Netflix says bye to DVDs

1

WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

TONIGHT: Egyptian soldiers caught in Sudan will be handed over soon, RSF says

Good afternoon, wonderful people. Pat yourselves on the back for making it through the last work day of Ramadan — and nearly to the finish line of the holy month. We hope you all have a restful, enjoyable long weekend with family and friends.

Enterprise will be off starting from tomorrow through to next Tuesday, 25 April. Look for EnterpriseAM, Enterprise Climate, Enterprise Logistics, and EnterprisePM to return to your inboxes at the usual times on Wednesday, 26 April.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egyptian soldiers who were caught in the clashes in Sudan have been transported to Khartoum and will be handed over to Egypt soon, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces said today. The soldiers were in the northern Sudanese town of Merowe for a joint training mission with their Sudanese counterparts when the fighting broke out over the weekend.

Want to understand the conflict in Sudan? We break down what’s happening in our neighbors to the south and the history behind the conflict in today’s Enterprise Explains, below.

FACT CHECK- The Kuwait Investment Authority is not involved in a potential stake acquisition in United Bank, the authority said in a statement. United Bank is part of the Madbouly government’s rebooted privatization program, that means to divest 32 state-owned companies, curb government involvement in the economy, and shore up much needed FX.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There’s no single story capturing the attention of the international business press this afternoon. Among the front-page headlines:

India overtakes China as world’s most populous country. (Financial Times)
Supreme Court action expected in abortion-pill case. (The Wall Street Journal)
More women describe enduring forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme. (Reuters)
B’naire Ray Dalio set to open branch of family office in Abu Dhabi. (Bloomberg)

The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, our latest industry-specific conference, is taking place on Monday, 15 May. The Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will give insiders and newcomers alike the chance to talk about how to develop an export-centered business and how their companies can help Egypt build an export-led economy that makes us a magnet for foreign direct investment (FDI).

Why exports & FDI? In the wake of successive floats of EGP, exports and FDI have never been more important to our economy — or our businesses. We’re gathering some of the CEOs, top execs from local companies and multinationals, investors, bankers and finance folks to speak on how businesses can adapt their strategies to be export-oriented and what Egypt as a country can do to draw foreign investment and much-needed FX. Expect it to be heavy on lessons learned in Egypt and other global growth markets — and lots of success stories.You can learn more on our conference website here.

And what better place to discuss moving our goods than Egypt’s original logistics zone — the Nile. That’s why we’re looking forward to holding the event by the river’s vistas at the Four Seasons, Nile Plaza.

Some of the biggest names in business and finance are on board — are you? The Enterprise Exports and FDI Forum is taking place with the generous support of our friends, including:

Banking partners: Banque Misr | Al Baraka Bank | Emirates NBD | HSBC

Event partners: Beyti | Concrete | Global Corp | Grant Thornton | Hassan Allam Utilities

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

HAVEN’T REQUESTED AN INVITE YET? If you’re a C-suite exec, business owner, DFI staff, export executive, investor or banker, please fill out the form here to signal your interest, letting us know your name, title and where you work.

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

Egytrans is one step closer to acquiring NOSCO via a share swap: Egytrans’ board of directors approved the acquisition of trucking firm the National Transport and Overseas Services Company (NOSCO).
Zohr gas output slumps in 2022: Gas output from Eni’s giant Zohr gas field dropped 11% y-o-y to 2.5 bn cfd in 2022.
Eni is preparing to start drilling an exploration well at its Mediterranean North East Hap’y concession in September.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to be a pleasantly warm long weekend, with daytime highs ranging between 29°C tomorrow and Friday to 33°C and 34°C on Monday and Tuesday here in the capital city. Expect the mercury to fall to 14°C tomorrow evening and 15°C on Friday, before averaging at 17-20°C for the rest of the long weekend.

China is expanding its station in Antarctica, sparking concerns about intel + Netflix bids farewell to its DVD era

The next frontier for China: Antarctica: China is increasing the scope of its activities in the southern polar region as it builds its fifth station — which was on hold since 2018 — to include an observatory with a satellite ground station near the Ross Sea, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report. The 5k sqm station will see a scientific region and observation area, an energy facility, a main building, a logistics facility, as well as a wharf made for China’s Xuelong icebreakers. Upon completion, a satellite ground station will be included with inherent dual-use capabilities.

