Power crisis to last until mid-August, says Electricity Ministry official as industry faces gas supply cuts

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What We're Tracking Today

Beltone Financial to debut its 5 bn new shares on the Egyptian Exchange today

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy THURSDAY to you all. We wish you a wonderful weekend — and a safe drive up to Sahel, for those of you heading in that direction. Just a few hours left…

THE BIG STORY here at home: Nationwide rolling blackouts look set to be features of our daily lives through mid-August, it seems. We have the rundown in this morning’s news well, below.

HAPPENING TODAY-

It’s a big day for: Beltone, whose 5 bn new shares will land on the EGX at the opening bell this morning after getting the go-ahead from the Financial Regulatory Authority, the firm said in a regulatory filing (pdf ) yesterday. Beltone closed its landmark EGP 10 bn capital increase last week. Prominent global institutional investors came into the firm’s share base via the transaction, which also met with heavy demand from domestic investors.

More of this, please: It is effectively unheard-of in Egypt that investors locking up funds through subscription to a capital increase find their new shares listed and admitted to trading on the EGX this quickly. More common is that their cash sits in limbo, generating float for the issuer (not the investor) for weeks (or months) on end as corporate and regulatory procedures grind on. Kudos to Beltone and the FRA for making this happen so quickly.

El Sisi in Russia: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in St. Petersburg today and tomorrow to take part in the Russia-Africa Summit. The president arrived in Russia yesterday and held talks with Vladimir Putin. We have the details in this morning’s diplomacy section, below.

YOU MAY NOW WEEP- Nearly 3k cars are not coming to Egypt, and FX is not to blame: A freight ship bound for Port Said caught fire in the North Sea, taking with it thousands of German vehicles that had been bound for Egypt, Reuters reports. One crew member has reportedly died in the fire, which was still blazing a few hours ago, the newswire writes.

NOT HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Travis Scott’s sold-out concert is officially canceled: The Grammy Award-winning American rapper’s planned concert at the Giza Pyramids to unveil his new album has been canceled, the show’s organizer, Live Nation, said yesterday. The show, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, was pulled for what Live Nation said were “complex production issues” that meant it couldn’t take place at the location. All ticket holders will receive refunds, it said.

The gig got a hard ‘no’ from our guardians of musical taste: The Egyptian Musician’s Syndicate earlier this month revoked the concert’s license and led a campaign against it, claiming that Scott’s “strange rituals” are “inconsistent with our authentic societal values and traditions. ” In the days following the gig’s announcement, social media and the nation’s talk shows was full of chatter implying that the artist engages in satanic practices.

Our take? An opportunity lost. It would have been a great showcase for Egypt to serve as the backdrop for the reveal of one of the most eagerly-anticipated albums in mainstream rap this year.

BUT- Scott insists the show will go on: “Egypt at the pyramids will happen but due to demand and detail logistics they just need a bit a time to set lay on lands [sic],” he wrote on Twitter yesterday.

The global press are all over the story this morning: Reuters | Rolling Stone | Variety | Forbes | LA Times.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

EGX50’s time-of-death unveiled: The Egyptian Exchange is terminating its EGX50 index next Tuesday, 1 August, it said (pdf) yesterday. A new shariah-compliant index is set to replace it sometime over the coming months.

The National Dialogue is back on Sunday: The dialogue is resuming its general sessions starting Sunday, with get-togethers planned on political rights, trade unions, and local administration, Dialogue General Coordinator Diaa Rashwan told Hadith Al Akhbar ( watch, runtime: 8:48). On Tuesday, the dialogue will discuss public debt and social justice, while Thursday’s sessions will focus on cultural industries and post-divorce issues.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

The Fed is dominating the front pages of the global business press this morning after the central bank went ahead with another 25-bps rate hike yesterday, taking rates to their highest level since 2001. We have more in Planet Finance, below. ( Reuters | AP | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | CNN | CNBC)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDARS- The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

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

Egypt’s power crisis could last until mid-August, says Electricity Ministry official

Expect blackouts until the middle of next month: The Electricity Ministry expects the ongoing rolling blackouts to continue until the middle of August as pressure on the country’s power generation infrastructure continues amid the summer heat, Youm7 reported yesterday, citing an anonymous Electricity Ministry official.

