Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and happy Monday. The news flow has slowed down a little bit today as everyone sits tight waiting for the IMF agreement.

ALSO- The 2024 Grammys were still underway as we hit dispatch. Music’s biggest night kicked off late last night and some of the biggest awards have already been handed out —- Miley Cyrus took home best pop solo performance for her single Flowers and Taylor Swift won best pop vocal album for Midnights.

** Wait for our full coverage in today’s EnterprisePM.

PSA-The state’s foreign investment portal is here: Foreign investors can now inquire about potential investments in the country’s new cities — on the provision that they invest USD transferred from abroad — through the New Urban Community Authority’s (NUCA) foreign investment portal that went live yesterday, according to a Housing Ministry statement.

DATA POINT

Egypt’s agricultural exports hit a record high of 7.4 mn tons in 2023, almost 1 mn tons up from the year before and bringing in a total USD 3.7 bn, Agriculture Minister El Sayed El Quseir told the Senate. Citrus fruits, potatoes, and onions led the country’s exports for the year.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- It’s PMI day: S&P Global will publish Egypt’s PMI figures for January at around 7:15am CLT this morning. The index last clocked in at 48.5 in December, marking the 37th straight month the country's non-oil economy has been in contraction.

#2- CBE to hold USD T-bill auction: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will auction USD 1 bn worth of one-year T-bills today with settlement scheduled for the next day, according to data on its website.

The first auction of the year: The CBE last auctioned off USD T-bills on the last day of 2023, selling USD 850 mn of USD-denominated one-year treasury bills at an average yield of 5.149% to refinance existing debt.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- Attention, bookworms: The Cairo International Book Fair closes its doors tomorrow. If you haven’t gotten the chance to visit the fair yet, you can check it out today or tomorrow between 10am to 8pm. The fair is being held at the Egypt International Exhibitions Center.

#2- Gold tender deadline: The deadline for the — three times extended — international gold and minerals exploration tender from the Shalateen Mining Company is this Thursday.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Tech startups can now apply for DMZ’s incubator program — an eight-month incubation program, offering grants of up to EGP 200k and coaching from experts. Eligible startups offer an innovative tech solution, have a “coachable team,” have a full time founder, and are willing to work in Cairo. Applications are open until Tuesday, 12 March. Read more and apply here.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

There’s no single BIG STORY ABROAD this morning, as is often a case on Mondays.

In the business pages, you have your choice between a Financial Times report that claims Iran used accounts at Lloyds and Santander to sidestep western sanctions while the Wall Street Journal continues to go deep on Elon Musk with The money and drugs that tie Elon Musk to some Tesla directors. (Missed the first part? Tap or click here.)

In foreign affairs: A range of global media organizations are trying to articulate a clear US foreign policy toward the Middle East as Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads back to this part of the world. The New York Times’ Tom Friedman is still pushing his notion of a “Biden Doctrine,” while the Wall Street Journal writes that Washington is “pairing military action with diplomacy” in a bid to reshape our corner of the world. The pillars: “rolling back Iranian influence by resolving Gaza conflict, pushing Israel-Saudi normalization, and establishing a Palestinian state.”

The US struck Houthi positions in Yemen for a third day in a row yesterday. A top US national security official said yesterday that wider attacks against Iran-backed groups in the region would continue. US strikes have so far hit groups in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria.

ICYMI- Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at how the pharma industry is dealing with the perfect storm of mandatory pricing and FX pressures making it harder to do business. Check it out here.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We take a look at what Egypt is doing to increase its number of STEM system schools.

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