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Bordeaux at risk

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: ADES publishes its intention to float on the Tadawul

Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s a relatively calm Monday so far, but the news cycle may very well pick up in the next few hours.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

ADES reveals the ins and outs of its planned IPO: Cairo-born regional oil and gas services company ADES International has announced its intention to float (pdf) on the Saudi Exchange. The company is planning to offer a 30% stake — represented in 338.7 mn shares — with the aim of raising some USD 1 bn, according to Bloomberg estimates.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The international business press can’t agree on one story today, leaving us with a few things to keep ourselves occupied:

  • Evergrande’s shares have plummeted a whopping 87% after it started trading on the Hong Kong Exchange after a 17-month hiatus. China’s most heavily-indebted property developer has been suspended from trading since March 18, 2022 and is reentering the market at the time where the Chinese property market is facing several challenges. (Reuters | CNBC | Financial Times)
  • UAE joining Brics won’t undermine the Gulf nation’s relationship with the US, as it sees this as a chance to increase trade and contribute to the NDB, the Brics bank, which works on lending money for development projects in emerging markets. (Bloomberg)


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

  • A new package of incentives for industrial projects: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday instructed the Madbouly Cabinet to implement a fresh package of incentives to support industrial activity and accelerate localization.
  • Up to 10 oil and gas concessions could be up for grabs soon : The Oil Ministry plans to launch an international tender for companies to explore for oil and natural gas in 8-10 concessions.
  • Back to the negotiating table on Ethiopia’s mega-dam: Delegations from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan met in Cairo yesterday Sunday to begin a new round of talks to find a solution to their long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

CHECK OUT OUR AGENDA-

The Enterprise Finance Forum is taking place on 18-19 September at the St. Regis Hotel in Cairo. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only, C-suite-level gatherings that allow senior members of our community to openly and frankly discuss critical issues in key sectors of the economy.

This is our first two-day event,which should give us plenty of time to dive into the nitty gritty of this industry we love. Our panels will see CEOs, bankers, investors and founders gather to discuss the future and trends shaping banking, finance, fintech and NBFS.

Our full agenda will be out at month’s end. Among the topics we’ll be discussing:

  • Looking into the crystal ball: Top industry CEOs will join us on stage to answer tough questions on where we are as an industry, the forces that will shape all of our businesses going forward, and their views on dealflow in the year ahead.
  • Surviving nuclear winter: We discuss how private equity and venture capital players are tackling challenges including fundraising and deployment in an environment in which it’s awfully difficult to price your local asset in USD terms.
  • The robots are coming: We explore what the coming AI and big data means for the industry in our part of the world and what can bankers, NBFI, and fintech players do to capitalize on them.
  • What do you do when nobody wants to be a banker — and when those who are already (investment or commercial) bankers are either (a) dreaming of doing their own startup or (b) moving to Dubai (or, increasingly, Riyadh)? We go deep into the weeds with industry leaders on how they’re building talent for tomorrow.
  • NBFIs are a bubble. Prove me wrong: We chart the explosive rise of NBFIs and ask whether the industry is ready for a wave of consolidation. We’ll dive into whether consumer finance is starting to mature as a segment — and ask which sector is next.
  • What does 2024 hold in store for fintech: We dive deep into which categories are getting traction, which segments will account for the lion’s share of future growth, what business they would start today if they could, and what we can expect of the sector in the year ahead.
  • What’s a bank, anyway? Wherein we talk challenger and neobanks with the players looking to shake up the brick-and-mortar industry.

** NEW: MORE NETWORKING TIME- Our agenda includes expanded networking time, including an expanded coffee break and a post-event networking room for you to interact with your peers and speak one-on-one with the team at Enterprise.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our exciting agenda in the weeks to come.

TAP OR CLICK HERE if you want to express interest in attending. We’ll be sending out the first batch of invitations soon.

Do you want to become a commercial partner? Ping a note to Moustafa Taalab, our head of commercial.


☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will climb to 39°C at its peak in the daytime and dip to 25°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

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FOR YOUR COMMUTE

Climate change is threatening Bordeaux + Global supply chains are exposed to China’s monopoly on rare earth metals

Bordeaux winemakers look to abandon vineyards as climate change bites: Up to 5k hectares of vineyard area in France’s Bordeaux could be converted to other uses as farmers are deciding to either shut down production or change up the crops they’re cultivating, according to local authorities’ data from early June and July this year, CNBC reports. Aside from climate change, exports of Bordeaux and other wines have dropped by 5% y-o-y as consumers are opting for lighter wines and beers, according to data from Statista, cited by CNBC.

What’s a disaster for some comes with benefits for others: In recent years, winemakers have had to cope with more extreme weather phenomena such as hailstorms, frosts, and droughts, explains Sylvie Courselle, an agricultural engineer and enologist. Water for irrigation is also harder to get which is a major threat to the region’s wine industry, she adds. However, winemakers in colder parts of the world are getting a revival: German winemakers are benefiting from the warmer temperatures, as do the English, with production surging in 2018 and only weakening gradually in the years after.


