Good morning, wonderful people. We hope you enjoyed the Easter break and are ready to return to full workweeks.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with Enterprise Egypt AM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

ECONOMY-

#1- Inflation falls once again as price shocks continue to cool post-float: Annual headline inflation in Egyptian cities eases for the second consecutive month to 32.5% in April from 33.3% in March amid the slowdown of consumer price increases after the float, figures from state statistics agency Capmas show.

Food inflation hits its slowest rates since December 2022: Food and beverage prices — the largest component of the basket of goods and services used to calculate headline inflation — continued to rise, albeit at the lowest rate of increase since December 2022, according to our math. Food inflation came in at 40.5% in April compared to 45.0% in March. F&B prices also decreased by 0.9% m-o-m in April, marking the first month of deflation since August 2021.

#2- Good news for Egypt’s credit outlook: Fitch Ratings revised up its outlook on Egypt’s long-term foreign currency debt to positive from stable, citing a reduction in near-term external financing risks on the back of an influx of foreign capital from the Ras El Hekma agreement, fresh funds from international financial institutions, non-resident holdings of domestic debt doubling since January to USD 35.3 bn in March, the float of the EGP, and interest rate hikes.

It’s not all roses: Fitch isn’t ready just yet to upgrade our rating, affirming its B- rating — six notches into junk territory.

#3- Net foreign reserves hit their highest since pre-pandemic levels: Net foreign reserves at the Central Bank of Egypt increasedby USD 696 mn from the month before to USD 41.1 bn at the end of April, reaching their highest level in more than four years.

That’s not all — ratings agency Fitch thinks Egypt’s net foreign reserves could reach up to USD 49.7 bn in the current fiscal year and USD 53.3 bn in the next.

#4- Business activity at its second lowest point in the last 12 months despite hopes of a post-float rebound: Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector activity slipped further in April, while inflationary pressures fell and business sentiment improved, according to S&P Global’s Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index. The index inched down to 47.4 in April from 47.6 in March, marking the 41st consecutive month that Egypt’s PMI remained below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction.

M&A WATCH-

PIF subsidiary is joining up with CIRA Education’s majority shareholder to acquire up to 100% of the company: Egypt’s leading private education company CIRA Education could delist from the EGX to become the regional education platform of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The transaction would be the first investment by the wholly-owned PIF subsidiary Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC) since the float of the EGP in March.

The plan on the table: SEIC is mulling buying into Social Impact Capital (SIC), the vehicle through which CIRA’s founding El Kalla family holds a controlling stake in the business. SIC would then use the cash injection to launch a mandatory tender offer to buy CIRA shares at a price of EGP 14 each, looking to take a 75-100% stake of CIRA and delist it from the bourse.

TOURISM-

Egyptian sites continue to entice tourist hordes: Tourist arrivals to Egypt increased 27%y-o-y in the first four months of the year, with visitors from Arab countries accounting for around 54% of all arrivals, according to deputy Tourism Minister Ghada Shalaby.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Shares of an unnamed contracting company will land on the EGX next week, bourse head Ahmed El Sheikh said earlier this week, without providing the name of the company. El Sheikh hopes that two of the recently-listed companies on the exchange will offer their shares soon, he added without specifying the companies.

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

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

Dominating foreign press headlines this week, Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian Rafah border crossing in Gaza, stemming the flow of aid and human movement, and began attacking Rafah by air and on the ground. More than 1 mn people have sought refuge in the city on Egypt’s border, and the Israeli army has told at least 100k of them in east Rafah to move into a so-called “humanitarian zone.”

Egypt condemns the move: The Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued a warning calling on Israel “to exercise the utmost restraint and avoid further escalation at this sensitive time in the ceasefire negotiation process.”

Shuttle diplomacy continues despite Israel moving in on Rafah. Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal on Monday, yet Israel said that it doesn’t go far enough.

