Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and happy hump day. We are rolling through what remains of the last full week before Ramadan starts…but first a mea culpa…

Correction: We mistakenly wrote in today’s issue of Enterprise Egypt AM that Dr. Mahmoud Mohiedin is the World Bank’s Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda. Mohieldin is instead the UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an executive director at the International Monetary Fund.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Vodafone Egypt’s technical hiccup is resolved:Vodafone said it solved the technical issues it encountered early in the morning that prevented its users from accessing 4G mobile or data services today. Vodafone’s team confirmed to Enterprise that the glitch was triggered by network component updates the company carried out early in the morning, and that it resolved the issue and all its 4G services are now functioning normally. The company also said it will compensate its users with bonuses on their subscription packages within 24 hours.

ALSO- Business activity saw “solid deterioration” in February: Egypt’s non-oil private sector activity contracted at its sharpest rate in over a year last month as inflationary pressures dampened domestic demand and Suez Canal disruptions caused supply-side challenges, according to S&P Global’s Egypt PMI (pdf). The index fell to 47.1 in February down from 48.1 in January, logging an 11-month low and remaining below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for the 39th straight month.

The culprit? “Red Sea shipping disruption has roughly halved Suez Canal revenues so far in 2024, which February PMI survey data indicated had a considerable impact on foreign currency inflows and inflationary pressures,” S&P Senior Economist David Owen wrote. Price pressures, low domestic demand and supply-side challenges saw new orders fall at their fastest rate since March 2023.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

China’s optimistic 2024 outlook is getting some ink in the international press this afternoon. Premier Li Qiang announced an ambitious 5% GDP growth target for the Chinese economy that has been struggling with a housing market crisis and deflation. Experts forecast a 4.6% expansion (matching last year’s numbers), and policy makers are now under a lot of pressure to meet the goal while deflation continues to be a problem. The intention is to restore confidence which has been lacking due to recent economic volatility and dwindling foreign investment. (Bloomberg | Financial Times)

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

  • Results of EFG Hermes Research’s annual One-on-One Live Poll are out. Respondents were evenly split on which sectors will perform best in the MENA region this year, with 27% voting for real estate and an equal amount voting for healthcare. In third place was banks with 24% of the vote.
  • An unnamed Emirati company has submitted a bid for a 40% stake in state-owned Misr Life Ins., but information on who made the offer or how much the acquisition will cost was not disclosed.
  • Suez Canal Authority will fullyfund the plan to expand the Suez Canal from its budget to better support two-way traffic.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- More sunny skies are expected at the capital city, with the mercury climbing to a high of 24°C in the day after an early morning low of 13°C before dropping back down to 15°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

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