acutely by many of the community, there are deniers and people who don’t connect the environmental shifts to climate change, Sayed says.

Climate change has a communication problem: A dearth of research on the local impact of climate change is just one challenge that civil society actors have to contend with. “If we’re talking about who is affected, how many they are, and what the alternatives are, no we don't have that information. We don't have easily accessible information about Egypt's adaptation projects either,” says Ramadan. “Solution-oriented actions and strategies that are being adopted by the government aren't being communicated.”

Climate change doesn’t exist in a vacuum: “Climate change is not something on its own, it is our daily lives. It affects everything we do and consume and is very interconnected,” says Marwan Rasmy, programme development lead at Greenish, a sustainable development foundation that aims to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. A discussion about how climate change impacts the many aspects of our lives is missing from the conversation, he says.

Global climate change is important, but it’s also important to be aware of micro-climate issues: Although Egypt is not one of the biggest offenders when it comes to climate change, our quality of life can be improved if we have more awareness around what it is and how we can counter it, according to Ramadan. This includes being aware of micro-climate issues, like the negative effects of removing trees from urban areas.

People who work in climate change need to be more connected and climate-literate: Even though there continues to be a lot of misinformation, even among the climate community, there has been a significant improvement in awareness compared to five years ago, Rasmy tells us. One of the biggest challenges to improving climate literacy is the speed at which knowledge is evolving, making it necessary for experts to constantly update their understanding. “You need to find a way to propagate the message within everyone’s daily activities,” says Rasmy, cautioning that awareness campaigns are not sustainable and do not produce ongoing results. For him, creating a weekly update for civil society actors can help keep them up-to-date on the latest developments.

Arabic content around climate change still hasn’t been mainstreamed: Arabic content around climate change remains inaccessible to a lot of people — even those specialized in the field. Because terminologies are translated into classical Arabic, it continues to be easier to use the terms in English. According to Sayed — whose NGO works on familiarizing students with climate change taxonomy and definitions — many people still don’t understand the term climate change. At their workshops, Roaya invites students to come up with ways to simplify the terms so they can understand them, talking about weather instability and heatwaves. For him, the solution is to talk about it more. “If we use the words more, it will be easier for people to get used to them. Just like social media jargon has become part of our culture and day-to-day language, we can make climate change jargon part of our language.”


Your top green economy stories for the week:

  • Green financing from Germany? Egypt wants to unlock EUR 54 mn in debt-for-development financing from Germany to fund climate and green economy projects.
  • Biden x COP27: US President Joe Biden will attend the COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh in November.
  • The British Embassy in Egypt launched a GBP 10.8 mn Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) program, which will build a pipeline of bankable low-carbon projects and give them access to financing.
  • EGX boss Rami El Dokany discussed the creation of a carbon credit exchange and an index to gauge companies' decarbonization efforts with the Johannesburg, Korean, Malaysian stock markets.
  • Nissan Egypt goes green: The Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency has granted Nissan a license to build a solar plant.
  • Solar Luxor: Egypt’s Antiquities and Tourism Ministry started operating a fleet of solar-powered transportation vehicles at historical sites in Luxor, with other tourist sites to follow.

CALENDAR

OCTOBER

October: Air Sphinx, EgyptAir’s low-cost subsidiary to commence operations.

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

10-13 October (Monday-Thursday): The WHO Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, WHO Regional Office, Cairo, Egypt.

10-14 October (Monday-Friday): Gitex Global, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, Dubai, UAE.

10-16 October (Monday-Sunday): World Bank and IMF annual meetings, Washington, DC.

15 October (Saturday): Cairo Metro will launch a global tender for maintenance work on the power stations and overhead catenary system of Line 1.

16-19 October (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo Water Week 2022, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

17 October (Monday): Fifth Egypt and UN-led regional climate roundtable ahead of COP27, Geneva, Switzerland.

18 October (Tuesday): The Egyptian-Swedish business forum, Stockholm, Sweden.

23-25 ​​October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt economic conference, Cairo, Egypt.

24 October (Monday): Empowering Sustainable Trade Flows with Factoring conference, St. Regis Cairo.

26-28 October (Wednesday-Friday): Egypt celebrates 50 years of ties with the UAE.

27 October (Thursday): European Central Bank monetary policy meeting.

27-30 October (Thursday-Sunday): Cairo ICT, Egypt International Exhibition Center, New Cairo.

30 October-1 November (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC), New Cairo.

Late October-14 November: 3Q2022 earnings season.

Late October: First Abu Dhabi Bank to complete full integration with Bank Audi’s Egyptian operations after merger.

NOVEMBER

1-2 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

1-2 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Arab League annual summit, Algiers, Algeria.

3 November (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

3-5 November (Thursday-Saturday): Egypt Fashion Week.

4-6 November (Friday-Sunday): Autotech auto exhibition, Cairo International Exhibition and Convention Center.

6-18 November (Sunday-Friday): Egypt will host COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

7 November (Monday): The inauguration of the first line of the high-speed rail.

9 November (Wednesday): Finance Ministry to host “Finance Day” at COP27.

7-13 November (Mon-Sun): The International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Squash Championships, New Giza.

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

27 – 28 November (Thursday-Friday): The first edition of the Egypt Media Forum.

DECEMBER

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

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.

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.

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.

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): 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): The eighth 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

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.

4Q 2022: Infinity + Africa Finance Corporation to close acquisition of Lekela Power.

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

4Q2022: Raya Holding subsidiary Aman and Qalaa Holdings’ Taqa Arabia to launch their fintech company.

4Q 2022: Saudi 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.

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