Good morning, friends. We have a brisk issue for you to kick off the workweek.

PSA-

WEATHER- After a few cool days, the mercury is rising again. Cairo is expected to see a high of 34°C and a low of 24°C today, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 31°C and a low of 21°C.

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

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SUNDAY MORNING SHOUT-OUT to our good friend Courtney Bailey, one of just 37 elementary- and middle-school principals from the United States and around the world to receive the 2024 National Association of Elementary School Principals Distinguished Principal Award. Courtney and the other award recipients were in Washington, DC, this past weekend for two days of activities that wrapped up with a banquet in their honor.

Courtney has been principal at Cairo American College’s Middle School for the past 11 years, where he’s made a difference in the lives of hundreds and hundreds of children — not least of which was the now-Resident Seventeen Year Old. He’s also had an outsized impact on families and on our wider community. We can think of few other people in any industry or walk of life as deserving of global recognition as he is. You can learn more about Courtney here.

SIGN OF THE TIMES-

A new Brics payment system to push against dollarization in the works? Russia is pushing for the nine-member bloc that includes Egypt to adopt changes to how local currency transactions are made between member nations to bypass the world’s dominant financial systems in a report (pdf) produced by the Russian state. The report argues that by more closely linking and enabling local currency transactions between commercial banks and also central banks in a network, in addition to using distributed ledger technology or a token system, they will be able to bolster bilateral trade between member nations and “ring-fence its participants from any external pressures such as extraterritorial sanctions.”

The timeline: “We plan to create payment and settlement solutions that will be acceptable to all participants within a year. And within five years, we hope to see other financial market tools being integrated as well, including those in ins. and credit ratings,” Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov in comments on the report’s launch.

There are also calls for Brics to launch its own IMF: Russia is also calling for the creation of an alternative to the Fund, arguing that the current global financial system is dominated by Western nations — who often use this a tool to pressure nations — and that new financial institutions are needed to better serve Brics nations, which now make up over 36% of the global economy.

The why: Russia is pushing the idea in the run up to its hosting the Brics Summit later this month on 22-24 October, following years of economic hardship after Western-led sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Around half of the country’s foreign currency reserves — amounting to USD 350 bn — have been frozen and the banking sector has been excluded from the Swift international payments network.

It looks like Egypt is open to the idea: Egypt is also seeking reforms to the international monetary system to create a more inclusive system that serves the interests of emerging markets, Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk said at a ministerial meeting in Russia in the run up to the summit.

Egypt wants more from dev banks: “We want to increase the volume and amount of multilateral concessional financing we’re getting from development banks, international institutions, and bilateral partners,” Kouchouk said. He also called for more blended finance to boost cross-border partnership between the public and private sectors.

SPEAKING OF THE IMF- The Fund is slashing surcharges — additional fees imposed on countries that borrow beyond their quota or delay loan repayments — by 36% on average starting 1 November, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement on Friday following a review of the policy. The move comes amid rising concerns that the rising financial burden — especially with the global high-interest rate environment — can be counterproductive to the aims of the original financial support and unfairly punishes struggling nations.

This is good news for Egypt: Egypt is the Fund’s second largest debtor with USD 13.3 bn — behind only Argentina. Before the decision, Egypt had been forecasted to pay the IMF USD 646 mn in surcharges over the next five years — marking it as the world’s fourth largest surcharge payer — according to the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- It’s day one of Cairo Water Week: The annual Cairo Water Week will open its doors in a few hours at Cairo’s Triumph Luxury Hotel, welcoming representatives from the private and public sectors from home and abroad to discuss the importance of water management, climate change, and much more. The event will run until Thursday under the theme Water and Climate: Building Resilient Communities. Check out the week’s agenda and register to attend on the event’s official website.

#2- Attention, executives: The AUC School of Business is hosting a webinar for those interested in its next upcoming executive MBA program — whose 30 November application deadline is fast approaching. Jumping on the call will be professor Ayman Ismail along with Zilla Capital Managing Partner Moustafa El Shenety and Softi Managing Director Engy El Barkouki — two alumni of the program. You can find the link to register on the Newton Education Services’ socials.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- GEM to launch partial trial operations on Wednesday ahead of grand opening, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said in a televised statement. The initial phase will see the museum’s main hall opened, with other sections to follow in a phased rollout ahead of a grand official inauguration.

#2- It’s interest rate decision time: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet this Thursday to decide on our interest rate trajectory. Belief among analysts that a potential cut is still off the table was bolstered by September’s inflation data, which showed inflation accelerating for the second consecutive month.

Remember: The central bank left interest rates unchanged in its last meeting in September, citing cooling domestic and global inflation, an uncertain local trajectory for commodity prices, and slow economic growth. Rates have been stable since March, when the central bank delivered a jumbo 600 bps rate hike that accompanied the float of the EGP.

DATA POINT-

Shipping volume passing through the Suez Canal was down 70% y-o-y in 3Q 2024, as shipping lines continue to divert away from the route amid continued Houthi attacks on passing vessels, according to data from the IMF’s PortWatch.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- State statistics agency Capmas will launch a national survey on international migration tomorrow, according to a statement from the agency cited by local media outlets. The survey aims to collect data on migrant demographics and trends, as well as factors influencing migration. This initiative will be funded by the EU and done in partnership with the International Organization for Migration.

#2- The General Authority for Investment and Freezones (GAFI) will set up five more freezones under the special freezones system in response to investor demand, an unnamed government official told Al Arabiya. The new zones will be located in Greater Cairo and New Alamein and will cover various sectors. The in-the-works zones are in addition to the sixareas already listed in GAFI’s plan for next year.

ENTERPRISEAM IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. EnterpriseAM — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt, GCC, and the wider region — is looking for writers, reporters, and editors to help us build out new publications.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the EnterpriseAM Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the EnterpriseAM Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists on subject matter knowledge, while also working on constructing and filing EnterpriseAM stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Israel expands its attacks on Lebanon: Israel ordered the evacuation of new locations in Lebanon yesterday as it ramped up its attacks. Yesterday’s attacks across three different areas across the country — including one that was previously untouched — killed no less than 15 and injured 37 others.

Attacks on Gaza continue: Israeli forces ramped up their airstrikes in northern Gaza on Saturday, killing at least 29 Palestinians in the Jabaliya area. Residents in northern Gaza have not received any food aid since 1 October according to the UN World Food Program, which estimates that around 400k Gazans remain in the area. The UN independent food rights investigator has accused Israel of carrying a “starvation campaign,” a claim that Israel denies. (Reuters | Associated Press)

AND IN BUSINESS NEWS- Boeing announced plans to cut 17k jobs — nearly 10% of its workforce — and delay its delivery of the 777X jet as the embattled company enters its fifth week of a machinists’ strike that has brought production of two of its models to a standstill. The company is currently waiting for the US’ National Labor Relations Board to rule on the unfair labor practice charge Boeing filed against the machinists’ union last week.

Boeing is feeling the pain: The machinists’ strike comes after a particularly difficult year for the company, which has come under considerable scrutiny after a high-profile accident on one of its planes in January prompted questions about the airplane manufacturer’s safety protocols and encouraged regulators to limit its production. S&P Global Ratings warned last week that Boeing’s bonds could soon be downgraded to junk status, estimating that the strike is costing the airplane manufacturer around USD 1 bn per month. (Financial Times | Reuters | CNBC).

AND- The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize went to Japan’s Nihon Hidankyo, a group of atomic bomb survivors who have dedicated their lives to push for “a world free of nuclear weapons” and demonstrate “through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.” (DW | Reuters | BBC | New York Times)

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