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Sunday, 16 Jul 2023

What We’re Tracking Tonight
For Your Commute
Enterprise Recommends
Go With The Flow
Inside Industry
The Enterprise Entertainment Calendar

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Today at a glance

1

The Big Story Today

Qalaa Holdings is taking National Printing Company to the EGX in a direct listing.
2

INSIDE INDUSTRY

How the new East Port Said Automotive Zone is being set up to spur the development of Egypt’s automotive industry.
3

FOR YOUR COMMUTE

Hollywood is set to take another hit with fresh protests.
4

ON THE TUBE TONIGHT

Leh La2: Can a woman have an easy life post-divorce in Egypt?
5

Sports

Egyptian Premier League in its final week.
6

OUT AND ABOUT

Celebrate the Islamic New Year at the Cairo Opera House + New Alamein Festival heats up.
7

Under the Lamplight

Olympus, Texas: Contemporary family drama might be entertaining, but no one did it like the Greek gods.

Sunday, 16 Jul 2023

What We’re Tracking Tonight
For Your Commute
Enterprise Recommends
Go With The Flow
Inside Industry
The Enterprise Entertainment Calendar
1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: National Printing Company following in Taqa Arabia’s footsteps?

Good afternoon friends, and welcome to the start of a fresh week. The news cycle looks set to be busy here at home as we race towards the four-day weekend.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Qalaa Holdings plans to debut its subsidiary National Printing Company on the EGX through a direct listing, after the company took Taqa Arabia public in a direct listing last week, Hapi Journal reports, citing Qalaa Chairman Ahmed Heikal. Heikal did not disclose the expected size of the stake that will be listed on the bourse.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The Wagner group’s resumption of their training in Belarus has been dominating the international press this afternoon. Polish authorities have been bolstering their borders as the mercenary group continues with their training in Belarus. News providers do not have an accurate figure; however, Preghozin has not been sighted since 24 June in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, reports Reuters.BBC and the Financial Times also have the story.

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

MARK YOUR CALENDARS- 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.

Day one is our Banking Forum, where we’ll dive deep into topics of interest to commercial and investment bankers, from an outlook on the 12 months to come in M&A, IPO, and debt capital markets to the national, regional, and global trends that are (re)shaping our industry.

Day two is all about Fintech and Non-Banking Financial Services. We’ll take a deep dive into everything from the magic of client acquisition to the prospects of consolidation and the coming of challenger banks.

** 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.

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, or fill out this form and we’ll be in touch.

STAY TUNED for more detail about our agenda.

DID YOU MISS THE ENTERPRISE EXPORTS AND FDI FORUM? Tune in to the Enterprise Podcast and listen for yourself: The Enterprise Podcast is back with another installment of our forum series, where we bring you audio recordings of what was said on stage at the Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum,which took place in May.

WANT TO LISTEN? Head to: Apple Podcast | Spotify | Google Podcast. We’re releasing a new episode every Sunday morning.

IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE-From deciding the target markets, to focusing on quality, marketing in new markets, and restructuring a business around exports, our panelists discuss and provide key insights on what businesses need to focus on when building an exports and FDI strategy. We were joined on that panel by Hossam Sallab, CEO and vice-chairman of Sallab Group and Royal Ceramica, Mark Wyllie, CEO of Beyti Egypt, and Kareem Abou Ghaly, the chairman and CEO of Pasta Regina.

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists on subject matter knowledge, while also working on constructing and filing Enterprise stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

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: We sat down with East Port Said Development (EP) Managing Director and African Association of Automobile Manufacturers (AAAM) Vice President Ahmed Fikry Abdel Wahab to discuss the vision for the new East Port Said Automotive Zone, and how Egypt’s automotive industry can move up the value chain.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The heat isn’t letting up as the mercury rises to 41°C and drops to 26°C in the evening, our favorite weather app tells us.

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2

FOR YOUR COMMUTE

Hollywood is set to take another hit + Russian gov’t ban iPhone usage

An unlikely alliance: Actors and writers rallied outside Hollywood production studios this Friday — the first time the two groups have joined in protest since 1960. As inflation rises and streaming services eat up royalties, writers and actors are being paid at their lowest, says the Financial Times. The creatives — who have noticed a change in their treatment and salary — have called a strike, refusing to work or promote new films.

The strike is expected to take a toll on the US economy: Hollywood’s last writers strike in 2007 cost the state of California USD 2 bn. However, the industry is now more vulnerable thanks to covid-19, and with the mass halting of productions and an unexpected alliance between writers and actors, Hollywood could be headed towards another standstill, the Financial Times says.

Russia bans gov’t use of iPhones over ”espionage” fears: Russian government officials will no longer be allowed to use the American tech giant’s products for professional purposes amid fears of spying, as per a Trade Ministry decision, according to the Financial Times. “Officials genuinely believe that Americans can use their equipment for wiretapping,” a Russian intelligence services expert was quoted as saying.