Power cuts have been a regular feature of daily life for a week now: The state-owned Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) has been forced to cut the power in different areas of the country for up to an hour multiple times half as the ongoing heatwave sends electricity demand soaring. We’re now well into week two of rolling blackouts.

Why is this happening? We don’t have enough natural gas to fire power plants. The electricity and oil ministries say they are working to find a solution to the crisis.

Officials got our hopes up: The ministry and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly have said in recent days that they expected to see demand load back down to normal levels by the middle of this week.

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING-

#1- Less gas for the fertilizer industry: The government is diverting gas supplies from fertilizer plants to the national grid in a bid to plug some of the shortfall, Asharq Business reported yesterday. Some producers have seen their supplies fall by 20% this week, two people familiar with the matter reportedly told the news outlet, saying that companies have been officially notified about the decision. The gas cuts will apparently affect mostly producers of urea fertilizer, a low-cost nitrogenous fertilizer that consumes high volumes of gas.

An open-ended supply cut: The letter sent to the factories reportedly didn’t specify when the government expects gas supplies to return to normal.

The impact on production? It wasn’t immediately clear the extent to which the reduced supply will impact fertilizer production, though one of Asharq’s sources claimed that producers will “easily” be able to make up lost volumes when the gas supply returns to normal.

#2- Not just fertilizer companies? The government will look to solve the crisis by tapping feedstock for industrial and petrochemical companies, a government source told the news outlet earlier this week, without providing details.

Cement manufacturers also saw their gas supplies cut — but the cement supply glut should mean that it’s not a massive issue for most: The ministry is also dipping into the cement industry’s natural gas supply, but the extensive use of coal, together with the fact that plants are only running at 50-60% capacity due to the cement supply glut, should mean that operations remain unaffected, head of the Cairo Chamber of Commerce’s Building Materials Division Ahmed El Zeiny said on Ala Maso’uleety last night ( watch, runtime: 8:05).

#3- Gas supplies are up 5%: The amount of natural gas being fed to power plants increased to 117 mn cubic meters per day as of Tuesday from 111 mn cubic meters last week, government sources reportedly told Al Mal. The Electricity Ministry needs around 135 mn cubic meters of gas and 10k tons of mazut a day to support current consumption levels, an official said last week.

#4- More mazut:The Electricity Ministry yesterday increased the daily mazut (fuel oil) intake of electricity generators to 34k tons from the usual 20k tons, according to Al Mal.

The ministry wants to import more fuel oil, but this will require FX: Government sources told us earlier this week that they plan to import increased quantities of fuel oil to plug the shortfall of gas supplies responsible for the blackouts. According to Al Mal, the ministry has agreed to provide the necessary FX to cover the necessary increase in imports until the government gets its hands on the necessary gas supplies.

CMA CGM eyes stake in Egyptian state-owned shipping firm

CMA CGM has its eye on a state-owned shipping company: French shipping giant CMA CGM is in early-stage talks with the government to acquire a stake in state-owned shipping firm National Navigation Company(NNC), Al Mal reported yesterday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Key details are scarce: The Transport Ministry and the National Bank of Egypt are both involved in the talks, according to the news outlet, an indication that the company is intereste d in acquiring shares owned by the state lender as well as NNC’s majority shareholder, the ministry-controlled Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport. No details were provided about how much of the company CMA wants to acquire or how much existing shareholders may be prepared to sell.

Who owns what: The holding company owns 56% of NNC and NBE has a 39.9% stake. The remainder is owned by private-sector investors.

What’s next? NNC and CMA CGM will each produce valuations of the company, which will be presented to the Transport Ministry and the holding company.

