Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to a new week, and a holiday drought that is sticking around until late April, when Sham El Nessim rolls around. We hope you made this most recent long weekend really count.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Our debt won’t become Euroclearable before 2H2022, CNBC quotes Finance Minister Mohamed Maait as saying, signaling that the process of meeting the European clearinghouse’s requirements is taking longer than anticipated. Maait had said in September that Egypt had already satisfied 95% of the requirements, signaling we could reach a final agreement that would allow our local debt to be cleared in Europe by March of this year. Enterprise is reaching out to the Finance Ministry for more details.

#2- The EU has filed a challenge against Egypt at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over our compulsory import registration requirements, saying these requirements are “arbitrary,” the bloc said in a statement on Wednesday. Egypt and the EU have 60 days to try to reach a resolution for the matter through the dispute settlement consultations the EU has requested. If these consultations fail, the EU can request that the WTO set up a panel to rule on the matter. Enterprise is reaching out to the Trade Ministry for further information.

^^ We’ll have more on these stories in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

Also, today: FRA donates EGP 500 mn to Decent Life, “Differently Abled” initiatives: The Financial Regulatory Authority is donating EGP 500 mn from its budget surplus to the Sisi administration’s Decent Life initiative and the program to support individuals with disabilities, in a bid to support the government’s social intervention programs, according to a statement (pdf).

HAPPENING NOW-

Amendments to the Real Estate Registry Act are currently being discussed at the House of Representatives, where a joint committee of the House Constitutional and Legislative Committee and the House Planning and Budgeting Committee are looking at the bill. The proposed changes, which the Madbouly Cabinet approved in November, are expected to significantly trim the painstaking registration process by waiving the need to obtain pre-approval at the real estate registry office prior to obtaining the final seal and putting a time ceiling on the entire process.

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

• CBE to shake off Fed tightening, keep rates on hold: The Central Bank of Egypt will likely leave interest rates on hold when it meets this Thursday despite forecasts for rising inflation at home and higher interest rates abroad, our regular poll of analysts shows.
• Africa-focused VC firm TLcom Capital plans to enter Egypt with its new fund, which hit a first close of USD 70 mn.
• We’re getting a fresh USD 368 mn loan from the AMF: Egypt will receive a USD 368 mn loan from the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) to help strengthen its financial position and meet “emergency needs” amid challenges caused by the ongoing pandemic.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The world is still on Ukraine Watch this afternoon, albeit with few developments since we last wrote to you this morning. The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post are each running a feature story on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and a “likely target” for Russian invasion, where it says anti-Russian sentiment is growing.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

PSA FOR (EARLY STAGE) FOUNDERS- Today is your last chance to apply for the spring 2022 cycle of EGBank’s Mint Incubator. The incubator offers two tracks: A sector-agnostic track for startups at the MVP stage and a fintech track that accepts early-stage startups both at the ideation and MVP stages. Main founders must be between 16-35 years old. You can apply here.

The US Embassy in Cairo is now accepting applications for Cultural Property Agreement Implementation projects that would help Egypt protect its cultural property from looting, theft, and illicit trafficking. The guidelines state that concept notes should be sent in by this Thursday, 3 February, while shortlisted applicants will need to submit full applications by 4 May. Each project will receive USD 50-100k per project, with around USD 500k earmarked for the entire program.

OPEC+ will meet this Wednesday, 2 February: The cartel is expected to agree to another gradual oil production increase, hiking supply by 400k bbl / day in March. Planned production increases by the cartel have so far failed to meet the recovery in demand as several member countries struggle to up their output. The tightening of the oil market has pushed prices to a seven-year high this month. Some analysts say Brent could breach the USD 100 / bbl mark this year unless supply is increased.

The Cairo International Book Fair continues today at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. The event runs through to 7 February.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect the mercury to rise to 15°C during the day tomorrow before falling to 9°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.