China’s chokehold on rare earths could disrupt supply chains: China’s near-monopoly on the production and processing of rare earth metals has made the US and other countries vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price shocks, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai told CNBC. China had taken this step with Japan back in 2010, when it limited its exports of rare earths to the Pacific nation causing prices to skyrocket and the nation struggling to meet its needs, according to Reuters.

Rare earth metals are essential for a wide range of high-tech products, including electric car motors, wind turbines, and smartphones. China’s dominance in this market gives it significant leverage over its trading partners as it did with Japan. “What I want to draw your attention to is not just the vulnerabilities around China’s investments [overseas], but the fact that China’s dominant position in the world market now in [rare earths] means that it is able to turn on the faucet and turn off the faucet,” Tai told CNBC.

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ENTERPRISE RECOMMENDS

Vincent Cassel and Eva Green headline espionage thriller Liaison

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Liaison , a new French-English espionage thriller on Apple TV brings Vincent Cassel a Green to the television screen as they work hand-in-hand to counter terrorism. The series opens in Syria with a hacker clandestinely working in the darkness before pro-Assad soldiers raid their hide-out. The hacker and his friend barely make it out after saving the highly-sensitive data stored on their technology and destroying it before it gets into the regime’s hands. In comes Gabriel Delage (Vincent Cassel) a contractor posted in Syria assigned to extract the hackers into France as it wants to get a hold of the information on their flash drive before Brexit Britain does. After a few mishaps, they end up finding their way to the UK and into the life of Alison Rowdy (Eva Green), a senior member of the UK’s National Cyber Security Center. When a series of unexplainable hacks happen that threaten the lives of Londoners, Delage, Rowdy, the Syrian hackers, and a collection of unlikely characters cross borders, evade assassins, and make high-stake deals to stop terrorism in its tracks.

? The third round of the FIBA World Cup group stage matches kicks off tomorrow:

  • Germany v Finland (10:30am)
  • Angola v Dominican (11am)
  • Egypt v Mexico (11:45am)
  • Lebanon v France (12:45pm)
  • Australia v Japan (2:10pm)
  • Philippines v Italy (3pm)
  • Montenegro v Lithuania (3:30pm)
  • Canada v Latvia (4:30pm)

In the Premier League: Yesterday’s last-minute goals secured an important victory for Manchester City against Sheffield United, with which the Citizens occupied the top of the English Premier League table with nine points from three matches, becoming the only team to score the full mark at the end of the third gameweek.

Liverpool also snatched three valuable points from Newcastle at St. James Park two minutes before the end of the match, despite its captain, Van Dyck, being sent off in the first half.

And speaking of leadership, the race to reach (and stay at) the top of the Enterprise Fantasy League is going strong between nearly 200 members of our community — are you one of them? If you haven’t joined yet, go ahead and get in on the competition by clicking on this link or entering this code abd0f7.

The most important matches in the European leagues:

  • Cagliari v Inter Milan (9:45pm)
  • Rayo Vallecano v Atletico Madrid (10:30pm)

? EAT THIS TONIGHT-

T he Finer Slice is offering a fine list of sandwiches: Only delivered in Maadi, Heliopolis, and New Cairo, this cloud kitchen’s menu is brief, but the item’s names leave plenty for the imagination. If you like some spice, theChimichurri sandwich is a good start: The tender grilled chicken, creamy mushroom sauce, fried onions with a drizzle of chimichurri and garlic mayo sauce will hit all the right spots. Don’t miss the Pharaoh, which has chicken topped with fried pickled eggplant, mozzarella, arugula, and garlic mayo, or the Jerk, which offers a delicious mix of crispy fried chicken, pineapple, Jamaican jerk sauce, pickled cucumbers, and lettuce for a refreshing fill. For the beef sandwiches, there are only two options, the Classic and the Luxe. We recommend the latter with its mix of mushroom sauce alongside fresh arugula, caramelized onion and roasted tomato. Note: They deliver from 12pm-2am, making them a great lunch or late night snack option.

? OUT AND ABOUT-
(all times CLT)

The Citadel Music and Singing Festival continues today and wraps up next Thursday, 7 September.The festival will be held at the Salah El Din Citadel with several acts lined up:

  • Hisham Abbas and Simone will perform tonight.
  • Mostafa Haggag will perform tomorrow.
  • Ali El Haggar will be performing this Thursday, 31 August.
  • Musician Hisham Kharma and the Tunsian singer Ghalia Benali will be performing on Sunday, 3 September.

