Good morning, friends. We’re just days away from hosting many of you at our first-ever two-day event. We’ll be going deep into what’s next in banking, financial services, fintech and more at our Enterprise Finance Forum next Monday and Tuesday.

THE BIG STORY THIS MORNING will feature on our agenda next week. It’s all about privatization today, with updates on three big sales (two telecoms operators and a green energy facility) plus news that the military’s NSPO is buying into a private-sector steel producer.

PSA #1- We’re two weeks away from our next long weekend: ​​​​The Prophet Muhammad’s birthday falls on Wednesday, 27 September, and the public- and private-sectors are getting a three-day weekend starting from Thursday, September 28, cabinet said yesterday.

PSA #2 - It’s deadline day for Egyptians living abroad to settle unfulfilled military service obligations by paying a fee in FX. Folks looking to settle their national service obligation will need to deposit USD 5k / EUR 5k into a Banque Misr account at the bank’s Abu Dhabi branch by Wednesday, 13 September. Head here for more information.

WE HAVE JUST FIVE DAYS TO GO until we see some of you at the Enterprise Finance Forum, which takes place 18-19 September (Monday and Tuesday) at the St. Regis Hotel on the Nile Corniche. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only events, where CEOs, bankers, investors, founders, and corporate leaders will meet to discuss the trends shaping the future of banking, finance, NBFIs, and fintech — and of their clients.

What to expect: Join Todd Wilcox (CEO and deputy chair, HSBC Egypt) , Akef El Maghraby (vice chairman, Banque Misr), Tarek El Nahas (group head of international banking, Mashreq), Hazem Hegazy (CEO and vice chairman, Al Baraka Bank), Fadi Abi-Nader (VP — One Demand, Global Emerging Markets, Mars-Wrigley), Bahaa Alieldean (senior and managing partner, ALC Alieldean Weshahi & Partners) and many others for talks on everything from what’s driving transformation in the banking and finance sector to how a can bank can transact in uncertain times.

Tap or click here to view the FULL AGENDA with SPEAKERS.

There will be plenty of parking available at the venue for all those attending.

** We are honored to count some of the region’s most important financial institutions as

our partners for this special event. The Enterprise Finance Forum could not take place without the support of our partners including Banque Misr, Al Baraka Bank, FAB Misr, HSBC, Mashreq, Banque du Caire, CI Capital, Global Corp, Visa, Hassan Allam Utilities, the IFC, and Post for Investment.

POLICY WATCH- A new tool to drum up climate finance: The government is launching a digital platform for environmental and climate investment, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said at the launch of his government’s environment and climate investment forum at the new capital yesterday, according to a cabinet statement. Madbouly did not specify when the platform would go live.

About the platform: The platform will connect investors with green projects, linking entrepreneurs and developers with financiers, investors, and supporting institutions in a bid to boost investment in our green economy. It will feature projects in sectors including waste management, sustainable energy, environmental tourism, biodiversity, agriculture, and food production. The platform will also allow for a direct channel of communication between the Environment Ministry and investors.

Climate investment forum? The Environment Ministry yesterday held the first edition of its climate investment forum in partnership with the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, after pushing the event back from June. It was set up to encourage private sector involvement in the green economy and is expected to become an annual event.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Hydrogen Egypt Summit opens its doors at the Nile Ritz Carlton today. Attendees will discuss Egypt’s potential to become a regional green hydrogen hub. The event runs through to Thursday.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

US to make decision on Egypt military aid: The US State Department is set to decide whether to withhold a portion of Egypt’s annual USD 1.3 bn of military aid on human rights grounds by tomorrow.

New capital requirements for FX bureaus in play: Friday is deadline day for FX bureaus to comply with the central bank’s strict new capital requirements. Under new rules aimed at curbing the resurgent parallel market, the central bank is raising the capital requirement for exchanges to EGP 25 mn from just EGP 5 mn currently.

The National Dialogue: The National Dialogue is holding a new round of closed-door meetings this week to draft a new batch of recommendations. The group sent its first batch of recommendations to the president for approval last month.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

Storm Daniel in Libya left more than 5k dead, 10k missing: More than 5k people have died and at least 10k are missing after Storm Daniel unleashed massive flooding across Libya this week. The eastern coastal city of Derna was especially hard hit, with officials estimating that a quarter of the city was completely wiped out after the storm caused dams above the town to burst and sweep away tens of buildings. At least 145 Egyptians have died in the floods.

Mourning in Egypt + sending relief to Libya: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday declared three days of national mourning in solidarity with the victims of the floods in Libya and the earthquake in Morocco. Three military planes carrying humanitarian aid landed in Libya yesterday.

The story is getting coverage on the global front pages this morning: Associated Press | Reuters | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal.

THE DL ON APPLE’S NEW GADGETS-

Apple has unveiled its latest lineup of iPhones, including the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. The devices will be available in most countries starting Friday, 22 September, and will ship with iOS 17. The electronics giant also unveiled updated Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra models. Watch the event here (runtime: 1:25:35).

Choose your tiers: The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus start at the same prices as last year in most countries, but Apple bumped up the cost to consumers of the 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, both of which feature titanium builds, faster USB-C ports than on the base models, and improved cameras. The Pro models also get Apple’s latest A17 Bionic chip, while the base models receive last year’s A16.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Apple beat the drum hard on its environmental credentials, including a skit in which an actress playing a deeply skeptical mother nature(Oscar winner Octavia Spencer) held an annual review with Apple CEO Tim Cook and the company’s head of sustainability. Apple’s Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra are its first carbon neutral products, and it has pledged to make everything it sells carbon neutral by 2030.

Get ready to update your phone’s OS soon: Many older devices will get iOS 17 as an update without charge starting next Monday, 18 September.

The story is getting plenty of international coverage: Associated Press | Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal.

Techtember continues: Fujifilm released a new medium format digital camera yesterday, Microsoft has an event next week, and Google to take the wraps off its next Pixel handset on 4 October.

ENERGY WATCH-

Egypt, Algeria and Libya will be key to Italy’s energy supply in the coming years, Eni’s natural resources chief tells Reuters. Eni is looking to replace Russian gas by increasing its imports from Africa, which is leading the company to double down on efforts to increase supplies from North Africa. Algeria has become Italy’s largest supplier of gas since Russia severed flows last year.

Remember: In a meeting with El Sisi this month, Eni’s CEO said that the company and its partners will invest USD 7.7 bn in Egypt over the next four years.

MARKET WATCH-

Oil markets are bracing for a supply crunch: Global oil markets could face the largest supply shortfall in a decade in 4Q 2023 after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended production cuts until the end of the year. OPEC data cited by Bloomberg suggests that markets will face a deficit of 3.3 mn barrels a day next quarter as supply tightens.

The market reacts: Oil prices hit fresh 10-month highs yesterday following the data release, with Brent futures jumping 1.6% to more than USD 92 a barrel and US crude up 1.8%.

Watch this: A fresh supply shock in the energy markets will complicate the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring down inflation and trigger fresh uncertainty about where interest rates are headed in the coming weeks and months. US inflation figures for August are out today.

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 this coming 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.

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

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: The government is pushing back the tender for as many as four desalination plants on the north coast to December 2023.

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