THIS EVENING: Egypt may still hit the 18 mn tourist target despite the regional conflict

Good afternoon, folks and happy Monday. The news cycle is picking up locally and internationally as we approach our midweek mark.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Tourism is off to a good start this year: Tourist arrivals in the first 40 days of this year are up 7% from the same period last year, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at a speech at the CEO Thoughts conference yesterday, Asharq Business reported. Hitting Egypt’s target to welcome 18 mn tourist arrivals this year is now looking “difficult,” Issa said, but a turnout close to the target is still possible.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international media can’t agree on one top story this afternoon: The Magnificent 7 ’s (a title given to the top tech giants) net income surpass the performances of all publicly listed companies in G20 nations except for China and Japan whose combined listings just make the cut, according to Deutsche Bank, raising concerns of an excessively concentrated US stock market (CNBC). The US warned China that if it floods global markets to mitigate their industrial overcapacity problem there will be retaliation, reports the Financial Times. Also looking to avoid tension with the US is Iran, as it tries to subdue proxies to deescalate the situation, says the Washington Post.

On the global politics side of things: Houthis are also in the news, as their most recent attack damaged a Belize-flagged ship all while the US conducts airstrikes against them (Associated Press). Meanwhile, Israel continues its offensive on Rafah despite international calls for a ceasefire (Reuters), and a suffering economy (19.4% contraction in 4Q 2023), according to Bloomberg, vowing “complete victory.”

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

• Three new sub-funds from the SFE? The Sovereign Fund of Egypt is looking into launching three sub-funds for education, agriculture, and healthcare in a bid to bring in more investments into the local market.
• A new USD3 bn aluminum factory in the pipeline: The Public Enterprise Ministry is set to team up with UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium to build a USD 3 bn aluminum factory somewhere in northern Egypt with an estimated production capacity of 600k tons.
• Local private and public equities are on the menu for Egypt Post in 2024: Egypt Post could invest as much as EGP 6 bn throughout the year “split between private equity investments and investments in EGX-listed companies.”

⛅ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a partly sunny day with the mercury rising to a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.