The real Ramadan slowdown

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Gov’t raises local wheat purchase price by 20%

Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s a shockingly slow news day here on the home front today — that Ramadan news slowdown appears to be finally kicking in as we make our way towards the long weekend.

** SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? We’ll be breaking our fasts at 6:20pm CLT today. You have until 4:01am tomorrow morning to hydrate and grab a bite to eat.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

How slow of a newsday is it, you ask? The only real story to take note of this afternoon is that the government has raised the local wheat purchase price by 20% to EGP 1.5k per ardeb of wheat, according to a cabinet statement.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Syria could soon reclaim its seat in the Arab League: Regional foreign ministers will gather in Jeddah on Friday to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League following a 12-year suspension, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said at a press briefing, according to Reuters. The Saudi Arabia-hosted meeting will bring together the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and the six GCC countries. Syria was expelled from the Arab League in November 2011 following its brutal crackdowns on pro-democracy protests.

Qatar is reluctant to bury the hatchet: Qatar’s position has not changed, Al Ansari said, adding that "any change in the current (Qatari) position on Syria is mainly linked to an Arab consensus, and a change on the ground that achieves the aspirations of the Syrian people." The GCC member previously declared its opposition to normalizing relations with President Bashar Al Assad, saying he has taken “no serious steps … to repair the damage that he made for his own country and people."

ALSO- Leaked US intel document claims Serbia agreed to supply arms to Ukraine,Reuters reports. Serbia is the only European country that has refused to impose sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine. Serbia allegedly agreed to supply arms to Ukraine, or has already, according to a classified Pentagon document cited by Reuters. The allegations were dismissed by Serbia’s Defense Minister Milos Vucevic. “Serbia did not, nor will it be selling weapons to the Ukrainian nor the Russian side, nor to countries surrounding that conflict,” Vucevic said. The story is getting coverage in the international press: Reuters | The Guardian | WSJ.

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

The IMF has warned of rising risks to financial stability despite keeping its global growth outlook almost unchanged in its latest assessment of the world economy.
At risk of delisting, Swvl is contemplating new investment offers: Cairo-born mass transit app Swvl has received acquisition and partnership offers from investors as it tries to avoid being kicked off the Nasdaq stock exchange.
EFG Hermes Holding has issued an EGP 250 mn senior unsecured short-term note for its subsidiary Hermes Securities Brokerage.

FOR TOMORROW-

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is heading to Ankara tomorrow to meet with his Turkish counterpartin a bid to normalize relations with Turkey and increase cooperation between the two countries across various fields, according to a statement. This follows previousconversations held in Cairo to mend fences.

? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

A quick April holidays reminder:

Banks and the EGX will be off next Sunday, 16 April to mark Coptic Easter (the day is not a public holiday);
We’re all off next Monday, 17 April to mark Sham El Nessim;
Public sector workers are off from Thursday, 20 April until Tuesday, 25 April in observance of Sinai Liberation Day and Eid El Fitr. Expect the Manpower Ministry, central bank, and the EGX to follow up with their own announcements in the coming days.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect to see clearer, sunnier skies tomorrow as the temperature rises to a high of 26°C, our favorite weather app suggests. The mercury will drop to a nighttime low of 14°C.

Low-income countries face a wall of debt with global monetary tightening + China’s building a moon base in 2028

World’s poorest countries’ financing capabilities are under pressure from high interest rates:Low-income countries are facing their biggest foreign debts servicing bills in the last 25 years as a result of the global tightening cycle as central banks work to tamp down inflation, the Financial Times reports, citing a recent study by Debt Justice. The study found that a group of 91 of the world poorest countries owe repayments on foreign debt that will eat about 16% of government revenues in 2023, with that figure set to rise 1 percentage point in 2024, straining public spending on health and education.

Who’s struggling: This year, Sri Lanka’s repayments on foreign debt will wipe out 75% of government revenues, and Pakistan will pay 47% of its public revenues in debt service. Defaulted on their external debts, Zambia and Ghana also suffer from high domestic debt bills. These rising debt servicing costs are fueling the debate over debt forgiveness, as Debt Justice calls for "fast and comprehensive" relief on external debts, including changes to laws governing bond contracts to force private creditors to take part in debt cancellation.

Mineral extractions race in space is on: China will build a base on the moon in 2028 using lunar soil bricks, according to the South China Morning Post. China’s space ambitions will take place over three stages: The 2025 Chang’e missions will collect samples from a farther part of the moon, in 2026 Chang’e 7 will constitute a search for water-ice, before Chang’e 8 embarks on a journey to build a lunar base that will include an orbiter, rover, hopper, and lander, Bloomberg reports. The station will likely be powered by nuclear energy.