The ban will extend to other official bodies: The Russian Federal Security Services (FSB) uncovered a US intelligence operation that was being carried out using a virus program on Apple mobile devices last month, according to Russian news agency TASS. Although no action was taken at the time, the finance and energy ministries and other governmental entities will enforce the ban, which will not be extended to personal use, one source said.

“It wasn’t me.” Apple stated that it “has never worked with any government to build a backdoor into any Apple product, and never will,” the article says.

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3

ENTERPRISE RECOMMENDS

Leh La2: Can a woman have an easy life post-divorce in Egypt?

📺 ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Leh La2 asks the question: Can a woman in Egypt have an easy life post-divorce? A new installment of Egyptian series Leh La2 brings controversial and realistic family conflicts to the table, following Sherry (Nelly Karim) a divorced mother of two — Yasmine, who is about to graduate from university and Yassin, an 18-year-old college freshman. The trouble begins when Yassin, who has been treated like the man of the house, discovers that his mother has been secretly dating a man. Yassin’s rejection of his mother’s choice comes in violent outbursts and he starts butting heads with his mother, grandfather, sister, and his mother’s gentleman caller. On the other hand, his sister Yasmine feels that the world revolves around her brother and that she is not getting as much care and love from her mother. This makes her pull away from her family and retreat into her own world in an effort to leave her family. The series, which you can watch on Shahid, pushes the envelope, spilling light on social phenomena that can be occurring more often than expected.

⚽ The Egyptian Premier League wind down: Zamalek will conclude their matches in the league this season by facing Pharco at 9:30pm. Meanwhile, Al Ahly will be hosted by Arab Contractors at 7pm as a part of the activities of the final week. However, the Reds still have three postponed matches to play.

🎤 OUT AND ABOUT-
(all times CLT)

In celebration of the Islamic new year, the Cairo Opera house is arranging a festivalfeaturing singers performing religious songs on Tuesday, 18 July starting from 8:30pm in the main hall. Tickets are available on TicketsMallfor reservations.

Sharmoofers, Shaheen and El Walili x Alexandria:Sharmoofers will share the stage with the rap star Shaheen and the music producer El Waili at Al Ittihad Alex Club, Smoha branch next Thursday, 20 July. Doors will open at 4pm. You can book your tickets through TicketsMall.

Muslim x El Sawy Culturewheel. Egyptian pop performer Muslim will perform at El Sawy Culturewheel on Thursday, 20 July at 8pm. Tickets are available on the website through this link.

Get ready for the New Alamein Festival 2023: Tamer Hosny will take the stage for El Alamein Festival’s first concert at El Alamein Arena on Friday, 21 July at 8pm. You can book your tickets now on Tazkarti.

Dress to the nines for a night of fine music and attend Hisham Kharma’s concert at the Cairo Opera House on Wednesday, 26 July at the Open Air theater starting 8:30pm. Tickets are available on TicketsMall.

Cairokee Empire returns: Cairokee is hitting the stage with two mega-concerts at New Cairo’s Manara Arena on Thursday, 27 July and Saturday, 29 July. Tickets are available on Tazkarti here and here.

Samer Tarek x El Sawy Culturewheel. Samar Tarek will perform at El-Nahar Hall, El Sawy Culturewheel on Thursday, 27 July at 8pm. Tickets are available on the venue’s website.

Get your shot of the chuckles. Standup comedian Ali Qandil will be performing his set at El Sawy Culturewheel on Friday, 28 July at 8pm. You can book your tickets from the culturewheel’s website.

Tech geeks, get ready for theRoute Tech Summit: The summit will be held on Friday, 28 July from 9am until 10pm in the Greek campus, offering a chance to meet tech recruiters, apply for jobs and attend workshops. You can register through this link to receive your invitation for the event.

Ready for a throwback? Listen to nostalgic songs sung by Ali El Hagar concerton Saturday, 29 July at El Sawy Culturewheel at 8pm. Tickets are available on El Sawy Culturewheel website.

Jordanian rock band Jadal will be performing in Cairo and Alexandria next month. Cairo’s concert will be on Tuesday, 8 August at El Sawy Culturewheel at 8pm. The Alexandria concert will be on Thursday, 10 August at Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Tickets are available here and here.

Save these dates if you are a Massar Egbari fan: The band will be hitting three different spots in July and August. First stop will be at Cairo Jazz Club 610, Sheikh Zayed on Wednesday, 26 July. Second stop will be at Bibliotheca Alexandrinaon Thursday, 3 August. The third stop will be at El Sawy Culturewheel, Sheikh Zayed branch on Saturday, 12 August.

Amr Diab will be hitting Golf Porto Marina in Sahel on Friday, 11 August at 8:30pm. Tickets are available on Tazkarti.

