Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It’s an extremely rare occurrence when the news cycle is this slow, but it’s just one of those days when we don’t even have a story that we can earnestly tell you is a “big story” so far.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD
Leading this conversation in the international business press this afternoon: Meta just got slapped with a USD 1.3 bn fine by European privacy regulators over its transfer of personal data on European users to the US. The Irish Data Protection Commission — which has jurisdiction over Meta in Europe because the company is headquartered in Ireland — said Meta storing European users’ data on servers in the US is a violation of a 2020 EU Court of Justice ruling. The story is getting front-page play this afternoon in CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times.
** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:
We have a guarantor for our maiden panda bond sale: The African Development Bank (AfDB) has agreed to provide ins. coverage for USD 345 mn of our maiden USD 500 mn CNY-denominated bond issuance.
☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Get ready for the heat as our favorite weather app warns us that temperatures will be rising to 36°C and is expected to drop to a breezier 22°C in the evening.
Half of the world’s largest lakes have drastically dwindled over the past 30 years, “due to both human and climatic drivers,” according to a recent study that used satellite imagery, climate data, and cloud-based computing. The study notes that lake water storage loss can be seen “across major global regions including western Central Asia, the Middle East, western India, eastern China, northern and eastern Europe, Oceania, the conterminous United States, northern Canada, southern Africa, and most of South America.”
What’s causing the shrinkage? The biggest driving cause of the reduced water storage capacity is unsustainable usage of water, the study says, which has affected bodies of water such as the Aral Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Salton Sea, the study says. People are squandering water for agriculture and development specifically in natural lakes, the study’s lead author, Fangfang Yao said. Other major contributors include climate change-induced factors, such as changes in precipitation and rising temperatures.
Airlines are dedicating more space on their flights to first class seats as pent-up travel demand gave way to leisure travelers who are more open to spending more for the extra bit of comfort, the New York Times reports. Several American airlines are now retrofitting their cabins to increase the number of business and first class seats, as they look to maximize revenues per flight. The uptick in travelers looking to fly in premium seating actually began during the pandemic — despite a drop in business travelers driving down the price of premium seats — as travelers opted for better spacing on flights and had a bit more disposable income after months of lockdowns, the Gray Lady notes.
That’s not to say luxury travel is getting cheaper: As appetite for premium seating grew, airlines took note “and have been setting [ticket] prices as high as they can while still feeling affordable,” one industry watcher tells the New York Times. Some routes have pushed their airfare to as much as double their pre-pandemic levels, with the cost of airplane tickets nowrising faster than inflation rates in developed markets.
Geographicsis the YouTube channel for you if you enjoy a bit of history, science, and travel or are simply curious (and feel like you’ve consumed all the documentaries Netflix et al. have to offer). Host Simon Whistler offers a variety of videos that include global crises, natural disasters, and historical incidents that have shaped our world, in-depth studies into outer space with individual videos on planets and important moons, and a focus on historical monuments that are often obscure or have too many sources talking about them that the truth can often be hard to find. His catchy retelling and explanations in 25-minute capsules often put what we learned in textbooks to question and the time really does fly as his videos have the golden formula to keep the viewer visually and mentally engaged.
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⚽ Today in the Egyptian League: El Dakhlia faces off against Zamalek at 9:30pm, with Zamalek hoping to snag the full three points as it continues to chase a qualifying spot in the African championships. El Dakhlia, meanwhile, is trying to avoid relegation: The team is currently 16th in the league with 27 points from 28 matches. Meanwhile, El Etihad v El Masry kicks off at 7pm, and Arab Contractors will face off against Tala’ea El Gaish at 9:30pm.
The Premier League champion has been decided, but the final standings for European championships are up in the air: Newcastle plays against Leicester City tonight at 10pm in a match Newcastle hopes will cement its qualification for the Champions League — for which it needs just one point. Leicester City is still holding out hope that it will avoid relegation, and will need to secure three points for a fighting chance.
Over in Serie A, Empoli will host Juventus at 9:45pm. The Old Lady is also hoping to lock down its qualification to the Champions League by holding onto its position as second in the Italian league.
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🥟 EAT THIS TONIGHT-
Calling all dumpling enthusiasts: Make your way to Hai Tian Dumplings, located in a modest storefront at 12 street 233 in Maadi. Picture this — an entire restaurant dedicated to crafting those crescent-shaped, moist bundles of joy, with a menu featuring an array of options from soup dumplings to steamed dumplings, all bursting with different fillings. We highly recommend trying their chicken and beef dumplings, which are served as a generous portion of 15 pieces, each one filled with a chunk of meat and scallions. They also have wonderful tender shrimp dumplings for those who prefer seafood. For an extra burst of flavor, dip one side of the dumpling in soy sauce and lightly coat it with chili oil. Sure, this place has other dishes on the menu (their chicken noodles get a special mention) but the dumplings are the true stars of the show here.