There are concerns about increasing the country’s intelligence collection: The expansion has raised concerns in the west that China’s expanded activity in Antarctica would grow the country’s ability to collect intelligence on other countries, Reuters notes. “While the station can provide tracking and communications for China’s growing array of scientific polar observation satellites, its equipment can concurrently be used for intercepting other nations’ satellite communications,” CSIS said in the report. The station’s location could allow China to intercept signals from Australia and New Zealand and could also collect telemetry data on rockets launching from both countries.

Remember DVDs? After more than two decades, Netflix is ending its DVD-by-mail business, the model that flipped the entertainment industry as an early step towards on-demand content, the company said in a letter to shareholders (pdf) accompanying its 1Q 2023 earnings. While Netflix no longer releases its customer numbers for those still using the DVD service, it is likely well below the company’s peak of 20 mn subscribers in 2010, the New York Times says. The DVD service — which for a while has been held afloat by film aficionados and those nostalgic for physical media — will complete its final shipment on 29 September this year before the DVDs are sent to landfills.

Fun fact: Beetlejuice was the first DVD shipped by the company in March 1998.

Netflix is no longer synonymous with the DVD delivery that built the brand — streaming has long been the company’s dominant product. Netflix saw its revenue grow 4% y-o-y to USD 8.1 bn and its bottom line hit USD 1.3 bn during the first quarter of the year, according to its financials. Paid membership to the platform has also increased 4% over the last year, bolstered by the company’s crackdown on password sharing, which is expected to be rolled out more broadly, including to the US, during the current quarter. Yet, Netflix still faces issues regarding new subscriber numbers and missed revenue targets, prompting concern from analysts that the platform has not yet rebounded from its correction last year. With a market of competition and potentially upcoming writers strikes, Netflix needs to show its ability to reinvigorate its business and attract viewers with fresh content.

The Bn USD Code: Did Google steal the code behind its satellite + GPS programs?

📺 ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Are Google Earth and Maps really a Google innovation? The Bn USD Code, a German miniseries on Netflix fictionalizes the true story of two German programming pioneers who claim that their genius was usurped by the internet giant. Based on a revealing conversation between Joachim Sauter — half of the real-life duo who created terravision — and the director, the miniseries travels between events at the start of the 1990s and the revelation of the internet as a source of information that was available for all. A chance meeting between the main characters in a techno club in 1990s Berlin propels them forward to change the way we see the world from outer space. After nabbing an investment from Deutsche Telekom they began their work to develop a code that would be the foundation of Google Earth, Maps, and any navigational software we know today. In the double-pronged narrative we are transported to the early 2010s and the courtroom drama that ensues as both German pioneers are battling for their recognition as entrepreneurs and the real prodigies behind Google Earth.

The miniseries offers more than just a thrilling re-telling; it gives us a glimpse into the impact that the birth of the internet had on the youth who saw it as uncharted territory for them to explore. It also reveals the sad truth that the intellectual property produced by young, small technology-based firms can easily fall victim to monoliths such as Google, and their peers, without their effort and story ever being told.

⚽ Bayern faces a daunting task: Bayern Munich has a challenging night in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals tonight when it plays against Manchester City, after losing 3-0 at Etihad Stadium in the first leg. Bayern now needs to clinch a victory by a four-goal margin to make it to the semi-finals — which head coach Thomas Tuchel said would be a “miracle.” Tuchel knows what his team is up against, after several matches with Manchester City, while Pep Guardiola also knows what Bayern is capable of, after he coached the team for a few years. Kickoff is at 9pm.

Inter faces Benfica to seal its (more promising) fate: After beating the Portuguese team 2-0, Inter Milan plays against Benfica at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium to double down on its lead and move ahead to the semi-finals for the first time since the 2009/2010 season. Meanwhile, Benfica — which is at the top of the Portuguese league — is going through a bit of a rough patch, despite getting off to a roaring start that brought it to the quarter-finals without suffering a single defeat and losing only one match throughout the entire season. The past two weeks, however, saw the team lose two matches in a row in the Portuguese league, in addition to its defeat against Inter Milan on home turf.

Whoever comes out on top between Bayern and City will play against Real Madrid, which qualified to the semi-finals last night after beating Chelsea 2-0 — the same score it secured in the first leg of the quarter-finals.