After Dinner, or Baad Al Ashaa, is a performance by El Warsha Theatre groupin AUC Tahrir Square’s main garden tomorrow. Watch actor Hassan El Geretly and his cast take you back in time to Cairo’s art scene in the 1920s. There tickets are on the house but seats are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Sonne, a film by Austrian-Kurdish Kurdin Ayubwill be screening in the Austrian Cultural Forum tomorrow starting from 7pm. The film discusses a Viennese teenager who wants to sing but has to face the challenges she faces from her muslim identity. Get your tickets by registering on this link.

Aziz Maraka x City Center Almaza. Jordanian singer Aziz Maraka will be performing at the opening of City Garage Hub at City Center Almaza Mall tomorrow. Tickets are available on Tazkarti.

El Morabba3 is coming to Egypt. Jordanian rockband El Morabba3 will be performing at two concerts, the first of which will be at the closing ceremony of the International Summer Festival at Bibliotheca Alexandrina this Friday, 1 September. The second will be at El Sawy Culturewheel on Sunday, 3 September. Tickets are available here for Bibliotheca Alexandrina and here for El Sawy CultureWheel.

DJs Kygo , Tiësto, Kungs and Frank Walker are performing on Saturday, 28 October at the Giza Pyramids. The concert will be part of the next edition of the four-day Palm Tree Music Festival (PTMF) which will be held from Thursday, 26 October until Sunday, 29 October.

Get your running shoes ready for the 2023 edition of the El Gouna Half Marathon, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 11 November. You can sign up for the marathon from here — and catch the lowest registration price with the early bird special which starts today and ends Saturday, 30 September.

? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Your financial plan could fit on one page. That’s the premise behind certified financial planner Carl Richards’ book about managing money, The One-Page Financial Plan. The book is his attempt to simply explain that making a bad decision with money isn’t a failure and that the unexpected is bound to happen to throw us off course. He hand-holds the reader while he explains how much ins. to pay, how much to invest, and how to get that liquidity. Richards imparts his belief that aligning your financial goals and what you want in life will help you overcome obstacles thrown your way, and to be aware how a single splurge can affect that goal. This book is a suitable guide for the grown-ups (ahem) who are overwhelmed with a plethora of financial advice and cannot seem to pick which approach to suit them.

This publication is proudly sponsored by

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GO WITH THE FLOW

What the markets are doing on 28 August, 2023

The EGX30 rose 0.4% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 2.6 bn (26.6% above the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net buyers. The index is up 27.3% YTD.

In the green: Palm Hills Development (+4.30%), Beltone Financial Holding (+3.7%), and ADIB (+2.1%).

In the red: GB Corp (-2.8%), Heliopolis Housing (-2.1%), and Cira Education (-1.9%).


AUGUST

28 August (Monday): Hisham Abbas and Simone concert, Citadel Festival for Music and Singing, Citadel Salah El Din, Cairo.

28 August (Monday): Guaraní film screening, Instituto Cervantes, Giza

29 August (Tuesday): Aziz Maraka concert, City Center Almaza Mall, Cairo.

29 August (Tuesday): Sonne film screening, Austrian Cultural Forum Cairo, Qasr El Nil, Cairo

29 August (Tuesday): Jewish Synagogues from the Land of Lost to the Land of Dispersion Lecture, Sawy Culturewheel, El Zamalek, Cairo

31 August (Thursday): Ali El Haggar concert, Citadel Festival for Music and Singing, Citadel Salah El Din, Cairo.

SEPTEMBER

1 September (Friday): El Morabba3 band concert, Summer International Festival, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria.

3 September (Sunday): El Morabba3 band concert, El Sawy Culturalwheel, El Zamalek, Cairo

3 September (Sunday): Hisham Kharma and Ghalia Benali concert, Citadel Festival for Music and Singing, Citadel Salah El Din, Cairo.

4 September (Monday): Improv for All! With Radwan, The Greek Campus, Downtown Cairo

6 September (Wednesday): Improv for All! With Radwan, The Greek Campus, Downtown Cairo

7 September (Thursday): Um Kalthoum puppet show, Sawy Culturewheel, El Zamalek, Cairo

7-9 September (Thursday-Saturday): Handicrafts market, Sawy Culturewheel, El Zamalek, Cairo

9 September (Saturday): Badya SuperCycle, Badya, 6th of October

11 September (Monday): Improv for All! With Radwan, The Greek Campus, Downtown Cairo

18 September (Monday): Retro Concert at Sawy Culturewheel, El Zamalek, Cairo

21-23 September (Thursday-Saturday) L’Etape Egypt by Tour de France, Sharm El Sheikh

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

28 September (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

OCTOBER

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

13-20 October (Friday-Friday): El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

28 October (Saturday): Djs Kygo, Tiësto, Kung and Frank Walker concert, Giza Pyramids.

NOVEMBER

11 November (Saturday): El Gouna Half Marathon 2023, El Gouna.

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF).

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

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