Happy Sunday, ladies and gentlemen. We have another relatively busy afternoon for you today, with some commodities news leading the pack so far.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Ramping up flour extraction from wheat to trim imports: The Madbouly government plans to trim wheat imports by 500k tons in FY 2022-2023 by extracting more flour from the grain to use for subsidized bread production, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy said at a presser today, according to Reuters. The government is now looking to import some 5-5.5 mn tons of wheat for the upcoming fiscal year.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international press is awash with headlines related to Russia and the G7 this afternoon. The two biggest stories leading the conversation so far are Russia launching missile strikes in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, which reportedly targeted an apartment building and a kindergarten, while G7 leaders are working on a package of new measures targeting Russia’s economy. The Group of Seven is discussing a potential price cap on Russian oil, after agreeing to ban imports of Russian gold. The stories are getting ink in Reuters, the Financial Times, and Bloomberg.

HAPPENING NOW-

Etisalat Egypt has just unveiled its new brand identity, etisalat by e&, at an event Enterprise is currently attending. The launch of the new brand comes “in line with the e& Group’s recent positioning as the global technology and investment conglomerate that digitally empowers societies,” Etisalat Egypt said in a statement (pdf).

We’ll have more details on this in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

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

• The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept interest rates unchanged in its meeting last Thursday, breaking a run of rate hikes in its two previous meetings to tackle high inflation.
• Thales, Orascom Construction and Colas Rail have landed a USD 659 mn contract for construction work on the first phase of Cairo’s fourth metro line.
• GB Auto’s car finance arm Drive Finance has closed its first EGP 700 mn corporate bond issuance as part of a wider EGP 2 bn program.

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: As public consultations continue over the state’s privatization plans, we talked to FMCG business leaders about what they think of the discussions and what else needs to happen in the food sector for the privatization push to play out well. From pricing to strategy to changing policies and regulations in the sector, the executives we talked to see positive potential for the move but think there are many necessary steps ahead before the initiative can really take off.

FOR TOMORROW- Amcham AGM: Our friends over at Amcham will hold their annual general meeting tomorrow at the St. Regis Cairo Hotel. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait will address the gathering.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi heads to Oman tomorrow: El Sisi will hold talks with Omani officials over a two-day visit to the country that kicks off Monday, according to the state-run Oman News Agency (ONA, which cites a statement from Oman’s Diwan of Royal Court.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Key stats from OPEC drop Tuesday: The oil cartel will release its annual statistical bulletin on Tuesday, 28 June, the organization announced in a press release. The flagship publication provides data on the global hydrocarbons industry, with a focus on the 13 OPEC member countries. Market watchers will be paying close attention to the figures this year, given rising energy prices brought on by a major supply-demand imbalance, the ongoing energy crisis in Europe, and ever-louder calls to transition away from polluting fossil fuels.

The deadline for companies to submit bids for the redevelopment of the National Democratic Party headquarters is this Thursday, 30 June.

The government’s fuel pricing committee will likely meet to review fuel prices as part of its quarterly review sometime next week.

The national dialogue to set Egypt’s political and economic roadmap will also kick off next week. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi had called for the dialogue in April. Check out our explainer on the dialogue, its agenda, participants, and targeted outcomes 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 temperatures to rise to 38°C during the day tomorrow before falling to 22°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.