Good morning, wonderful people, and welcome to the last full workweek of Ramadan. It is shaping up to be another busy week as we gear up to welcome the first of our IMF funds and President El Sisi’s third term.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 6:13 pm in the capital city, and you’ll have until4:16 am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

WEATHER- It’s a foggy morning in Cairo. You may want to leave for work a tad earlier than usual as the Egyptian Meteorological Authority sees foggy skies across Greater Cairo from 4-9am. The capital is in for a high of 29°C and a low of 18°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 26°C and a low of 14°C.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will officially begin his third term when he takes the constitutional oath before the House of Representatives at the new administrative capital.

Tuesday’s inauguration will see the presidency begin its move to the new capital, Administrative Capital for Urban Development CEO Khaled Abbas confirmed yesterday.

Get ready for a cabinet shuffle? El Sisi’s new term is likely to start with some new faces at the helm of some of the country’s ministries and other government bodies. Cue the rumor mill.

A vice president? There is talk that the government could appoint one or more vice presidents to accompany El Sisi during his third term, well-connected MP and TV presenter Mostafa Bakry said. (watch, runtime: 6:02).

The economics ministry resurrection? There is also “serious deliberation” on resurrecting the economics ministry, Bakry added.The Economics Ministry was scrapped during Mubarak’s time in 2001 but it remained part of the government’s fabric, with most of its function redistributed across several ministries, including the Planning and Economic Development Ministry currently held by Hala El Said. Youssef Boutros Ghali was the last to hold the position of Economics Minister.

** El Sisi has ambitious targets for his third term: You can check out our deep dives into the targets for:

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s budget season: The draft state budget and the first ever Public Government Budget for the next fiscal year will be presented to the House today after the two documents were greenlit by the cabinet last week.

The headline figure: The Public Government Budget pencils in revenues of EGP 5.1 tn and expenses of EGP 6.4 tn for the next fiscal year.

ICYMI- Budget season is going to be a bit different this time round, with the issuing of the first Public Government Budget. The new budget — which does not replace the state budget — shows the budgets of all the state’s economic bodies in addition to the state budget collated together. The first phase includes some 40 economic bodies.

Other key targets from the draft budget to keep an eye on:

  • An increase of over 30% in allocations for the health and education sectors, which are deemed to be top priorities.
  • Channeling 50% of the privatization program’s proceeds into reducing the government’s outstanding debt and improving debt sustainability.
  • An EGP 1 tn cap on public investment for all state entities.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Egypt to restart LNG exports imports starting next month? The Madbouly government is reportedly considering buying LNG from outside the country to hedge against potential energy shortages ahead of the summer season after having just restarted exports — albeit in much reduced quantities — this winter, writes Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources it says are familiar with the matter. Inquiries have reportedly been made to launch deliveries starting next month through the summer using Jordan’s LNG import terminal in Aqaba, with plans to eventually have its own terminal.

This wasn’t the plan: After becoming a net exporter of LNG in 2018, Egypt has been trying to position itself an important LNG exporter to Europe and to fully utilize the 12 mn tons a year capacity from its two liquefaction plants in Damietta and Idku. However, a fall in domestic gas production and a rise in domestic demand coupled with an unusually hot summer and Israel temporarily halting gas supplies has derailed its plans. LNG exports dropped 52% y-o-y to 3.52 mn tons in 2023.

#2- Commodity prices fall: A number of retailers across the country have responded to government directives to slash commodity prices, Al Borsa reports. Poultry prices have already seen a 10% drop in prices over the past few days and are expected to decline by another 15% following Ramadan, Poultry Producers Union Chairman Mahmoud Al Anani reportedly told Al Borsa.

WAR WATCH-

Another round of ceasefire talks? Israel and Hamas will resume ceasefire negotiations in Cairo today, a security official reportedly told Al Qahera News (watch, runtime: 00:20). This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to send delegations to Egypt and Qatar to take part in ceasefire and hostage exchange negotiations, Reuters reported, citing Netanyahu’s office.

A lot of meetings on Gaza: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has a busy weekend, meeting with Tariq Ahmad, the UK’s minister for the Middle East on Thursday and his French and Jordanian counterparts (watch, runtime: 30:41) yesterday to discuss the latest on Gaza. The parties reiterated calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and boosting humanitarian aid.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s one of the quietest mornings for global business news that we can recall in a very long time — and it’s no surprise, really: Huge swaths of the business world are either taking time off this weekend for Easter or are in the final days of Ramadan.

MORNING MUST-READ: “Successful entrepreneurs are middle-aged, not young.” It’s not a myth that there are successful in their 20s — hello, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg — but US research on company data from 2007 through 2014 shows that:

  • The average age of a founder: 41.9
  • The average age fo the fastest-growing companies in the cohort: 45
  • Fifty-year-old founders were nearly 2x as likely as a 30-year-old counterpart to achieve “major success”
  • The least-likely to succeed: Founders in their 20s.

READ- He turned 55. Then he started the world’s most important company, the lead story in this morning’s Wall Street Journal, which looks at what middle-aged entrepreneurs can learn from Morris Chang, who was 55 when he created the world’s largest and most important chipmaking company.

AND- Age and high-growth entrepreneurship (pdf), in the American Economic Review, the 2020 paper the Journal cites.

CATCH UP QUICK-

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