El Sawy Culturewheel Book Fair 2023: Get ready for an enriching week starting from Sunday, 13 August until Saturday, August 19 at El Sawy Culturewheel. The fair will include a variety of events such as workshops, panel discussions, cultural competitions and book signing events.

Akher Zapheer live in Cairo: Jordanian bandAkher Zapheerwill be performing at El SawyCulturewheel on Monday, 21 August at 8pm. Tickets are available on El Sawy Culturewheelwebsite.

Russ xNew Alamein Festival 2023. The American rapper will perform in the New Alamein Festival, North Coast on Friday, 25 August. He will be sharing the stage with a surprise guest that is yet to be announced.

💡 UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Olympus, Texas: A Novel by Stacey Swann: Infidelity, betrayal, murder — the Greek deities did it all. Swann gives us a modern reimagining of Mount Olympus’ juiciest drama, Greek gods and demi-Gods, but this time set in Texas. The Briscoe family is the most well-known family in the small town of Olympus — not because of the small population or because the family’s patriarch just happens to own most of it. The family is described as “a walking collection of deadly sins,” which the reader immediately learns once March, one of the characters, returns home two and a half years after pseudo-exile for having an affair with his brother’s wife. Within days of his return, murder, divorce, and treachery wreak havoc on the Briscoes.The characters’ complexities and motives, as well as Swann’s masterful writing (and no doubt the violent and surprising turning point in the plot) earned the book a starred review on Kirkus, a high accolade.

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4

GO WITH THE FLOW

What the markets are doing on 16 July, 2023

The EGX30 closed flat today on turnover of EGP 1.0 bn. Regional investors were net sellers. The index is up 18.8% YTD.

In the green: Heliopolis Housing (+4.6%), Taaleem Management Services (+4.0%) and Ibnsina Pharma (+3.2%).

In the red: Alexandria Mineral Oils (-2.4%), ElSewedy Electric (-1.2%) and Fawry (-1.0%).

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Our weekly look at the issues, trends, and policies that are shaping Egypt's manufacturing industries.

Published every Sunday in EnterprisePM.

Read Inside Industry
5

INSIDE INDUSTRY

A new specialized manufacturing zone in East Port Said designed to develop Egypt’s automotive industry

How the new East Port Said Automotive Zone is being set up to spur the development of Egypt’s automotive industry: As Egypt works to develop its automotive industry, we’re pushing to set up dedicated industrial hubs for the industry to bring in global names. The East Port Said Automotive Zone (EPAZ) is one such hub that is designed to attract global automobile manufacturers to leverage East Port Said’s prime geographic location and a handful of incentives being offered for manufacturers at the zone. Enterprise sat down with East Port Said Development (EP) Managing Director and African Association of Automobile Manufacturers (AAAM) Vice President Ahmed Fikry Abdel Wahab to discuss the vision for the new zone, and how Egypt’s automotive industry can move up the value chain.

REMEMBER- Last month, a delegation of automotive and automotive components producersattended a meeting of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) to look at potential investments in Egypt’s automotive industries. Participants we spoke with at the time signaled that Egypt’s automotive industry has potential to become the largest market in the continent by the middle of the next decade, supported by existing incentives and market dynamics, along with government plans to localize the industry.

The automotive industry is like a “magnet” for feeding industries: Creating a real automotive industry “isn’t just about the factory that assembles vehicles. It’s about all the feeding industries that provide all sorts of components — wiring, harnesses, seats, dashboard glass, interior carpeting, tires, etc.,” Abdel Wahab said.

Scale is the biggest driver of the industry: It’s difficult to attract new manufacturers in these feeding industries unless there is market and volume, he said. “A couple thousand cars per year is not enough in terms of volume — but if you’re talking about 100k cars, that means 400k tires, for example. Now we’re talking. Now you can seek out international manufacturers to bring to Egypt.”

That’s part of where EPAZ comes in: “Our vision is if we start with three original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), each of which is making 10-20k cars a year at EPAZ, that would bring us to somewhere around 50k cars per year,” Abdel Wahab said.

Making the economics work: To establish factories of the same scale as ones in major automotive-producing markets like Morocco, it would cost at least USD 1 bn, Abdel Wahab said. “This is a huge and risky financial undertaking, so we decided to slice the elephant. The biggest expenses in these factories are the stamping and paint production lines, so we’re looking at setting up a shared facility with these lines for more than one manufacturer to use,” he said. This shared facility would require some USD 500 mn in investments, he told us.

