Good morning, friends. It is shaping up to be another slow news day, apart from a minor update on the state’s privatization plans, and a whole lotta real estate news.

BUT FIRST- Our friends at HSBC Bank Egypt have signed up work with GAFI on attracting more foreign direct investment to Egypt. The two inked the partnership (pdf) in the wake of the roadshow to China and Singapore that HSBC put together for GAFI last year, HSBC Egypt CEO and Deputy Chairman Todd Wilcox says.

What they said: “The strength of the government’s ambition is demonstrated by its goal of doubling the private sector’s share in the economy over the next four years,” Wilcox noted, adding that the bank is committed to working with GAFI to “transform Egypt into a strategic international trade hub.”

HSBC has long pushed the importance of trade and investment corridors to Egypt and to its clients, putting the notion at the center of its strategy.

Regular readers will remember our five-step recipe to attract FDI and help transform Egypt in to a global export hub — a recipe that came to life after a long talk with HSBC Deputy CEO Helmy Ghazi that spawned a series of interviews in which high-profile CEOs spoke up about the importance of FDI and exports (here | here | here as examples) and a conference on the topic.

Read our five-step recipe hereand stay tuned for a followup coming soon. The global competition for FDI and a place in the world’s supply chain has never been more important to Egypt than it is today.

THE BIG STORY HERE AT HOME-

El Sisi, Blinken convene to discuss Gaza ceasefire: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Egypt yesterday, where he met President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for a Gaza-centered meeting, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The meeting “focused on developments in unyielding efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, exchanging detainees and providing access to needed relief aid,” the statement read. El Sisi emphasized the need to implement UN resolutions related to the war.

ICYMI- Blinken is on a four-day regional trip — his fifth since the war broke in Gaza in October — due to wrap up tomorrow. He has already been to Riyadh and Qatar and is expected to visit Israel and the West Bank next.

The latest on the ceasefire agreement: Egypt has received a response from Hamas regarding the ceasefire agreement prepared by Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel, according to the head of the State Information Service Diaa Rashwan. He didn’t provide any details on the matter but said that Egypt will discuss the details and hold meetings with the “concerned parties” to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

We could be inching closer to a ceasefire agreement: Hamas’ response to the agreement has been “positive,” Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a joint press briefing with Blinken during his time in Doha, Reuters reported. Blinken added that an agreement is looking “possible,” although there is still “a lot of work to be done.”

Not everyone is onboard: An unnamed Hamas official told Reuters that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad will not accept any agreement that entails the release of hostages without “guarantees that the war would end and Israeli forces leave Gaza.”

ICYMI- Egyptian, Qatari, and the US officials met with Israeli intelligence officials in Paris last month where they held constructive talks centered around the proposed Hamas-Israel agreement. The agreement would see Israel halt fighting in Gaza for six weeks in exchange for Hamas releasing the remaining Israelis it is holding hostage. Talks have stalled after Hamas demanded a permanent ceasefire, which Israel has so far refused.

The int’l papers had the story: Associated Press | Reuters | Bloomberg.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

More cooperation with the World Bank ahead? The Madbouly government wants to increase cooperation with the World Bank, especially when it comes to helping manage state-owned companies and enhance their efficiency, according to a cabinet statement out following a meeting between Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and World Bank officials.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

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

#2- Will inflation fall for a fourth consecutive month? State statistics agency Capmas and the central bank will be out with inflation data for January on Saturday. Headline urban inflation in Egyptian cities cooled to 33.7% in December, but the central bank sees growing “domestic and global inflationary pressures,” amid geopolitical uncertainty, shipping disruptions in the Red Sea, and supply chain disturbances.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

PSA- The deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna is fast approaching. The two-week program will kick off on 22 June and offer executives from the Egyptian public and private sectors the skills to help them “become better leaders for their organization and support Egypt’s growth in the years ahead.” The application door is open until Sunday, 11 February.

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

RED SEA WATCH-

Another round of Houthi attacks: Yemen’s Houthis said they had launched attacks and damaged two vessels passing through the Red Sea yesterday, Reuters reported. Neither of the ships — UK-run container ship Morning Tide and US-run commodity vessel Star Nasia — reported any significant damage from the attacks.

Prospects for the resumption of global trade are looking grim: Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines expects Red Sea escalations to hold up global trade for up to a year, CEO Takeshi Hashimoto told Bloomberg. “The situation will continue at least for the coming two or three months. And as a worst case scenario, six months or one year,” Hashimoto said.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a particularly slow Wednesday for news globally, whether you’re looking at the business pages or the front pages.

On the front pages: It’s all about the Israel-Hamas negotiations gaining momentum. We have more on that above.

In the business pages: US senators claim that top execs from McKinsey, BCG, and Teneo are not fully cooperating with their investigation into the potential merger of the PGA Tour with the Public Investment Fund’s LIV Golf, Bloomberg reports. “McKinsey and BCG told US lawmakers on Tuesday that their employees in Saudi Arabia could face jail if the firms handed over details of their work for the country’s sovereign wealth fund without approval from the kingdom,” the Financial Times adds.

WORTH READING on a slow news morning:

• How India’s education tech giant got schooled and lost USD 20 bn in value, wherein the Wall Street Journal writes that “global investors are getting a timely reminder of what can happen when they rush into what looks like the next big thing without doing their homework.”
• Banking has gone digital, but JPMorgan is building more and morebrick-and-mortar brancheseven as rivals shut down a growing number of physical locations every month. America’s largest bank is “doubling down” on the strategy as “every metric” tells it that the decision is paying off.

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.

In today’s issue: We dive into how the government’s public spending cuts for the current fiscal year will impact infrastructure projects.