What’s the National Navigation Company: The company is the largest Egyptian shipping company specialized in dry cargo, according to its website.

CMA CGM is already involved in the nation’s ports: The company is part of a consortium awarded a contract by the government to construct, operate and manage a new container terminal at Ain Sokhna port, and is bidding for the contract to construct the Tenth of Ramadan dry port.

Egypt hotel occupancy rates up more than 20% y-o-y in 1H 2023

Our hotels are busy:Hotel occupancy rates across Egypt climbed to 80% in 1H 2023 from 65% in the same period last year, Asharq Business reported yesterday, citing an anonymous government official.

In detail:Hotels in Hurghada were the most-booked during that period, peaking at nearly 100% occupancy in April, while occupancy rates in Cairo came in at 80-85%. The news outlet didn’t mention data from other areas of the country. Egypt was most popular with European tourists, who accounted for some 75% of the total reservations.

This isn’t a surprise: Egypt received a record 7 mn tourists during the first half of the year, according to figures released by the Tourism Ministry earlier this month. The ministry is aiming to attract as many as 15 mn tourists this year.

This is important: The sector accounts for a sizable proportion of the country’s GDP and is a key source of hard currency.

Karim Youssef joins advisory board of Harvard Law School’s Center of Legal Profession. PLUS: Fintech startup Cayesh wins USD 50k in CBE-Visa startup competition

We have Thursday Kudos this morning for:

#1- Youssef & Partners founder and chairman Karim Youssef( LinkedIn), who joined the advisory board of Harvard Law School’s Center of the Legal Profession effective 1 August, the university said yesterday. Sitting on the board are some of the world’s leading legal experts, including CEOs, managing partners of law firms and general counsels. Youssef heads the international arbitration and international law practices at Youssef & Partners, with a focus on commercial arbitration, investment treaty arbitration, and international law. He holds degrees from Yale Law School, Sorbonne University, and Cairo University Law School.

#2- Cayesh wins CBE-Visa startup competition: Egyptian fintech startup Cayesh was awarded a USD 50k prize in a new competition launched by the Central Bank of Egypt and Visa. Cayesh, a startup offering supply chain finance solutions to businesses, received the award during the Seamless North Africa 2023 expo earlier this month. The company will meet with senior CBE officials to discuss rolling out its project in the local market.

Egyptian talk shows cover the Russia-Africa summit, rolling blackouts, and digital banking

Last night’s talk shows had their eyes on St. Petersburg where African leaders including President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrived yesterday ahead of the Russia-Africa Summit, which kicks off today. Blackouts and digital banking also received some airtime.

THE RUSSIA-AFRICA SUMMIT-

What’s on the agenda for the Russia-Africa summit? Some of the topics that will be covered during the summit include trade, security, and tech cooperation, and the repercussions of Russia's war in Ukraine on African countries — including the future of the Black Sea grain pact, which Russia recently pulled out of, Masa’a DMC’s Ramy Radwan said ( watch, runtime: 11:38).

Russia wants to expand its influence in Africa: “Russia is looking to play a more significant role in the African continent … Russia knows the significance of Africa,” Al Siyassa Al Dawliya editor-in-c hief Ahmed Qamha told Al Hayah Al Youm ( watch, runtime: 6:34). He added that the summit will also discuss climate issues and their impact on food security. Ala Maso’uleety ( watch, runtime: 12:41) also had the news.

Sisi-Putin talks: Shortly after arriving in Russia, El Sisi held talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. We have the details in this morning’s diplomacy section, below.

ALSO GETTING ATTENTION-

Blackouts: The nationwide rolling blackouts continued to receive attention after news got out that the Electricity Ministry has increased supplies of natural gas and mazut to the nation’s power plants, partly by cutting back on supplies of gas used as feedstock in a number of industries. We have the details in the news well, above.

