Happy Monday, wonderful people. It’s not a particularly busy day on the news front here at home, but the news we do have so far is important.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Infinity just became Africa’s biggest renewable energy company: Our friends at renewable energy player Infinity group and Africa Finance Corporation have acquired renewables company Lekela from private equity firm Actis and global wind and solar firm Mainstream, according to press releases (here and here). The sale, which will close later this year, is described as the “largest such acquisition in the history of the continent” and will make Infinity the biggest renewable energy company in Africa.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s a pretty thoroughly mixed day in the international business press this afternoon, with the two big topics filtering into headlines being US earnings season and the continued heatwave in parts of Europe. S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq futures are all up today as we kick off a “bumper week of earnings reports” that will see big names such as Johnson & Johnson, Tesla, Twitter, and IBM report their financials, the Wall Street Journal reports. However, analysts suggest that traders may be “too optimistic on earnings” amid generally bleak earnings performances. Meanwhile, the UK is witnessing its hottest day on record as temperatures hit an unprecedented 40°C, leading the country to cancel schools and some transport services, according to Reuters.

HAPPENING NOW- The two-day Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin has kicked off with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who is co-chairing the dialogue, delivering a speech on Egypt’s plans for the COP27 summit held in Sharm El Sheikh this November. El Sisi spotlighted Africa’s need for climate financing — set to be a recurring theme in this year’s summit — and called for countries to follow in its footsteps to revise their nationally determined contributions (NDC) and commit to new emissions targets.

Egypt updated its emissions targets in recent days, El Sisi said, without disclosing any details on the new targets. The last NDC we submitted was in 2017 and it did not include binding targets for specific emissions reductions.

El Sisi met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeir earlier today on the sidelines of the dialogue, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Foreign minister and COP27 president Sameh Shoukry also participated in the dialogue, which is one of several international climate meetings ahead of COP27.

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

• MNHD says the price isn’t right on SODIC’s acquisition bid: Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development has rejected a takeover bid by SODIC and called on the company to bump up its offer.
• Cairo-born mass transport app Swvl is continuing its buying spree with the acquisition of Mexico-based transport firm Urbvan Mobility, giving the Nasdaq-listed startup access to the second most populated market in Latin America.
• Subsidized bakeries won’t be affected by the recent diesel price hike: The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) will subsidize the difference in the cost of diesel for subsidized bakeries following the recent price hike, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy said.

FOR TOMORROW- The government’s public consultations over its state ownership policy document continue with the wholesale and retail sectors taking center stage. Yesterday’s session brought leather manufacturers together to discuss the state’s privatization plans. Every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday sees workshops on how privatization plans will affect specific industries. You can find more details on the schedule of the meetings here.

THIS WEEK-

It’s looking more and more like an agreement on Ukraine’s grain exports could be happening this week: The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is the latest to express optimism over a potential agreement to unlock Ukrainian wheat via the Black Sea getting signed this week, after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said he is hopeful earlier this week. “I have a hope that this week it will be possible to reach an agreement to deblock Odessa and other Ukrainian ports,” Borrell told reporters, according to Bloomberg.

This comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet his Turkish counterpart in Iran tomorrow in a rare diplomatic visit to the Middle East.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

State’s national dialogue meetings to resume tomorrow: The board overseeing the Sisi administration’s national dialogue will hold its second meeting this week, during which it will set a schedule of debate, discuss the agenda and form subcommittees.

Need a refresher on the national dialogue? We’ve got you covered.

MNHD assembly to make a final call on SODIC’s offer next month: Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development (MNHD) will convene its general assembly on 16 August to decide whether to allow SODIC to go ahead with due diligence on its takeover bid, MNHD said in a disclosure (pdf) to the EGX. MNHD’s board of directors has already recommended that the general assembly rejects SODIC’s offer to acquire up to 100% of MNHD for EGP 3.20-3.40 per share, saying that the offer price does not match the “real value” of the company and calling for SODIC to go higher.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures in Cairo will hit 41°C tomorrow during the day before falling to 25°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.