Good morning, all. The newsflow is picking up with Cairo Water Week in full swing, GEM kicking off partial trial operations in days, and the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The IMF’s recently announced plan to cut surcharges could save us a whole lot of dough, officials tell Enterprise: Egypt stands to save between USD 300-400 mn thanks to the IMF reducing surcharges, a government source told Enterprise. Before the decision to cut fees by an average of 36% starting next month, 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.

We’ll soon have a more precise figure of how much we need to pay in surcharges going forwards as the government and the Fund discuss the country’s new discounted rates and its repayment timelines in the coming days, the source added.

AND- Georgieva could visit soon: The necessary arrangements are underway for IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to visit the country to follow up on the Fund’s cooperation with the government, according to a statement.

#2- Another GCC nation is looking to convert its deposits into investments? Kuwait is reportedly mulling converting its deposits in the CBE — amounting to USD 4 bn, according to the CBE’s most recent data(pdf) — into direct investments, unnamed sources told Al Mal. They also noted ongoing discussions between high-level officials on large-scale investments in the local market, with Kuwait’s Sovereign Wealth Fund KIA eying potential investments in both public and private sector companies.

Kuwait isn’t the only one looking to turn its deposits into investments: Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih told Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly in August that the kingdom was looking to convert some of its USD 5.3 bn worth of deposits at the CBE into investments.

PSA-

WEATHER- Cairo is looking at moderate breeze today and a high of 32°C and a low of 22°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 30°C and a low of 21°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 Egypt’s local router manufacturing industry. Check out the story here.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- GEM to launch partial trial operations on Wednesday ahead of grand opening, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said last week. 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. Our Enterprise poll sees the central bank leaving rates unchanged — Read the full story in the news well, below.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Cairo is hosting the UN’s World Urban Forum from 4-8 November, which will focus on “localizing the sustainable development goals” under the theme It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities. It will tackle issues including unaffordable housing, living costs, climate change, and current conflicts. You can register on the event’s official website.

Who will be there? Over 59 ministers from all over the world will be flying in to attend the forum, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said.

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

CORRECTION- In yesterday’s issue of EnterpriseAM Egypt, we ran a story based on local media reports that GB Capital is looking to become an investment bank. An official from the company reached out to tell us that they are not and have no intention of becoming an investment bank. The story has been removed from our website.

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-

It’s a quiet morning on global business front pages, but that should change as the week grinds on.

Is Trump just horsing around about allowing the greenback to weaken? A top Trump economic advisor says The Donald is merely posturing about weakening the USD and turning away from global trade. Hedge fund manager Scott Bessent, who some pundits think could be the Republican’s pick for Treasury Secretary, made the remarks in a conversation with the Financial Times, telling the salmon-colored paper that Trump wants the greenback to “remain the world’s reserve currency” and that he’s using the threat of tariffs “as a negotiating tactic.”

In security news: The US has sent Israel advanced anti-missile systems and 100 troops to run them as tensions between Tel Aviv and Tehran continue to boil. In Asia, China has begun large military exercises around Taiwan — the war games come as observers spell out worries that disruptions to busy South China Seas shipping lanes could further snarl global shipping.

MORNING MUST READ- One of the world’s top AI researchers thinks “AI is as dumb as acat” — that current models are “far from rivaling the intelligence of our pets, let alone us.” Christopher Mims’ sit-down with the Meta researcher offers a broad and reasonably balanced view on the state of the art (and hysteria) about artificial intelligence.

SIGN OF THE TIMES- Global accounting giant EY is blaming a slump in private equity and M&A activity for its decision to delay “start dates for new graduates hired for its elite strategy adviser Parthenon” in the United States.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK internationally:

  • International Monetary Fund boss Kristalina Georgieva will speak this coming Thursday on the global economy and her organization’s priorities ahead of next week’s World Bank and IMF General Meetings, which formally get underway a week from today.
  • Interest rate watchers will keep a close eye on consumer inflation data from India (today), Canada (tomorrow), the UK (Wednesday), and Japan (Friday);
  • Turkey’s central bank will meet on Thursday to set interest rates. Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia do the same on Wednesday.
  • Earnings season continues, with major institutions set to report this week including Ashmore, Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Blackstone, Netflix, and Schlumberger.

*** 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 look at where Egyptian universities stand in the 2024 higher education rankings.

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