Good afternoon, wonderful people. We have a brisker news day to bring you than we did yesterday — plus your usual roundup of everything you need to know to stay on top of the World Cup in Qatar.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

A peek into the CBE’s plan to shore up FX supply? The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is mulling a handful of options as part of its strategy to increase FX liquidity, after CBE Governor Hassan Abdalla met with the heads of the nation’s banks yesterday, Bloomberg Asharq reports, citing sources it says attended the meeting. The proposed options include offering service and funding incentives in exchange for tourism facilities and hotels depositing their FX in local banks, launching USD-denominated savings schemes for Egyptian expats, easing banks’ regulatory requirements for customers making USD deposits, and mulling the use of USD derivatives, Asharq reports.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The ongoing protests in China against the country’s covid-zero policies continue to lead the conversation in the international business press this afternoon. The Financial Times and Reuters are following the play-by-play of events, while the Wall Street Journal and CNBC are focusing on the fallout in global markets.

Some of the biggest names in Egypt’s climate industry are appearing at our inaugural Enterprise Climate X Forum, which takes place on Tuesday, 6 December at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Are you?

Hydrogen: What is it, what does a “hydrogen economy” look like and how will we know it’s becoming real? Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of industry association Hydrogen Europe, is flying in to help us unpack it.

Three industry leaders will talk about climate as the biggest (and most important) business opportunity of our generation: Mohamed Mansour is co-founder and CEO of Infinity. Amr Allam is co-CEO of Hassan Allam Holding. Jointly and separately, they’re building and operating GW worth of renewable energy projects, charging stations, desalination, wastewater, and more. They’ll be joined on stage by Sherif El Kholy, partner and head of MENA at private equity giant Actis, who has a passion for investing in green businesses — and for helping conventional businesses put ESG at the core of what they do.

How are we going to pay for it all? Todd Wilcox, CEO and deputy chairman of HSBC Egypt; Tarek El Nahas, group head of international banking at Mashreq; Khaled Hamza, director and head of Egypt at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); and Nader Abushadi, group treasurer at Dar Group, will help us get our heads around topics including green, sustainability-linked, blended, and concessional finance, as well as how much you need to know about your supply chain.

We’ll also be meeting Shift EV’s Aly El Tayeb and Algebra’s Karim Hussein, the guys who want to be Egypt’s first climate bn’aires. They’ll be talking with USAID Egypt Mission Director Leslie Reed as well as EFG Hermes Head of Strategy Simon Kitchen, who’s flying in from London to talk with us about how business leaders across frontier and emerging markets are getting their heads around climate.

** Have you confirmed your attendance? We’ll be sending you on Sunday, 4 December the QR code you’ll need to gain admission to the Grand Egyptian Museum, along with a Google Maps link and some other pointers.

Tap or click here for the full agenda.

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

• Why McKinsey’s Jalil Bensouda thinks we could “go bigger and faster” than even Morocco on FDI and exports: After reading our five-step recipe for turning Egypt into a global export hub and FDI magnet, participating CEOs — including McKinsey & Company Senior Partner Jalil Bensouda — agreed to answer two questions on the record.
• Some 60% of Egyptian adults have access to the financial system: Egypt’s financial inclusion rate — the percentage of citizens above the age of 16 who hold a bank account, mobile wallet or pre-paid card — has grown 131% between 2016 and 2022 to reach some 40 mn adults.
• Senior government officials say they’re taking seriously a slowdown of the pace at which imports are clearing ports after Central Bank Governor Hassan Abdalla and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly discussed the issue yesterday.

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PSA- The deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna has been pushed one week to next Sunday, 4 December. The two-week program, which kicks off in March 2023, offers executives from Egyptian public and private sector the skills to help them “become a better leader for your organization and support Egypt’s growth in the years ahead.” You can find more information here.

Payment and fintech conference Pafix is being held as part of Cairo ICT 2022 through Wednesday at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre in New Cairo. The conference kicked off yesterday.

The US and Russia will hold nuclear talks in Cairo this week: Washington and Moscow will discuss resuming mutual nuclear inspections during week-long talks from tomorrow until next Tuesday, 6 December, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to CNN.

EGX-listed Pachin will brief shareholders on acquisition offers it has received in its ordinary general assembly on Tuesday, 20 December, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). Dubai-based National Paints Holdings is offering to purchase 100% of Pachin for EGP 29 per share — far outbidding earlier offers from Universal Building Materials and Chemicals (Sipes) and Saybad Industrial Investment that have since been withdrawn.

Pachin’s board gave the Emirati firm the greenlight to conduct due diligence on 13 November, Al Mal reports, citing an EGX disclosure.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for a pleasantly sunny day in the capital city tomorrow, with a daytime high of 24°C and a nighttime low of 14°C, our favorite weather app tells us.