It’s a big week next week: The Madbouly government’s highly-anticipated economic conference kicks off on Sunday and runs through Tuesday. The gathering will see government officials, experts, and economists come together with the aim of creating a roadmap for the country’s economic future.

The conference has three main tracks: Macroeconomic policies; empowering the private sector and improving the business environment; and formulating a future roadmap for priority sectors.

A technical committee is already looking into some 300 proposals for policies and measures to increase the flexibility and competitiveness of the Egyptian economy. They’re being filtered and passed on to the relevant authorities. At the end of the three days, a closing session will be held to draw attention to the conference’s outcomes.

Want to weigh in throughout the conference? Download the app. The Madbouly government has released the economic conference app for Android and iOS to give participants the chance to follow the proceedings and share their input.

*** READ OUR (RELATIVELY) SIMPLE FIVE-STEP RECIPE policymakers can follow to turn the economy around by capturing a once-in-a-century chance to turn Egypt into a magnet for FDI and make us into an export powerhouse in the process.

Driving the news agenda internationally as we slide into the weekend is the escalating political chaos in the UK: Just an hour ago, Liz Truss officially became the shortest-serving prime minister in British political history, tendering her resignation after barely a month in office amid rebellion in her party. Truss and her ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng made the most of their six weeks running the country, with their neoliberalism-on-steroids package of tax cuts and deregulation nearly blowing up the UK financial system, punching a multi-bn GBP hole in the country’s public finances, and consigning the ruling Conservative Party to almost certain electoral defeat in 2024. A new PM is expected to be appointed by the party in the coming week, with ex-chancellor Rishi Sunak the bookies’ favorite. (BBC | AP | Reuters | FT | Bloomberg | WSJ | Sky News | CNBC)

The JPY is getting a lot of attention in the global business press after it slipped a further 0.1% against the greenback today, falling past JPY 150 for the first time since 1990. A USD 20 bn intervention by the central bank last month has failed to stem the currency’s slide, which has seen it lose more than 23% of its value against the greenback YTD. Markets are now expecting more action from the BOJ in the coming days. (Reuters | FT | Bloomberg)

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

• Qatar could invest as much as USD 2.5 bn in state-held firms: Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is reportedly in advanced talks to buy up 20% of Vodafone Egypt from minority shareholder Telecom Egypt, as well as other state-held stakes in unlisted companies, in transactions worth up to USD 2.5 bn.
• valU makes another acquisition: EFG Hermes’ BNPL platform, valU, has acquired an undisclosed minority stake in fintech Kiwe.
• Our 3 GW electricity linkup with Saudi is going live in mid-2025: Trial operations for the USD 1.8 bn Egypt-Saudi electricity interconnection are set to begin in May 2025 with an official operational launch set for later in the same year.

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It’s your last chance to 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 soon with the results.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Egypt and the UAE will host a two-day conference marking 50 years of bilateral ties. The gathering will take place next Wednesday-Friday, 26-28 October and is being produced in association with the two governments. Day one is an economic forum featuring ministers, senior officials and business leaders, while the following day will feature a cultural forum, according to a statement.

The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) will launch a promotional campaign next week to drum up interest in investing there, SCZone head Walid Gamal El Din said, according to a statement. The pre-COP campaign will launch domestically next Sunday, 23 October, before the international campaign kicks off on Monday, 24 October.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER– Expect temperatures to peak at 29°C during the day over the weekend and to hit a low of 18-19°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.