Good afternoon, wonderful people, and welcome to the second day of what seems to be a busy week with more privatization news as we push towards the end of August.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Phillip Morris subsidiary United Tobacco is reportedly in talks with the government to acquire a minority stake in state-owned Eastern Tobacco, Asharq Business reports, citing two unnamed sources it says have knowledge of the matter. Details on the size and amount of the stake offered to United Tobacco have yet to be confirmed.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD

China’s interest rate cut is leading the conversation in the international business press. China’s central bank decreased the interest rates by 0.10pp to 3.45% only on the one-year loan prime rate, keeping the five-year rate unchanged at 4.2%. This step comes after several S&P 500 banks lowered their China growth forecasts on slower economic recovery due to the government’s lack of economic stimulation via supportive policies to drive growth. (Reuters | Wall Street Journal | CNBC | Financial Times)

Also getting wide play is Hilary, a tropical storm that has hit Southern California and is making its move up to Nevada after claiming one life in Mexico. The governor of California has declared a state of emergency until 3am local time for the sunshine state as mountainous and desert areas have reportedly expected to reach 5 to 10 inches of rainfall — an unprecedented amount for an area that mostly experiences drought. No casualties or deaths were reported. (Reuters | BBC | CNBC | Wall Street Journal)

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

CHECK OUT OUR AGENDA-

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.

This is our first two-day event,which should give us plenty of time to dive into the nitty gritty of this industry we love. Our panels will see CEOs, bankers, investors and founders gather to discuss the future and trends shaping banking, finance, fintech and NBFS.

Our full agenda will be out at month’s end. Among the topics we’ll be discussing:

  • Looking into the crystal ball: Top industry CEOs will join us on stage to answer tough questions on where we are as an industry, the forces that will shape all of our businesses going forward, and their views on dealflow in the year ahead.
  • Surviving nuclear winter: We discuss how private equity and venture capital players are tackling challenges including fundraising and deployment in an environment in which it’s awfully difficult to price your local asset in USD terms.
  • The robots are coming: We explore what the coming AI and big data means for the industry in our part of the world and what can bankers, NBFI, and fintech players do to capitalize on them.
  • What do you do when nobody wants to be a banker — and when those who are already (investment or commercial) bankers are either (a) dreaming of doing their own startup or (b) moving to Dubai (or, increasingly, Riyadh)? We go deep into the weeds with industry leaders on how they’re building talent for tomorrow.
  • NBFIs are a bubble. Prove me wrong: We chart the explosive rise of NBFIs and ask whether the industry is ready for a wave of consolidation. We’ll dive into whether consumer finance is starting to mature as a segment — and ask which sector is next.
  • Handicapping the winners and losers in fintech in 2024: We dive deep into which categories are getting traction, where the untapped opportunities are, what business they would start today if they could, and what we can expect of the sector in the year ahead.
  • What’s a bank, anyway? Wherein we talk challenger and neobanks with the players looking to shake up the brick-and-mortar industry.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our exciting agenda in the weeks to come.

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.

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST-

MISSED OUR PREVIOUS FORUMS? The EnterprisePodcast has you covered : The Enterprise Podcast’s forum series has been bringing you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum and the Enterprise Climate Forum.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE- In our second panel from the Enterprise Climate Forum, We dive deep into what the business leaders in the climate industry in Egypt and the region have to say about how the private sector is adopting greentech, where they see the opportunities and what they’d like policymakers to do to encourage further participation. We were joined by Amr Allam, co-CEO of Hassan Allam Holding, Mohamed Ismail Mansour, CEO and co-founder of Infinity, and Sherif El Kholy, longtime partner and head of MENA private equity at Actis.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is creeping up to peak at 40°C during the day and dropping to 24°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

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