Superconductor breakthrough?

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: We have more details on Egytrans’ NOSCO acquisition

Happy hump day, friends. It’s shaping up to be a relatively brisk news day here at home as we start the slide towards the weekend.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Egytrans announces details on NOSCO acquisition: Egytrans’ acquisition of 99.9% of National Transport and Overseas Services Company (NOSCO) via a share swap will see Egytrans shareholders holding a 70.17% stake in the combined company — Egytrans NOSCO — with the remaining 29.83% going to NOSCO shareholders, Egytrans said today (pdf). Egytrans Chairman Gamal Moharam will lead Egytrans NOSCO as chairman, while Abir Leheta and Mohamed Nadim will be co-CEOs of the new company. The transaction is expected to close in 4Q 2023, Egytrans said.

#2- Fawry Microfinance to offer SME financing: Fawry Microfinance, a subsidiary of the EGX-listed e-payments platform Fawry, has received preliminary approval from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to offer SME financing, it said in an EGX disclosure (pdf) today. Fawry Microfinance plans to launch its SME financing service later this year, which will allow it to reach new and underserved markets across the country.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

China’s trade slump in July is leading the conversation in the international business press this afternoon. Exports tumbled 14.5% y-o-y, while imports dropped 12.4% y-o-y, according to data from Beijing’s General Administration of Customs. The drops are attributed to obstacles in international trade, the stagnating Chinese property sector, and declining domestic demand since covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | Reuters | CNBC

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

Heliopark could have a new partner soon: Heliopolis Housing and Development (HHD) could this month wrap negotiations to partner with an anonymous Gulf investor for its Heliopark project.
Beltone one step closer to acquiring Cash: Beltone Financial has received the greenlight from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) to proceed with its acquisition of Minya-based microfinance provider Cash.
OFH could go the digital banking route: Orascom Financial Holding (OFH) will look into the possibility of setting up a digital bank.

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.

LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST-

MISSED THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? The EnterprisePodcast has you covered : The Enterprise Podcast’s forum series has been bringing you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May. Throughout, we learned lessons from some of Egypt’s biggest exporters on how Egypt can export its way out of a crisis. We heard everything from how to build an exports and FDI strategy, to identifying a foreign partner and tapping into a global supply chain.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast | Anghami.

IT’S THE FINAL EPISODE- Our final panel of the day was, naturally, the most forward looking. Our panelists discussed how the companies — be they in age-old industries or emerging ones — have adapted to changes to better position their businesses for an uncertain future. We were joined by Nadia El Tawil, investment officer at pan-African private equity firm AfricInvest, Mostafa Bedair , CEO of Giza Seeds and Herbs, and Abdallah Sallam, CEO of Madinet Masr.

OUR FORUM SERIES CONTINUES NEXT SUNDAY WITH THE ENTERPRISE CLIMATE FORUM- Fresh off the heels of a successful COP27, we held our first forum to dive deep into the fundamentals of what we think is the world’s most important industry. The conversations ranged from exploring the business opportunities for Egyptian entrepreneurs, companies and startups in climate, to demystifying green hydrogen, and how we finance our green transition. And we did it all in the Grand Egyptian Museum.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will rise to peak at a daytime high of 39°C and will drop to a nighttime low of 25°C, according to our favorite weather app.

Contemporary architecture and urban planning aren’t designed to keep us cool + Abe Lincoln to be on a Meta Chatbot?

Ancient hot cities were built to withstand scorching summers — maximizing shade and cool air through narrow streets, squares, towering trees and fountains. Yet in the 21st century many cities haven’t retained these aspects. In Seville, CartujaQanat is one firm reinvestigating historic cooling systems reliant on natural techniques and materials, writes Bloomberg.

Cooler streets without the use of planet-warming fossil fuels: Based on Persian-era ‘qanats’ or canals, CartujaQanat’s system runs water through an outside aqueduct at night when the lower temperatures cool the water. When temperatures rise, solar-powered pumps push the same water through small pipes that run in front of fans to produce cold air, which is pushed up through small openings in the floor and steps allowing the cooling current to seep into the square and street, reducing the temperature in the surrounding area by as much as 10 degrees.

Egypt has its own tradition of natural cooling techniques: Architect Hassan Fathy – a pioneer of the practice in modern-times — incorporated traditional Egyptian architectural features such as domed and vaulted roofing and enclosed courtyards together with natural materials to create passive ventilation systems. Karm Architecture Lab, solar-powered utilities firm KarmSolar’s practice, looks to ancient and historic methods and the manipulation of air pressure to retain the movement of cool air. Germany’s Vitra Design Museum is currently hosting The Hot Cities: Lessons from Arab Architecture, presenting how the Middle East region has long dealt with living amidst high temperatures.

Did South Korean scientists crack the case of a room-temperature superconductor? A group of scientists in South Korea say that they have discovered a new material, LK-99, that can act as a superconductor to carry electricity at regular temperatures and without resistance (meaning no energy is lost), according to new research submitted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Sinéad Griffin. The material was first discovered in 1999 and named after South Korean scientists Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim who first synthesized it, the New York Times notes.

What’s the fuss about? First up, superconductors have a broad range of applications, but for materials to become superconductors, they need to do so in very specific circumstances, including very low temperatures. Hence the appeal of LK-99: The material can carry electricity at room temperature with very low resistance. In the absence of resistance, no energy is lost due to heat. “Lossless energy transfer” is then possible, with tremendous potential and revolutionary consequences for physics as we know it, a Big Think article explains. Creating a room-temperature superconductor would land any scientist “a Nobel Prize tomorrow,” one scientist at Waterloo’s Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics tells CBC.

