Good morning, friends. The month is off to a busy start with fresh data from the central bank and a whole lot of investment promises.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Has our fourth loan review with the IMF been pushed back 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 October.

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

#2- More French investments incoming? French and European investors are getting excited about investing in Egypt, with European investment network ANIMA, the Marseille Chamber of Commerce, and French shipping and logistic company CMA CGM all expressing interest in cooperating on trade and investment during their meetings with Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib who is in France for multi-day visit to drum up investments.

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s day two of the Cairo Sustainable Energy Week: Under the theme Building a World that Sustains, the three-day event at the Nile Ritz-Carlton in Cairo is gathering ministers and private sector players from across the Arab world to discuss renewable energy, grid interconnection projects, sustainable development, and everything in between. On the agenda today are sessions on green hydrogen, green finance, the role of private sector banks, and the role of startups in the green transition.

MILESTONE-

Fawry has so far disbursed some EGP 1 bn through its buy-now-pay-later service, which officially launched a little over a year ago, the local fintech giant said in a press release (pdf).

DATA POINT-

Gov’t collects EGP 1.2 bn from tackling electricity theft: Egypt pulled in some EGP 1.2 bn over the last month and a half by cracking down on electricity theft, according to a cabinet statement. The announcement follows recently increased fines, new measures to let companies crack down on electricity theft, and a media blitz on the talk shows as part of government efforts to reduce energy consumption 18% by 2035 and stop the drain on the public purse.

PSA-

Banks and the EGX are also set for a long weekend, joining the private and public sectors in taking Sunday, October 6 off for Armed Forces Day, the central bank and the bourse said yesterday.

WEATHER- It’s another cool day in Cairo, with a high of 30°C and a low of 22°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s even cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 27°C and a low of 23°C.

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

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CORRECTION- In our coverage of the EnterpriseAM Finance Forum in yesterday’s issue, we mistakenly attributed Valu CEO Walid Hassouna’s comments about leasing to MNT-Halan CEO Mounir Nakhla. The story has been amended on our website.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Iran fired some 200 missiles at Israel last night in a massive escalation of regional violence, with the Israeli army saying it has intercepted most missiles and reporting one dead in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was a “big mistake” and vowed retaliation during the opening meeting of his security cabinet yesterday, with the US promising to support Israel in its retaliation, Bloomberg reports.

Iranian Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araqchi said Iran’s attacks were “finished,” unless Israel retaliates, in which case their response will be “stronger and more powerful” on X a few hours ago.

Market reax: Oil prices surged 5% following the attacks, with Brent settling at USD 73.56 per barrel, and several indices on Wall Street and in the region ending lower.

The Iranian attack is getting plenty of play: Reuters | AP | CNN | BBC.

US elections are also back on front pages as the country gears up for the first and only vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris’ VP Tim Walz and Donald Trump’s pick, JD Vance, later today.

IN OTHER US NEWS- East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers’ kicked off their biggest strike in 50 years after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down, halting nearly half of the country’s shipping and potentially costing bns of USD in damages. (CNBC | Reuters)

Also causing plenty of damage: Hurricane Helene, which has killed at least 130 people across six states, with analysts estimating more than USD 30 bn in damages so far. (Semafor)

AND IN TECH NEWS-

  • OpenAI launched a slew of new tools, including one that will make it easier for developers to build AI voice applications, and another that will improve responses generated using images and text, as the company shifts its focus to agent systems, (Reuters | FT)
  • Apple is preparing to unveil a new version of its budget iPhone, iPhone SE, alongside new iPad Air models and new keyboards. (Bloomberg)

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We look at how well prepared Egypt’s energy infrastructure is to achieve the country’s energy transition goals.

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