Good morning, friends. It’s another busy day with both the Brics Summit and the World Bank and IMF annual meetings well underway.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- IMF maintains Egypt’s growth outlook: The IMF has kept our growth forecast for the current fiscal year unchanged at 4.1% in its updated World Economic Outlook (pdf). The Fund cut the country’s growth forecast to 4.1% in July, slashing it 0.3 percentage points from previous forecasts. The Fund also expects inflation to average 21.2% during the current fiscal year, down from 33.3% last fiscal year.

More optimistic than most: The Madbouly government sees the economy growing at a 4.0%clip this current fiscal year, while the World Bank sees the economy growing 3.5%.

Egypt is expected to lose some 1.3% of its annual GDP by the end of 2024 due to regional tension, the UNDP’s Assistant Secretary-General and Director for Arab states Abdallah Al Dardari told CNBC Arabia.

Remember: The UNDP back in May estimated that regional tensions could cost the economy between USD 5.6 bn and USD 19.8 bn — 1.6-5.2% of our annual average GDP — throughout the past and current fiscal years, depending on how far the conflict escalates.

#2- CIB to welcome new CEO in 2-3 years: CIB CEO Hisham Ezz El Arab plans to leave his post at the country’s largest private lender within the next 2-3 years, he told Al Arabiya, adding that he is currently mentoring three employes, with one expected to take over after his departure. Ezz El Arab was tapped as the bank’s CEO in September as part of a wider board shuffle that saw the lender welcome a new executive director and new executive directors.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Oil and gas announcement incoming? Oil Minister Karim Badawi will join Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly for his weekly presser later today to brief us on his ministry’s latest developments, according to a statement. Badawi spent his week in Alexandria where he attended the Mediterranean Offshore Conference that wrapped yesterday. We will be on the lookout for what Badawi describes as the “fruitful results” of the conference.

#2- It’s day three of the World Bank and IMF annual meetings: The world’s finance ministers, central bank governors, and other big names in finance and policy are in Washington for the six-day International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, which kicked off on Monday and will run through Saturday.

On the agenda today: A meeting between ministers from the MENA region and Pakistan and the IMF’s managing director; a Brics networking meeting; and events on sovereign debt and liquidity. The full schedule can be found on the event’s official website.

#3- It’s day two of the three-day Brics Summit: The heads of Brics nations — including President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — are in the Russian city of Kazan for the Brics Summit to discuss economic cooperation, trade, and global governance.

What went down during day one? El Sisi met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. The two discussed bilateral relations as well as a number of regional and international issues — the war on Gaza and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis. More on that in the news well, below.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Chinese investment, trade, and partnerships in the spotlight: The Egyptian Businessmen’s Association and a government delegation from the Chinese city of Linyi are hosting the Conference on Trade and Economic Cooperation with Linyi City tomorrow at the Radisson Blu in Heliopolis, according to a statement (pdf)

PSA-

WEATHER- The mercury dips below the 20°C mark in Cairo today — we’re in for a high of 28°C and a low of 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Surprisingly, it’s not as cold in Alexandria, which is in for a high of 27°C and a low of 21°C.

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

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Doing Business with Finland seminar is taking place 28 October, with Finnish and Egyptian companies set to meet at the Finnish Embassy-backed event to discuss potential healthcare, education, ICT, and food supply partnerships. Finnish companies can register to attend through the link shared by Finnpartnership, while local companies can register through the link shared by the National Initiative for Developing Egyptian Industry (Ebda).

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 edition of EnterpriseAM Egypt, we mistakenly said that Sawari Ventures’ upcoming Sawari Ventures Fund II has a size of USD 30 mn. The fund instead has a target size of USD 200 mn that it will invest over the next four to five years. The story has been amended on 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.

PLUS- We’re also looking for our first dedicated audience development professional. Someone who loves the challenge of helping us reach new readers in new markets — Saudi, the UAE, and lots more to come —using a range of digital channels and tools. You’re someone who thrives on working in a small, focused team. You’ve got proven digital skills (more likely than not on the performance marketing side). And you want to be part of what we immodestly think is the region’s most exciting media, advisory, and business intelligence company.

Interested? Tell Patrick and Moustafa why and send us your resume on newjobs@enterprise.news. We’d love to hear from you today. The position is based in Cairo, offers two days a week working anywhere you please, and offers a competitive package. (We’re also pretty nice people to work with, if we don’t say so ourselves.)

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a mixed bag on the front pages of the foreign press today, with more talk of a potential ceasefire in the region continuing as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken touches down in Jerusalem for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more US elections news, and a smattering of business updates.

Blinken and Netanyahu agreed that the killing of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar over the weekend opens up possibilities for the end of the war in Gaza, though the meeting seemed to yield no clear plans for what’s to come, Bloomberg reports.

Israel confirmed for the first time that it had killed Hezbollah’s suspected successor, Hashem Safieddine, in airstrikes on Lebanon earlier this month, along with another Hezbollah commander. (Financial Times | NY Times | The Guardian)

OVER IN THE US- It’s not a great time for The Donald, who just two weeks ahead of elections is still behind in polls that put rival Kamala Harris marginally in the lead. A Republican appeal of a decision blocking a new rule that would have required poll workers to hand-count ballots was also blocked by a top Georgia court. Meanwhile, Trump is accusing the UK Labor Party of “foreign interference” and aid of Harris’ campaign. (BBC | FT | The Guardian)

IN BUSINESS NEWS- A few headlines are getting attention:

  • Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries has been charged with running a trafficking ring during his time as CEO. (Reuters | BBC | CNN)
  • Starbucks has scrapped its guidance as it reported a decline in sales and revenues ahead of schedule. (FT)
  • McDonald’s shares fell by 10% after the fast food franchise was linked to a fatal E. coli outbreak in the US that killed at least one person and left 10 others in hospital. (FT)

*** 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 dive into the anticipated rise in infrastructure costs in response to the most recent fuel price hike.

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