Israel claimed on Wednesday that it has reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, which has served as a key entry point for humanitarian aid but was closed over the weekend after a Hamas rocket killed four Israeli soldiers — but no aid has yet entered since its reopening and there is no one to receive the aid, UNRWA said.

Cracks emerge in Washington’s unconditional support for Israel: The White House has withheld a shipment of 2k- and 500-pound bombs to Israel amid Tel Aviv’s full-scale invasion of Rafah, and concerns over how the heavy explosives will be applied to the dense urban environment, Reuters reports, citing a US official.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue to fight “even with our fingernails” following the US’ warnings. “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone,” Netanyahu said in a video on X.

The US downplayed its warnings later yesterday, with spokesman John Kirby saying the shipments were only “paused” and that “the arguments that somehow we’re walking away from Israel flies in the face of the facts.”

Israel continued to attack Rafah late last night, after a senior Israeli official confirmed that ceasefire talks ended with no resolution. The story got attention everywhere, including Bloomberg, Reuters, CNN, AP, and BBC.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- Cairo will be seeing a sunny high of 34°C and a low of 21°C today. Saturday temps will see a cooler high at 30°C and a low of 18°C.

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

Experience true culinary discovery at Flavor Republic’s Cairo Food Week. The week-long event being held at Downtown District is starting today and will continue through to Thursday, May 16. You can follow the event itinerary here and grab tickets for each of the individual events here, but expect prices to make a dent in your bank account. You can get to know the co-founders of Flavor Republic, Hoda El Sherif and Sherif Tamim, in this edition of Founder of the Week.

Red Bull’s Sada Sot concludes today. Over the past week, Ziad Zaza, Lege-cy, Sylver, Aresnik, Mousv, and L5vav, six rappers from all around Egypt, have been performing on their home city’s stages. They’ll all be taking the stage at Mall of Arabia at 4pm to showcase their hometown flavors. Book your ticket to the event at Mall of Arabia here.

The Sleeping Beauty on the Grand Stage: The Cairo Opera Ballet Company and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra will be performing Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty at the Zamalek Opera House, tonight, Sunday, 12 May, and Monday, 13 May. Grab tickets for tonight’s production from Tazkarti.

Pull out your wallets, the Cairo Flea Market is back after a short hiatus. Head down to the Zamalek Fish Garden tomorrow to sift through the local goodies we’ve come to rely on from Cairo Flea Market. Find your next favorite shirt, accessory, perfume, book, or knick knacks tucked away at the market, and indulge in good, good food while you sift through the treasures on display.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

Qahrawya is taking you on a tour of the mysteries within the ancient walls of the El Daher district. Cairo is a living tapestry of faith, and El Daher is proof. This walking tour, taking place on Saturday, 18 May, will explore the mosques, churches, and synagogues that coexist in testimony of our city’s rich practice of cultural exchange.

Do you think you’ve got the chops to go head to head with the country’s best gamers?Red Bull Login gives you the chance to prove yourself. This event, taking place on Saturday, 18 May at District 5, invites players across all platforms to compete for the top spot through regular games and special Boss Fight events. Raise your rank by booking a ticket here.

Rawabet Art Space is hosting Turning Tables, which looks at human relationships and the complexities of the past that shape our identity and personalities. The play is written and directed by Hani Iskandar and is performed in English. Catch a performance Friday, 17 May or Saturday, 18 May at 8pm.

Cairokee and Marwan Pablo are sharing the stage at AUC’s El Mahatta in a one of a kind performance on Friday, 17 May. They will be showcasing their careers by digging deep into the archive, performing some of their early hits alongside their current bangers. You can find tickets on Tazkarti, ranging from EGP 800 to EGP 2.3k.

Fans of more classical Egyptian music can head to Must Opera House to enjoy the vocals of icon Aly Elhaggar. The singer will be taking the stage at 8:30pm on Friday, 17 May. Tickets are still available on TicketsMarche.

Tags: