Good morning, wonderful people, and happy hump day. Fresh inflation figures and new developments in the Capiter saga unfolding in Startup Land are dominating the newsflow this morning.

THE BIG STORY here at home is another y-o-y acceleration in inflation in September. Inflation hit 15.0% y-o-y last month as the EGP continues to tick down against the greenback, leading to higher prices for everything from transport to fuel.

There’s still no word on an IMF facility for Egypt. As of dispatch time this morning, we still don’t appear on the public agenda for the body’s executive board, which would need to approve a fresh program. Egyptian officials from both cabinet and the central bank are in Washington, DC, with senior officials from the nation’s banks for the IMF and World Bank’s weeklong annual meetings.

ON THE GLOBAL ECONOMY FRONT- The recession-o-meter is running hot. The first day of those meetings yesterday saw the heads of both multilateral lenders issue stark warnings of a coming economic downturn, Reuters reports. “There's a risk and real danger of a world recession next year,” World Bank President David Malpass told IMF head Kristalina Georgieva in a dialogue to open the meetings. Both called for more support to emerging markets to help weather the storm.

Dimon chimes in on the doom talk: JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon told CNBC that he expects the US economy to fall into a recession in 6-9 months.

ALSO- The World Bank is under pressure in DC to do more to finance climate action, Enterprise Climate reports this morning. Germany and the United States are calling on the bank to offer better borrowing terms to create incentives for countries to take action on climate issues — and to de-risk clean energy investments in developing countries. The WB has been under pressure recently after its president expressed doubt that climate change is being driven by human activity.

PSA- We have 27 days left until COP27, boys and girls.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The auto industry bill is up for a final vote in the Senate today. The Senate yesterday gave preliminary approval to the bill,which will set policies for the automotive sector in general, including EVs, and a fund to provide incentives to the industry. Enterprise Climate had the details of the legislation here last week.

The folks at the SFE’s pre-IPO fund are getting busy: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) pre-IPO fund has started marketing investments to financial institutions, who have shown interest and are “seriously studying” potential investments in the state-owned companies it will sell stakes in to strategic investors, according to a cabinet statement. The SFE has also finalized the procedures to set up the pre-IPO fund and drafting the legal contracts for the upcoming stake sales. This came during a sit-down with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and SFE officials to follow up on the progress of the state IPO program.

REMEMBER- The pre-IPO fund was set up to prepare state-owned enterprises for listing on the EGX and provide an alternative to public share sales while market conditions remain volatile. Shares held by the National Investment Bank worth up to USD 3 bn will be sold to strategic investors in the first phase, with a second similar sized phase coming later. The first phase could also see one of the Siemens-built power plants offered up to investors. The government has been planning to market companies to Gulf sovereign funds and investors in Europe and Asia during a roadshow this month.

Maait reminds us what the IPO program is up against: The risk-off rippling across equity markets in emerging economies and developed countries thanks to rising interest rates, heightened inflation, and the continued repercussions of the Ukrainian crisis.

MEANWHILE- The three-day Nigeria-Egypt Trade Conference and Exhibition enters its second day today. Nigerian and Egyptian companies as well as officials and ambassadors from Africa’s two largest economies are discussing joint investment and other forms of cooperation at the conference.

Nigerian Ambassador to Egypt Nura Abba Rimi called on Egyptians to invest in the Nigerian economy: “Any investor looking for a place to invest, build, thrive, innovate and succeed, there is no better place on Earth than Nigeria,” he said.

You don’t need to tell us twice: Enterprise took a trip to Lagos over the summer to get to grips with Nigeria’s flourishing startup scene. Here and here are tasters of what we found.

ALSO- MBZ is heading to Moscow: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today to discuss issues of common interest, state news agency WAM said yesterday. This comes after OPEC+ cut oil production by 2 mn barrels per day in its biggest production cut since 2020 in efforts to support dropping oil prices — leading the US to say cartel leader Saudi Arabia is aligning itself with Moscow.

Take our EV survey: Are you an ex-petrolhead shopping around for your first electric vehicle? EV-curious and wondering what all the fuss is about? Or are you not ready to say goodbye to that sweet smell of benzene as you wait at the gas station?

We want to hear from you: We’re taking the pulse on how the nation feels about Egypt’s nascent EV transition. Take a few minutes to fill out our short survey. We’ll be back with the results in a couple of weeks.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD– Russia has launched its biggest aerial offensive against Ukrainian cities since the war began, in what Russian President Vladimir Putin said was retaliation for Saturday's explosion on a key bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. At least ten civilians died in Kyiv in the first strikes on the Ukrainian capital in months. The foreign press is calling the escalation a “turning point’ in the war that began in February.

Everyone has coverage: FT | NYT | Bloomberg | Reuters | WSJ | Washington Post | AP.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The EGX is looking to drum up interest in listed companies on a roadshow to Dubai and Abu Dhabi later this month, an EGX source told Enterprise. The bourse has tapped Al Ahly Pharos to help manage the roadshow, with EGX boss Rami El Dokany set to meet with as many as 100 regional and international financial institutions, the source said.

We’re celebrating 50 years of ties with the UAE in a three-day event in Cairo from 26-28 October, under the slogan “UAE and Egypt … One Heart,” according to a statement. The event will highlight the economic and investment ties the two countries have built over the decades, as well as cultural links.

Fuel prices to rise this month? We’re expecting the government to hike fuel prices for the seventh consecutive quarter when the fuel pricing committee meets this month. Fuel prices have risen by as much as 28% over the past 18 months in response to heightened international oil prices, which surged earlier this year on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Smart Green Governorates shortlist coming next month: Egypt’s Smart Green Governorates initiative will announce the full shortlist of 60 projects for the initiative at a conference early next month, according to a cabinet statement. The initiative’s technical committee is currently in the process of whittling down the shortlist from 162 projects to 60 (10 projects from each of the six categories), which will be presented to a national jury to select the final 18 projects. These will be showcased to investors at COP27.

** Read more about the Smart Green Governorates initiative in our recent interview with Hisham Badr, co-ordinator of the initiative.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We’re hosting the most important global climate event of the year come November. But how much does the average citizen know about climate change? We take a look at what can be done to improve so-called climate literacy here ahead of the COP27 summit.