Good afternoon, friends. It’s a slow start to the month and the final quarter of the year here in Omm El Donia.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The Supply Ministry is tendering three projects to set up cooking oil complexes worth a combined USD 321 mn in Alexandria, Sohag and Al Sadat City, Al Ahram reported.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Ukraine reclaims full control of Lyman: Russia has withdrawn its troops from the city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, which it has been using as a logistics hub. Lyman is one of four Ukrainian provinces (which cover nearly a fifth of Ukraine) that Russia has partially occupied and proclaimed it was formally annexing last Friday. Losing Lyman is Russia’s most significant battlefield loss in weeks, and Ukraine reclaiming the city could be key to liberating the Luhansk region, Luhansk’s governor said. (The New York Times | Reuters | BBC | The Guardian)

HAPPENING TODAY- The National Initiative for Green and Smart Projects will announce the first set of projects that will advance to the next round. The government will reveal the top projects submitted from Alexandria, Beheira, and Matrouh today, according to a Planning Ministry statement. The projects will then be reviewed by a high-level jury and the finalists will be presented at COP27. The nationwide initiative invited applicants to submit projects that would reduce the negative effects of climate change on the environment while also promoting long-term economic growth in their governorates. The finalists will then be matched with funding agencies and investors from around the world to bring their ideas to life.

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

• The House of Representatives is back in session: We have a full rundown on bills now before the House of Representatives in the third legislative season of its five-year term.
• Israel’s NewMed could acquire Egypt oil + gas assets via Capricorn merger: Capricorn Energy has abandoned contested plans to merge with Tullow Oil in favor of an all-share tie-up with Israel’s NewMed.
• TCI Sanmar issued bonds worth USD 117.7 mn in a private placement with nine foreign banks.

*** 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: Amid shortages of imported products, a growing number of consumers are reporting shifting purchasing behavior to rely more on locally produced alternatives that are typically cheaper — but, more importantly, are accessible — a survey conducted by Enterprise shows.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

UPCOMING NEWS TRIGGERS- Here are some data points and news triggers to be on the lookout for in this month of pumpkin spice and all things nice:

• PMI: We’ll know how Egypt’s private sector fared in September when S&P Global drops its latest PMI release this Tuesday, 4 October. The downturn in activity looked to be easing in August when businesses told the survey that demand and output were rising on the back of slowing inflation.
• Foreign reserves: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should be out with September’s foreign reserves figures later this week. Reserves remained flat at around USD 33.1 bn in August, having fallen 20% since March due to headwinds caused by the war in Ukraine and tightening financial conditions.
• Inflation to notch new highs? Analysts are expecting inflation to have continued rising in September due to the weakening EGP after reaching highs not seen since November 2018 in August. We’ll find out when Capmas and the CBE release the figures next week.

Expect another downbeat forecast for the global economy when the IMF releases its latest World Economic Outlook on Wednesday ahead of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings next week (10-16 October). Expect to hear more from the IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva, the World Bank’s David Malpass, and co this week in the lead-up to the release.

The Central Bank of Egypt does NOT meet in October to review interest rates. The next monetary policy committee meeting is slated for 3 November.

Eight Austrian water companies are here this week: Headed by Austria’s ambassador to Egypt and the VP of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, a delegation will meet with government officials and local business leaders on 3-5 October to discuss investment in Egypt’s water, wastewater and desalination projects, the Austrian embassy in Cairo said (pdf) over the weekend.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a daytime high of 33°C tomorrow and a nighttime low of 21°C, according to our favorite weather app.