Good morning, friends, and happy (almost) last day of Ramadan. We hope you have a wonderful Eid Fitr with your loved ones and get a chance to relax and kick back as pretty much the whole country is out until Wednesday, 26 April.

This is the last time you’ll see Enterprise in your inbox before next Wednesday, when we all return from a much-needed long Eid break and Sinai Liberation Day.

Not enough holidays for you? We’re getting yet another long weekend very soon after Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly made Thursday, 4 May a holiday for the public and private sector to mark Labor Day, which falls on 1 May.

Enterprise Weekend comes out on the first day of every weekend (which is usually Friday save for long weekends like this) at 9:00am CLT.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

It was a short work week but the news never slept, with the latest talk on the privatization program, the formation of an investment council, some key energy and M&A news. Not to mention a potential civil war erupting with our neighbor to the south. Let’s get to it.

The IMF wants to see progress on privatization before a loan review…: The lender wants to see progress on privatizing state-owned companies and moving to a flexible exchange rate before it goes ahead with the first review of the country’s USD 3 bn assistance package, Bloomberg reported last week. The review had been expected by 15 March 2023 under the terms of the package.

…as well as a slowdown of national infrastructure projects: IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva urged the government to curb the pace of large-scale infrastructure projects to get through the current challenging macroeconomic environment.

The positives: The lender said it had “fruitful discussions” with the Egyptian authorities in preparation for the first review on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings last week, where the two sides discussed the implementation of the state privatization program and the outlook for the Egyptian economy.

MEANWHILE- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi issued a presidential decree to set up the Supreme Investment Council, as part of efforts to boost investment and stimulate economic growth. The new council reportedly seeks to eliminate obstacles to new investment and accelerate licensing for new projects, as well as help create an environment that is more conducive to investment. That includes monitoring the progress of state institutions in implementing investment plans, following up on public-private partnerships, and setting mechanisms for settling investment disputes.

ENERGY-

#1- Eni is reportedly preparing to start drilling an exploration well at its Mediterranean North East Hap’y concession in September, local press reported. Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) — Eni’s 50/50 joint venture with the EGPC — will reportedly handle the drilling of the Orion X1 well, which is expected to cost USD 130 mn. The well is 70% owned by Eni and 30% by London-headquartered oil and gas company Energean.

#2- Energy major Chevron is reportedly looking for a drilling vessel to explore for more natural gas off Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel to help fulfill increasing demand for energy in Europe and the region. The company reportedly issued a tender to lease the vessel starting in 2024. The move comes as the company is working to exploit Cyprus’ Aphrodite field with its partners Shell and Israel’s NewMed Energy, with plans to export much of that gas to Egypt for liquefaction. Chevron and Eni also announced a significant discovery in the eastern Mediterranean in January. The gas deposit has been said to hold 3.5 ton cubic feet of natural gas though we’re still waiting on the companies and the Oil Ministry to confirm its size.

M&A WATCH-

#1- Egytrans’ board of directors approvedthe acquisition of trucking firm the National Transport and Overseas Services Company (NOSCO), which would see the company acquire 99.9% of NOSCO’s shares via a share swap and would value NOSCO at around EGP 174.1 mn, according to our math. The acquisition has been in the works since at least October, when Egytrans the two were exploring a share swap arrangement. The company said in March that it expected to close the transaction during the first half of the year.

#2- Meanwhile, in startup land: Nigeria-based car financing platform Autochek is making its first foray into Egypt after acquiring a majority stake in local automotive startup AutoTager — a digital platform that allows people to sell their cars and access financing to buy new ones.

DIPLOMACY-

Springtime for Egyptian-Turkish relations: Egypt and Turkey will soon reappointambassadors and formally reestablish diplomatic ties following a decade of hostilities, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry agreed during Shoukry’s visit to Ankara. The two diplomats also agreed to collaborate on developing and strengthening a unified military force in Libya, as well as developing a timeline for holding elections in the country, easing a key source of tensions between them.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Could the state’s privatization program pick up steam following the Eid break?Several stories we picked up on this week seem to suggest so:

#1- Jeffries Int’l is expecting an announcement on the program: “We are expecting announcements of state stake sales” after Eid El Fitr, Jefferies International MENA analyst Alia Moubayed told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 7:56) on Sunday.

#2- United Bank announcement coming? The Madbouly cabinet intends to choose one of two shortlisted offers for a stake in state-owned United Bank “immediately after Eid,” Asharq Business reported last week, citing a source it says has knowledge of the matter.

Speaking of which, the Kuwait Investment Authority is not involved in a potential stake acquisition in United Bank, the authority said in a statement yesterday.

#3- Continental Hotel PPP conditions: The Public Enterprises Ministry will release the conditions of its planned tender for a private partner to refurbish Cairo’s historic Continental Hotel after the Eid break, Hapi Journal quotes Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels head Mervat Hataba as saying last week.

PSA- Daylight savings is coming the Friday of next week: That’s right, folks. Get ready for some semi-jet lagged confusion and tardiness as Friday, 28 April, will be the first day of daylight savings — our first since 2016 — which will see Cairo Local Time (CLT) pushed forward by one hour. The move, which breezed through the House of Representatives earlier this month, was made with an eye towards potentially cutting down our natural gas consumption.

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

YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS-

  • We were very happy to see many are requesting invitations to the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum. (Exports + FDI)
  • Central Bank of Egypt governor Hassan Abdalla’s statements on macroeconomic pressures facing Egypt and what our economy needs on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings. (CNBC)
  • Our story on the new Supreme Investment Council President Abdel Fattah El Sisi plans to establish. (Enterprise)
  • The AI-generated photo that snagged a prestigious photography award. (Photo)

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

Violence in Sudan dominated headlines over the past week. Clashes that erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, last week claimed over 200 lives since Saturday. The rival forces had been in a delicate power sharing agreement amid Sudan’s planned transition to civilian rule following mass protests that in 2019 ousted the country’s former leader. While the two sides had agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire on Tuesday, both sides accused each other of violating it within hours of the agreement.

THE LATEST- The first wave of Egyptian soldiers who were caught up in the fighting in Sudan have returned to Cairo safely last night, stateTV announced late yesterday (watch, runtime: 0:41). A separate statementfrom the Armed Forces stressed that Egypt was working with the various sides in Sudan to secure the release of all Egyptian soldiers, who were there as a part of a joint training mission with their Sudanese counterparts. The move comes after the RSF pledged to cooperate with Egypt on their safe return.

WANT TO KNOW MORE? Read our explainer on the situation in Sudan here.

Russia also got attention in international headlines after Russian President Vladmir Putin visited Russian-held territories in Ukraine last week, in a round of military visits. The visit comes amidst Ukraine’s preparation for a new counteroffensive to redeem occupied territories.This marks his second trip, following his visit last month to the Crimea region and the city of Mauripol.

Syria also featured widely in the foreign press following ameeting of regional foreign ministers in Jeddah last week to bring the country back into the fold. The meetingended without reaching a consensus on welcoming Syria back into the Arab League. The top diplomats from Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and the GCC countries agreed to “intensify consultations” to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis, the Saudi foreign ministry said, but stopped short of announcing they would look to readmit Syria into the league. The topic will likely be tabled at the next Arab League meeting in the KSA in May, according to AP.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- We’re in for yet another warm, sunny weekend: The mercury is set to rise to 27°C today and tomorrow, before rising further to 30°C on Saturday. Overnight lows will hover around 11-14°C throughout the weekend.

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