Good morning, folks, and happy Friday. Welcome to the first weekend of the Ramadan season — we hope that you have gotten plenty of your iftar and suhoor gatherings out of the way and are ready for the activities we have lined-up for you in our guide.

Ramadan isn’t just about the food — Cairo wears a new robe during this month and we can’t wait to tell you what Om El Donia has in store for you.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with Enterprise Egypt AM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 6:03 pm in the capital, and you’ll have until 4:37 am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

ECONOMY-

It was a week of positive news on the fiscal and monetary front, as we saw several healthy signs of foreign currency liquidity back in the banking system following the float.

#1- We are in line for more funding: Egypt could receive a total of USD 20 bn in foreign support, including the expanded USD 8 bn IMF program, an anticipated USD 3 bn from the World Bank, USD 5-8 bn from the European Union, as well as additional funding from Japan, the UK, and the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

#2- The EGP is steadily moving up: The local currency has gained around 6% against the greenback since the float with the USD trading at an average of EGP 47.9 as of yesterday.

#3- Efforts to clear backlogs in ports are well underway. Some USD 3 bn worth of goods have been released from ports over the past few days, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said during the weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Demand for foreign currency has begun to decline, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla said yesterday.

#4- The FX volumes have kept the strong momentum in the interbank, where local banks bought and sold over USD 4.8 bn from the float day on 6 March to Wednesday, 13 March, Asharq Business quoted unnamed banking sources as saying.

#5- More banks relaxed their FX spending: Several banks have announced higher limits on credit card FCY transactions this week, including NBE, Banque Misr, CIB, AAIB, ADIB, and ADCB.

#6- Remittances have increased tenfold since the float: Egypt-bound transfers from Egyptian expats have increased tenfold since the central bank floated the EGP, Banque Misr Chairman Mohamed El Etreby told Extra News on Wednesday, without providing further information

#7-Float spurs influx of foreign currency at the country’s biggest FX bureaus: Customers have sold over EGP 1.05 bn worth of foreign currency at NBE’s foreign exchange bureau Al Ahly Exchange, Banque Misr’s Misr Exchange, and Banque du Caire’s Cairo Exchange following the float, Al Borsa reported this week, citing each of the bureaus’ heads. Most of the transactions at the bureaus were USD sales, with SAR and EUR accounting for a smaller portion of the transactions.

#8- Investor appetite for local debt is back: Local and foreign investors continued to heavily buy into EGP t-bills auctioned this week. The CBE raised EGP 217.9 bn-worth of one-year t-bills and EGP 46.8 bn-worth of six-month t-bills yesterday — receiving offers for almost 8x its original ask — according to the data on the bank’s website, which does not differentiate between local and foreign investors. The average yield for the one-year bills dropped down from 32.30% last week to 30.14% yesterday, while the six-month bills’ average yield dropped to 29.91% from 31.84% last week.

JPMorgan and Citigroup recommended last week buying one-year EGP t-bills, with Citigroup telling its clients to stop buying if the EGP weakens to 60 against the greenback. Meanwhile, BlueBay Asset Management bought up local t-bills after five years of being wary — “We are constructive short term, because [Egypt] delivered pretty much everything apart from a cabinet reshuffle,” the firm's EM head Polina Kurdyavko said.

T-bonds have had a tougher luck: The government declined all bids in a Monday auction of the longer-term EGP t-bonds. The government was reluctant to meet the high interest rates demanded by investors, Reuters reports, citing unnamed bankers.

#9- Moody’s has upgraded the long-term deposit ratings outlook of five local banks to positive from negative, the credit rating agency wrote on Tuesday. The five banks are state-owned lenders National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire, as well as the country’s largest private sector bank CIB — Moody’s affirmed their Caa1 long-term deposit rating. The banks also include Alex Bank — Moody’s affirmed its B3 rating.

This came after the agency upgraded Egypt’s outlook to positive from negative affirming its Caa1 rating last week, citing the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma investment and recent policy measures taken by the CBE, which helped the country access a bigger USD 8 bn package from the IMF.

#10- Only Inflation is defying the positive trend: Annual urban inflation jumped 5.9 percentage points to 35.7% in February from the month before on the back of an unexpected jump in food prices. The “spike in the EGP’s parallel rate during the month to historical highs before it trended lower” contributed to the unexpected jump in inflation, EFG Hermes’ Mohamed Abu Basha told Bloomberg on Sunday.