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🎤 OUT AND ABOUT- (all times CLT)
Get your Oriental x Western fusion fix this weekend: Listen to Joseph Tawadros, oud player extraordinaire, seven-time ARIA Awardwinner and Member of the Order of Australia for Services to Music (AM)as a collaboration between the Australian Embassy in Cairo and the AUC Tahrir Cultural Centre, this Saturday, 27 May at AUC’s Ewart Hall.
Take a nostalgic trip with Disconana at Clustr Eleven tomorrow. Listen to blasts from the past with an array of venues to choose from including l’aubergine, and new entrants Chestnut, Soto, Cascada Farida, Ouzeri Greek Bistro, and Zouni Bar. For more details on reservations visit their Clustr Eleven’s Facebook page.
The iconic Pyramids Sound and Light Show is back: The show opened at the Giza Pyramids last Thursday, with shows running again from this Wednesday, 24 May to Saturday, 27 May. The show will be narrated in English starting at 8:30pm and in Spanish from 9:30pm. You can purchase your tickets here.
Watch a conversation turn from civil to explosive in Ebny. The production is an Egyptianized version of the acclaimed play God of Carnage by Yasmin Reza, which will be performed by the Kenoma Theatre Company between Friday, 26 May to Monday, 29 May starting from 8pm at Rawabet Art Space. The play will be performed in Arabic and tickets can be purchased on Ticketsmarche.
Zawya Cinema’s Cairo Cinema Days rolls on: The festival, which kicked off last week, showcases the latest films from the Arab region, with this year’s edition including 16 documentaries and feature films from Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Morocco, Iraq, Palestine, Algeria, and Lebanon. The festival runs through 10 June — you can check out the screening schedule and find more details here.
Disco Misr at Sakia: Pop and disco musical group Disco Misr is putting on two shows at Sakia Culturewheel this Wednesday and Thursday, 24-25 May. Tickets are available for the first show here, and the second here.
The annual Flower Exhibition — which is typically held at the Orman Gardens — is opening to the public at the Agricultural Museum in Dokki on Saturday, 27 May. The exhibition was originally scheduled to open last week, and will run for one month.
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.
You have a couple more days to enjoy this expressionist depiction of Egypt’s rural communities: Artist Omar Abdel Zaher’s latest art exhibition, Roots, is still running through this Wednesday, 24 May. The exhibition is “a sincere, impassioned exploration and meditation on the modest and down-to-earth sanctities of Egypt’s rural communities.”
Fancy a chuckle, or more? Watch Absurd & Beyond by ACT at Rawabet Art Space on Friday, 2 June and Saturday, 3 June at Rawabet Art Space starting from 8pm.
Start training for your next half marathon: The TriFactory is hosting another edition of itsMadinaty Half Marathon on Friday, 9 June at Madinaty. You can sign up for the event through the TriFactory website.
Hiba Tawaji is back with her first concert in Cairo after three years: The Lebanese singing sensation will be performing in the Cairo Opera house on Friday, 16 June starting from 8:30pm to celebrate the release of her new album, Ba’d Seneen. The performance will be conducted by Maestro Ahmed Aweida and under the supervision of Oussama El-Rahbani. Click here to reserve your tickets.
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💡 UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-
The Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig is a film buff’s joy in the guise of a book. The events of the novel occur inside a prison cell in Argentina where two men, one of whom is a political prisoner, begin to form a unique friendship through film. Molina, a middle class social butterfly who was arrested due to an immoral act, is placed with Valentin, a political activist whom the government is trying to force to share information about his organization and their next acts of rebellion. When Molina is told that he can get an early release if he can encourage Valentin to confess, he decides to cooperate with the state. Molina’s strategy to win over Valentin is to wait for lights-out and to narrate his favorite films which he saw in the cinema to Valentin — a luxury that Marxist, lower-class Valentin never had before he was imprisoned. The resistant Valentin eventually gives in and befriends Molina, and the latter’s rendering of the films lead to conversations showing the triumph of humanity in one of the most inhumane of places. If you enjoy multiple narratives, politics, suspense with a touch of imagination, this treasure of a novel is a great summer read.
The Export Development Bank’s bottomline rose 86.8% y-o-y to EGP 564 mn in 1Q 2023, according to a disclosure to the bourse (pdf). This is attributed to the increase in the bank’s portfolio of client deposits and the increase in net interest margins. The bank’s credit portfolio saw an increase of EGP 7.4 bn in the same period.
Juhayna is paying out dividends of EGP 0.15 per share on its FY 2022-23 earnings, payable on 8 June, the company said in an EGX disclosure (pdf).
MARKET ROUNDUP-
The EGX30 fell 0.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.76 bn. Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 14.8% YTD.
In the green: Juhayna (+2.9%), Oriental Weavers (+2.2%) and Edita Food Industries (+1.9%).
In the red: Taaleem Management Services (-6.0%), Ibnsina Pharma (-4.4%) and Eastern Company (-3.1%).
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