Good morning, friends. There’s plenty of big stories for you to get through this morning, with news that the IMF is close to wrapping up its third review and apparently green lighting program adjustments requested by Egypt, the plethora of energy investments coming from the Emirates, and so much more.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s a tad warmer in Cairo today, with a high of 26°C and a low of 18°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s also a few degrees warmer in Alexandria than it was yesterday, with a high of 27°C, a low of 15°C, and a small chance of light rain.

And over the weekend, expect to see temperatures in the capital and on the Mediterranean hover around the same mark.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

To cut, or not to cut? The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet later today to review interest rates.

It’s looking like another uneventful meeting: The MPC is expected to leave interest rates unchanged amid persisting inflationary pressures and continuing geopolitical tensions in the region, as unanimously forecasted in our interest rate poll of ten analysts and economists.

If the analysts are right, this would mark the fifth time that the MPC voted to keep rates steady, as the central bank hasn’t made any changes to interest rates since the committee delivered a 600 bps rate hike following a surprise monetary policy meeting in March in conjunction with the float of the EGP.

One of those who expects the central bank to keep rates stable is EGBank board member Mohamed Abdel Aal, who told EnterpriseAM among the factors determining the central bank’s interest rate decision are geopolitical risks in the region, a steady increase in local liquidity, pressures from the IMF to take a certain fiscal route, the steady rise in inflation, and the global interest rate environment.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The government is getting ready to launch EGP 115 bn second phase of universal health ins. system in the next fiscal year, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told reporters during his weekly presser. The second phase will include five additional governorates and is planned to be completed within three years.

Remember: The government is set to spend somewhere around EGP 53 bn on the rollout of the first phase of the universal health ins. system, General Authority for Healthcare Ahmed El Sobky said last year. The first phase covered Port Said, Luxor, Ismailia, South Sinai, Aswan, and Suez governorates.

#2- Egypt may need to seek alternatives to Russian wheat, as Russian farmers are turning their backs against the grain, saying they will sow less wheat in favor of higher-margin crops like peas, lentils, and sunflowers, Reuters reports. Russia’s wheat harvest is expected to decline to 83 mn tons in 2024, down from 92.8 mn tons in 2023, potentially reducing the country’s 26% share of the global wheat market and inflating wheat prices, especially for major buyers like Egypt.

Russia is by far Egypt’s largest supplier of wheat, exporting 76% of Egypt's imports of the grain in the first ten months of the year, an official from the Supply Ministry told EnterpriseAM. Our dependence on Russian wheat appears to be growing, with imports from the country increasing 51.5% y-o-y during the ten-month period to 9.2 mn tons and the country’s contribution to our total wheat imports rising 2.7 percentage points y-o-y.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Attention, local startups looking to enter the Saudi market: Saudi VC firm Edafa Venture Capital is hosting an event designed to bring together local entrepreneurs with Saudi industry leaders — dubbed StartupSync — in Cairo on 29 November, Al Mal reports. The event aims to foster strategic partnerships and support startups across the MENA region. A bunch of new partnerships will be unveiled during the event between Edafa and Egyptian startups.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Two stories are capturing the imagination of the international business press this morning: The indictment of Adani Group’s Gautam Adani on charges of bribery and fraud, and Nvidia’s most recent financials.

US prosecutors formally charged Adani — one of the richest people in the world — and seven others with being involved in a “massive” bribery and fraud scheme. The defendants allegedly planned to pay USD 265 mn in bribes to officials in the Indian government to facilitate being awarded solar energy supply contracts, including for India’s largest solar power plant. The contracts were forecasted to reel in USD 2 bn in net income over two decades.

The defendants are also being charged with raising capital “on the basis of false and misleading statements,” including USD 2 bn in syndicated loans “comprised of international financial institutions and US-based investors” and another USD 1 bn from bond offerings that were also “marketed and sold to investors in the US.” (Reuters | Financial Times | CNBC | Bloomberg)

MEANWHILE- Nvidia reported lower than expected revenue growth in its 3Q 2024-25earnings results, with the chipmaker saying its revenues grew 94% y-o-y and 17% q-o-q. The revenue figure came in at a record high of USD 35.1 bn. However, the company’s sales forecast for the following quarter came in below projections, with the firm saying that its Blackwell AI chips are seeing “very strong” demand but costs are expected to eat away at margins. (Bloomberg | CNBC | Reuters | Financial Times)

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