And the victor of the Inter-Benfica match will play against Milan, which tied against Napoli last night 1-1, but came out on top in the first leg.

Meanwhile in the Egyptian Premier League (all matches at 9:15pm):

Pharco v Ghazl El Mahalla
National Bank v Haras El Hodood
Tala’ea El Gaish v Future

The Iliad of the Arabs: El Warsha Theater Troupe will perform, through storytelling and singing, the Epic of Beni Helal, which recounts the story of a Bedouin tribe as it migrates from the Arab peninsula westwards across the Sahara Desert to escape drought. The show is taking place tonight at 8:30pm at Tahrir Cultural Center.

Expose yourself to some art and culture and walk around central Cairo: Qahrawya are organizing two separate “iftour” (iftar tour) events this month, which entail an art walking tour after sitting down for iftar together. The second tour is taking place in downtown Cairo this Saturday, 22 April, starting at 5:30pm.

Chess players, gather round for game night:That Really Cool Studiohas been hosting chess nights in Zamalek every week and will host the last one tomorrow. The fun is scheduled to begin at 9pm and end around midnight.

Dive into Egypt’s infinitely rich contemporary art world: The “Traces of Egypt” Exhibition began in late March and will continue until Thursday, 15 June, at the Grand Egyptian Museum. The exhibit is organized by Egyptian-German artist Susan Hefuna and celebrates the country’s Khayamiya tradition through 28 dresses celebrating local artisans and their craftsmanship.

Back to the Cairo Opera House: Egypt’s iconic Omar Khairat will be performing on Wednesday, 10 and Thursday 11 May, starting 8pm. The concerts are expected to run through until 11pm at the historical venue’s Main Hall.

How far are you willing to go to avoid awkward conversations? Emily Henry’s Happy Place is the story of Harriet and Wyn. The couple, whose idyllic love story is both envied and admired by all, called it quits months back. But they don’t want to ruin the pre-booked holiday they have been enjoying with their closest friends every year for a decade — especially since this could be the group’s last time together in their relished getaway. Stuck together in a room in a cottage in Maine, the secret ex-couple must find a way to keep up appearances and the people closest to them in the dark. At least for now. The novel is a perfect beach read to keep you entertained as the weather gets warmer.

What the markets are doing on 19 April, 2023

Madinet Masr for Housing and Development (MNHD) will pay out dividends of EGP 0.15 per share to its shareholders, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf). The dividends will be paid in two batches, with one in May and the second in October.

The EGX30 fell 0.1% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.9 bn. Local investors were net buyers. The index is up 20% YTD.

In the green: Taaleem Management Services (+7.7%), e-Finance (+5.2%) and GB Auto (+4.9%).

In the red: Heliopolis Housing and Development (-3.2%), Oriental Weavers (-2.1%) and Elsewedy Electric (-2.0%).

Enterprise Explains: What’s happening in Sudan

Residents are fleeing Khartoum en masse as fighting in the Sudanese capital continues for the fifth consecutive day. A 24-hour ceasefire declared last night crumbled just hours after it began. The internationally brokered truce was intended to open access to humanitarian aid and to give civilians caught in the crossfire safe passage out of areas where fighting has centered. At least 270 people have been killed in the clashes so far which pit the regular Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

What’s behind the fighting? A breakdown in talks between the SAF and the RSF on the future of Dagalo’s forces. Dagalo, Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and several political parties inked an initial framework agreement — backed by international parties — late last year that was supposed to see all sides work together to ease tensions and reestablish a civilian-led government. This should have paved the way for the next stage in talks, which would see the integration of the RSF into the Sudanese army. Disagreements over the timeline of this integration is believed to have been the catalyst for the divisions between the two, according to Alarabiya.

Then there’s the question of who the RSF would take their orders from in the interim. SAF negotiators insisted that the RSF be under the direct control of army chief Burhan while RSF negotiators requested that they be placed under the command of the head of the upcoming civilian government.

Background: Tensions between the SAF and the RSF have always been bubbling close to the surface following the 2021 coup that ousted former Prime Minister Hamdok’s civilian-led government. The pair stopped seeing eye-to-eye after domestic and international pressures left the move increasingly isolated. In the past few months, Dagalo has distanced himself from the coup which he admitted was a “mistake”and has supported an international drive to take the SAF out of politics and reestablish credible civilian rule.

