Good afternoon, everyone, and happy almost-THURSDAY, which we’re observing with what is so far proving to be the slowest news day of the month. We hope you’re being happily productive this afternoon — and that you’re enjoying the cooler weather as much as we are.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY — so far:

#1- Remittances hit a record high in FY2020-21, growing 13.2% to EGP 31.4 bn compared to EGP 27.8 bn the previous fiscal year, according to a central bank press release (pdf). Remittances rose 15.5% y-o-y in June to EGP 2.9 bn. In 2Q2020 — during which the initial wave of covid helped trigger a historic slump in the price of oil — inflows slipped 10% y-o-y, only to rebound immediately the following quarter.

#2- Our first UNDP Human Development report in almost a decade was released yesterday, tracking Egypt’s progress in a number of key development areas including investment in human capital, economic development, social protection, women’s empowerment, environmental sustainability, and governance. We’ll have a breakdown of the report’s key findings in tomorrow’s EnterpriseAM.

#3- Pioneers Holding submitted a request to register its two new subsidiaries with the FRA in preparation for their debut onto the EGX, the company said in a bourse filing (pdf). The new companies — Pioneers Properties and Gadwa Industrial Development — will focus on real estate and industrial development, respectively, while the parent company will remain the financial services arm. The company had said it plans to split into three arms in what was at the time a first-of-its-kind move in Egypt. The company hopes the move will create value for shareholders by making its various activities more easily understood by investors.

^^ We’ll have more on all of these stories in tomorrow’s edition of Enterprise AM.

HAPPENING NOW- Egypt should be sending natural gas to Lebanon by the end of the year, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Bloomberg. Egypt agreed this month to ship gas to Lebanon through a pipeline running through Jordan and Syria to feed the 450 MW Deir Ammar power plant in Lebanon. The goal is to help alleviate the energy crisis currently gripping the country. El Molla told local news a few days ago that the gas could be ready to flow to Lebanon in the next three weeks. The agreement is still awaiting Lebanon submitting a funding request to the World Bank, while Jordan and Syria will use the three months to assess the infrastructure of the pipeline and conduct needed repairs.

ALSO- Elections for the board of Misr for Central Clearing Depository and Registry are taking place today, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said (pdf), with some 37 candidates running for a number of executive and nonexecutive positions. The authority published a number of appeals it had received against individuals barred from running in the elections under new board elections regulations for clearing and depository companies issued by the FRA last March. The regulations give an FRA committee a role in screening the candidates for election before a slate is put to a vote in the general assembly.

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

• Aldar and ADQ launch bid for SODIC: The two companies submitted a mandatory tender offer for up to 90% of upmarket real estate developer SODIC. Shareholders are weighing their options while the MTO is currently awaiting approval by the FRA.
• US could withhold USD 130 mn in aid to Egypt over rights concerns: The move is reportedly designed to pressure the Egyptian government to improve the human rights situation.
• The Suez Canal Bank and AAIB want almost all of Valu’s securitized bond issuance: The banks are looking to snap up almost 90% of the EGP 323 mn maiden securitized bond issuance by EFG Hermes’ consumer finance arm.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- There’s no single story dominating the news agenda in the global business press, though the looming meltdown of property developer China Evergrande may soon change that. (We have more on Evergrande in For Your Commute, below). The Financial Times says that the US envoy in charge of talks with the Taliban is blaming former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani for “derailing last-ditch [agreement] with the Taliban.” The Wall Street Journal notes that California Gov. Gavin Newsome has survived a campaign to vote him out of office before his term expired, while Reuters is leading with the drive by US officials to roll out covid-19 booster shots this fall. CNBC, meanwhile, has a rundown on everything Apple announced at its iPhone 13 event last night, and Bloomberg notes that SoftBank has made its first investment in Saudi Arabia.

ALSO- The delta-variant-induced chip shortage is continuing to impact companies globally, with Toyota being its latest victim. The carmaker said it would be scaling back its production from the previously forecast 9.3 mn units to a mere 9 mn for the fiscal year ending in March 2022, according to a statement.

YOUR STATUTORILY REQUIRED COVID STORY- Saudi Arabia inked an MoU with Pfizer and AstraZeneca to produce their vaccines locally, a spokesman for the Saudi Industry Ministry said on Saudi Satellite TV (watch, runtime: 00:26). The agreements — which were signed during a medical conference in Riyadh — also include combined efforts to establish a human cell platform with support from Pfizer, according to Argaam. No timeline for when the vaccines could be made available to the public was announced.

Meanwhile, the EU is pledging 200 mn more vaccine doses to Africa to be delivered in mid-2022, according to ABC News. The EU had already promised 250 mn doses; the stepped-up commitment comes as Africa struggles with vaccine shortages while developed countries rollout booster shots to fully vaccinated individuals, much to the World Health Organization’s chagrin. Just 3.5% of Africa’s population has been fully vaccinated.

Africa needs around 800 mn doses to vaccinate 60% of the continent’s population — close to the minimum percentage needed to ensure herd immunity, African health officials recently said. Around 145 mn doses have since been acquired. The WHO is optimistic vaccine supply constraints could ease by the end of the year, with Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus saying that the organization expects “volumes of vaccines coming into Africa to increase substantially,” according to Bloomberg.

TOMORROW- is interest rate day, and all 10 analysts we polled expect the central bank to leave rates on hold for a seventh consecutive meeting when the Monetary Policy Committee meets. Analysts pointed to the uptick in inflation and the pressure to maintain foreign inflows into Egyptian debt. Participants in a Reuters poll also expect the MPC to leave rates unchanged.

Also tomorrow: The Egyptian-Libyan Higher Committee is set to meet for the first time since 2009. A statement from the Libyan Ministry of Economy and Trade says that the committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday 16 September in Cairo. Meanwhile, Egypt’s International Cooperation Ministry announced the start of preparatory sub-committee talks ahead of the session. The committee was revived this spring following the restoration of official ties between Egypt and Libya.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The UN General Assembly is ongoing in New York until 30 September. The general debate will take place from 20-28 September. Leaders from at least 83 countries are expected to attend in person — in contrast to last year, when the meeting was almost 100% virtual. There’s no word yet on whether President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will attend in person or virtually.

ALSO- EFG Hermes’ fourth Virtual Investor Conference continues today, running through to 21 September with the theme of “After Reflation — FEMs in 2022.”

Sahara Expo: It’s the last day of the agricultural conference at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

It’s day six of the CIB Egyptian Squash Open: The bottom half of the women’s and men’s quarter-finals will be played today, before the semis kick off tomorrow. The final will be played on Friday 17 September. You can find the schedule here.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- A cool end to the week, Thursday will see a daytime high of 34°C and overnight low of 21°C, our favorite weather app tells us. Look for the seasonally appropriate weather to continue all weekend.