Critically, the zone’s location will help make operations efficient for manufacturers: As manufacturers will naturally rely on imported components to a certain degree, East Port Said’s location will make the shipping process more practical and efficient, Abdel Wahab said. Once vehicles are manufactured, they can then be hauled off to the roll-on roll-off station in the Suez Canal Economic Zone’s East Port Said Port being developed by Bolloré, Toyota and NYK. The RoRo terminal will include a wharf area that will allow two large Pure Car and Truck Carriers (PCTC) to berth simultaneously, and will also offer enough vehicle storage space to accommodate increasing future demand.

Manufacturers setting up shop at EPAZ will have access to a handful of incentives — but with prerequisites: The incentives provided to manufacturers coming to EPAZ will be based on four main criteria: Value addition, investment size, production volume, and environmental compliance, Abdel Wahab told us. Investors’ incentives will be assessed on how much value they’re bringing to the local market, with an equation of sorts based on the total value of the car once fully assembled, and the value of the components that are imported and sourced locally, he said. There will also be requirements on investment size, with a floor set at USD 4 mn, as well as volume production, where EPAZ is looking for a minimum of 10k cars per year per factory.

Investors will also get tiered incentives depending on the degree of environmental compliance, which will be based on Euro standards — lower carbon emissions will yield larger incentives. “The incentives are designed to encourage manufacturers to address the four pillars in their activity. They’ll need to invest more to increase their value addition, but in return they get incentives that cut down on expenses within the country, whether it has to do with taxes, customs payments, or utility bills,” Abdel Wahab said.

Your top industrial development stories for the week:

  • Keep cement supply cuts in place, industry tells regulators: Cement factories have filed a request with the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) to extend a quota system that enforces cement production cuts.
  • Concrete Plus brings in Saudi investor for SCZone tire plant:Concrete Plus has set up a JV with an unnamed Saudi investor to partner on its EUR 750 mn tire factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone
  • Sprea Misr opens sulfuric acid factory: Egypt Kuwait Holding’s (EKH) petchem subsidiary Sprea Misr yesterday inaugurated a EGP 1.4 bn sulfuric acid production plant.
  • Alstom to invest EUR 300 mn in Borg El Arab factories: French rail manufacturer Alstom plans to invest some EUR 300 mn in Egypt over the next three years to establish two factories in Borg El Arab to produce electrical systems and metro and monorail rolling stock.
  • AUTOMOTIVE LEGISLATION- MPs approved legislation that will see the establishment of a new regulatory body — dubbed theSupreme Council for Vehicle Manufacturing — to set policy for the local automotive industry (including EV assembly), as well as set up a new fund to offer incentives to companies in the business of assembling environmentally-friendly cars.
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THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

JULY

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

18 July (Tuesday):Islamic New Year festival, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek, Cairo.

19 July-23 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Egypt Summer Festival, Heliopolis.

20 July (Thursday): Muslim’s musical concert, ElSawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, Cairo.

20 July (Thursday): Sharmoofers, Shaheen and El Waily concert, Al-Ittihad Alex Club, Smouha, Alexandria.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

21 July (Friday): Tamer Hosny Concert, New Alamein Festival 2023, Al Alamein Arena, North Coast.

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

26 July (Wednesday): Massar Egbari concert, Cairo Jazz Club 610, Sheikh Zayed, Cairo.

26 July (Wednesday): Hisham Kharma’s concert, Cairo Opera House, El Zamalek, Cairo.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day (TBC).

27 July (Thursday): Samar Tarek’s concert, ElSawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, Cairo.

27 July (Thursday): Cairokee mega-concert, Manara Arena, New Cairo.

28 July (Thursday): Travis Scott at the Pyramids, Giza Pyramids.

28 July (Friday):Ali Qandil’s stand up comedy show, ElSawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, Cairo.

28 July (Friday): Route Tech Summit 2023, Greek Campus, Tahrir, Cairo.

29 July (Saturday): Cairokee mega-concert, Manara Arena, New Cairo.

29 July (Saturday): Ali El Hagar concert, El Sawy Culturalwheel, El Zamalek, Cairo.

AUGUST

2 August-3 August (Wednesday-Thursday): Fintech Revolution Summit, Cairo Festival City.

3 August (Thursday):Massar Egbari concert, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria.

8 August (Tuesday): Jadal Concert, El Sawy Culturalwheel, El Zamalek, Cairo.

10 August (Thursday): Jadal concert, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria.

11 August (Friday): Amr Diab Summer Concert, Golf Porto Marina, North Coast.

13 August-19 (Sunday-Saturday): El SawyCulturalwheelbookfair, ElSawy Culturewheel, Zamalek, Cairo.

12 August (Saturday):Massar Egbari concert, El Sawy Culturalwheel, Sheikh Zayed, Cairo.

21 August (Monday): Akher Zafeer concert, El Sawy Culturalwheel, El Zamalek, Cairo.

25 August (Friday): Russ Concert, New Alamein Festival 2023, North Coast.

SEPTEMBER

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

NOVEMBER

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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