Good afternoon, friends. Hold on in there, we’re only two days away from a long weekend.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Has our fourth loan review with the IMF been pushed back once again? The Fund is likely to conduct the fourth review of our USD 8 bn loan program in November, a government source told Enterprise. The review that will unlock a USD 1.3 bn tranche — the biggest among the four tranches to date — was initially scheduled for September, before being delayed to the end of October.

The why: Partly behind the move is the government who wants to wait so investment incentives and investment agreements currently in the works can be finalized and then included in the review. In addition to this, the delayed third review has pushed back the timetable for subsequent reviews, our source told us.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The global press is squarely focussed on Israel’s ground invasion into southern Lebanon, with the number of displaced now reaching 1 mn — around a fifth of the total population — as civilians flee north to escape Israeli shelling. Thirty villages were told to flee as Israeli forces launched what it describes as “limited” raids, but some are worried that these warnings may be precursors to a larger offensive and Turkish officials are already warning that this may be the beginning of a longer occupation of the region. (Financial Times | New York Times | BBC | Guardian | Reuters | Associated Press)

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • How have Egyptian consumers and businesses managed to remain resilient amidsoaring prices? We asked Boston Consulting Group London Managing Director and Partner Michal Panowicz, MNT-Halan founder and CEO Mounir Nakhla, and Valu CEO Walid Hassouna at the EnterpriseAM Finance Forum.
  • Construction work on the Ras El Hekma project will officially kick off on Friday: Emirati sovereign wealth fund ADQ will lay the foundation stone for its USD multi-bn Ras El Hekma project on Friday.
  • Another big-ticket data center in the works: Intro Group subsidiary Intro Technology signed a MoU with Omani data center leader Oman Data Park to establish a new USD 450 mn sustainable data center in the Suez Canal Economic Zone.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- October is kicking off with cooler weather, with the mercury seeing a high of 30°C and a low of 22°C in the capital tomorrow, according to our favorite weather app.

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