Good morning, wonderful people, and happy Friday. We hope you all enjoy your weekend in the city as the Sahel season is officially over and we are back to ordinary weekends.

In Enterprise Guide this week, we’ll introduce you this week to some sports you can take up at any age and practice in clubs around you, making your weekends healthier.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

DIPLOMACY-

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi touched down in Ankara on Wednesday, in his first ever official visit to Turkey. El Sisi discussed with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan boosting bilateral trade and the two countries’ stances on Gaza and Libya, in the latest step toward strengthening relations between the former regional rivals.

ECONOMY-

#1- The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to once again leave the interest rates unchanged at its monetary policy meeting yesterday (pdf), noting that “current policy rates remain appropriate to maintain the prevailing tight monetary stance until a significant and sustained decline in inflation is realized.”

#2- Non-oil private sector activity expanded in August for the first time in over three years, S&P Global’s Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report showed. The report pointed to more stable demand conditions thanks to “market recovery amid improved macro-economic factors and rising export business” as an important reason behind activity finally increasing.

A long time coming: The index rose to 50.4 in August, up from 49.7 in July. The country’s non-oil private sector has been in contraction since November 2020, but has been flirting with the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction since May thanks to cooling inflation and growing confidence.

#3- Egypt’s net foreign asset surplus expanded a modest 3.5% to USD 13.3 bn in July, up from USD 12.9 bn in June, according to Enterprise calculations based on Central Bank of Egypt figures. This is the country’s third month in the green after our net foreign assets shifted from deficit to surplus in May — the first time our net foreign asset position had been in the green since February 2022.

AUTOMOTIVE-

#1- Gov’t to set up local EV manufacturing complex: The government is planning to establish a 50k sqm local EV manufacturing facility. “Serious steps” will be taken to raise the percentage of local inputs into the manufacture of EVs through the project.

#2- Egypt’s auto production to grow, but at a slower pace than its neighbors: The country’s vehicle production is expected to witness steady increases over the coming years, but will likely fall behind regional competitors, according to a recent BMI report. The report expects Egypt to produce 37k vehicles in 2024, putting the country second place in the region above Algeria with an expected 17.4k vehicles and way behind Morocco in first place with 614k vehicles.

ENERGY-

More renewables projects in the pipeline: UAE’s Masdar, Infinity Power, and Hassan Allam Utilities will set up USD 900 mn worth of solar power plants in Upper Egypt with a combined capacity of 1 GW after the Madbouly government greenlit the move. The projects will be built under a build-own-operate (BOO) contract and should be up and running and feeding the national grid before the end of 2025.

What’s next? The final agreements should be signed in October, with the final reviews underway to set the price of the energy sold from the project. The companies will receive usufruct rights for the land in exchange for 2% of the energy produced.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Capmas is expected to publish August’s inflation figures on Tuesday — some analysts see inflation picking up again in August on the back of recent price hikes, with some seeing inflation coming in at 30-31% for the month. The favorable base effect played a crucial role in reducing inflation over the five months ending in July, but this will change for August, September, and October as these months will reflect the impact of increased fuel and electricity prices,” Zilla Capital’s Aya Zoheir previously told us.

Remember: Annual urban inflation cooled to its lowest level since December 2022 in the last monthly data set, which showed annual inflation coming in at 25.7% in July, down 1.8 percentage points from 27.5% in June. Annual core inflation — which excludes volatile items such as food and fuel — slowed to 24.4%, down from 26.6%.

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-

The USD took its steepest dive of the year in August, losing over 2% against other major currencies as markets anticipated the US Federal Reserve might cut interest rates amid signs of a slowing economy. The greenback nevertheless rose to a two-week high on Tuesday, as markets braced for a series of key economic reports, including Friday’s US Jobs report, which pundits think will help set the tone for the US Federal Reserve’s next three interest rate meetings.

OVER IN US ELECTION NEWS- Things are looking increasingly up for the Democrats post-Biden, with Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris gaining an edge of around 2 percentage points on Republican candidate Donald Trump among likely voters in seven key US swing states. Harris is tied with or beating Trump in all seven states and has virtually erased the lead Trump enjoyed over Joe Biden prior to ending his bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination. Meanwhile, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found Harris leading Trump among registered voters nationwide by a margin of 4 percentage points, up from the 1 percentage point lead registered by the polling agency in late July.

IN OUR NECK OF THE WOODS- As the war on Gaza crosses the 330-day mark, crowds of up to 500k took to thestreets in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and other Israeli cities to protest Netanyahu’s continued stalling on a ceasefire agreement, which protestors claim is impeding the return of the remaining 101 hostages.

The protests reflect an increasingly polarized Israeli society, say much of the commentariat, with right-wing politicians threatening to bring down Netanyahu’s political coalition if he accepts a ceasefire agreement. On the far right of the country’s already far right cabinet, Israeli Finance Minister Bazalel Smotrich called on the country’s attorney general to block the planned labor strike, accusing protesters of “fulfilling (Hamas chief Yahyeh) Sinwar’s dream.”

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- We are still looking forward to the fall weather, as we witness another hot weekend in Cairo with a high of 35°C and a low of 26°C today, with the same temperature continuing into tomorrow.

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

If you want to LOL head to the High Five stand up comedy show with Abdelrahman Mohamed, Badr Nour Eldin, Gamal Ramzy, Fekry Tarek, and Pola Samwel at Theatro Arkan in Sheikh Zayed tonight starting at 8:00 pm. Book your spot for the show here.

For fans of Lege-cy, don’t miss his live performance alongside DJ Totti at CJC 610 tomorrow, 7 September, at 10pm. Message their Facebook page to reserve your seats.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

Creativity will be taking center stage at She Arts festival at AUC Tahrir. From Thursday, 26 September to Sunday, 29 September the event will feature a diverse lineup of artistic and musical performances — offering female artists from around the world a platform to express themselves, connect, and collaborate. Get your tickets here.

Idreesi is back with another powerful performance. Following his sold-out show in Cairo in March 2023, he’s once again about to perform the electro-pop and synth-pop sounds fused with Arabic melodies and poetry that have defined his career. Catch the show on Thursday, September 12 at Rawabet Art Space. Grab your tickets while you can — one of the shows is already sold out.

Listen to people’s stories and tell your own at this interactive comedy show. Ain Gamal will take to the stage at the 6th edition MedFest EG. Enjoy the unique blend of comedy on Friday, 13 September at Ewart Hall in AUC Tahrir Square. Grab your tickets here.

Mark your calendars for the 100 Years of Singing Concert with Ali El Haggar: The singer’s performance will honor the late Baligh Hamdi. The show will take place at Cairo Opera House’s mail hall on Friday, 13 September at 8:30pm. Secure your seat here.

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