Good morning, everyone. It’s another busy morning here in Egypt with a number of stories fighting for our attention — the EBRD has slashed our growth outlook once again, another Gulf acquisition, and a whole lotta earnings. But before we get started.

Keep your sunscreen on hand and make sure you stay hydrated as we welcome a severe heatwave that’s due to last till Tuesday. In the capital we’re in for a high of 32°C and a low of 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.

The second USD 20 bn tranche from the Ras El Hekma agreement has landed in the state’s coffers, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced at the weekly cabinet meeting, confirming what Enterprise reported earlier this week. The tranche consists of USD 14 bn fresh inflows and USD 6 bn from a previous deposit from the UAE already sitting at the Central Bank of Egypt.

The EGP has been slowly strengthening against the greenback throughout this week, having gained some EGP 0.56. The USD was trading at EGP 46.79 yesterday, down from EGP 47.35 on Sunday.

But is a weak EGP such a bad thing? An EGP that is down over 40% against the USD since March has improved Egypt’s external competitiveness and could — despite short-term economic pain — open the door for “faster economic growth over a longer horizon,” argues Capital Economics’ James Swanston.

An uptick in exports and downturn in imports should help improve our current account position, which weakened over 440% y-o-y to a deficit of USD 9.6 bn in the first half of the fiscal year. The increased prices of imported goods and services will shift consumer demand towards local goods. Meanwhile, Egyptian goods are going to be considerably cheaper in foreign markets, which should bolster stronger demand for our exports.

The tourism sector should also benefit from a weaker EGP, with Swanston arguing that the resurgence in tourism following the 2016 devaluation could be repeated as more tourists look to “take advantage of Egypt as a cheaper destination.”

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-A state-run ride-hailing app? The government is reportedly thinking about launching its own ride-hailing application in partnership with the private sector, Cairo 24 reports, citing unnamed sources it says have knowledge of the matter. The proposed platform would begin operations in Greater Cairo during its pilot phase, before expanding to the rest of the country.

Negotiations are underway: The Transport Ministry— via its passenger busses carrier Superjet Lines — is currently in talks with a “major” undisclosed investment company about setting up a company to run the app and will announce the official launch after a final agreement is reached.

Safety is a top priority for the proposed app: The news comes following news of the mostrecent case of a female passenger being attacked while using a ride hailing service. Drivers on the proposed platform will undergo an extensive hiring process and all the cars will be in constant contact with a central control room run by the soon-to-be-formed company. There are also plans to install cameras inside and outside the cars and for GPS monitors to monitor speed and location.

#2- One of the region’s largest wind projects just got one step closer to construction: The government inked a land access agreement with Infinity Power, Hassan Allam Utilities, and the UAE’s Masdar for their planned 10-GW wind farm in Sohag that will cost over USD 10 bn, according to a joint statement (pdf) released yesterday. The consortium inked the land allocation agreement with the government back in June.

What’s next? The consortium will now be able conduct the surveys and studies needed before beginning construction.

Remember: We first heard about the multi-bn wind farm during COP27 in 2022 when the companies signed an agreement for the project. The windfarm is expected to produce 47.7k GWh of clean energy every year, saving the country about USD 5 bn annually by reducing natural gas consumption.

#3- No more under the table real estate sales: The Real Estate Registration and Notarization Authority has enforced a new rule requiring foreign property buyers to submit evidence of a bank transfer that matches the price on their property, according to a cabinet statement. The regulation applies to property applications submitted from 26 March onwards. Under the rules, transactions denominated in foreign currency require prior approval from the Central Bank of Egypt.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- El Sisi to attend Arab Summit: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Bahrain to participate in the Arab Summit happening today, according to an Ittihadiya statement. Upon his arrival in the Bahraini capital, El Sisi met with King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, according to a separate statement that didn’t disclose what the two leaders discussed.

Shoukry will also be in attendance: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has been in Bahrain for the past couple of days as he took part in the Arab League ministerial meetings that took place ahead of the summit.

** We have more on what can be expected from the summit in the news well, below.

#2- It’s all about investment at BEBA’s seminar: Egyptian Tax Authority head Rasha Abdel Aal will be giving the keynote address at the British Egyptian Business Association’s (BEBA) seminar on investment at the Conrad Hotel in Cairo today. Check out the details here.

#3- The House Budget Committee will wrap up its five-day marathon of budget talks, with the last of its 21 meetings this week to come to a close today. Up for discussion today are the budgets of the Consumer Protection Agency, the National Telecom Regulation Authority, and two other public authorities.

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

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s pharma division will meet with the Egyptian Drug Authority next week to look into the division’s requests to raise the price of meds, division head Ali Auf told Asharq Business. “We are demanding a 50% price hike, but we expect the hike to be around 25%,” Auf added.

What do pharma players want? Local pharma companies have put forward a number ofrequests and proposals for new med pricing schemes before the authority in a way that reflects the new USD / EGP exchange rate post float.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Driving the conversation in the global business press this morning: Major Wall Street benchmarks hit a fresh high yesterday as traders welcomed promising US inflation data. We have the story in this morning’s Planet Finance, below.

MEANWHILE, IN GAZA- Israel has started sending troops into Rafah in what Bloomberg believes is the beginning of a “full-blow invasion.” The Israeli military has given advance warnings to Rafah citizens as tanks and infantry make their way into the eastern part of the city bordering Egypt. The move is visibly ramping up tensions with Egypt, the European Union, and the United States.

AN ARAB ROLE IN POST-WAR GAZA? The Biden administration is in talks with Egypt, the UAE, and Morocco about their potential participation in a “peacekeeping force” that would deploy in Gaza following the war, the Financial Times writes. The three Arab nations are considering the initiative but “they would want the US to recognise a Palestinian state first,” a western official told the salmon-colored paper. Saudi Arabia has straight up rejected the idea all together.

ELSEWHERE IN GLOBAL POLITICS- You’re going to be hearing a lot about Russia-China ties in the next couple of days. Vladimir Putin is in Beijing today and tomorrow to meet Xi Jinping. The Financial Times worries in its Big Read that Moscow and Beijing represent “an economic ‘friendship’ that could rattle the world.”

PLUS- A handful of stories in global politics about which you should know:

OIL WATCH– The International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for oil demand. It now sees global demand rising by 1.1 mn bpd in 2024 — 140k bpd less than last month’s projections — pointing to weaker demand particularly in Europe. This stands in stark contrast to OPEC’s forecast (pdf) that oil demand will rise by 2.25 mn bpd in 2024.

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