Good morning, all. We hope you’re well caffeinated and ready for your first Ramadan workday.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 5:55pm in the capital, and you’ll have until 4:52am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

REMEMBER- Ramadan hours kick in today. Banks and the EGX will move to their customary shortened Ramadan hours starting today, with trading beginning at 10am and ending at 1:30pm and banks operating from from 9:30am to 1:30pm. Shops, restaurants, and cafés will be allowed to stay open until 2am during Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr.

Egypt is on the IMF Executive Board’s calendar: The IMF is set to sign off on Egypt’s fourth review of its USD 8 bn loan program when the Fund’s Executive Board meets on Monday, March 10. Also on the agenda are Egypt’s requests to relax some timelines and other terms of the agreement, along with new funds under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

Remember: The IMF reached a staff level agreement with Egyptian authorities on the fourth review of its USD 8 bn loan program in December. The agreement will grant Egypt access to USD 1.2 bn — the biggest tranche of the program so far — after the Executive Board gives its stamp of approval.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s a sunny day in Cairo, with a high of 23°C and a low of 13°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s more or less the same in Alexandria, with a high of 22°C and a low of 12°C.

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

Estadat Sports Investment Company is gearing up for an offering on the EGX in 2026 as it evaluates financial strategies to ensure a strong market debut, CEO Seif El Wazery told Al Borsa. The company — currently managing EGP 3 bn in business volume — has set a target to reach EGP 5 bn by the end of 2025 and to expand its City Club network to 13-15 clubs by 2026 from a current nine.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica is in Egypt today for high-level discussions on the New Pact for the Mediterranean and to ink a EUR 90 mn project — dubbed Egypt Food Resilience — with the government, according to a statement from the bloc. The EU official will meet with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty, and Planning and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat, before holding a press conference later in the day.

New Pact for the Mediterranean? The in-the-works pact is being put together by EU states and their Mediterranean neighbors in a bid to “address shared challenges, by fostering people to people relations, economic reforms, and strengthening regional security and stability.”

#2- Investors can now apply online for over 2.1k industrial land plots across 22 governorates via the Egypt Industrial Digital Platform in a 10-day offering that kicked off yesterday. In response to investor requests, the offering period has been extended to 10 days instead of a week, allowing applicants more time to complete the necessary paperwork — especially given the Ramadan schedule.

NEWS TRIGGERS-

It’s the first workday of March — and the second day of Ramadan — here are the key news triggers to keep your eyes on throughout the month:

  • Another month of rising foreign reserves? Net foreign reserves inched up to USD 47.3 bn in January, up USD 156 mn from December, marking a 29-month growth streak. February’s figures are set to be released by the Central Bank of Egypt within the coming days.
  • Non-oil private sector activity to stay in the green for the second consecutive month? Egypt’s non-oil private activity saw its strongest expansion in over four years in January, driven by solid growth in output and sales volumes. The headline PMI reading rose to 50.7 in January, up from 48.1 in December, marking the second expansion since November 2020. S&P Global is set to release February’s PMI figures on Tuesday, 4 March.
  • Egypt will host an emergency Gaza-focused Arab League summit on Tuesday, 4 March to develop and agree on a plan for reconstruction in a push against the Trump-proposed plan to forcibly displace 2 mn Gazans from the enclave.
  • Will the inflation momentum slowdown continue? Annual headline urban inflation edged down to 24.0% in January, a smaller-than-expected decrease from December’s 24.1%, marking its lowest level since December 2022. On a monthly basis, inflation climbed to 1.5%, up 1.3 percentage points. February’s inflation data is expected to be released on Monday, 10 March.

DATA POINT-

The state is set to spend some EGP 170 bn on wage and pension hikes during FY 2025-26, according to a Finance Ministry statement. The government is also set to spend some EGP 40 bn on its social protection measures between March and June, with the funds set to be allocated on measures that include increasing the budget for state-funded healthcare for low-income individuals, among others, a government source told EnterpriseAM.

REMEMBER- Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk shared the details of the government’s long-awaited social protection package of wage and pension hikes and support to Egypt’s most vulnerable last week. The package will see the wage for civil servants and workers at state-owned enterprises increase by no less than EGP 1.1k and the public-sector minimum wage rise by EGP 1k to EGP 7k — all of which will take effect starting July. The state will also increase pension payouts by 15% from the new fiscal year, the minister said.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

We could see the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire extended after Israel approved a US-brokered proposal. The agreement — pushed by Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff — would see the first phase of the ceasefire agreement — which was supposed to end last night — extend through Ramadan and Passover (which ends on April 20). The extension would also see Hamas releasing half of the Israeli hostages held on the first day of its implementation. The rest would be released following an agreement on a permanent ceasefire. Israel has reserved the right to resume fighting after passover if negotiations to reach a permanent agreement stall. Hamas has so far rejected Israel’s proposed extension of the current truce but has yet to comment on Witkoff’s plan. (Bloomberg | Reuters | AP | CNN)

Before Israel accepted the proposal, Hamas had already rejected Israel’s attempt to extend the first phase of the agreement by six weeks, insisting on the second phase coming into effect with Israel completely withdrawing its troops. (Bloomberg | The Guardian | Washington Post)

MEANWHILE- The aftermath of Trump and Zelenskiy’s meeting is making headlines: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s high-stakes White House meeting with Donald Trump over the weekend unraveled into a public spectacle, leaving Ukraine scrambling for support. Trump dismissed Zelenskiy’s pleas for security guarantees, telling him to “come back when he is ready for peace,” hinting US aid could dry up entirely. Trump told reporters, “Either we’re going to end it or let him fight it out. And if he fights it out, it’s not going to be pretty, because without us, he doesn’t win.”

What happened next: “We are very grateful to the United States for all the support. I’m thankful to President Trump, Congress for their bipartisan support, and American people. Ukrainians have always appreciated this support, especially during these three years of full-scale invasion,” Zelenskiy said in a post on X. In a long thread, he mentioned how Ukraine and the US remain strategic partners "despite the tough dialogue” and that "it will be difficult without the US support.”

European leaders rushed to contain the fallout, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirming Britain’s “full” backing and sealing a GBP 2.26 bn loan for Ukraine’s military. (Reuters | BBC | Bloomberg | New York Times)

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