Happy Sunday, ladies and gents: And here we are at the beginning of another month, racing towards the midpoint of 2023. We’ve got a busy issue to kick June off, so let’s get to it.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Senate will reconvene today: The FY 2023-2024 socioeconomic development plan approved by the Senate Economic Committee last week could be up for discussion and a vote. Planning Minister Hala El Said is expected to present a statement on the plan and the Senate committee’s report. The committee’s 108-page report calls on the government to accelerate the implementation of the State Ownership Policy and make further pro-business reforms to attract more private investment.

At the Senate committees today:

  • The Agriculture Committee will hold three meetings on smart irrigation systems, rationalizing the use of water in rice cultivation, and the government’s strategy achieving self-sufficiency in red meat and dairy products;
  • The Economic Committee will continue discussions on barriers to FDI;
  • The Industrial Committee will review the government’s strategy to promote industrial exports;
  • The Education Committee will review the financial conditions of university professors and lecturers;
  • The Health Committee will look into how to raise the salaries of doctors in public hospitals, especially those serving in border governorates.

NOT HAPPENING TODAY: The National Dialogue, whose session has been postponed due the venue suffering damage during Thursday’s bad weather, the dialogue’s general coordinator, Dia Rashwan, said yesterday, according to Ahram Gate. The dialogue will resume on Tuesday where delegates will discuss the State Ownership Policy document and barriers to private investment.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

Tomorrow is PMI day: S&P Global will release May’s PMI figures tomorrow. Egypt’s non-oil private sector contracted at a slower pace in April as the stable exchange rate helped to alleviate inflationary pressures.

It’s also Innoxera’s annual EdTech summit: Sponsored by Classera, the event will bring together experts, innovators, and entrepreneurs in the field of technology and education to discuss innovations in smart learning, with a specific focus on AI. The event will take place at the Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel in New Cairo. You can register here.

Africa Health Excon starts Wednesday: The four-day health conference will take place at the Egypt International Exhibition Center on Wednesday. Check out the agenda here.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

Debt ceiling drama cover: US President Joe Biden has signed into law legislation that lifts the federal debt limit and averts an unprecedented default. (Associated Press | Bloomberg | New York Times | Wall Street Journal)

The Western press is running a number of stories on Ukraine on their front pages this morning: the Wall Street Journal has an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the much talked-about counter offensive, Reuters reports on a deadly explosion in the central city of Dnipro, while the New York Times and the Washington Post both have stories on the recent incursions by Ukraine-linked militia into Russian territory. (Reuters | Washington Post | New York Times | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

MARKET WATCH-

Another oil supply cut? OPEC+ could decide to slash oil production by as much as 1 mn barrels per day today when it discusses options to tackle falling oil prices at its meeting in Vienna, Reuters reports, citing three sources with knowledge of the matter. While the bloc’s surprise move to cut production in April briefly drove oil prices up, prices have since fallen more than 12% amid fears of a global economic slowdown, which culminated in bearish investor positions on oil. Deepening oil production cuts could have major implications for oil prices seeing as the bloc supplies around 40% of the world’s crude.

WATCH THESE SPACES-

#1- United Bank roadshow this month? CI Capital and Barclays are lining up a June promotional roadshow for the sale of United Bank, reported Al Borsa, citing anonymous sources. The two financial advisors are reportedly eyeing up Gulf countries, including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the UAE for the roadshow, the sources said. Barclays was appointed a partner on the sale by the CBE earlier last month.

Remember: The search for a buyer for the CBE-owned lender was reignited earlier this year after talks with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund ended reportedly due to disagreements over how to value it following the devaluation of the EGP.

#2- African automotive association kicks the tires on manufacturing in Egypt: A delegation of automotive and automotive components producers attended a meeting of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) yesterday to look at potential investments in Egypt’s automotive industries, according to a press release (pdf). The meeting, which was held in East Port Said’s integrated industrial zone (EP), brought together representatives from Toyota South Africa, General Motors Egypt and North Africa, and Robert Bosh-Africa.

Egypt wants to position East Port Said as a hub for the automotive industry, with plans to set up a specialized zone for automotive manufacturing, which will be named the East Port Said Automotive Zone, or EPAZ, according to AAAM Vice President and EP Managing Director Ahmed Fikry. EP is looking to “attract a number of different brands from global automobile manufacturers to participate in a joint automotive manufacturing complex,” he said.

DATA POINT-

There’s now more than 105,000,000 of us: The country’s population hit the 105-mn mark yesterday, according to state statistics agency Capmas’ population clock, which is linked to the Health Ministry’s birth and death database. The population count came in at 104 mn on 1 October last year, meaning that in the interim, one baby was born on average every 21.2 seconds — or three babies every minute.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

IT’S A BRAND NEW MONTH: Here are some economic indicators to look out for over the coming weeks:

  • Foreign reserves: The central bank will publish foreign reserves figures for June this week.
  • Inflation: Capmas and the central bank should be out with May’s inflation data on 8 June.
  • Interest rates: The central bank will meet to review interest rates on 22 June.

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

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