Banks need to go digital to stay on top, says banking expert: Traditional banks need to get on the digital banking train to be able to compete with non-bank lenders, former Blom Bank Egypt deputy managing director Tarek Metwally told Masa’a DMC ( watch, runtime: 14:43) . “If banks don’t make the switch to digital banking, they are doomed,” he said, adding that digital banks offer faster, easier, and cheaper banking services. “Most if not all Egyptian banks will apply for the digital banking license,” he projected.

Remember:The Central Bank of Egypt earlier this month issued updated digital banking licensing rules, under which digital banks looking to finance large companies will need at least EGP 4 bn in capital. Six banks have already applied to receive their digital banking license.

Singaporean chemicals firm Indorama to explore investing in Egypt. PLUS: News on EgyptAlum, valU and a USAID-backed entrepreneurship initiative

INVESTMENT-

Singapore chemicals outfit could invest in Egypt:Singapore-based chemical company Indorama has laid the groundwork for expanding its presence in Egypt after signing an MoU with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), according to a cabinet statement yesterday. The firm is interested in exploring options in several sectors including fertilizer production, phosphate extraction, renewable energy and medical fibers, cabinet said.

Indorama’s owner already has operating assets in Egypt: Thailand-based sister company Indorama Ventures owns half of a plastic factory situated in the Ain Sokhna freezone that produces 540k metric tons of polyester a year.

Remember: There are currently three projects under consideration to set up fertilizer and phosphoric acid production facilities in Egypt’s so-called ‘Golden Triangle’, an area in the Eastern Desert that is rich in phosphates.

ENERGY-

EgyptAlum could be going greener: Orascom Construction and French electricity and renewables company Engie are in talks with the government to install solar power plants at two of Egypt Aluminium’s (EgyptAlum) production facilities, the Public Enterprises Ministry said yesterday. The plants would produce renewable power for the state-owned, EGX-listed company’s aluminum complex in Nagaa Hammadi and an upcoming aluminum plant in Safaga, according to the statement. The ministry didn’t disclose the size of the proposed plants, the value of the projects, or how much of EgyptAlum’s energy needs the plants would cover.

EDUCATION-

#1- 10 Egyptian universities are getting business centers with the help of US funding: Our friends at USAID are joining the Arab League and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport to establish and upgrade entrepreneurship centers at 10 universities, the US embassy said yesterday. The centers “will provide student entrepreneurs with resources, mentoring, guidance, and training to help them generate new business ideas and grow their businesses,” according to the statement.

#2- valU to finance tuition fees at ElSewedy’s tech uni: Students planning to attend the soon-to-be-opened ElSewedy University of Technology (SUT) will be able to pay for tuition fees using installment plans provided by valU, the consumer finance firm said (pdf) yesterday.

US Federal Reserve hikes interest rates by 25 bps, signals it’s not done yet

Fed pushes on with 25 bps rate hike: The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by another 25 bps yesterday to their highest level in 22 years, as it continues its monetary tightening in an effort to bring inflation down to target, it said in a statement following its two-day policy meeting. The central bank raised the fed funds rate to 5.25-5.5% — its highest level since 2001 — after keeping rates unchanged during its June meeting.

More hikes ahead? “The committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the committee's goals,” the statement read.

ALSO WORTH NOTING-

Meta shares jump on higher-than-expected 2Q revenues: The Facebook parent saw its 2Q 2023 revenues increase 11% y-o-y to USD 32 bn, beating the USD 31.1 bn forecast. Company shares rose 4.5% on the news. ( Earnings, pdf | Bloomberg)
Bad loans have EU regulators and investors on edge: European banks are warning of the rising risk of bad loans, leaving financial regulators and investors watching closely for signs of stress in their loan books. ( Reuters)

EGX30	17,396	-0.5% (YTD: +19.2%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.84	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	18.25% deposit	19.25% lending
Tadawul	11,906	+0.2% (YTD: +13.6%)
ADX	9,766	+0.4% (YTD: -4.4%)
DFM	4,039	+0.6% (YTD: +21.0%)
S&P 500	4,567	0.0% (YTD: xx%)
FTSE 100	7,677	-0.2% (YTD: +3.0%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,346	-1.0% (YTD: +14.6%)
Brent crude	USD 82.95	-0.8%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.64	-3.4%
Gold	USD 2,013.10	+0.5%
BTC	USD 29,600	+1.3% (YTD: +78.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 0.3% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 978.8 mn (49.1% below the trailing 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 19.4% YTD.

