Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the final news day of the week. It’s also the (unofficial) last Thursday of summer, with the pace at which students return to classrooms set to accelerate from Sunday.

We have some debt news and a lot of energy news this morning, but the BIG STORY HERE AT HOME is news of what appears to be a brewing visa flap with Canada:

Attention Canadians: It looks like you may no longer be getting visas on arrival — at least for a while. Canadians traveling to Egypt will soon no longer be able to obtain a visa on arrival and will instead have to apply for one via an embassy or consulate abroad before traveling, according to Global Affairs Canada’s travel page for Egypt.

When do the changes take effect? It’s unclear. The Canadian government’s travel page says it is from Sunday, 3 September, while the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa says the rule change is effective 1 October.

Egyptians with Canadian citizenship will have to jump through hoops, too, if they’re traveling on their Canadian passport (if the changes take effect): One option will be to pay (for the first time) for a visa on arrival, provided you can prove Egyptian citizenship. Immigration officials will accept expired national IDs and passports as proof, the embassy says. To go this route, though, you’ll need to get a certificate from an Egyptian embassy or consulate attesting that you’re Egyptian — otherwise, you may not be allowed to board your plane. The other option: Apply without charge for a visa prior to your departure.

What’s going on? Officially, nobody’s saying. But it seems Egyptian authorities aren’t happy with what they say are Canada’s increasingly strict visa rules for Egyptians and have decided to respond in kind, according to an email sent from the Egyptian embassy in Ottawa seen by Canada’s CBC. According to the broadcaster, the email describes the difficulties experienced by Egyptians as “offensive in nature to the dignity of the Egyptian state.”

Cooler heads should prevail: Canada and Egypt have long been friends, and it’s near-impossible that you do not personally know someone whose kid has or is going to university there. Canada is home to what is, depending on how you count, the fifth- or sixth-largest Egyptian diasporas (counted by first-generation citizens); it would rank higher if you included folks with any Egyptian heritage. We hope both governments quickly take steps to de-escalate — and that most certainly includes Canada re-imagining an immigration bureaucracy that has become both faceless and soulless.

Where do things stand? At least one member of the House of Representatives has picked up the issue, with the Social Democratic Party’s Freddy El Bayadhi saying he’s made inquiries of the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the ministries of tourism and foreign affairs, according to Masrawy. The report says the Tourism Ministry then confirmed that Canadians will need to apply for visas before traveling.

Are you Canadian, already in Egypt, and looking to renew your visa soon? There is nothing in the public record that suggests you’ll have new procedures to follow, but it would be a good idea to check into this now. We’re asking and will report back next week as soon as we have news.

PSA- Calling all prospective master’s students: Applications for the UK government’s Chevening scholarship will open from Tuesday, 12 September and close on 7 November. The scholarship offers full financial support for students to pursue an eligible master’s degree at over 150 UK universities. Applications will be open here.

FROM THE RUMOR MILL-

Have the two potential mystery bidders for Safi been named? Al Borsa claims to have unmasked the two mystery firms interested in acquiring Safi as Mansour Group and Agthia, citing anonymous sources. Agthia has been rumored to be in the running to purchase the military-owned bottled water firm for months, though chatter just two weeks ago claimed that the ADQ-owned Emirati firm had lost interest.

Why we’re talking about this: An updated state ownership policy document leaked on Tuesday revealed that two investors are considering acquiring the company.

Remember: The National Services Projects Organization (NSPO) has spun off the factories and 75 distribution points into a new company, according to the document. It’s not clear which assets are being offered to investors, or whether the new company will remain under the ownership of the NSPO.

HAPPENING TODAY-

HSBC Egypt takes GAFI on the road, heading to Beijing today: GAFI and our friends at HSBC Egypt are showcasing Egypt’s Vision 2030 sustainable development strategy at the Africa Singapore Business Forum, which kicked off on Tuesday and concludes today. More than 600 Asian investors and corporations are attending.

