Good morning, friends. We have a busy issue for you this morning led by news of a USD 1.7 bn Chinese industrial complex, IFC announcing the 11 airports slated for development through PPPs, and Beltone Holding closing the first round of its capital increase.

So, when do we eat? Maghrib prayers are at 6:10pm in the capital, and you’ll have until 4:23am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.

PSA-

Private sector employees will have Saturday to either Tuesday or Wednesday off for Eid El Fitr depending on when Eid officially starts — aligning with the days off being given to the public sector. We’re still waiting for confirmation from the Central Bank of Egypt and the EGX to hear whether banks and the bourse will follow suit.

EnterpriseAM Egypt will be off for the whole of next week, but we will be back in your inbox bright and early on Sunday, 6 April.

WEATHER- It’s warming up in Cairo, with the capital in for a high of 33°C and a low of 21°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 31°C and a low of 18°C.

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

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- Minya could soon be home to a new USD 2 bn ready-made garment and textiles industrial zone, with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly directing that the utilities for the project be set up, Garment Export Council Chairman and Giza Spinning and Weaving CEO Fadel Marzouk told Al Arabiya. The project has already attracted the interest of more than ten Chinese and Turkish companies willing to commit investments to the project this year, Marzouk added.

#2- The UNHCR stopped “key-life saving support” to some 20k refugees in Egypt amid a fall in donor funding, the UN’s agency for refugees said in a statement. The agency will continue to deliver emergency procedures but will no longer help provide cancer surgery, chemotherapy, heart surgery, or chronic disease meds. With scores of refugees unable to afford treatment from the national health system, “many will die,” warned UNHCR Public Health Officer Jakob Arhem.

The slashing of US aid funding has made an existing funding crisis even worse. Last year, the agency received less than half of the USD 135 mn it needed to support the nearly 1 mn registered refugees in the country. And now with the Trump administration’s decision to pause all foreign aid and the likelihood of this returning in a comparative way looking slim, the UNHCR has lost a fifth of its total budget.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Thinking about a master’s in international management? The AUC Onsi Sawiris School of Business and Newton Education Services are hosting a virtual information session for the CEMS Master in International Management today at 1-2pm. The session — which is the last before the application deadline — will explore the program’s structure, global network, interdisciplinary curriculum, and career prospects, with input from the program’s Academic Director Marina Apaydin, as well as a program alumnus Mohamed Bahaa. Find the link to register on the school’s LinkedIn page.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- Attention, budding fintech entrepreneurs. The application deadline for the Mint Fintech Hackathon is coming up quick, with the program set to close submissions on 5 April. Selected entrepreneurs will take part in four days of workshops, technical know-how, business mentorship, and networking with industry leaders, before pitching their ideas to a panel of judges. You can find out more and apply on Mint’s website.

#2- Scholarships down under. You can now apply for the Australian government’s master’s scholarship program Australia Awards. The scholarship program grants funding for citizens of certain African nations — including Egypt — to study climate change, agriculture and food security, mining and energy, foreign policy and international security, and gender, disability, and social inclusion. Applications are open until 30 April, and women, people with disabilities, and marginalized groups are encouraged to apply. You can find out more about the program here (pdf) and apply through the Australia Awards website.

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

CORRECTION #1- In a recent story about a planned USD 700 mn solar factory, we got a little lost in translation and mistakenly wrote that the company was called Xinyi Glass. The company is in fact called SBH Kibing Solar New Energy. The story has been amended on our website.

CORRECTION #2- In yesterday’s issue of EnterpriseAM, we incorrectly said that Orascom Construction built three 4.8 GW power plants in Egypt in collaboration with Siemens and Elsewedy Electric. Orascom built two 4.8 GW power plants with Siemens, while a third was built by Siemens and Elsewedy Electric. The story has been amended on our website.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea, following days of US-backed talks in Riyadh, according to a White House statement. Ukraine said it would begin observing the maritime truce immediately, while Russia hinged its participation on lifting sanctions on agricultural exports and reconnecting key banks to SWIFT. (Bloomberg | BBC | CNN | New York Times | Reuters)

AND- Israel strikes Syria: An Israeli airstrike killed at least six people in southern Syria on Tuesday. The strike followed a reported exchange of fire between Israeli troops and militants near the border. (Reuters | AP)

AND IN THE BUSINESS PAGES- SAP dethrones Novo Nordisk as Europe’s most valuable company: German software company SAP has become Europe’s most valuable public company, overtaking Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, with a market cap of USD 342.4 bn. (CNBC | Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg)

*** 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 look at why Egypt is falling behind the emerging market data center boom.

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