In the green: ADIB (+3.2%), Mopco (+2.8%) and Elsewedy Electric (+1.6%).

In the red: Ezz Steel (-3.3%), Eastern Company (-3.0%) and Qalaa Holdings (-2.5%).

Asian markets are rising this morning on hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon call time on its tightening cycle. US and European shares look set to join them later today, according to equity futures.

Egypt’s Sisi meets Putin ahead of Russia-Africa Summit

El Sisi holds talks with Putin in St. Petersburg: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi landed in St. Petersburg yesterday, where he met with President Vladimir Putin to discuss ongoing projects and the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine on African countries. Coming on the eve of the Russia-Africa Summit, the meeting saw the two leaders speak in glowing terms about bilateral ties, with both praising their countries’ “special” relationship, according to a Kremlin readout of the conversation.

Following up on Russian investments in Egypt: The two leaders discussed the latest developments regarding Russian projects in Egypt including the Dabaa nuclear power plant and the Russian Industrial Zone, Ittihadiya said following the meeting . The two also exchanged views on a number of issues, including the ongoing situations in Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Libya, and Palestine.

El Sisi on Russia-Africa cooperation: “We are always positive on all initiatives, including from your side, that concern bilateral cooperation and interaction on the African continent. We are obviously interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation with Russia in various areas,” El Sisi told the Russian president. El Sisi is in Russia to take part in the two-day Russia-Africa Summit, which starts today.

The summit comes amid heightened fears over the continent’s food security following Russia’s suspension of the grain export pact with Ukraine earlier this month. Moscow’s decision to reimpose its blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is preventing the country from shipping grains to food insecure countries in Africa such as Egypt, which is the world’s largest importer of wheat.

RUSSIA TO WEIGH IN ON GERD-

Is Russia angling to mediate a settlement on GERD? Russia has addressed its Ethiopian partners “asking them to take into consideration the concerns of Egypt,” Russia’s ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko told Sabahak Masry on Tuesday ( watch, runtime: 3:06). “Our Ethiopian partners should remember the legal concerns of our Egyptian friends,” he said, pointing to the necessity of the two sides reaching an agreement on the filing and operations of the dam. Ahmed last week agreed with El Sisi to accelerate efforts to find a solution to the long-running Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute.

Putin meets Ethiopian PM:Putin held talks with Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed ahead of his meeting with El Sisi, during which he announced that a number of agreements covering energy and tech will soon be signed by the two countries.

My Morning Routine: Sherif El Ghamrawi, CEO of the Egyptian IVF Center

Sherif El Ghamrawi, chief executive officer of the Egyptian IVF Center: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Sherif El Ghamrawy ( LinkedIn), CEO of the Egyptian IVF Center.

My name is Sherif El Ghamrawi and I’m the CEO of the Egyptian IVF Center, which provides medical solutions to couples facing issues with fertility. I graduated in 1997 from Cairo University, where I studied business administration with a concentration in finance, and afterwards earned my MBA from the US. I started my career in investment banking, first on the EFG Hermes research team. It was an area I had long been interested in — I started investing in the stock market when I was a sophomore in university and I used to trade my friends’ and relatives’ money. After my MBA, I traveled to Canada, where I worked for Kraft Foods, taking on different roles over the course of five years. When I came back to Egypt, I joined Beltone Private Equity, now known now as BPE Partners, where I remained for five years. Following that, I worked for a venture capital firm in Saudi Arabia before becoming the IR director of IDH, the first Egyptian company to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. I was also for a period the head of investor relations at Inktank Communications, which is now known as Enterprise Advisory .