But there were earlier signs of tension: The ousted Al-Bashir regime formed the RSF out of government-aligned tribal fighters from Darfur in 2013 and their ranks soon got preferential treatment in terms of incentives. Nevertheless, past differences have always been resolved behind closed doors.

The blame game over who shot first: Although it is not immediately clear how the first engagements occurred, Dagalo said that his soldiers were forced to defend themselves after SAF troops attempted to encircle them (watch, runtime: 1:47), while SAF said last Thursday that the RSF had begun to mobilize its troops to Khartoum, in contravention of the law (watch, runtime: 2:29). SAF maintained that it did not start the fighting, and Burhan said RSF forces attacked his home.

Fighting quickly spread across Sudan but Khartoum has taken the brunt: Battles for control of the SAF General Command HQ, Khartoum International Airport, and the national radio and television headquarters devolved into a push and shove with no clear winner. All flights into and outside of Sudan have been suspended and flight tracking website Flightradar24 continues to show empty skies over the country. Several civilian and military aircraft were destroyed at Khartoum International Airport, according to satellite images shown by the BBC. Hospitals are also overwhelmed with people injured from the fighting and are running out of crucial supplies. Khartoum residents are also having trouble accessing basic necessities such as food and water.

Reactions from the rest of the world: International leaders were frustrated by the brief tenure of the ceasefire, with UN Secretary General António Guterres and UN Relief Chief Martin Griffiths among those condemning the fighting. On the sidelines of a G7 summit in Japan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced the “reckless” targeting of an American diplomatic convoy and underlined the necessity for an immediate ceasefire and a return to talks aimed at establishing a civilian government.

…And Egypt: Our Foreign Ministry called for an immediate stop to hostilities, in an official statement. The statement also called for both sides to enter into dialogue. Egyptian soldiers in the northern Sudanese town of Merowe were also caught up in the fighting. The RSF has pledged to cooperate with Egypt on their safe return, saying earlier today that the soldiers have been moved to Khartoum and will be handed over to Egypt. El Sisi stressed in a televised statement (watch, runtime: 4:40) that the soldiers were there as a part of a joint training mission with their Sudanese counterparts and not to bolster the positions of either side.

Why should we care? Egypt and Sudan have a long history of intertwined political and economic relationships and Sudan has long been a political ally for Cairo and is seen by Egyptian policymakers as providing “strategic depth” for Egypt in Africa. This relationship has become increasingly important in recent years as talks with Ethiopia over the timeline for filling the GERD reservoir have stalled.

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

APRIL

20-25 April (Thursday-Tuesday): National holiday in observance of Eid El Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day.

21-26 April (Friday-Wednesday): LaLiga Egypt Football Camp, Xanadu Hotel, Makadi Bay, Hurghada.

22 April (Saturday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

22 April (Saturday): Iftour iftar and Downtown tour 5:30pm, Downtown Cairo.

25 April (Tuesday): Sinai Liberation Day.

MAY

1 May (Monday): Labor Day.

1 May (Monday): Backstreet Boys at 7pm, ZED East, New Cairo.

4 May (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

6-20 May (Saturday-Saturday): Film Society Festival for Egyptian Cinema.

12-15 May (Friday-Monday): Egypt Fashion Week.

JUNE

10 June (Saturday): Thanaweya Amma examinations begin.

28 June-2 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

JULY

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

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

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

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

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): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support

Get EnterpriseAM daily

An independent publication supported by

Today at a glance

TONIGHT: Egyptian soldiers caught in Sudan will be handed over soon, RSF says

Related

Related

China is expanding its station in Antarctica, sparking concerns about intel + Netflix bids farewell to its DVD era

Related

Related

The Bn USD Code: Did Google steal the code behind its satellite + GPS programs?

Related

Related

Related

Related

This publication is proudly sponsored by

What the markets are doing on 19 April, 2023

Related

Enterprise Explains: What’s happening in Sudan

Related

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

Related

About

Privacy & Support

My EnterpriseAM

Sign in

Check your email! We've sent you a magic link to sign in.

Sections

About

Privacy & Support

Get EnterpriseAM daily