Good afternoon, wonderful people, and happy almost-THURSDAY to us all. It’s shaping up to be an interesting news day as we race towards the end of a rather busy news week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

A step closer to our first waste-to-hydrogen plant? The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) has signed an MoU with H2 Industries to establish Egypt’s first waste-to-hydrogen plant in East Port Said, according to a statement. The plant will cost USD 4 bn to establish, the statement said. The company is set to get its ducks in a row before signing final contracts during COP27 in November in Sharm El Sheikh.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Leading the conversation in the international press this afternoon: Russian troops are closing in on the center of the Ukrainian industrial city of Sievierodonetsk, which “has been the main focus of their ground offensive for several weeks,” Reuters reports, citing Ukraine's General Staff. The advance comes as US President Joe Biden said Washington would provide Kyiv with precision rocket systems as part of a USD 700 mn weapons supply package that is expected to be announced later today.

HAPPENING NOW-

El Sisi talks food + energy + migration with EU’s Varhelyi: EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivier Varhelyi discussed “food and energy security issues and our further cooperation on migration” with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in a meeting that wrapped a few minutes ago. Varhelyi yesterday attended the signing ceremony for the project to expand the Helwan wastewater treatment plan, which is being backed with a EUR 78 mn loan from the European Investment Bank.

The Islamic Development Bank’s 2022 annual meetings kicked off this morning and wrap this Saturday, 4 June in Sharm El Sheikh. Stay tuned for updates from the meetings, which Enterprise is attending.

The Islamic Corporation for the Ins. of Investment and Export Credit will hold two high-level parallel meetings on climate action and digital transformation during IsDB’s annual meetings.

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

• Is the Manpower Ministry about to enforce a 1% tithe on corporate net income? The House of Representatives needs to move quickly if it wants to prevent every business with more than 10 people on payroll from being hit with a new(ish) 1% tithe on net income as the Manpower Ministry looks at how to enforce a recent decision.
• We could be finally getting our hands on some Ukrainian wheat: A shipment of Ukrainian wheat will soon make its way to Egypt from Romania, Egyptian Holding Company for Silos & Storage official Yasser Tawfik said.
• Plans to link our electricity grid with Greece could move faster after the shunning of Russian fossil fuels: The Greek developer of a proposed direct link between the electricity grids of Egypt and Greece expects the EU to accelerate the project as the bloc looks to transition away from Russian fossil fuels

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

NEWS TRIGGERS you’ll want to keep an eye on as the new month gets underway:

• PMI: Purchasing managers’ index figures for May will be released next Sunday, 5 June. Saudi Arabia’s PMI will be out the same day, and the UAE data is released on Friday, 3 June;
• Foreign reserves figures for May should be announced sometime next week;
• Inflation figures for May are due out at the end of the week from state statistics agency Capmas) and Sunday, 12 June (central bank figures);
• Capmas’ monthly bulletin covering the price of key building materials is due out on 5 June;
• The Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee meets next on Thursday, 23 June.

Conference season continues next week:

• Africa Health ExCon runs from Sunday-Tuesday, 5-7 June at Al Manara International Conference Center, Egypt International Exhibitions Center, and the St. Regis Almasa Hotel in the new administrative capital.
• Technology conference Tech Invest 4 will take place next Tuesday, 7 June at the Grand Nile Hotel in Cairo.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to be more or less the same weather as we’re having today, with a daytime high of 35°C and a nighttime low of 22°C, according to our favorite weather app.