Good afternoon, folks, and happy Sunday. We hope that you’ve accustomed yourselves to the caffeine deprivation and are ready for the second workweek of Ramadan.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

The EU is set to provide us with a EUR 7.4 bn package of loans, grants, and investments through to 2027, according to a statement (pdf) by the bloc. The agreement takes Egypt’s relations with the EU “to the level of a strategic and comprehensive partnership,” the statement reads.

On the ground at Ittihadiya: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss the agreement today, according to Ittihadeya statements (here and here). Von der Leyen is here with a delegation of EU officials — including the Greek, Belgian, and Italian prime ministers — who will talk at a presser at 5pm CLT today. You can catch the presser here.

Background: The figure concludes a bout of speculation on the size of the package since Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly’s statement earlier this month that our expanded USD 8 bn IMF agreement will be followed by more funding from other international partners including the EU. The Financial Times was the first to report on the EUR 7.4 bn figure last week.

The breakdown: The package includes the following aid:

  • EUR 5 bn in concessional loans aimed at supporting the country’s macro- and socio-economic reforms alongside international partners (read: IMF).
  • EUR 1.8 bn of investments to support the green and digital transitions and “modernize the economy.” These include investments in renewable hydrogen and GREGY — one of Egypt’s planned electricity linkups with Greece — as well as funds to help set up the Investment Conference in Cairo.
  • EUR 600 mn in grants,including EUR 200 mn for migration management and EUR 35 mn for installing additional renewable energy capacities under the government’s Nexus for Food, Water, and Energy initiative.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The Russian presidential elections are the uncontested top story in the international press this afternoon. President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to secure a new six-year term in office by landslide when the country’s three-day presidential elections — in which there are no real competitors — draw to a close today. Russians crowded outside the polling stations today to protest the president’s authoritarian rule — which has extended for nearly a quarter century — in response to calls from opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who urged the protest before he died in prison last month. (Reuters | Associated Press | Washington Post | New York Times)

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

  • What does the Egyptian economy look like post float? Goldman Sachs, Standard Chartered, and Fitch all weighed in over the weekend on the future of the economy, updating their forecasts and predictions of where they see the EGP / USD exchange rate settling, FX inflows, and FX liquidity.
  • Fitch doesn’t see a credit rating upgrade in the cards just yet: Egypt’s recent string of positive economic developments — the USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement, our expanded USD 8 bn IMF program, and the central bank’s decision to float the EGP that seems so far to be going to plan — are not enough for Fitch Ratings to upgrade the country’s sovereign credit rating or outlook.
  • Everyone wants a piece of Egypt: Foreign investors have poured over USD 3 bn into Egypt since the central bank floated the EGP and announced a jumbo 600 bps rate hike over a week ago — and the number is expected to jump to USD 30 bn before the end of the year.

enterprise

*** It’s Inside Industry day —your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: Foreign investors — particularly from Turkey — are eyeing fresh investments in Egypt’s spinning, weaving, and readymade garments industry, particularly after the EGP float earlier this month made investments more attractive.

⛈️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a cloudy day with a chance for rain, with a high of 24°C and a low of 13°C, according to our favorite weather app.

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