Good morning, friends. We are kicking off the week with a lot of good news — most notably Egypt made Olympic history last night, taking home Africa’s first Olympic gold in modern pentathlon. We also secured a silver medal in women's 81kg weightlifting. We also saw inflation ease for the fifth month in a row, a lot of fresh investments, and a message of reassurance from Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

The CBE is putting EUR 600 mn worth of t-bills up for auction: The Central Bank of Egypt is looking to raise some EUR 600 mn from auctioning off one-year, EUR-denominated treasury bills, according to the CBE website. The submission deadline for the auction is tomorrow at 11am.

It’s been a while since the CBE last sold EUR-denominated bonds: There’s only been ten auctions of EUR-denominated t-bills in the last five years. The most recent auction saw the CBE raising EUR 657 mn before the float in November of last year at an average yield of 4%.

So, why now? The central bank is likely looking to raise EUR funds to pay off maturing debt, EGBank board member Mohamed Abdel Aal told Enterprise. “FX can help bridge any existing and expected cash gap,” he added.

Who’s buying? Despite the recent hot money outflows, investors are still interested in local debt instruments, they take advantage of the differences between exchange rates and interest rates, he continued.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Tabreed signals it’s ready once again to invest in the Egyptian market: UAE-based district cooling firm Tabreed is in talks to expand its operations in Egypt following the launch of its project at Marakez’s Downtown Katameya Mall, CFO Adel Al Wahedi told Asharq Business.

You can partly thank the stability of the EGP: The company has been hesitant to invest in Egypt because it conducts its activities in local rather than foreign currency, Al Wahedi explained. However, the firm has taken note of the stability of the EGP over recent weeks

Remember: The firm terminated an EGP 1.6 bn contract with Egyptians for Healthcare Services at the start of the year for the CapitalMed medical complex in Badr City. The company’s CEO Khalid Al Marzooqi said that the pre-float FX crisis had made the project “financially unsustainable.”

Do you want to attend our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum on 24 September? Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders.

Why attend? We’re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our industry — in our region and beyond — and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth that the world has ever seen. With that as the backdrop, we’re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what’s next for finance in our country and the wider region. Among the questions we’ll be asking:

  • What’s Egypt’s role in the regional industry?
  • What are foreign investors looking for right now?
  • Is real estate the only asset class in Egypt?
  • What does the next generation of leaders think as they take over established family businesses?

Do you want to request an invitation? Tap or click the image above.

PSA-

WEATHER- We’re in for another hot day in Cairo today, with a high of 37°C and a low of 27°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a little cooler in Alexandria, with a high of 34°C and a low of 24°C.

** DID YOU KNOW that we now cover Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

** Were you forwarded this email? Tap or click here to get your own copy delivered every weekday before 7am Cairo time — without charge.

DATA POINT-

Food exports were up 25% y-o-y in 1H 2024 to record USD 3.2 bn, according to a statement from the Food Export Council. Exports to other Arab nations accounted for 52% of total food exports, while EU-bound exports accounted for 22%.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- Attention, climate startups: The Planning and International Development Ministry and World Food Programme (WFP) are offering grants to local startups focused on climate adaptation and food security under the Climate Adaptation Innovation Accelerator Programme. Successful applicants will receive up to USD 200k in grants alongside guidance, support, and the chance to participate in WFP operations. The accelerator program targets startups, companies, and NGOs in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. The application deadline is Tuesday, 11pm local time. You can apply here.

#2- The summer break must come to an end: Public schools are back in session for the 2024/2025 academic year on Saturday, 21 September, according to an Education Ministry statement. The second semester will kick off on 8 February, 2025 and the year will draw to a close on 5 June, 2025.

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-

It’s another day of no single story leading the conversation in the international business press, leaving us with a patchwork of headlines to sift through this morning:

Donald Trump’s campaign said it was hacked yesterday, after Politico began receivingauthentic internal communication documents late last month. The breach came from “foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” a Trump campaign spokesperson said, pointing a finger of blame at Iran. (Reuters | CNBC | Wall Street Journal)

US junk loan funds faced their largest withdrawals since early 2020 amid recent market declines, with USD 2.5 bn pulled out in a week due to concerns over a potential economic slowdown. Most of these withdrawals came from ETFs, the Financial Times writes.

Israel killed nearly 100 Palestinians when it launched an airstrike on a school compound that was used as a shelter for displaced children and women early on Saturday morning. The attack — which came as the victims were gathering for Fajr prayers — has so far claimed the lives of more than 93 Palestinians, including 11 children and six women, according to Palestine’s civil defense spokesperson. (Reuters | Washington Post | CNN | Washington Post | Guardian)

ALSO- Susan Wojcicki, former CEO of YoTube, died on Friday at the age of 56 due to lung cancer. (Financial Times | Wall Street Journal)

WAR WATCH-

Egypt, US, and Qatar call for urgent discussion over Gaza ceasefire on Thursday: The leaders of the three mediating countries called for renewed ceasefire discussions on Thursday, 15 August, in an effort to “close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the [agreement] without further delay,” according to a joint statement from the countries. The statement said that the three nations would be willing to present a bridging proposal that would resolve remaining issues if necessary, emphasizing that there is “no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay.”

Israel agreed to send a delegation to the talks, according to a statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office.

US officials say that an agreement is “closer than ever,” despite expectations of an Iranian attack on Israel in response to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran. However, the US doesn’t expect an agreement to be signed on 15 August, “as there’s still a significant amount of work to do, with both sides holding to firm positions,” a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.

OLYMPICS-

It was a momentous day for team Egypt, which clinched its first gold and silver medals of the Paris Games. Our own 24-year-old Ahmed El Gendy took home Africa’s first Olympic gold medal in modern pentathlon after setting a world record of 1,555 points yesterday, just three years after he claimed silver at the Tokyo Games. In the meantime, weightlifter Sara Samir snagged silver in the women's 81kg final after lifting a total of 268kg — 117kg in the snatch and 151kg in the clean and jerk. The victory follows her bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Team Egypt has so far secured three medals at the 2024 Games — the first of which was claimed by Mohamed El Sayed when he picked up bronze in the men's épée individual two weeks ago.

One member of team Egypt has unfortunately caught the attention of the international press for all the wrong reasons: Wrestler Mohamed Ibrahim El Sayed was arrested on Friday on sexual assault charges for allegedly groping a woman outside a Paris cafe. El Sayed has since been released and deemed innocent due to lack of evidence.

Spain beat the hosts to take gold for men’s football: The Spanish men’s Olympic football team emerged on top of an 8-goal thriller against France to take the spoils, finishing the match 5-3. Morocco took home the bronze medal after thrashing Egypt 6-0.

Germany and Denmark are set to meet in the men’s handball final, after dispatching Spain and Slovenia, while the US and France are set to meet in both the men’s and the women’s basketball finals today as well after Friday’s events.

The medal table:

  • China (39 gold, 90 overall)
  • USA (38 gold, 122 overall)
  • Australia (18 gold, 50 overall)
  • Japan (18 gold, 43 overall)
  • France (16 gold, 62 overall)

It’s a pretty quiet last day for team Egypt, with only a few matches taking place:

  • Cycling track: Ebtissam Zayed will be participating in the women’s omnium scratch race at 12:00pm.
  • Weightlifting: Halima Abbas will take part in the women’s 81kg+ weightlifting competition at 12:30pm.
  • Modern pentathlon: Malak Ismail will be participating in the women’s individual final at 12:00pm.

You can follow Team Egypt through this schedule or by heading over to our Paris 2024Guide.

Want to see when your favorite sport is on? Check out the official schedule here.

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