Well, that’s another week in the books, nice people, as we wind down this final week before Ramadan. The Holy Month is now five days away.

Look today for more information on covid restrictions that will come into play during Ramadan. Health Minister Hala Zayed will hold a presser today to address measures that will be taken to limit the spread of covid-19 during the month, Masrawy says.

Egypt will either raise or maintain fuel prices in 2Q due to the rise of global oil prices last quarter, an unnamed governmental source told the local press. The government’s fuel pricing committee will announce 2Q prices before this Saturday. Brent crude ranged between USD 50-70 per barrel during the first quarter, up from USD 37-53 in 4Q2020.

Meanwhile, Eva and Pharco have apparently landed rights to manufacture China’s Sinovac jab. We have chapter and verse on the story in this morning’s news well, below.

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

• Taaleem shares popped 6% in EGX debut, ending the nation’s IPO drought.
• The window is open for retail subscription to Macro Group’s IPO.
• ADQ’s Agthia is one step closer to Atyab takeover.
• EFG, SFE closing in on AIB acquisition + El Salhiya is on the block.

FROM THE REGION- Crisis averted, says Abdullah: Jordan’s King Abdullah II said yesterday the rift between himself and his half-brother, the former crown prince Hamza bin Hussein, had been “nipped in the bud,” according to a written statement read on Jordan TV (watch, runtime 1:32). The investigation into the plot is still active, Abdullah noted, adding that Hamza is with “his family in his palace under my care.” Hamza said last week that he had been placed under house arrest after the government claimed that he was plotting with foreign actors to destabilize the country.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Today is the deadline for the business community to give comment on new draft executive regs for the Customs Act. Under the proposed regulations, importers would be allowed to pay customs fees in chunks over 6-12 months, depending on how established their business is. The regs would also allow goods to move out of Egypt without submitting waybills on the spot.

More information on the new construction licenses + building code will be made public before next Thursday: The government will hold a presser before 15 April to explain the details of the new system that will hand out construction licenses. The two-month pilot phase will begin 1 May before the system is fully rolled out at the start of the new fiscal year.

Further out in the legislation pipeline: Amendments to the VAT Act will be shipped back to the House Planning and Budgeting Committee in a few weeks after public consultations on the amendments wrap up, committee undersecretary Mostafa Salem told Enterprise. The Finance Ministry has been sitting down with industry players, including representatives from Coca Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle for their comments on the amendments, including applying the 14% tax to the rent and purchase of commercial and administrative properties, imposing VAT on crackers and some sweets, and removing the tax on imports of strategic commodities.

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt will issue the conditions booklet for the contract to develop the Mogamma El Tahrir this month, according to CEO Ayman Soliman. The goal is for the Mogamma to be transformed into a multi-purpose building.

Inflation data for March will be out on or around Saturday, 10 April.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due in town on 12 April to discuss the latest developments on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Lavrov’s planned trip comes after expectations that Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit Egypt sometime in March did not materialize.

Shares of Macro Group will start trading on Monday, 19 April in the second hotly anticipated IPO of the year. The window for retail subscriptions runs 11-15 April.

Egyptian Iron and Steel’s mining spinoff should be going live on the EGX any day now as the parent company prepares to go into liquidation, with officials previously saying to expect the debut in the first week of April.

“Summer hours” will come into effect for retail stores and restaurants as of 17 April. This means retail shops can close at 11 pm (instead of 10 pm during the winter), while cafes and restaurants can stay open until 1 am (instead of midnight currently). We have more details on the winter vs. summer hours here.

The Central Bank of Egypt will meet to discuss interest rates on Thursday, 29 April.

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