Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a relatively brisk day here in Omm El Donia, with a little bit of everything keeping us busy during this shortened workweek.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Sidpec + Abu Qir Fertilizers to join the privatization list with secondary offerings? The government is reportedly mulling adding secondary stake sales in state-owned, EGX-listed petrochemicals players Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (Sidpec) and Abu Qir Fertilizers to the Madbouly government’s rebooted privatization program, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed sources it says are in the know.

#2- We have the names of the qualifying bidders for gov’t desalination program: Seventeen consortiums have been pre-qualified to submit bids for desalination projects the government is tendering to the private sector, according to a Sovereign Fund of Egypt statement (pdf). The list includes a consortium of Orascom Construction, Scatec, Toyota Tsusho Corp, Acciona Agua, and Metito Utilities; a Hassan Allam-Engie consortium; a consortium of Infinity, GS Inima, China Energy Engineering Corporation; and Desal Egypt, with EMCO Engineering, Amarenco Solarize Egypt, and Redcon Construction.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

JPMorgan Chase is now the proud owner of First Republic Bank: JPMorgan Chase will acquire USD 103.9 bn of First Republic Bank’s deposits and most of its USD 229.1 bn in assets, after US regulators seized the bank over the weekend in an attempt to prevent the collapse of another bank in the country. This comes after the bank had also receivedtakeover bidsfrom PNC Financial Services and Citizens Financial Group. The Federal Deposit Ins. Corporation (FDIC) will share the losses with the bank, and the estimated cost to its ins. fund is USD 13 bn. The crisis was caused by customers withdrawing more than USD 100 bn of deposits in March, following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. (Reuters| AP | Bloomberg | FT | WSJ)

HAPPENING NOW-

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria gathered in Amman to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League and the Jordanian plan to politically resolve the Syrian crisis, our Foreign Ministry said.

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

  • Egypt + JICA sign funding agreement for Metro Line 4: The Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) will lend JPY 100 bn (c. USD 733 mn) to Egypt to finance the construction of Cairo Metro Line 4.
  • Sudan ceasefire extended for another 72 hours: The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 72 hours to end Wednesday night.
  • S&P Global Ratings has cut its outlook on the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and CIB to negative.

The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, our latest industry-specific conference, is taking place on Monday, 15 May. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to develop an export-centered business and how their companies can help Egypt build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Why exports & FDI? In the wake of successive floats of EGP, exports and FDI have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses. We’re gathering some of the CEOs, top execs from local companies and multinationals, investors, bankers and finance folks to speak on how businesses can adapt their strategies to be export-oriented and what Egypt as a country can do to draw foreign investment and much-needed FX. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.You can learn more on our conference website here.

And what better place to discuss moving our goods than Egypt’s original logistics zone — the Nile. That’s why we’re looking forward to holding the event by the river’s vistas at the Four Seasons, Nile Plaza.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? The Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum is taking place with the generous support of our friends, including:

Banking partners: Banque Misr | Al Baraka Bank | Emirates NBD | HSBC

Lead partners: DB Schenker | DP World | East Port Said Development | IDG | IFC | Madinat Masr

Event partners: Beyti | Concrete | Global Corp | Grant Thornton | Hassan Allam Utilities

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

HAVEN’T REQUESTED AN INVITE YET? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, DFI staff, export executive, investor or banker, please fill out the form here to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The NBA Basketball Africa League Nile Conference group phase kicked off last week and runs through 5 May at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Sixth of October City, according to a Youth and Sports Ministry statement. Six African teams will go head-to-head in Cairo to secure one of four slots in the playoffs and finals in Kigali, Rwanda in May, where they will face the top four teams from the Sahara Conference group phase that took place in Senegal in March, the NBA said.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to get just a touch warmer tomorrow: Expect the mercury to peak during the day at 31°C, before cooling to 17°C in the evening.

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