Good morning, friends, and happy Monday. We have smiles on our face this morning as we write issue #2121 — and celebrate our ninth birthday.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all of the readers who trust us every morning — and to the commercial partners whose support ensures your morning read arrives in your inbox without charge. Writing to you folks every morning is the honor of our professional lives.

We have tons of debt news for you today, including the latest from our red-hot securitization market — and suggestions that JP Morgan could consider removing us from their important emerging markets index.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Election 2023 or Election 2024? The National Elections Authority will announce its roadmap for the presidential election at a press conference today. Word on the street is that authorities will move to hold the vote before the end of the year in December. We’ll know for sure later today.

#2- AIIB meeting starts today: Delegations from member states of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will descend on Sharm El Sheikh today and tomorrow for the China-led multilateral lender’s annual board meeting.

** You can check out our interview with Vice Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk for a rundown on what to expect from this year’s conference.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Taqa shareholders to vote on board shake-up following stake sale: Taqa Arabia shareholders will convene for a general assembly meeting tomorrow to vote on restructuring the board and appointing new members, the company said in a bourse filing (pdf) earlier this month. The meeting comes two months after the military’s National Service Projects Organization acquired 20% of the firm.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

ADQ acquisitions to close this week? The government hopes to sign final contracts with ADQ before the end of this week for the sale of shares in Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco), Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab), and Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC). It came to an initial agreement with the Abu Dhabi wealth fund earlier this year to sell 25-30% stakes in the three companies for USD 800 mn.

NOT HAPPENING ANY TIME SOON-

The National Dialogue, which has been suspended until after the presidential poll, dialogue rapporteurs announced yesterday.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT- We have not agreed with the IMF to roll our first and second reviews into one. A number of reports in the domestic press in recent days suggested the first and second reviews under our USD 3 bn assistance program would be combined and take place by the end of this year. A source with first-hand knowledge of the government’s intentions confirmed when we asked yesterday that the information was in a government report posted to the web and later taken down. The source offered no clarity on when the review might take place.

When the review might be scheduled has become everyone’s favorite parlor game — particularly given widespread expectations that it will coincide with the Central Bank of Egypt taking action on the exchange rate. Rumor last week had it that the IMF wouldn’t come to town before 1Q 2024.

BACKGROUND- We’re due to have eight reviews under the 46-month program, but are yet to pass through the first, which was due to take place in March. Disbursements are keyed to IMF reviews of our progress on a laundry list of conditions including commitment to a flexible exchange rate and cutting back on the state’s involvement in the economy.

FROM THE RUMOR MILL-

Mohamed Alabbar’s Eagle Hills could be eyeing City Edge takeover: That’s according to an article published by Al Borsa on Saturday, which claimed that the company is in early-stages acquisition talks with the state-owned real estate developer, citing “informed sources.” City Edge is one of several companies currently being explored by the Emirati firm, sources said.

FYI- City Edge is a joint venture between the Housing Ministry’s New Urban Communities Authority and the Housing and Development Bank. It is leading on key residential and commercial projects in several new cities, including the new administrative capital, New Alamein, Sheikh Zayed and New Cairo.

UPDATE-

We now know which Emirati bank might fund our Kazakh wheat imports: The government is in talks with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) to finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy to ld repo rters yesterday. ADCB was chosen to finance the purchases because the bank operates in Kazakhstan as well as in Egypt, the minister said.

ICYMI- Reuters reported on Saturday that the government was in talks with an unnamed Emirati lender to finance imports of Kazakh wheat.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The question being posed by the global business press this morning: How is the US economy likely to fare in the coming month as global headwinds mount? High interest rates have been joined by rising oil prices, spreading strikes, and the threat of a government shutdown as challenges weighing on the US economy; a convergence of factors that could derail hopes for the “soft landing,” says the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Bloomberg is pointing out that one of the traditional harbingers of recession is in effect: the ongoing sell-off in US small-cap and industrial stocks.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: NBFS players are options to parents looking to finance their children’s K-12 education.

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