Change across the region is driving investor interest, says Stephen Moss, HSBC Bank Middle East’s regional chief executive for the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye (MENAT). “The MENAT region is witnessing unprecedented economic change and transformation, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and we’re seeing robust growth momentum driven by a vision to diversify economies and spearhead energy transition. This is an opportune time for Chinese investors and businesses to make inroads into the Middle East,” he said

HSBC will take GAFI today to Beijing, where HSBC China is hosting a MENAT summit today. “Egypt has played an important role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative due

to its strategic location that makes it a vital trade route connecting the Middle East and Africa,” said Todd Wilcox, HSBC Egypt’s deputy chairman and CEO. “A growing number of Chinese investors are turning towards Egypt with more than 2k Chinese firms already operating in the country with investments of USD 8 bn in various sectors. This is the right time for Egyptian businesses to accelerate dialogue and engagement with Chinese investors to showcase the expansive trade and investment opportunities the country has to offer.”

China + MENA have a lot to gain from strengthening trade ties: HSBC has estimated the value of untapped trade potential between China and MENAT at USD 178 bn over the next five years, according to a new report to be released during today’s summit in Beijing, the bank said (pdf ) yesterday.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

EgyptAir is heading to Port Sudan: EgyptAir will start operating daily flights between Cairo and the Sudanese coastal city from 1 September. The announcement by the Civil A viation Minis try and the national carrier yesterday came a day after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Sudan army chief General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan held talks in Alamein.

WAR WATCH- Almost 290k refugees from Sudan have fled to Egypt since the violence erupted in the middle of April, according to the latest UN data.

The new flights got ink in the foreign press: Associated Press.

INFLATION WATCH- Your sandwich bel gebna and chai bl laban are getting more expensive from tomorrow: Cheesemaker Domty and dairy producer Juhayna will both hike prices from tomorrow in response to rising input costs. Juhayna will raise the prices of its milk products by up to EGP 11 from 1 September according to a price sheet obtained by Al Mal. Meanwhile, C NBC Arabia reports that Domty prices will rise by up to 7.5% from tomorrow, citing unnamed sources.

Remember: Annual urban inflation accelerated at its fastest ever rate in July driven by a record increase in food prices.

FDI WATCH- Deadline day for the Smart Green Projects initiative: Submissions for the second phase of the Smart Green Projects initiative will be due on Friday, 1 September. The second iteration of the government-led initiative is accepting applications for projects working on addressing issues like energy, emissions reduction, sustainable agriculture and green buildings. Shortlisted projects will get the chance to present their vision during COP28. The top three contenders in six categories are also awarded prizes between EGP 250k and EGP 750k.

TOMORROW IS A NEW MONTH-

As we near the final month of 3Q — here are the key news triggers on which to keep your eyes as we head into September:

  • PMI: S&P Global will publish Egypt’s PMI figures for August next Tuesday, 5 September.
  • Foreign reserves: The central bank will release August’s foreign reserves figures next week.
  • Inflation: Capmas and the CBE will publish the latest inflation data on Sunday, 10 September.
  • Interest rates: The CBE’s Monetary Policy Committee will gather to discuss interest rates on Thursday, 21 September.

A delayed climate investment forum is coming next month: The forum on environment and climate investment that the Environment Ministry was supposed to have held in June has been rescheduled for September, Minister Yasmine Fouad said Tuesday, without providing any details. We’re keeping our ears to the ground on exact dates, venue, who’s attending, and what’s on the agenda.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

  • Hurricane Idalia: The storm is still the top story across much of the US media this morning. (Associated Press | Reuters | Washington Post)
  • The Donald: Trump is a close second after New York’s attorney-general yesterday pressed a state court to hold the former US president guilty of fraud relating to financial statements filed between 2011 and 2021. (Associated Press | Reuters | New York Times)
  • Ukraine: The Gray Lady is leading with the latest from the war in Ukraine, where both sides have fired barrages of missiles into each other’s territory. (New York Times)

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.
  • What does 2024 hold in store for fintech: We dive deep into which categories are getting traction, which segments will account for the lion’s share of future growth, 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.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Help keep Wadi Degla clean: Trail running events organizer Ultra Ibex is holding a trash clean-up in Cairo’s Wadi Degla between 9-11 am on Friday, 15 September. Volunteers will clear trash from the 3-km stretch from the entrance of the Wadi, the same area where they collected more than 100 bags of trash last year. All proceeds collected from the event will go towards installing 10 new trash collection units in the Wadi. Register to help out here.

Are you a corporate and want to back the cleanup? Our friends at Ultra Ibex are actively looking for partners.

Shopping for a home? Real estate exhibition Cityscape is taking place on 20-23 September at the Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) in Cairo. The event will feature Cityscape Talks (pdf), a series of discussions and presentations that will bring together experts from the private and public real estate sectors, investors, and decision-makers.

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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