Happy hump day, ladies and gentlemen. Get through today and it’s a downhill slide to the weekend.

THE BIG STORY AT HOME is the addition of a brand-new IPO to our pipeline this year, with Macro Group Pharma releasing its intention to float overnight. Macro is getting its ducks in a row to become the second IPO on the EGX in 2021. We have chapter and verse in the news well, below.

THE BIG STORY INTERNATIONALLY? There’s no single piece of news driving the conversation abroad, but the S&P 500 logging its best day since June yesterday is getting ink from the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and the Financial Times.

*** CATCH UP QUICK with the biggest stories from yesterday’s edition of EnterprisePM:

• Jumia is planning to expand its food delivery service in Egypt;
• Major tech companies have handed the ICT Ministry a list of proposals for the executive regulations of the recently-ratified Data Protection Act;
• Emerging market assets took a hit toward the end of February.

Dubai suffers worst expat exodus in GCC: The emirate’s population — more than 90% of which is foreign workers — dropped by 8.4% last year as covid-19 induced economic upheaval forced expats to leave the country, S&P Global Ratings said yesterday (pdf). This is a more dramatic shift than the average 4% population decrease experienced in the Gulf. Real estate, tourism, and retail will likely continue to suffer for the next 1-2 years, S&P said, despite the government introducing measures to attract foreigners that included the easing of citizenship rules and allowing full foreign ownership of companies for the first time.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The EFG Hermes Virtual Investor Conference kicked off yesterday and will run until next Tuesday, 9 March. The conference is headlined as “Frontier Emerging Markets Regaining Momentum” and brings together executives from 197 companies and more than 700 investors from 253 global institutions to exchange insights on the current state of frontier and emerging markets, EFG Hermes said in a press release (pdf).

The Aswan Forum for Peace and Development also kicked off yesterday and runs until this Friday, 5 March under the title “Shaping Africa’s new normal: Recovering stronger, rebuilding better.”

Learn how sukuks work at a British Egyptian Business Association webinar today at noon CLT. Speakers include Sarwa Capital CFO Ayman Elsawy, Misr Capital Investment co-CEO and Managing Director Khalil El Bawab, director of HSBC’s MENA & Turkey Capital Markets Mohammad Ali Taufeeq, Dreny & Partners founding partner Moataz El Dreny, and Colliers International Country Director Karim Helal. Tap or click here to register.

Egypt will host the 2022 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup next March, cabinet said in a statement yesterday. The 2021 ISFF Shotgun World Cup, which ends this coming Friday, 5 March, is currently underway here in Egypt.

Key data points in the coming days and weeks:

• PMI figures for February will land tomorrow at 6:15am CLT.
• Foreign reserves figures should be out at the end of the week.
• Inflation data will drop on Wednesday, 10 March.
• The Central Bank of Egypt will discuss interest rates on Thursday, 18 March.

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