Good morning, everyone. It’s the first hump day of Ramadan — and our reward is a brisk news day.

Have you checked out our new home on the web? We launched our brand new website last week — check itout here. It looks great, loads fast, and has tons of new features, including deep dives into topic pages, story tags to let you follow the issues and companies that matter most, and an audio feature to listen to — instead of read — individual stories. If you have any suggestions or would like to report a bug, hit reply to this email.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Discussions about IPOing companies held by the Oil Ministry are continuing, with EGX boss Ramy El Dokany meeting with Oil Minister Tarek El Molla yesterday to talk about potential listings, according to a ministry statement.

Firms in the oil and petchem industry feature prominently on the list of companies included in the state’s rebooted privatization program: As many as six of the first eight companies set to offer shares as part of the state privatization program are oil or petchem players, a recent report suggested. A preliminary list reportedly includes Enppi, Midor, Assiut Oil Refining Company (ASORC), Ethydco, and El Wady for Phosphate Industries and Fertilizers (WAPHCO).

DATA POINT-The number of payment cards in use in Egypt jumped more than 10% year-on-year in 2022 to 57.5 mn, according to a central bank report (pdf). The figure includes debit, credit, and prepaid cards.

Your smokes just got more expensive: State-owned Eastern Company has hiked the prices of most of its cigarettes by EGP 1.00-3.00, it said in an EGX filing (pdf)earlier this week.

The price hike is the third in 12 months: The Cleopatra-maker has raised prices by as much as 36% over the past year in a bid to protect its margins from rising raw material costs, the devaluation of the EGP, and increased VAT.

EGX-listed Eastern expects higher revenues on price hikes: Eastern Company will see its annual revenues increase by EGP 7 bn (USD 226.5 mn) on the back of the price hikes, an unnamed government source is quoted as telling Asharq Business. The increase would represent a more than 40% rise in the company’s revenues, which increased 7% y-o-y to EGP 17.1 bn during the 2021-2022 fiscal year.

HATS OFF this morning to our friends at USAID, who will fund five applied technology schools in partnership with private-sector players. The aim is to make sure grads from the program have skills they need to succeed in the labor force — and that private businesses desperately need in their workforce. We have more in Also On Our Radar, below.

A trend in the making? The EU is also interested in stepping up support for technical education here, European Union Vice President Margaritis Schinas said yesterday during a visit to Cairo. We have details in Diplomacy, also below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Climate talks continue in Luxor: The committee set up to move forward discussions on the landmark loss and damage fund agreed at last year’s COP27 summit is holding its first meeting in Luxor; talks kicked off yesterday and run until Wednesday. Representatives from 33 developing and developed countries are attending the talks, which are being led by Egypt’s top climate negotiator, Amb. Mohamed Nasr.

Day 1: In a recorded opening statement, COP27 President Sameh Shoukry emphasized the importance of the committee’s responsibility to implement the loss and damage agreement, and said that he will continue to support discussions in the lead up to COP28 in November.

SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? We’ll be breaking our fasts tonight at 6:11pm and Fajr prayers are at 4:21am tomorrow.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

It’s interest rate week: The Central Bank of Egypt will meet on Thursday to review interest rates. Six of seven analysts we polled expect the Monetary Policy Committee to hike rates by at least 200 bps as it tries to tamp down on inflation and boost FX liquidity amid continued pressure on the EGP. A Reuters poll out yesterday forecasts similar moves: The median forecast in its survey of 15 analysts is for a 200-bps hike, while seven expect a rise of 300 bps.

We can expect to get our first proper look at the state’s spending plans for the coming fiscal year when the Finance Ministry delivers the draft FY 2023-2024 budget to the House of Representatives.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn will visit Cairo tomorrow and Thursday for talks, the Cambodian foreign ministry said Friday. Sokhonn will visit Morocco on Monday and Tuesday before arriving in Egypt.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Israeli politics continue to dominate the front pages of the global press: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday announced that he will delay his government’s controversial judicial reforms, finally bowing to weeks of intense domestic and international pressure. Huge protests and a general strike brought much of the country to a standstill yesterday after Netanyahu sacked his defense minister, who had come out in opposition to the reforms a day earlier. “From a will to prevent the rift in the nation, I have decided to delay the second and third reading in order to reach a broad consensus,” said in televised statements yesterday (watch, runtime: 8:25). (Reuters | AP | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | BBC)

Also among the stories making headlines this morning:

MARKET WATCH-

That’s a wrap on global tightening? Global interest rates are likely to already have peaked due to the turmoil in the US and European banking sectors, according to recent moves in the markets, the Financial Times reports. Derivatives markets are now pricing in no further rate hikes by the world’s key central banks, and forecast some to start easing policy before the end of the year, the salmon-colored paper says. “The suddenly fragile global banking system is putting pressure on central banks to end their rate hikes sooner rather than later,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, one of a number of analysts telling the FT that peak rates are here.

Yes, but: Much will depend on how inflation plays out in the coming months. Should price pressures persist, central banks could “sacrifice their economies to get inflation back to their targets,” Zandi said.

We are delighted to share with you that the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will be taking place on Monday, 15 May at the Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza.

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*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We look at technologies and legislative tools that could be deployed to help farmers survive the threats posed by climate change.

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