Good morning, everyone. It seems the weekend has started off early in Egypt, with only a trickle of local business news coming our way. However, across the pond in the US of A, the business cycle is in full swing with all eyes on Wall Street as it reacts to Nvidia’s hotly anticipated earnings that were released late last night.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- The government wants to commit to monthly payments to foreign oil and gas companies in bid to boost investor appetite: Work is underway to make it possible for the government to commit to monthly payments to foreign companies working in the oil and gas sector, according to a cabinet statement out yesterday. The initiative comes as part of government efforts to ramp up production by incentivizing increased production and exploration of fossil fuels. New state incentives for oil and gas companies announced earlier this week also include offering foreign companies higher prices for the gas that they produce from their concessions.

Why all the energy incentive news this week? Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced last week that the oil minister has been tasked with meeting with foreign energy players with the aim of boosting local production starting early 2025. After months of blackouts and then coughing up USD 1.2 bn to put a temporary halt to outages over the summer months, the government has been noticeably more proactive in its efforts to try to get local energy production rates back on the up.

#2- Work is underway to streamline customs, tax procedures for auto manufacturers: The Finance Ministry will set up a central unit to facilitate customs and tax procedures for companies involved in automotive manufacturing under a decision issued by the Finance Minister, the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) said in a statement. Entities that the unit will cater to include assembly companies, feeder industries, and any other entities participating in the Automotive Industry Development Program (AIDP). The unit will consist of representatives from the ETA and the Customs Authority.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s a little cooler in Cairo today, with a high of 34°C and a low of 26°C — and even a small chance of light rain — according to our favorite weather app.

It’s more of the same in Alexandria and along the coast, with a high of 33°C and a low of 23°C.

And over the weekend, expect to see the slightly cool weather to carry on in the capital and on our northern shores.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

UK-Egypt trade, investment is top of the agenda: Our friends at HSBC, together with the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce (EBCC) and UK Export Finance (UKEF), will host a webinar today to discuss how to support infrastructure reforms, potential partnerships in Egypt, and ways to support and connect companies around the world. The webinar will take place from 12-1pm CLT / 1-2pm UAE.

Want to attend? You can sign up here.

The webinar is a scene-setter for the Egypt-UK Investment and Opportunities Forum in London on Monday, 16 September. The gathering — which follows on from a Juneinfrastructure mission — will focus on promoting trade and investment in infrastructure, with an emphasis on green hydrogen and renewables as well as sectors including the auto industry, food processing, and tech. The forum will also include both open panels and pre-arranged business-to-business networking. It will also give attendees the chance to meet with government officials and industry leaders. GAFI will be on hand to deliver an economic update.

Want to join them in London? Register your interest in attending the event here.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Egypt-Iraq investments, trade, partnerships incoming: An Egyptian delegation, led by Industry and Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir, is set to land in Iraq on 9 September to finalize a number of strategic partnerships between companies from both countries, Asharq Business reports, citing Federation of Chambers of Commerce Secretary-General Alaa Ezz. Egypt is looking to boost its trade with Iraq by 41% y-o-y to reach USD 1 bn in 2025, one unnamed government official said.

There’s a lot of interest in the Iraqi market: Egyptian companies expressed interest in Iraq’s pharma, infrastructure, and construction sectors during Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani’s recent visit to Egypt.

Remember: Earlier this summer, it was reported that the Iraqi Health Ministry is holding discussions with Egyptian contractors to take part in revamping 12 hospitals with an estimated cost of USD 480 mn.

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-

The international business press is uniformly leading its front pages this morning with Nvidia’s earnings, which we unpack in Planet Finance, below.

Also getting prominent coverage this morning: Telegram CEO and founder Pavel Durov was charged in France for being complicit in the spread of inappropriate images of children on the platform, in addition to complicity in illicit transactions, fraud, and drug trafficking. Durov was also charged with failure to comply with authorities on investigations into illegal activities happening on Telegram. French authorities ordered Durov to post EUR 5 mn bail and banned him from leaving the country. Durov was arrested on arrival in France earlier this week. (Bloomberg | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | Washington Post | New York Times)

PLUS- OpenAI is in talks for another funding round that would give the ChatGPT maker a valuation of more than USD 100 bn, the Wall Street Journal reported. OpenAI is currently valued at USD 86 bn. The company is in talks with Thrive Capital — which alone could invest USD 1 bn — and other investors for its first funding round since the release of ChatGPT in early 2023. CNBC and the Financial Times also have the story.

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