Good afternoon, friends. We’ve got a rather brisk issue in store for you today as we inch closer and closer to Ramadan — speaking of which, we caught up with Egyptian food entrepreneur Yasmine El Gharably to talk all things Ramadan, gatherings, and food.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

📍 More good news ahead of temps going up: The government is moving to secure our natural gas supplies in the near future through a multi-pronged approach including a boost in domestic production, LNG cargo imports, and expanding renewable energy generation capacity, a senior government source tells EnterpriseAM.

No power cuts? We can breathe a sigh of relief because if all goes to plan, there will be no need to implement load shedding this summer, our source says.

^^ Read more on this story in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

🌐 AI fears continue to rattle the stock market as shares of French software developer Dassault Systemes fell nearly 8% before the company briefly halted share trading this morning. Skepticism over AI spending has led to sharp market value declines in the world’s most valuable technology stocks: Microsoft saw a 17% drop in shares YTD, wiping out more than USD 600 bn in market value, while Amazon fell nearly 14%, erasing about USD 343 bn. Market values for Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet have also seen drastic declines.

^^Read more on Bloomberg, CNBC, and Reuters.

ALSO- Warner Bros. Discovery is still making the rounds in the business press as it reportedly reconsiders talks with Paramount. The move follows Paramount’s hostile USD 108 bn bid, which was seen as an attempt to derail a potential tie-up with Netflix.

^^Read more on The Guardian.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:

  • The government is preparing to unveil a new list of state-owned enterprises slated for listing on the EGX in a renewed push to revive its privatization program while keeping a close eye on market liquidity;
  • The Madbouly government is combating pre-Ramadan inflation by earmarking EGP 40.3 bn in financial assistance to support families through to Eid;
  • The country’s first fully digital banks are finally nearing launch, with Banque Misr’s Onebank — entering its operational phase this year — setting an ambitious target of EGP 40 bn in deposits and 800k customers in year one.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for cool weather again in the capital tomorrow, with the mercury set to peak at just 24°C before dropping to 14°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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