Good morning, friends. We kick off the first workday of November with a brisk issue, with the official opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum taking center stage.

Last night Egypt inaugurated the Grand Egyptian Museum — the world’s largest museum for a single civilization — with a grand celebration, marking the end of two decades of work and anticipation.

Lasers, fireworks, and drones took over the sky while an orchestra performed and sopranos took the stage with tens of world leaders watching. In the midst of it all, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi delivered his opening speech, describing the museum as “a new chapter in the story of this ancient nation’s present and future.”

Want your chance to check it out for yourself? The museum will be open to the public starting Tuesday from 8:30am to 7pm and until 10pm on Saturdays and Wednesdays. You can book your ticket through the official GEM website.

Want to dive deeper? Our second of four weekly EnterpriseAM special issues about the GEM will land in your inboxes later this week, diving into the museum’s journey from the launch of a record-breaking international design competition to the final stages of completion and capturing the challenges, milestones, and unwavering ambition that brought it to life. Check out issue one here.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another sunny day in Cairo, with a high of 29°C and a low of 21°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s more or less the same in Alexandria, with a high of 28°C and a low of 20°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1– Israel is hitting pause on its USD 35 bn gas export agreement with Egypt “until Israeli interests are secured and a fair price for the Israeli market is agreed upon,” Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s office said in a statement. While political tensions between Cairo and Tel Aviv already complicated the agreement, this most recent road block is from internal commercial disputes in Israel, the usually well sourced Financial Times cites an unnamed insider as saying.

The US isn’t happy, with US Energy Secretary Chris Wright canceling an upcoming trip to Israel because of it, according to the ministry statement. Cohen’s office alleged that the US officials — which has de facto lobbied on behalf of US energy giant and Leviathan gas field co-owner Chevon — had been “exerting a great deal of pressure on Israeli officials” to greenlight the deal.

REMEMBER- The agreement, signed in early August, would see Leviathan partners — led by Chevron and Israel’s NewMed Energy — export 130 bcm of gas to Egypt between 2026 and 2040. Flows will first increase from 4.5 bn cubic metres in 2025 to 6.5 bn cubic metres as early as 2026 under the first 20 bn cubic meter phase of the agreement. Shortly after the agreement was signed, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said that it will in no way affect Egypt’s stance on Palestine.

#2- Sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil has agreed to sell its international assets to energy trader Gunvor Group, accepting an offer for its Lukoil International GmbH unit — the subsidiary holding its overseas portfolio — and committing to halt talks with other bidders, according to a press release.

REMEMBER- Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, has built a notable presence inEgypt’s oil fields, through a 24% interest in the Meleiha oil concession in the Western Desert, with Eni as operator holding the remaining 76%. And in the Eastern Desert, Lukoil operates the West Esh El Mallaha concession near Hurghada through a 50-50 partnership with state-owned EGPC. An adjacent block, WEEM Extension, is split equally between Lukoil and Tharwa Petroleum, with Lukoil as operator.

THERE’S MORE TO THE STORY- We did a deep dive into what US sanctions on Russia’s biggest oil companies means for us in a story published last week — check it out here.

#3- New year, new taxes: The Finance Ministry is preparing to tax alcoholic beverages based on their alcohol percentage in accordance with the amended VAT law starting 1 January, according to a document seen by EnterpriseAM. The tax percentage is set to rise by 15% annually for the next three years — after which the annual increase will be reduced to 12%.

DATA POINT- The Finance Ministry expects the move to push tax revenues from alcoholic drinks to EGP 4.9 bn, up from EGP 3.6 bn last fiscal year.

REMEMBER- The VAT amendments, which were ratified in July, will also impact cigarettes, crude oil, and construction and contracting services. The amendments will help the government bring in an additional EGP 200 bn in tax revenues.

HAPPENING TODAY-

Chapter Zero Egypt will hold its flagship annual conference under the theme Net Zero or Net Loss? today. The event will bring together board members and CEOs from Egypt’s leading private-sector firms, ministers, diplomats, development partners, and climate experts to discuss how to accelerate measurable climate action and sustainable leadership.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Want to pursue an MBA but not sure where to start? Then you may want to clear your Monday afternoon to attend the SEED Business School Festival at the Dusit Thani Lakeview. The event will give you the chance to discover Master’s programs, get your application fee waived, and take part in workshops. The event is free to attend, but make sure to register through the SEED Global Education website. The event will run from 4:30-9pm.

NEWS TRIGGERS-

It’s the first work day of November — and here are the news triggers to keep your eyes on this month:

  • Non-oil private sector activity to break its seven-month streak in the red? S&P Global will release PMI figures measuring non-oil private sector activity for October on 4 November. Last month’s report saw the country’s headline figure contracting to 48.8, taking us further away from the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction, which it has only passed two times since November 2020.
  • The business community and policymakers will have their eyes on October’s inflation figures, which we expect will be released on 10 November. Annual headline urban inflation eased again for the fourth consecutive month in September to 11.7%, but analysts are expecting recent fuel price hikes to temporarily ratchet up inflationary pressures.
  • To cut, or not to cut? That is the question for the Monetary Policy Committee. The central bank committee in charge of deciding interest rate policy will meet on 20 November to decide on whether to cut rates during its second to last meeting of the year. Most analysts seem to be in agreement that the CBE will hit pause on rate cuts this month to assess the impact of the recent fuel price hikes.

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

Another day, another wave of Big Tech earnings is upon us:

#1- Amazon’s shares soared 14% in afterhours trading after the company posted the fastest increase in cloud revenues in three years and forecast quarterly sales above estimates. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal)

#2- Apple expects next quarter to be its best ever in terms of iPhone sales as holidays spur buying, with double-digit growth forecast — double analyst estimates. The company narrowly beat analyst expectations with its net income and sales figures in its fiscal fourth quarter. (Reuters | Bloomberg | WSJ)

Meanwhile, Netflix has reportedly tapped Moelis & Co to mull a bid for Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming business, potentially giving it control over plenty of franchises, from Harry Potter to DC Comics. (Reuters | Bloomberg)

PLUS- A day after saying it plans to hike spending on AI next year, Facebook owner Meta raised USD 30 bn in bonds, marking the biggest bond sale of the year, with some USD 125 bn in orders placed. (Bloomberg)

And across the pond, Prince Andrew is prince no more: King Charles stripped Prince Andrew from his royal title and evicted him from his royal residence in a rare move aiming to salvage the royal family’s reputation amid fresh revelations about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and [redacted] abuse allegations from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims. (Financial Times | AP | Guardian | New York Times | WSJ)

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