Good afternoon, wonderful people, and welcome (finally) to THURSDAY. It’s a moderately calm end to the week, but we anticipate the lull won’t last for long.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

It hasn’t happened yet, but the big story here at home will most certainly be the outcome of the Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting later today. The near-consensus among analysts and economists we surveyed is that the MPC will raise interest rates today in a bid to tamp down inflation and stem portfolio outflows, with five of the seven penciling in a hike of up to 200 bps.

^^We’ll have chapter and verse on the CBE’s decision and other stories in Sunday’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

HAPPENING NOW-

The Environment Ministry is holding a press conference to announce Egypt’s National Climate Strategy for 2050 alongside several other ministries, reports Masrawy. The conference will go into depth about the goals of the strategy and how it will be implemented.

What can we expect from the National Climate Strategy? The strategy includes several areas of focus to help Egypt adapt and mitigate climate change. Some USD 211 bn have been earmarked for mitigation strategies while USD 113 bn will be spent through 2050 for climate adaptation. The five goals of the strategy include promoting sustainable economic growth and reducing emissions in various sectors, building resilience and adaptability, improving governance and management across climate change-involved sectors, improving infrastructure and providing financing, and strengthening scientific research and technology transfer in environmental areas, outlines a document (pdf) released by the Environment Ministry.

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

• Egypt negotiating “limited” IMF loan -Amer: Negotiations between Egypt and the IMF for a fresh assistance program are focusing on a “limited” amount of funding, Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer said yesterday.
• CIRA could issue Egypt’s first future flow securities: EGX-listed private sector education outfit CIRA is in talks with the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to issue EGP 1.5 bn worth of future flow securities, a source with first-hand knowledge of the transaction told Enterprise.
• Shell subsidiary BG International is acquiring 100% of ExxonMobil’s North East El Amriya offshore gas block under a farm-out agreement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s official: Turkey has officially informed its allies that it will object to Finland and Sweden’s bids to join NATO, alleging that the two Nordic countries harbor and finance terrorists, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview, according to Reuters. The story is also getting front-page treatment on Bloomberg.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

PSA: Tourism registration for Hajj has been extended: You can now register for this year’s Hajj through tourism companies until next Monday, 23 May, after the deadline was pushed from this Friday, 20 May, the Tourism Ministry said in a statement.

The Islamic Development Bank will hold its 2022 annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh from 1-4 June under the slogan “post-pandemic recovery: resilience and sustainability,” according to a statement from the Planning Ministry. Several Egyptian ministries and representatives from the bank’s 57 member countries and other financial institutions are set to attend the meetings.

Venture capital 101: The Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA) is hosting a paid crash course in all things venture capital at the Zamalek Marriott from Saturday-Monday, 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.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mild heat will remain with us for one more day before the weather cools on Saturday: The mercury will rise to 37°C on Friday during the day and fall to 17°C at night before Saturday’s daytime high of 31°C and nighttime low of 17°C, our favorite weather app tells us.

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