THIS EVENING: Singapore’s Indorama has its eyes on investing in Egypt

Happy almost-THURSDAY, wonderful people. It may have been an abridged workweek, but we’re very much looking forward to the upcoming weekend (Sahel exodus notwithstanding).

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Singapore-based chemical company Indorama is looking at potential investments in Egypt, including in mining, industry, fertilizers, phosphate extraction, renewable energy, and medical fibers, as per an MoU the company signed with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt today, according to a cabinet statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

NatWest Group’s CEO’s resignation has been leading the conversation in the international business press. Alison Rose decided to step down from her position as Natwest Group CEO in light of her discussing with a BBC journalist the relationship between Nigel Farage — a former leader of the UK’s Independence Party and a Brexiteer — and Coutts bank. The issue had come to light when Farage had noted that his Coutts bank account, which falls under the NatWest Group, had been closed and no explanation to the action was given. Reuters | BBC | Financial Times

HAPPENING NOW-

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi landed in St. Petersburg today to attend the two-day Russia-Africa summit, according to an Ittihadiya statement. El Sisi is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and is also reportedly set to be meeting with Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, who last week agreed with El Sisi to accelerate efforts to find a solution to the long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

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

• IMF holds Egypt growth outlook: The IMF left its 2023 growth forecast for Egypt unchanged in its latest projections released alongside its updated World Economic Outlook. The Fund is still expecting growth to slow to 3.7% this year from 6.6% in 2022.
• The Big Two introduce new USD CDs: State-owned banks Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt will today launch two new USD certificates of deposit as they look to shore up reserves of hard currency.
• We now know who snapped up a significant minority stake in Taqa Arabia this week: The military’s National Service Projects Organization(NSPO) acquired a 20% stake in recently-listed Taqa Arabia for EGP 1.6 bn this week.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda.

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself : The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum, which took place in May.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami. We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- We ask some of the biggest multinationals and suppliers operating here — namely, in logistics, e-commerce, and FMCG — what it is they’re looking for in a local partner, product or service and what are some of the pain points they’ve had to cope with. We were joined on that panel by Khaled Morsy, CEO of DB Schenker Egypt, Omar Elsahy, General Manager at Amazon Egypt, Tarek Kame l, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé Egypt and Sudan.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will be going up a notch reading 41°C in the daytime and cooling to 27°C come night time, according to our favorite weather app.