We have three working days left to the long weekend, ladies and gentlemen. And yes, we’re counting every day. On that note…

Bank holiday confirmed: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has confirmed that it will be off this coming Thursday in observance of the 30 June Revolution. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said over the weekend that Thursday will be a national holiday for the public and private sector.

THE BIG STORY here at home: After a brief lull, wheat news is back at the top of the agenda, after we secured some (though not all) of the Indian grain that we’d been hoping to get past the country’s recently introduced export ban. Meanwhile, the state is looking at a range of innovations to make our local wheat stretch further — including making more flour from the same amount of grain, and making flour from sweet potato.

Privatization and FDI continues to be a dominant theme, with more potential investments coming from our friends in KSA. This time, we appear to have garnered their sovereign wealth fund’s interest in tourism and in aluminum. We have more in this morning’s Investment Watch story.

On that front, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly discussed all things privatization with Planning Minister Hala El Said and Sovereign Fund of Egypt CEO Ayman Soliman yesterday, according to a cabinet statement. El Said discussed her ongoing negotiations for further investments with regional sovereign funds, while Soliman discussed setting up the new sub-fund that will manage the sale of state-owned companies.

The government’s public consultations over its privatization plans continued yesterday with the electronics industry. In attendance were top executives of manufacturers, including SICO, academics and the state’s Arab Organization of Industrialization among others.

The key takeaway: Much much more is needed to get this fledgeling industry off the ground. This would require incentives from the state, and even investment to crowd in the private sector.

What sessions, you may ask? Every Sunday and Tuesday will see workshops on how privatization plans will affect specific industries. Look for detailed coverage on the talks in EnterpriseAM or across our various industry features.

CATCH UP on yesterday’s edition of Inside Industry where we talked to FMCG business leaders about what they think the state’s plans to privatize the sector. They also discuss with us what else needs to happen in the food sector for the privatization push to play out well. From pricing, to strategy, to changing policy and regulations in the sector, the executives we talked to see positive potential for the move but think there are many steps ahead before the initiative can really take off.

UP NEXT- The government will hold its next public consultations on telecoms.

PSA- Thinking of renting your summer home? Owners of chalets and apartments in tourist towns will need to notify the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) before renting out their units as the rent will be considered taxable revenue, ETA Head Reda Abdel Kader said, according to an authority statement.

CORRECTION- In yesterday’s AM, we incorrectly stated that GB Auto’s car finance arm Drive has closed its first EGP 700 mn securitized bond issuance. The issuance was a regular corporate bond. The story has been updated on our website.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD is the latest from the G7 summit being hosted by Germany. Here’s what the international press is leading with as we enter the second day of the three-day meeting:

• A united front on Ukraine: The G7 leaders vowed to give Ukraine financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support against the Russian invasion “for as long as it takes,” according to a draft statement by the G7 seen by Bloomberg.

• Price cap on Russian oil? The G7 leaders want to lead alongside partner countries on an agreement to “cap” the price of Russian oil to limit energy income to Moscow, the Financial Times reports. Talks reportedly continued through last night.

• Moscow’s response: Russia hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missile strikes for the first time in weeks yesterday, in what the AP called “an apparent Kremlin show-of-force” meant to coincide with the summit. US President Joe Biden said the attacks were “barbarism.” Reuters also had the story.
• Combating China’s rise: A US-led push by the G7 will seek to raise USD 600 bn by 2027 for infrastructure funding to developing countries, in a challenge to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Reuters reports.

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY-

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

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

FOR TOMORROW-

Key stats from OPEC: The oil cartel will release its annual statistical bulletin tomorrow, according to 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.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

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.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed. Blackboard appears every Monday in Enterprise in the place of our traditional industry news roundups.

In today’s issue: With growing demand for private K-12 schooling, education financing sounds good in theory — but traditional loans fall short in practice. The banking sector has been working to make loans more attractive and getting creative with their offerings, but.K-12 education financing has not really picked up among parents. We look at why, and how banks can appeal to more parents through offering different options.