Good morning, wonderful people, and happy Monday. We have an absolutely stacked issue this morning, starting with a deep dive into how the market is reacting to a basket of fee and tax incentives the government announced last week to make a new capital gains tax on EGX trades a bit more palatable. The tax — payable only by investors who are tax resident in Egypt — comes into effect in January 2020, and analysts have welcomed the incentives, even as they suggest they may not go far enough.

And while we’re on the subject, a confirmation: The 10% capital gains tax on EGX trades coming into effect in January will be calculated on annual net portfolio earnings, not on a per transaction basis, Finance Ministry spokesperson Ragab Mahrous confirmed to us. The basis of calculation was vague in the announcement last week.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD- There’s no single story driving the agenda in the foreign press this morning:

• COP criticism: Some business groups have joined the chorus of criticism directed at the world’s politicians for their inaction at this month’s COP26 conference. (FT)
• Yield hunger: Inflation fears are pushing investors into riskier assets as real yields on treasuries turn negative. (WSJ)
• Red Tesla: Elon Musk and Bernie Sanders are going at it on Twitter over the leftist senator’s call for a wealth tax. (Reuters)

Central bank orders board shake-up: Egyptian banks will be prohibited from appointing the same person to act as chairman and CEO under amendments to board formation rules (pdf) designed to promote “appropriate diversity” in boardrooms published by the Central bank of Egypt yesterday.

Under the changes, banks must:

• Appoint a maximum of two executive directors; the rest of the board must be non-executives, including at least two independent non-execs;
• Appoint at least two women;
• Ensure board representation for minority shareholders (if they hold more than 5% of the bank’s shares).

Non-executive members are barred from staying on for more than two terms (or a maximum of six years), though a third term may be possible in exceptional circumstances if the central bank gives its blessing.

There won’t be any immediate reshuffles: Banks don’t need to start complying with the changes until their current board terms end.

PSA- The next time you buy a major home appliance, don’t pay any fees the retailer tacks on to install and “activate” the warranty. These costs should already be included in the sticker price for white goods, so the services should be provided to consumers without charge, the Consumer Protection Agency said in a notice blasted out by text message yesterday.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

All unvaccinated public sector workers will be prohibited from going to the office today unless they submit to a weekly PCR test at their own expense. University students will also be unable to access campuses without proof of vaccination.

As of today, auto dealerships have to comply with new consumer protection rules requiring price stickers to be displayed on vehicles. Companies that could be fined up to EGP 2 mn if they don’t comply with the rules.

FOR TOMORROW-

The two-day Africa Fintech summit kicks off tomorrow: The summit looks at innovation in the fintech ecosystem, venture capital and other forms of investing, and will also discuss the rise of healthtech.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The International Finance Corporation is hosting an invite-only forum in Cairo on Wednesday with a focus on sustainable finance in Africa. Egyptian speakers include Central Bank of Egypt First Sub-Governor May Abulnaga, the Financial Regulatory Authority’s Sina Hbous and CIB’s Dalia Abdel Kader.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will be in Cairo on Thursday and Friday (18-19 November). Charles will meet with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Al Azhar’s Grand Imam, Ahmed El Tayyeb, among other government officials. Expect climate change to be high on the prince’s agenda given his personal interest in the topic and Egypt’s selection as host of COP27 next year.

Comesa summit next week in Sharm: Egypt will host the 2021 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) summit on 23 November in Sharm El Sheikh.

KfW is launching a call for green projects: Companies and public bodies working on projects related to the green economy transformation will be able to submit proposals to the KfW Development Bank’s Investing for Employment facility, which will see co-financing grants ranging from 1 mn to 10 mn EUR awarded to to each project, the German development bank said in a press release (pdf). The facility will award grants to projects that contribute towards job creation. You can find out more about the facility and the application process here.

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

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed. Blackboard appears every Monday in Enterprise in the place of our traditional industry news roundups.

In today’s issue: Scholarships are rarely offered by Egypt’s K-12 private schools, as we reported last week. While most offer some financial aid to existing students under a charitable model, very few provide academic or non-academic scholarships designed to increase access overall. Today, sources comment on why this might be — with one suggestion being that scholarships offer few direct cost benefits to the private school for-profit business model. But beyond that, expanding access to top private schools isn’t seen as a priority for the broader market, several sources note.