Good morning, friends, and Ramadan Kareem: Dar Al Ifta confirmed last night that Thursday will be the first day of the Holy Month. So prepare your sohour menus and call your loved ones.

So, when do we eat? Fajr prayers are at 4:29 am and Maghrib prayers are at 6:08 pm.

Enterprise is taking tomorrow off. Our AM, PM and Climate editions will all be off tomorrow. We’re going to recharge after delivering our new website and use the time to get caught up on some editorial work. (Longtime readers know we take a couple of editorial holidays a year; this is our first in 2023.) Enterprise Weekend will be in your inbox on Friday morning and we’ll be back to our usual publication schedule on Sunday morning.

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DATA POINT- FDI inflows hit 11-year high in 2022: Net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Egypt registered USD 8.90 bn in 2022, the highest level since 2011, Daily News Egypt quotes GAFI CEO Hossam Heiba as saying. That’s 74% higher than the USD 5.12 bn in inflows registered in 2021.

WATCH THIS SPACE- A decision on the EastMed gas pipeline could come this year: Italian energy group Edison expects to make its final investment decision this year on whether to go ahead with a proposed pipeline that will carry natural gas from Israel and Cyprus to Europe, company officials told Reuters. The pipeline would ship 10 bn cubic meters of gas a year from the Mediterranean straight to Greece, and could be operational by 2027.

What would this mean for Egypt’s export ambition? The pipeline will help provide a cheaper and faster method of shipping gas across the Mediterranean than Egypt’s LNG facilities.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Ramadan trading hours are now in effect: Restaurants, malls, and other commercial spaces will now be open until 2am until the end of the holy month.

It’s Fed day: The Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates by 25 bps today as it tries to balance the need to curb inflation without provoking further jitters in the banking system. Most economists and analysts expect the central bank to increase the fed funds target rate range to 4.75-5%, though there remains a chance that officials could choose to pause the tightening cycle in response to the recent turmoil in US banks, CNBC reports.

Risk assets saw a second day of gains yesterday: Banking fears have calmed this week following UBS’ emergency takeover of Credit Suisse and action by global central banks to supply liquidity to the financial markets. Global stocks continued to recover from last week’s turmoil, with the S&P 500 climbing 1.3% and commodities recording gains. Safe haven assets like treasuries and gold both sold off.

The hometown angle: The Central Bank of Egypt will be looking at the Fed’s announcement ahead of its monetary policy committee meeting a week from tomorrow (Thursday, 30 March).

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The banking crisis is continuing to dominate the front pages of the global business press this morning: The race to save troubled US lender First Republic Bank continues, with Bloomberg, the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal reporting on ongoing efforts to prop up the bank. The bank’s shares rebounded yesterday on reports that major Wall Street banks were discussing options, though plummeted again in after-hours trading. Reuters also has coverage.

Russia-China summit: Most of the Western press are ruminating about what Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow means for the war in Ukraine and the world order at large. The talks between the two leaders failed to reach any decisions regarding Russia's war in Ukraine, with China continuing to hold on to its “objective and impartial position.” The meeting also signified strengthening economic ties between the two powers, with Putin announcing plans for a new natural gas pipeline to China. Washington reiterated its opposition to a ceasefire yesterday, saying that peace talks would enable Russia to cement its territorial gains. (Reuters | New York Times | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

FROM THE DEPT. OF ROBOTS- First ChatGPT, now we have Bard: Google just soft launched its own chatbot — dubbed Bard — to a limited number of users in only the UK and US, creating some competition for ChatGPT in the rapidly-growing market for AI chatbots, Reuters reported. Bard got off on the wrong foot last month, afterit made a factual error triggering a sell-off among investors.

It might be a hot minute before we can give it a go. Users across the UK and US can now join a waitlist to access Bard and it’s still unclear when the company will officially launch the program for everyone to use.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Fashion lovers, mark 12-15 May on your calendars: Egypt’s Fashion and DesignCouncil is hosting Egypt’s first fashion week this May, under the theme “The Past, Present, and Future.” The three-day event — postponed from November of last year — will feature the works of some of the biggest Egyptian designers.

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

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: The government’s decision to loosen citizenship rules for foreign investors could give a lift to the real estate industry, which has had a rough year due to volatile economic conditions.

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