Good afternoon, wonderful people. That shocking news drought we were complaining about this morning appears to have disappeared itself in the span of just a few hours, replaced by a healthy flow of interesting stories.

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THE BIG STORY TODAY

#1- GCC sovereign funds have their eyes on TE’s stake in Vodafone Egypt: The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Abu Dhabi’s ADQ are all eyeing state-owned landline monopoly Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt, a source with knowledge of the matter told Enterprise. Bloomberg Asharq had reported earlier today that QIA is looking to acquire as much as 25% of Vodafone Egypt. Telecom Egypt's shares were up 15.8% at market close.

#2- PMI is still in contraction — but improving: Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector remained in contraction territory in August, but improved on a monthly basis, according to S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (pdf). Our PMI reading rose to 47.6 last month, up from 46.4 in July, rising for the second consecutive month on the back of stronger orders and new orders.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss is the country’s next prime minister, after coming out on top in a Conservative Party leadership race. Truss will succeed Boris Johnson, who resigned in July after a string of scandals plagued his tenure in office, prompting an unprecedented mass resignation of at least 50 members of his government.

The story is on the front pages across the international business press this afternoon: The Financial Times | Reuters | CNBC | Wall Street Journal

HAPPENING NOW- The board overseeing the National Dialogue is currently meeting to choose rapporteurs for all of the committees and subcommittees of the social, political and economic tracks. It will also work on topics of discussion for the dialogue.

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

• Central bank officials + cabinet continue to discuss economic, monetary policy as IMF talks continue: Central Bank of Egypt Governor Hassan Abdalla and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly were talking monetary and fiscal policy again yesterday at a meeting involving senior cabinet ministers and central bank officials.
• El Nasr Auto might finally be ready to finalize contracts for EV assembly: El Nasr Automotive expects to sign final contracts to produce electric vehicles with an unnamed Chinese company in mid-October.
• Supermarket chain Bim Egypt plans to invest USD 25 mn to open as many as 200 branches during the first half of 2023.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce will commemorate 70 years of German-Egyptian business and economic ties with a gala celebration on 15 September.

Our monthly list of data points to keep your eye on over the next few days and weeks:

• Foreign reserves figures for August should be out during the first week of the month.
• Inflation figures: Inflation data for August from Capmas will land on Saturday, 10 September. Expect the Central Bank of Egypt to follow up on Sunday, 11 September with its inflation report.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, 22 September to review interest rates.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect the weather to remain on par with today, with a daytime high of 33°C and nighttime low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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