Some were expecting an uptick in inflation to come, but not in February: The unexpected increase in inflation reflects prices in the month before the central bank floated the EGP and moved forward with a jumbo rate hike, which some believe will add additional inflationary pressures. The government is also expected to push ahead with a round of subsidy cuts that will increase the costs of consumer goods.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

EU Package on Sunday? The EU and Egyptian officials are expected to ink an agreement that would unlock EUR bns of funding on Sunday when a delegation of EU officials — including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Greek, Belgian, and Italian prime ministers — visits Cairo.

How much are we talking? The number varies depending on who’s talking. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait earlier this week said that the country is in line for USD 5-6 bn (EUR 4.6-5.5 bn) in financing from the EU. The Financial Times says we’re in line for an EUR 7.4 bn package (USD 8 bn) that will come in a mix of grants and loans and aims to prop up the country’s economy and manage migration to the EU. We think the range is more likely to be EUR 5-5.5 bn.

Get ready to meet the new face of Arafa Holding: The EGX will halt trading on Arafa Holding, the company behind fashion brand Concrete, starting Sunday as the holding company carries out a demerger, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The move will see our friends at Arafa rebrand to Concrete Fashion Group for Trade and Industrial Investment and spin off subsidiary Gtex for Trade and Industrial Investments.

Shares of the two companies will be trading on the EGX starting Sunday, 24 March. We’ll have more next week, but the star to watch will be Concrete Fashion Group, which will make its market debut with an impressive board, strong management team, and assets that include domestic fashion player Concrete as well as a strong export portfolio.

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

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

At least 29 Palestinians were killed in two Israeli attacks while waiting for aid yesterday, Reuters reports. This came as the forced starvation in Gaza is worsening with no end to Israeli assault in sight. US President Joe Biden had suggested a Ramadan ceasefire was in reach — it didn’t happen. That has many outlets diving deep into the state of relations between the US and Israel. Plans are now afoot that could see the US and its allies have commercial vessels deliver aid to Gaza before the US Navy can act.

The US presidential election and Tiktok got the most attention in the global business press in the past few days. Media outlets around the world are taking stock of Trump v. Biden, Round II — it’s the first rematch between US presidential contenders since 1956. They’re also asking what’s next for Tiktok after the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to give owner ByteDance six months to sell it or face a ban in the US of A.

Must-read on the US election:Biden and Trump clinch nominations, setting the stage for agrueling general election rematch (Associated Press).

Must-read on TikTok:What’s next for TikTok and its US users after House approves ban (Financial Times).

?️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- Look out for a partly cloudy Friday with a high of 25°C and a low of 12. We’ll be having a cloudier Saturday with a high of 23°C giving way and a low of 13°C, according to our favorite weather app.

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

Have iftar and suhoor beneath the night sky at the Citadel of Salah El Din.Sawa is curating a must-try experience at this historic site with culinary expertise from Carlo’s and Le Pacha. You can choose between having iftar from 5:30-8:30pm and suhoor from 10pm-2am starting tonight. Tickets are selling out fast despite the steep price of EGP 2.4k per person (excluding taxes), so grab yours while you can.

CatchLayalina at Zed Park as Hana Yousry provides the entertainment for the night. Their extensive menu, which includes drinks, cold and hot mezzahs, and mini sandwiches, is going to make sure you’re ready for your fast. You can snag spots for two, four, five, or eight people. Like any authentic suhoor experience, Layalina expects you there well into the night, opening its doors at 11:30pm.

Layalina is also going to East Cairo. Layalina has extended their stay at El Baron Palace adding four additional dates to choose from. The menu will be the same as our West-siders, but those attending at El Baron have a larger selection of seating. You can choose between lounges, tables, and high table seats here.

Can’t keep track of which suhoor tent is up when? Layaly HydeOut is making it easy for you — they’re open all month. HekaytnaHelwa is launching tomorrow at Hyde Park, opening its doors at 10pm. In addition to a set Suhoor menu, weekdays feature oud and takht sharqi music, and weekends will host superstar performers who are yet to be identified. Tickets from 16-20 March are available now, retailing for EGP 800 per seat.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

Nurture your connection with our cultural heritage with Megawra. Their three-day Spendthe Day in Khalifa event is on its eleventh edition, taking place this year on Friday and Saturday, 22-23 March, and Friday, 29 March. The event focuses on connecting space, place, and people at al-Khalifa Park and al-Khalifa Community Center.

Spend a night listening to Dina El Wedidi perform at the Cairo Opera House for Saharat Ramadaneya. The concert starts at 9:30pm on Saturday, 23 March, and you can find tickets here.

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