Good morning, friends. It is hump day, and your reward is another flood of news, so let’s jump right in:

THE BIG STORY here at home: The Madbouly government used a visit by a group of US green tech companies to continue beating the drum about its openness to private investment. It was Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s first meeting with the domestic and international business community since his landmark speech on Sunday.

As you’d expect at a green tech event, Madbouly emphasized our future as a regional hub for green energy and drew a line under his government’s interest in seeing growth in exports of both technologies and services. Attracting private investment in EVs, green hydrogen and carbon capture are at the top of his cabinet’s agenda, he said. Egypt has in recent weeks signed MoUs with international players covering some USD 10 bn worth of investment in green hydrogen and green ammonia.

The PM was on message yesterday: Madbouly drew a line under his government’s push to make it easier for the private sector to invest and do business in Egypt through new incentives, the sale of state assets, and regulatory reforms. Speaking with business leaders yesterday, he highlighted priority areas including energy, technology and tourism, among others.

Sentiment among those present yesterday (Egyptian and American alike) was positive. Many we spoke with emphasized that the greening of Egypt will help solve many of the country’s economic and environmental challenges. The US green tech trade mission was organized by our friends at AmCham and the US Chamber of Commerce.

The US delegation seemed receptive to the message: Among those the bulls on green tech here was US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Climate Officer Jake Levine, who said the DFC has made its first equity investment in Egypt with a USD 25 mn ticket for a USD 250 mn fund that invests in local SMEs.

Egyptian startups are impressing on the global stage: Levine name dropped our friends at Shift EV as well as Breadfast and ECOnsult as examples of companies that support the green economy outside of pure energy investments.

** The meetings continue today for their third and final day.

THE ENDORSEMENT- Comida by Ken returns to Cairo today for its second season built around a six-course seasonal menu. Dates start today and run through June right here in the People’s Democratic Republic of Maadi. The Dubai-born concept is a great way to plan a night out with friends, and they’re open to group bookings for 8-12 seats. Check them out on IG or get more information on the interwebs.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s day five of the PSA world squash championships at SODIC’s Club S Allegria and at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. The championship, which is sponsored by CIB, has USD 550k at stake for each of the men’s and women’s categories, making this the biggest purse on record for a squash tourney.

The quick highlight reel so far: Women’s world No. 1 and top seed Nouran Gohar kicked off the championship on Friday by beating France’s Enora Villard, and continued to dominate on Sunday as she downed compatriot Farida Mohamed. World No. 2 and defending champion Nour El Sherbini “recovered from an uncomfortable start” to beat wildcard Kenzy Ayman yesterday. Over in the men’s category, New Zealand’s Paul Coll (who is currently the world No. 1) beat India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar in Friday’s opening match, while defending champion Ali Farag also came out on top against Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas on Saturday. You can keep pace with the full results on the PSA website here.

WATCH THIS SPACE- The Madbouly government could issue green and sustainable development bonds worth around USD 500 mn apiece next fiscal year, Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk told CNBC Arabia in a televised interview yesterday. The Finance Ministry in January signaled that it is looking to take to the green bond market for a second time with another USD 750 mn issuance, matching the 2020 issuance that saw Egypt debut sovereign green bonds in the MENA region.

SOUND SMART- What are these “susdev bonds” of which you speak? Cabinet last week approved a plan by the Finance Ministry to broaden its green financing framework to include sustainable development bonds, allowing the state to raise money for a wider array of social and environmental projects including the Decent Life initiative.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Goldman Sachs is allowing its senior bankers to take as much time off as they need through a flexible vacation scheme coming into effect this month, the Financial Times reports. Employees at all levels will be required to spend at least three weeks away from work annually starting next year, including at least one full week of consecutive days off. Goldman’s work environment came under the microscope last year when a group of employees said they were working in “inhumane” conditions and clocking in extremely long hours.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Sweden + Finland Nato membership may not raise tensions as much as we thought: Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that he would have “no problems” if the military alliance expanded to include the two Scandinavian countries, and that they would pose “no direct threat” to Russia, the Financial Times reports.

But… Any attempt to station Nato weaponry and military forces in either of the two countries would “provoke a response,” he added.

Moscow’s war in Ukraine might be turning into a military / strategic debacle, but it seems to be coming out on top in its energy stand-off with the EU:

• The EU appears to be watering down its sanctions to keep the gas flowing: The EU has given European companies the green light to open accounts at Gazprombank and pay up in RUB, a move that will allow Moscow to circumvent sanctions. Moscow has threatened to cut gas supplies to the continent unless it is paid in local currency. As of last week, 20 buyers had opened accounts in Russia and sources indicated yesterday that Eni will join them this week.
• The bloc’s oil embargo looks dead in the water after foreign ministers failed to convince Hungary to stop importing Russian crude. (Reuters)

More Musk-Twitter drama: Elon Musk suggested yesterday that he might try to renegotiate his USD 44 bn takeover of Twitter over concerns about the number of bots on the platform. A lower price is “not out of the question,” the tech bn’aire told a tech conference in Miami yesterday, causing Twitter’s shares to fall 8.2% by the end of trading. This comes a few days after he threatened to walk away from the acquisition unless the company comes clean on the volume of spam accounts. Musk argues that fake accounts make up at least 20% of the social media platform’s users, while Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal says the figure is below 5%. (FT | Bloomberg | Reuters | AP)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

It’s interest rate week here at home: The Central Bank of Egypt will likely raise interest rates when it meets this Thursday, according to a near consensus of analysts and economists we surveyed last week. Six of the seven respondents see the Monetary Policy Committee going ahead with a rate hike to combat inflation and stem portfolio outflows, with five forecasting rates to rise by up to 200 bps.

Need to get your head around the new e-receipt system? Lynx Strategic Business Advisors are following up their recent webinar on e-invoicing with a session introducing the Finance Ministry’s new e-receipt system, which is set to officially roll out on 1 July. The webinar will feature FinMin tax development advisor Yasser Taymour, as well as reps from Talabat, Jumia, Yoco, and the World Bank. It takes place tomorrow (Wednesday, 18 May) from 12:00-1:30pm CLT. Register here.

Venture capital 101: The Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA) is hosting a paid crash course in all things venture capital at the Zamalek Marriott on 21-23 May. Led by Avanz Capital Egypt MD Hany Assaad, the three-day course will cover everything you need to know about Planet VC, from fund structures and portfolio-building to due diligence and valuations.

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

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

IN TODAY’S ISSUE: We sat down on the sidelines of a visit by a delegation of US green tech companies to speak with PepsiCo global Chief Sustainability Officer Jim Andrew on how the company is integrating sustainable practices into its core operations here and abroad.