Good morning, everyone. The news flow is showing no sign of slowing down as we sit tight waiting for the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to review rates and the House to vote on the new Madbouly government’s policy, both of which are scheduled for Thursday.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- It’s interest rate week: The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet on Thursday to review rates after leaving key rates unchanged when it last met in May. It is looking like another uneventful meeting with all of the analysts we spoke to for our customary poll penciling in a hold. Read the full story in the news well, below.

#2- MPs to vote on new gov’t policy on Thursday: The House of Representatives will vote on the new Madbouly government’s policy on Thursday, after the vote was moved up from Sunday, 21 July. The ad hoc committee reviewing the new cabinet’s policy will wrap up its meetings today.

#3- Egypt Mining Forum to kick off tomorrow: The two-day Egypt Mining Forum kicks off tomorrow at the Nile Ritz-Carlton, bringing together over 4k attendees for 15 sessions with over 50 speakers. You can register to attend here.

Can’t wait until tomorrow to get your mining fix? One of the headline speakers for the event is LSE- and TSX-listed gold miner Centamin CEO Martin Horgan, who sat down with us for today’s issue to tell us more about the company’s operations in the country and its plans going forward. Check out the story in the news well, below.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1-Gov’t looks into leasing a second FSRU: The Oil Ministry is studying the possibility of leasing another floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) in Ain Sokhna to meet the need for additional quantities of natural gas, newly-appointed Oil Minister Karim Badawi told the House’s Parliamentary Committee while delivering his policy statement.

Higher demand: Our energy consumption has surpassed 37.3 GW a day, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said. During the fiscal year 2022-2023, Egypt’s peak electricity consumption was at 34.2 GW.

Could renewables be the answer? “The real solution is working to introduce the largest possible amount of new and renewable energy into the national grid,” Madbouly said during a renewables-centered meeting with Emirati officials. “The Egyptian and Emirati sides are working to introduce some 4 GW of renewable energy into the national grid by next summer,” he added.

#2- An update on the Nile Fund for Industrial Investment: Cairo Capital Securities (CCS), the brokerage arm of Cairo Financial Holding, wants to launch its newly-launched Nile Fund for Industrial Investment on the EGX by the end of the year, CCS Head of Research Shady Sharaf told Al Borsa. The firm is currently in the final stages of setting up the company that will manage the industrial fund.

The details: The fund will be launched on the bourse with an initial value of EGP 2.5-3 bn and is currently eyeing 15 investments to be announced over the coming month, with a particular focus on motor manufacturing and the chemical industry, Sharaf told Borsa.

Remember: The fund was unveiled by CCS and the National Initiative for Developing Egyptian Industry (Ebda) in May, with the aim of investing in all industrial sectors to ramp up exports and lower the country’s import bill.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another warm day in Cairo, with a high of 35°C and a low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 33°C and a low of 24°C.

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

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ICYMI- Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at the state’s component-based scheme for export support to bolster localization efforts. Check out the story here.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- The first of our EU funds to land in state coffers over the coming months: The EUR 1 bn in macro-financial assistance we’re getting from the EU as part of our EUR 7.4 bn financing package should be arriving in September or October, EU Ambassador to Cairo Christian Berger told MENA news agency.

#2- Representatives from 23 local readymade garments exporters will be heading to Germany at the end of the month as part of a promotional tour aimed at tapping new export markets, Al Borsa reports, citing the head of the Apparel Export Council of Egypt Marie Bishara.

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

DATA POINT-

Gold production was up nearly 16.5% y-o-y to 559k oz in the last fiscal year and the Oil Ministry is planning to increase it further to 800k oz by 2030, the ministry said in a statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump is getting a lot of play in the foreign press, while sports is everywhere as major summer tournaments wrap.

US President Joe Biden addressed his nation from the Oval Office to condemn the attack, saying the country needs to “lower the temperature in our politics” after the FBI suggested Donald Trump’s shooting was a one-man show and did not seem to be part of a larger plot. (The New York Times)

Trump seemed to be in good shape as he landed in Milwaukee, where he will be formally declared the Republican candidate for the presidency. The Republican National Convention gets underway today and runs through Thursday.

IN SPORTS NEWS- Spain clinched the Euro 2024 title after a late goal from Mikel Oyarzabal, handing England its second final defeat in three years. (FT | Reuters | The Guardian)

A good day for Spaniards everywhere: 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz also bagged his second Wimbledon title in a row — and his fourth Grand Slam — after a dominant showing against Novak Djokovic. (Washington Post | The Guardian)

The Copa America final is underway after a delay of over 75 minutes due to trouble from fans outside of the stadium. The match remains goalless as of dispatch time.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- Google parent Alphabet is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for USD 23 bn in what would be its biggest acquisition yet, the Wall Street Journal reports. This comes weeks after a potential takeover of online software marketing firm Hubspot fell through.

It’s a busy week for earnings: BlackRock and Goldman Sachs will report 2Q results today, with Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, BHP, Netflix, Novartis, Burberry, and Schlumberger among the many expected to follow suit through Friday.

And in data: We’ll see consumer inflation figures from Canada (Tuesday) and the EU and UK (both Wednesday).

The European Central Bank will make its interest rate decision on Thursday.

CLOSER TO HOME- Hamas has reportedly not withdrawn from ceasefire talks despite Israel’s deadly attacks in Gaza over the weekend, which Israel claimed targeted the group’s military head, Mohammed Deif. (Reuters)

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We continue our deep-dive into language programs offered by embassy-sponsored cultural institutes in a part II looking into how they leverage market trends, deal with headwinds, and their road ahead.

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