It would be a massive breakthrough — which is why there’s plenty of skepticism: While the research is promising, “it is by no means compelling,” according to the University of Maryland’s Sankar Das Sarma, the director of the Condensed Matter Theory Center, the New York Times adds. The immensity of the alleged discovery means we must approach it with great caution “before we declare victory,” Das Sarma added.

Meta’s banking on AI chatbots to boost engagement and attract new users: Facebook parent company Meta is preparing to launch a range of AI-powered chatbots that exhibit different personalities, or personas, as early as September, Financial Times reports, citing three people with knowledge of the plans. The company hopes that the chatbots, who will actually be named “personas,” will help boost engagement with its social media platforms and attract new users. They anticipate that the personas, one of which is modeled after Abraham Lincoln, will be able to have human-like discussions with users and provide new search functions and recommendations.

…but there are, of course, privacy concerns: The chatbots could help Meta collect more data on users’ interests, which could be used to target them with more relevant content and advertising, and could further be used for “manipulation and nudging,” AI ethics adviser and researcher Ravit Dotan told the salmon-colored paper.

Anne with an E: An adaptation of children’s classic Anne of Green Gables

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Netflix series Anne with an E follows a fearless orphan eagerly searching for love and acceptance. The series, inspired by the children’s classic Anne of Green Gables, tells the story of Anne Shirley (Amybeth McNulty), a red-headed, 13-year-old orphan shuffled from one downcast orphanage to the next while working as a servant in strangers’ homes. Her life is turned upside down when she mistakenly gets shipped off to Prince Edward Island to give a helping hand to siblings Marilla Cuthbert (Geraldine James) and Matthew Cuthbert (R.H. Thomson). If you fancy periodic series and something to watch with the young ones, binge on this show’s three seasons on Netflix.

Akher Zafir is back again: The Jordanian rock band is back in Egypt to hold a performance on Saturday, 19 Augustin Bibliotheca Alexandrina as a part of the summer carnival. You can reserve your tickets through their website. They will also be performing in Cairo at ElSawy Culturewheel in Zamalek on Monday, 21 August at 8pm, with tickets available for purchase from the venue’s website.

Russ is coming to New Alamein. American pop star Russ will be performing as part of the New Alamein Festival on Friday, 25 August. Tickets are available on Tazkarti.

Get ready for a fancy event with exquisite music at the Omar Khairat concert at Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski on Tuesday, 22 August. The concert will start at 6:30pm until 10:30pm. Get your tickets on TicketsMall.

DJs Kygo , Tiësto, Kungs and Frank Walker are performing on Saturday, 28 October at the Giza Pyramids. The concert will be part of the next edition of the four-day Palm Tree Music Festival (PTMF) which will be held from Thursday, 26 October until Sunday, 29 October.

Get your running shoes ready for the 2023 edition of the El Gouna Half Marathon, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 11 November. You can sign up for the marathon from here — and catch the lowest registration price with the early bird special which starts today and ends Saturday, 30 September.

What is it that makes a woman run towards danger with open arms? An even more imminent threat, probably. Luis Alberto Urrea’s Good Night, Irene follows the story of a young woman from New York City who, in order to escape an abusive relationship and a marriage that promises nothing but despair and harm, joins up the Red Cross during WWII. Through her training as part of the “Donut Dollies,” a group of women whose main role consisted of uplifting the troops’ morale as they stared death in the face daily, Irene also risks her own life. But she also gains a lot: An irreplaceable friendship with Dorothy and an unexpected love story with Hans as the three band together in Europe and face the infamous D-Day, Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of Buchenwald — all events that the author’s own mother lived and in turn inspired her son.

What the markets are doing on 8 August, 2023

The EGX30 fell 0.5% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 3.07 bn (56.2% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net buyers. The index is up 21.6% YTD.

In the green: Oriental Weavers (+3.8%), GB Corp (+2.4%) and TMG Holding (+1.4%).

In the red: Heliopolis Housing (-3.3%), Eastern Company (-2.8%) and Qala Holdings (-2.6%).

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

AUGUST

8 August (Tuesday): Jadal concert, El Sawy Culturewheel, El Zamalek, Cairo.

10 August (Thursday):Omar Khairat concert, the New Alamein Festival 2023, New Alamein.

10 August (Thursday): Carole Samaha and Bahaa Sultan concert, New Alamein Festival 2023, New Alamein.

10 August (Thursday): Jadal concert, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria.

11 August (Friday): Amr Diab Summer Concert, Golf Porto Marina, North Coast.

13 -19 August(Sunday-Saturday): El SawyCulturewheelbook fair, ElSawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, Cairo.

12 August (Saturday): Massar Egbari concert, El Sawy Culturewheel, Sheikh Zayed, Cairo.

21 August (Monday): Akher Zafeer concert, El Sawy Culturewheel, El Zamalek, Cairo.

22 August (Tuesday): Omar Khairat Live Concert, Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski, Cairo.

25 August (Friday): Russ Concert, New Alamein Festival 2023, New Alamein.

SEPTEMBER

21-23 September (Thursday-Saturday) L’Etape Egypt by Tour de France, Sharm El Sheikh

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

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

OCTOBER

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

13-20 October (Friday-Friday): El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

28 October (Saturday): Djs Kygo, Tiësto, Kung and Frank Walker concert, Giza Pyramids.

NOVEMBER

11 November (Saturday): El Gouna Half Marathon 2023, El Gouna.

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

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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