Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s shaping up to be a brisk news day, giving us plenty to sink our teeth into this afternoon.

We’re looking forward to meeting many of you tomorrow at 8am at the Grand Egyptian Museum for our inaugural Enterprise Climate X Forum.

If you’re attending: Please plan to arrive on time for our 8am standing networking breakfast. Traffic in the area surrounding the GEM has been heavy of late, so you will likely want to leave a few minutes early.

** You will need a special QR code to gain admission to the GEM. Everyone who received and completed our online registration form got their QR code by email yesterday. If you registered online and did not receive a QR code, please reach out to us today.

We regret that overwhelming demand from the community meant we could not welcome everyone who expressed interest in attending.

STAY TUNED- The Enterprise Climate X Forum is our first large-scale event, but it’s not our last. We look forward to welcoming many more of you at our slate of Enterprise X Forums coming up in 2023.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

Private sector activity takes a hit following EGP devaluation: Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector fell at the sharpest pace in two and a half years in November on the back of October’s devaluation, according to S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (pdf). The index dropped to 45.4 from 47.7 the month before, falling further below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction. It has now been two years since the PMI last recorded growth.

One step closer to a state IPO: The EGX’s listing committee has signed off on the temporary listing of state-owned Port Said Container & Cargo Handling Company ahead of its planned IPO, the bourse said in a statement (pdf). The Holding Company for Maritime Transport subsidiary will list over 32.8 mn shares on the bourse, the statement said, without disclosing the exact stake size it will offer. The company will have six months from the day its shares are temporarily listed to complete regulatory procedures for its IPO, under recent changes to listing procedures. Local media has reported that the company is looking to go public via a 25% stake sale in 1Q 2023.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s no one story dominating the conversation in the international press this afternoon. Reuters, the AP, and the Financial Times are concentrating on the latest developments in Ukraine and the energy markets as Western restrictions on Russian crude imports take effect. In the business press, the Wall Street Journal is reading the tea leaves on whether the US Federal Reserve could keep interest rates elevated for longer than expected.

HAPPENING NOW-

It’s the opening day of Food Africa 2022 at the Egypt International Exhibitions Center. More than 440 exhibitors from 28 countries are at the food expo, which runs through to Wednesday.

On the House agenda today: The remaining articles of the Competition Act are set to be discussed and passed by the House of Representatives today, with a final vote expected tomorrow. The House General Assembly is also discussing three oil exploration agreements in the Western Desert. Meanwhile, Financial Regulatory Authority Chairman Mohamed Farid is appearing before the House Economic Affairs Committee to discuss the legislative impact of amendments to the Fintech Act and the Capital Market Law.

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

• Amazon Egypt’s Omar El Sahy tells Enterprise why we should focus on the agriculture and clothing industries to boost local manufacturing, as part of our CEO poll on FDI and exports.
• Egypt could receive the first tranche of its new IMF loan before the end of the year, according to Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.
• Chevron has discovered an offshore gas field in the Mediterranean estimated to hold 3.5 tn cubic feet of gas.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Key news triggers to keep an eye on this week and beyond:

• Inflation: Inflation data for November will land on Thursday, 8 December.
• Foreign reserves figures for November should be out sometime this week.
• Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, 22 December to review interest rates.

The cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) will kick off the first session of its new intellectual forum on Thursday, 8 December, according to a statement. The weekly forum will see experts including government officials, academics, representatives of multilateral institutions, MPs, and national dialogue members meet to discuss key policy questions and make recommendations on them to the prime minister.

Thursday’s session will cover fiscal discipline and sustainability. The remainder of the December sessions will focus on our investment environment; ways to support sustainable agriculture in line with Europe’s Green Deal; and the latest in Ukraine.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Tomorrow is set to be a mostly sunny day, with temperatures in Cairo expected to reach 22°C during the day before falling to 14°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.