Happy Monday, wonderful people. The news mill isn’t on the same overdrive we’ve gotten used to lately, but there’s still plenty of news to keep you busy.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

valU enters Saudi Arabia: EFG Hermes’ buy-now-pay-later platform valU is set to acquire 35% of Saudi’s FAS Finance, a subsidiary of FAS Labs, and will be offering digital consumer finance solutions to customers in the kingdom, the company said in a statement (pdf). The acquisition marks valU’s first cross-border expansion.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s a rather mixed bag of nuts in the international press this afternoon, with no single story dominating digital front pages. Getting wide coverage (but assigned different levels of importance) is UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson facing a confidence vote from Conservative MPs today. The vote, which is scheduled for 7pm tonight, could see the incumbent prime minister pushed out of office if a majority of lawmakers vote against him, triggering a weeks-long process of deciding on his replacement. The story is getting ink from Reuters, the Financial Times, and the New York Times.

HAPPENING NOW-

The House Economic Committee is discussing the Unified Ins. Act, after the Senate approved the proposed regulation in April. The bill, which has been at least three years in the making, would make the Financial Regulatory Authority the primary regulator for the sector and make ins. compulsory for SMEs and freelancers, among other things.

ALSO AT THE HOUSE- Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad is discussing tackling pollution in our waterways, beaches, and natural reserves with MPs in a plenary session.

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

  • Stake sales are likely the order of the day for the state’s privatization program in the foreseeable future, including the potential sale of a stake in the new hotel company to a private investor, Sovereign Fund of Egypt head Ayman Soliman said.
  • A former Beltone exec makes a play for his old employer: An investor alliance led by WM Consultancy has submitted a non-binding offer to buy a majority stake in Beltone Financial.
  • Elsewedy Electric could invest as much as USD 1.5 bn in three renewable energy projects in Africa before the end of the year.

FOR TOMORROW- Technology conference Tech Invest 4 will take place tomorrow at the Grand Nile Hotel in Cairo.

? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

NEWS TRIGGERS you’ll want to keep an eye on as the new month gets underway:

  • Foreign reserves figures for May should be announced sometime this week;
  • Inflation figures for May are due out on Saturday, 9 June (from state statistics agency Capmas) and Sunday, 12 June (central bank figures);
  • The Central Bank of Egypt holds its policy meeting on Thursday, 23 June.

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 a daytime high of 38°C tomorrow in the capital city, with the mercury to drop 23°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.

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