Happy hump days, ladies and gentlemen. The news cycle here at home calmed down somewhat from where it was yesterday, but is still pleasantly brisk.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

EGX continues rising: The EGX climbed again today thanks to the raft of decisions and announcements yesterday, including the Madbouly government’s EGP 130 bn stimulus package in tax incentives and legislative amendments to spur activity on the bourse. The EGX30 closed up 1.3% today, after seeing its best trading day in nearly two years yesterday, rising 4.9%. Today’s rise came as Fawry shares rose 5.4% and CIB shares rose 3.1%, following news reports that Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ is looking to purchase an unspecified stake in the fintech darling and snap up as much as 18% of the leading private sector bank.

Meanwhile, the EGP settled at 18.55 against the USD by the end of the trading day, down from EGP 18.27 per USD yesterday.

With fresh funding needs, our first Samurai bond issuance is back in play: The Finance Ministry plans to issue Egypt’s first Samurai bonds, with plans to sell USD 500 mn in JPY-denominated bonds in Japan on Thursday, Mohamed Hegazy, head of the ministry’s debt unit, told Enterprise, confirming a story in Bloomberg Asharq. The ministry had announced it was planning the bond sale for sometime in 1H2022 in January, but then said it would likely be delayed due to deteriorating market conditions because of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Elsewhere on the macro front: The Planning Ministry has revised downwards its expected GDP growth rate for FY2022-2023 to 5.5%, from 5.7% before the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war began to hit public finances, cabinet said in a statement today. This came as Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly directed the Finance Ministry to restructure the FY2022-2023 budget in order to “reassess priorities” amid rising commodity and oil prices. The priority for the revised budget will go towards social protection programs to help support the populations most affected by the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, Madbouly said, as he called on each ministry to revise its spending in light of the current events.

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

• More than a spoonful sugar to help the medicine go down: Fresh off the heels of the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision yesterday to raise interest rates and allow the EGP to devalue against the USD, the Madbouly government announced a package of incentives that would see EGP 130 bn in tax relief being doled out while moving up the timeline of already-planned social safety measures.
• Gov’t agrees USD 2 bn asset sale with Abu Dhabi wealth fund: Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ is reportedly buying government holdings in five EGX-listed companies, including up to 18% of CIB and an unspecified stake in Fawry, for around USD 2 bn.
• Price controls on unsubsidized bread are here: The Madbouly cabinet announced yesterday it is imposing price caps on unsubsidized baladi and fino bread for three months.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Russia-Ukraine programming, as yesterday’s deadly Boeing 737 plane crash in China dominates global headlines. No survivors have been found so far from the aircraft, which was carrying 132 people, making it China’s worst air catastrophe in over two decades, the Financial Times reported. The cause of the crash remains unknown, as investigators facing poor weather conditions and logistical difficulties have been unable to locate the plane’s black box, China Youth Daily reported, according to CNN.

Over in Russia and Ukraine, US President Joe Biden is sounding the alarm that Moscow could turn to chemical and biological weapons “indiscriminate bombing” as it grows more desperate in its attack on Ukraine, the Financial Times writes. Biden also flagged potential cyber attacks from Russia.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

There’s no MPC meeting this Thursday: The Central Bank of Egypt has canceled (pdf) Thursday’s regularly scheduled Monetary Policy Committee meeting after enacting a surprise 100 bps rate hike at a special meeting early yesterday morning.

Do you need to dive deeper into e-invoicing? Lynx Strategic Business Advisors are hosting a webinar on Wednesday, 23 March to discuss the system. The Arabic-language gathering will take place 12:00-1:30pm with speakers from the Finance Ministry and the Tax Authority and a panel discussion including the CFOs of PepsiCo, Talabat and Unilever. You can register for the event 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- Expect the mercury to rise 18°C during the day and 8°C at night tomorrow, our favorite weather app tells us.