Good morning, friends. Two stories are competing for your attention this morning.

In business news: ADQ has reportedly finalized its USD 800 mn purchase of three state-owned petchem and drilling companies. It’s a welcome shot in the arm for state coffers and further sign of momentum in the Madbouly government’s asset sale program.

But the BIG STORY here at home this morning is PM Moustafa Madbouly’s warning to Israel not to try to push displaced Palestinians into Sinai. Madbouly’s remarks, made in Sinai before he returned to Cairo to meet with ADQ chief and UAE Investment Minister Mohamed Alsuwaidi, comes as officials prepare to open the border crossing at Rafah to allow in a limited number of wounded Gazans as well as foreign passport holders.

MORNING MUST READ- “A textbook case of genocide”— that’s how Craig Mokhiber, a top UN rights official, described Israel’s war on Gaza in a letter of resignation yesterday to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than a mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century. The charities we’re listing below are Egyptian organizations working on Gaza relief that we think you can trust if you want to make a donation.

#1- Egyptian Red Crescent Society is one of the nation’s leading providers of humanitarian and emergency medical services. The Egypt Red Crescent accepts donations in EGP online and is on Fawry with the service code 99981. You can also donate to the organization through theis Banque du Caire account: 49/403/30 (EGP) or 1065/601/30 (USD — code: BCAIEGCX030).

#2- Egyptian Food Bank: The food bank has launched “Aid Gaza,” a hunger-relief campaign to supply essential food items to the people of Gaza. You can make an online donation through EFB’s website or the unified bank account number 888777 at every bank in Egypt. Do you live abroad? The EFB has a list of its verified accounts at major institutions (along with account numbers) here.

#3- The Mersal Foundation is a non-profit medical organization running medical aid convoys to Gaza. It is on Fawry using service code 9200 or you can donate through its EGP accounts at major national banks including CIB (100034654454), Banque Misr (5450001000003297), Emirates NBD (1019409332701), National Bank of Egypt (1953071376769426268), AAIB (1015996610010201), QNB (7352031181714268). The group lists other ways you can donate on its Facebook page.

#4- Lifemakers: The NGO, which has a record of providing medical, educational and social care services to Palestinians, has been helping to prepare aid convoys ahead of dispatch to deliver food, medical supplies, water, blankets, clothing, and other essentials to the besieged Gaza strip since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Donate through the foundation’s website or use Fawry code 950. Lifemakers also accepts donations for Gaza relief in EGP via CIB (account 100034226827) and NBE (0773070478998401017).

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s the beginning of a new month. Among the news triggers to watch out for in the coming weeks:

  • PMI: S&P Global will publish its Egypt PMI figures for October on Sunday, 5 November;
  • Foreign reserves: The central bank will release October’s foreign reserves figures next week;
  • Inflation: Capmas and the CBE will publish the latest inflation data on Thursday, 9 November.

Thai FM in town to discuss Hamas hostages: Thailand’s Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara is in Cairo today to discuss the status of talks with Hamas leaders to release the hostages the group holds in Gaza, which includes 22 Thai nationals hostage. Bahiddha-Nukara held similar discussions with Qatari officials in Doha yesterday. Egypt and Qatar both have lines of communication with the Hamas leadership and have taken the lead in the negotiations.

It’s Fed day: The Federal Reserve will announce its decision on interest rates at the end of its two-day policy meeting this evening. The market is pricing in a 99.5% chance that the Fed keeps rates on hold as inflation tempers and the war in Gaza triggers fresh uncertainty for the global economy.

That sets up tomorrow’s CBE meeting. The Central Bank of Egypt’s monetary policy committee is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets on Thursday, according to a majority of the analysts we surveyed this week.

Day 4 of Cairo Water Week: The five-day conference is taking place at the Nile Ritz Carlton and brings together policymakers from around the world to discuss solutions to our most pressing water issues.

Windows 11 has gone full AI: Microsoft has begun pushing out a major Windows 11 update that embeds its Copilot AI assistant into the operating system and will this week start selling its AI-powered Microsoft 365 Copilot productivity suite. Copilot is a Chat GPT-esque generative AI capable of writing text, analyzing data, generating presentations, and assisting with web search.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

State calls for final financial offers for Wataniya: Investors that have completed due diligence on military-owned filling station operator Wataniya will be able to submit final offers for a stake in the company next week when the state re-opens the bidding process, writes Al Borsa, citing sources it says are in the know. Bidders have two weeks to get offers in. The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is looking to sell at least 10% — and potentially as much as 100% — of the company as part of the state’s privatization program. The sale could be wrapped up by December, Planning Minister Hala El Saeed said earlier this month.

We’ve counted six bidders: Shell and China’s North Petroleum recently joined Taqa Arabia, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), and Saudi firm Petromin on the list of outfits that have reportedly submitted offers for a stake in Wataniya. Bids range between USD 250 mn and USD 280 mn, Asharq Business has reported.

Remember: The NSPO has spun off 174 of its 300 stations into a separate entity, which appears to be in line for a rebrand as the organization plans to launch a new fuel retailer this year called A1.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

All eyes remain on Gaza after Israel launched airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza, killing 120 civilians and, reportedly, a senior Hamas official. We have more in this morning’s War Watch, below. (BBC | Financial Times | Reuters | Bloomberg | CNBC | Wall Street Journal | Washington Post)

Mixed messages from Israel’s top warmaker: The IDF is “paying a heavy price” for its invasion of Gaza but is making “significant” progress, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said yesterday. Neither the ministry nor Hamas have released any casualty figures in the three days since the IDF began its ground offensive.

Meanwhile, the US continues to build-up troops in our region: The Pentagon is deploying another 300 US troops to the region, it said yesterday. The US military has sent two aircraft carrier strike groups, several thousand troops, an undisclosed number of fighter jets, and missile batteries to the region since 7 October as a deterrent to other regional actors from entering the conflict. Iran-backed militia have attacked US forces in Iraq and Syria at least 24 times in recent days, including at least three on Monday, US officials said.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

We’re going to reduce fossil fuel dependence to 55% by 2035: The Egyptian Electricity Holding Company aims to reduce fossil fuel dependence for electricity production to 55% by 2035, a source at the Electricity Ministry told Enterprise Climate. Renewables will make up 40% of our electricity production, while the remaining 5% will be from the Dabaa nuclear power plant.

Larger plans afoot: We’re embarking on a five-step plan to produce up to 1.4 GW from renewable sources by 2027, the source told us, without disclosing any more details. The country also plans to reduce the share of hydroelectric power to 2% as its units are becoming obsolete and require major investments, they added.

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