Good afternoon, friends and Happy Monday. We hope you’re off to a smooth start this week as our local news cycle begins to pick up.

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THE BIG STORY TODAY

We could make our first bond issuance in India next year: A maiden bond issuance denominated in India’s national currency worth up to USD 500 mn is being considered for 2024, Egypt’s Finance Minister Mohamed Maait told CNBC Arabia in an interview on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai this week. Maait said last month that we are looking to raise FX from India’s capital markets to diversify our sources of funding.

Remember: Higher global interest rates and a prolonged currency crisis have all but shut Egypt out of Western capital markets, prompting Egypt to turn to more new sources of finance. We closed our maiden bond issuance of CNY 3.5 bn in China in October and JPY 75 bn in Japan in November of this year.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

It’s another mixed bag of stories leading the international press today, here are some of the key headlines:

  • Spotify is skimming the fat: The company is laying off 17% of its international workforce to reduce costs and adjust for a slowdown in growth. This is in response to taking on too many employees in 2020-2021 when capital was cheaper. Read the full note CEO Daniel Ek shared with employees here.
  • Israel has its sights set on the very areas civilians were told to evacuate to. In a post on X, the IDF highlighted zones comprising about a quarter of Khan Younis, previously deemed a “ safer zone ”, that must be evacuated. The strip was hit by airstrikes overnight and now the IDF is pushing its ground campaign in the South of Gaza. (Bloomberg | Reuters)
  • The White House warns that the US will run out of funding for Ukraine by the end of the year, reports the Financial Times.Budget director Shalanda Young sent a letter to congress saying that without approval for new support, Kyiv won’t be able to receive equipment from US military stocks.

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

  • Egypt’s budget deficit almost doubled y-o-y to 3.9% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as rising borrowing costs squeeze public finances.
  • Lower growth ahead: The Madbouly government has downgraded its growth forecast for the current fiscal year by 0.7 percentage points to 3.5%, according to statements made by Planning Minister Hala El Said.
  • Israel intensified its air campaign across Gaza yesterday, including in the south where it issued new evacuation orders to civilians. Israeli troops were reported to be mounting a ground offensive in the south of the enclave and stepped up bombing raids on the southern city of Khan Younis, ignoring US calls to spare civilian lives and “not repeat the same scale of destruction” inflicted on the north.

? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

We have four days left before the polls open here at home on 10-12 December for the presidential elections, with the first-round results due on 18 December and a runoff, if necessary, to take place in early January. Voters will choose between incumbent President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Al Wafd Party’s Abdel Sanad Yamama, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party’s Farid Zahran, and the Republican People Party’s Hazem Omar.

?️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- More patchy weather as the mercury will rise to 24°C and drop to 16°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

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