My responsibility as CEO is to grow the company and transform the center from a family-owned business into an institution. Achieving these goals requires developing marketing communication plans, assembling a sales team and setting sales strategies, fully digitizing operations, restructuring and creating new departments within the center, enhancing the parents’ overall experience, and identifying new strategic initiatives to expand the company.

The Egyptian IVF Center was established in 1986 by internationally renowned fertility specialists Prof. Mohamed Aboulghar, Dr Ragaa Mansour, and Prof. Gamal Serour. It was the first IVF center in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa.

The most interesting trend in my industry currently is the direction it’s taking in solving genetic problems by avoiding selecting defective genes before transferring the embryos back to the mother. We also provide fertility preservation options to women who are about to start cancer treatment, women with diminished ovarian reserves, or those who simply choose to postpone pregnancy through egg freezing.

I usually start my day by waking up at 5:30am, getting dressed, having breakfast, and hitting the road at 6:30am. Once I arrive at the office by 7am, I update my to-do list, start checking my emails, and read EnterpriseAM.

A typical workday for me starts with checking the previous day’s operation reports, which detail the business’ performance before I meet with three members of the management team by 9am to analyze and discuss the reports’ findings. Afterwards, they update me on any work-related issues before we agree on action plans to address the topics we discussed. Then, I get to work on the tasks on my to-do list, which are typically strategic initiatives and plans that I have to work on myself. Handling ad-hoc meetings and requests that arise throughout the day takes up the last few hours of my time on the clock. As the day winds down, I typically return any missed calls, unanswered emails, and unanswered messages, which can spill over past my working hours, particularly if I have to leave the office to attend my children’s sports practice.

The one constant in my day is looking at numbers, which makes sense since I’m a finance person. Even if I’m off work, I’m always keen to check in on figures for visits, revenues, and operations.

I try to stay focused and organized by following the plan I set after updating my to-do list in the morning, but usually it’s hard to stick to the plan because the operational side of the business can bring up unplanned surprises and change course.

One habit I want to reintegrate into my life is exercise — it dropped from my routine for the past three to four years. On a professional level, I’m always working towards the goals I have for the business, and I like to set new goals and challenges for myself on a broader level.

Work-life balance is crucial in how I approach my life, and my family is very important to me. I always work to strike a balance between work and family to give my best to both. When I had kids, I decided to start work early and leave early to be able to spend more time with them and be as involved in each other’s lives as possible.

I always disconnect when I attend my kids’ soccer practice. I enjoy watching them playing and I’ve enjoyed talking with — and befriending — their coaches and other parents. I also typically unwind and switch off at the end of the day by reading, which I’ve incorporated into my daily routine, if just for a short period of time before I sleep. I enjoy reading Arabic novels by old Egyptian authors such as Naguib Mahfouz, Ihsan Abdel Koddous and more contemporary authors, like Ashraf El Ashmawy, Osama Abd El Raouf and Reem Bassioni.

The best piece of advice I’ve received was from my father. I was at a professional crossroad and I had to make a choice between moving to Canada or staying in Egypt. My father told me to choose a path, stay focused, and don’t get distracted — keep going, no matter what.

CALENDAR

JULY

27-28 July (Thursday-Friday): Russia-Africa Summit, St. Petersburg.

31 July (Monday): Application deadline for the Smart Green Projects initiative.

31 July (Monday): Emigration Ministry’s Egyptians Abroad conference.

Late July: Egypt’s first Environment and Climate Investment Forum.

Late July-14 August: 2Q2023 earnings season.

AUGUST

August: Hassan Allam Utilities + Agility to open Yanmu East logistics park.

