Happy almost-THURSDAY, wonderful people. We couldn’t be happier that the weekend is within arm’s reach as we sprint through this busy Wednesday afternoon.

One data point to take note of before we get into the swing of things: The EGX boasted EGP 2.3 bn in turnover today, a whopping 60.3% above the trailing 90-day average. The benchmark EGX30 closed up 2.7%, with today’s market rally led primarily by real estate stocks. Heliopolis Housing and Development, TMG Holding, and Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development closed the day comfortably in the green.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- ‘Tis the season for local wheat farming incentives + regulation: Egypt has hiked local wheat procurement prices to range EGP 865-885 per ardeb to encourage farmers to sell more of their crop to the government amid global supply shortages, a statement by the Cabinet read. The new price tag is lower than the EGP 1k per ardeb farmers had demanded, citing surging inflation.

The higher procurement price comes as the government is moving to regulate the market, with Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy issuing a decision requiring farmers to sell a minimum of 12 ardebs of wheat per feddan, and barring them from selling to others without a license. Farmers who sell at least 90% of their crop yield to their government will receive subsidized fertilizers for the summer harvest season, according to the new regs.

#2- Egypt and Israel will operate direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sharm El Sheikh for the first time starting next month, under an agreement between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports, citing Bennett. EgyptAir first opened a flight route to Tel Aviv in October following what was Bennett’s first visit to Egypt, and the first for any Israeli PM in over a decade.

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

• FinMin sees budget deficit widening amid commodities price shock: The Madbouly government sees the FY 2021-2022 budget deficit target widening to 6.9% from 6.7%, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk said, as war-related global price surges are putting a strain on the state budget.
• The Russia-Ukraine war will curb our economic growth and hit the budget –IMF: Emerging markets including Egypt will need to hedge against the economic risks associated with the war in Ukraine, IMF Director for ME and Central Asia Jihad Azour said.
• How the commodity price shock is pushing up the price of building materials in Egypt: Local steel and cement prices have soared since the start of the Ukraine conflict, with local manufacturers saying that these increases are necessary as they face soaring input costs, while contractors are lobbying for government support to help them absorb the shock

HAPPENING LATER TODAY- The US Federal Reserve will kick off the second day of its two-day open market committee meeting at 8pm CLT, followed by a press conference at 10:15pm CLT to announce the outcomes of the meeting. The Fed is widely expected to kick off its monetary tightening cycle today, starting with a 25 bps rate hike. The market previously anticipated the central bank to go bigger and raise interest rates by 50 bps, but now expects the uncertainties triggered by the conflict in Ukraine to have changed its calculations.

The Fed’s decision will be important to keep an eye on here at home, as the Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee is set to meet next Thursday, 24 March for its second interest rate meeting of the year.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

We’re inching closer to a peace agreement as Moscow and Kyiv begin to find common ground: Russia and Ukraine are approaching a consensus on certain parts of the proposed peace agreement that would end weeks of fighting, Reuters reports. “Neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security [assurances],” Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. The two sides are “very close to agreement” on the “specific formulations” of this arrangement, Lavrov said.

The setup would see Ukraine mimic Austria, adopting a neutral status while maintaining “its own limited army,” which Russia is considering a compromise on its part, Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

In the meantime, Ukraine is striking back against Russia’s offensive, with its armed forces carrying out counteroffensive attacks in several operational areas, which “radically changes the parties’ dispositions,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in a tweet.

Around 20k Ukrainian civilians have escaped Mariupol in private cars, as Russian forces focus their efforts and resources on the city on the Azov Sea coast, which they need to control before continuing to move further west, Reuters reports. At least 200k citizens are still trapped in the city, many of whom are without basic necessities, heating, power, or water.

More US assistance coming Ukraine’s way: US President Joe Biden is set to announce an additional USD 800 mn in military aid to Ukraine today, the Washington Post reports, citing a senior White House official. The aid is part of a government spending bill Biden signed that would provide USD 13.6 bn in new assistance to Ukraine.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Swvl is on course to hit the Nasdaq around the end of the month: Egyptian mass transportation firm Swvl will go public on the Nasdaq “on or around the 31 March” should the shareholders of its SPAC, Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, approve the listing in a meeting on 30 March, the company said in a statement (pdf) confirming that the merger has received the greenlight from US regulators. The company will list 35% of its shares on the tech-heavy exchange following a merger with Queen’s Gambit, and will trade under the ticker SWVL.

A call for agribusiness SMEs: CARE Egypt is calling on SME owners to apply for a training program aiming to equip agripreneurs to raise funds. You can apply for the program here.

Green energy forum: The German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce is hosting the Egyptian-German Green Energy Forum next Tuesday, 22 March. The event runs 5:30-9pm CLT at the InterContinental Cairo Semiramis.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will reach 20°C during the day tomorrow before falling to 9°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.