1 August (Tuesday): EGX50 retirement date.

2 - 3 August (Wednesday - Thursday): Gov’t to pay out subsidies to second wave of applicants under its sixth export subsidy program.

3 August (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

10 August (Thursday): Shalateen Mineral Resources gold mining tender closes.

22-24 August (Tuesday-Thursday): BRICS summit, Johannesburg, South Africa.

SEPTEMBER

September: Sustainable Debt Coalition Initiative agreed at COP27 to launch.

September: IDH to open first branch in Saudi Arabia.

September: The Egypt-Germany trade and investment joint conference in Cairo.

September: JETRO’s second delegation arrives in Cairo.

9-10 September (Saturday-Sunday): G20 summit, New Delhi, India.

10-12 September (Sunday-Tuesday): The International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East, Sahara.

13-14 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Hydrogen Egypt Summit, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

15 September (Friday): IMF to review USD 3 bn program.

15 September (Friday): Deadline for FX bureaus to comply with new capital requirements.

17-18 September (Sunday-Monday): Arab Security Conference and Exhibition, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

17-19 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Sharm Rendezvous, Rixos Premium Seagate, Sharm ElSheikh.

18-19 September (Monday-Tuesday): Enterprise Finance Forum, St. Regis Hotel, Cairo.

19-20 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

21 September (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

25 September (Monday): Nasdaq deadline for Swvl Holdings Corp to increase its market value of publicly held shares to a minimum of USD 15 mn.

25-26 September (Monday-Tuesday): Egypt to host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s annual board meeting, Sharm El Sheikh.

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28 September (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28-29 September (Thursday-Friday) Medical Tourism Conference, Sharm ElSheikh.

OCTOBER

October: Deadline for ins. providers to link their databases with the FRA.

2-4 October (Monday-Wednesday): Sharm Rendezvous - Ins. Market, Rixos Premium Seagate, Sharm ElSheikh.

2-5 October (Monday-Thursday): ADIPEC 2023, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

9 October (Monday): The Narrative PR Summit, Somabay Red Sea.

9-11 October (Monday-Wednesday): Arabs Savings and Financial Literacy Conference, Four Seasons Hotel.

13 October- 20 October (Friday-Friday): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

Late October-14 November: 3Q2023 earnings season.

15-17 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Automotive Aftermarket Exhibition, Cairo International Convention Center.

26 October (Thursday): Daylight saving time ends.

29-31 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

29 October - 2 November (Sunday- Thursday): Cairo Water Week.

30-31 October (Monday-Tuesday): Intelligent Cities Exhibition and Conference, Dusit Thani LakeView, Cairo.

30-31 October (Monday-Tuesday): Global Business School Network (GBSN), American University of Cairo.

31 October - 1 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

NOVEMBER

2 November (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

9-15 November (Thursday-Wednesday): Intra-African Trade Fair, Cairo.

14-15 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Destination Africa, Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel.

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival, Cairo.

19-22 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

23 November (Thursday): Worldview Education Fair, Cairo. (Register here)

30 November-12 December (Thursday-Tuesday): COP28, Dubai.

DECEMBER

10-11 December (Sunday-Monday): eGlobe Expo, St. Regis Almasa Hotel, Cairo.

12-13 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

12-14 December (Tuesday-Thursday): Food Africa Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

21 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Summer 2023: EGX to launch a shariah-compliant index.

1H 2023: GAFI roadshow set to launch to drum up foreign investment for golden licenses

1H 2023: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank intends to launch a digital consumer finance company

2H 2023: Egyptian government expected to sign agreements with a consultant for the EuroAfrica electricity interconnector.

2H 2023: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to hold a summit.

3Q 2023: E-Finance to launch in Saudi Arabia.

4Q 2023: EGX to launch its new futures exchange.

End of 2023: A Developments’ first phase of the Lazoghly development completed.

2024: Standard Chartered Bank to open a branch in Egypt.

November 2024: Egypt to host the 12th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12).

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to initiate operations.

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