Proxy wars in the sky? Beyond humanity’s indomitable need to explore, trips to the moon have very tangible and lucrative benefits: Mineral resources on our planet’s satellite could cover our global energy demand for over two centuries — and it’s zero-waste free, Bloomberg says. Establishing a presence on the moon is important “for China’s strategic needs as a space power,” Huazhong University of Science and Technology’s Ding Lieyun was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post. But there is also tremendous political risk as other nations like the US also covet the invaluable resources estimated at hundreds of bns in greenback.

ZeroZeroZero: The logistics of narcotics shipments across the world

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

If logistics is your thing, watch ZeroZeroZero, an Italian miniseries on Amazon Prime that follows a narcotics shipment from provider to distributor across several continents. This series uses a polyphonous narrative that covers more than five countries and has seven different languages, to uncover the obstacles to the transfer of goods — not necessarily narcotics — as a result of red tape, government policies, corruption, war, terrorism, and family feuds. The Lynwoods, a family who have made their bns brokering narcotics agreements as a shipping company, lose their patriarch, Gabriel Byrne, through an assassination. Emma Lynwood, the natural heir to the family business, and her brother, a nihilistic adult suffering from Huntington’s Disease, are forced to pick up the pieces and broker an agreement using their ships to transport a hefty amount of narcotics from South America to Europe. Interweaved with the events are the stories of parties to the transaction in Mexico, Senegal, a Jihadist stronghold in Morocco, and Italy. The use of flashbacks and multiple narratives adds to the excitement of watching the series, which is already plenty interesting as it shows how a product — illicit or otherwise — affects others on a global scale.

⚽ Real Madrid and Chelsea are meeting in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals today, with both teams hitting the pitch with the same hopes of saving the season by clinching the championship title. The match at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium at 9pm has plenty riding on it for both teams — Real Madrid lost all hope of claiming the La Liga title since it lost against Barcelona last March, and also lost its most recent match in the league against Villareal. Chelsea, meanwhile, is also struggling in the English Premier League, where its performance is unlikely to do much to help it qualify for next season’s Champions League. The team sacked its manager earlier this month, with tonight’s match set to be the first under the leadership of Frank Lampard.

At the same time, Napoli and Milan will meet at the San Siro Stadium in Milan in the Champions League quarter-final. The two teams last played against each other in Serie A at the beginning of the month, in a match that ended with a well-earned 4-0 away victory for Milan. Luciano Spalletti’s team is looking to prove its mettle by coming out on top in today’s match, as it eyes the third scudetto in the team’s history (and its first since 1990, with the legendary Maradona), as well as the team’s first-ever Champions League title.

Meanwhile in the Egyptian Premier League:

Al Dakhlia v Ceramica Cleopatra (9:15pm)
Ghazl El Mahalla v Future (9:15pm).

Learn more about popular Egyptian folk sayings at a unique location on Saturday, 15 April at 8pm in MASQ - Maq’ad of Sultan Qaitbey. Through storytelling with Nesma Medhat, a director, author, and founder of several projects focused on reviving Egyptian folklore, you will be guided through Egyptian heritage using a unique method.

Have a laugh at BigBang’s stand-up comedy night at Room Art Space and Cafe in New Cairo on Saturday, 15 April at 8:30pm with the performance starting at 9pm. For more details about the line-up and tickets check out their Facebook event page.

Catch Irtigalia on Sunday, 16 April for a night of improvisation at Room Art Space and Cafewhere the Irtigalia performers take their direction from you, the audience. To book tickets check out their event pagefor more information.

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 next Wednesday, 19 April, 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 next month, which entail an art walking tour after sitting down for iftar together. The tours began with one in Zamalek this past weekend and will continue with the second in downtown Cairo on Saturday, 22 April, starting at 5:30pm.

The impossible-to-put-down Nutshell by Ian McEwan is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, using the voice of the unlikely character — an unborn child. The fetus is the unfortunate prince, perceiving the world outside the womb through his mother’s interactions, whether vocal, gastronomical, and otherwise. The events of the sad tale unfold as he listens to her conversations with his father and uncle during the last few months before his birth. In a tone that is anything but infantile, the charming and intelligent Hamlet faces moments of existential crisis as he attempts to understand what he is and his confines, his introspection on the world that he is meant to spring forth into, and his bewilderment of the effect of wine on his mind.

What the markets are doing on 12 April, 2023

MARKET NEWS-

QNB Alahli net income doubles in 1Q 2023: QNB Alahli’s net income more than doubled y-o-y to EGP 4.71 bn in 1Q 2023, according to its latest financials (pdf). Bottom line growth was driven by a 55% increase in net interest income, which rose to EGP 6.63 bn during the January-March quarter. The strong performance follows a solid 2022, which saw the bank’s net income climb more than a third to EGP 10.4 bn.

Domty will pay out dividends of EGP 0.5 per share to its shareholders, after the company’s annual general assembly, according to an EGX filing (pdf).

MARKET ROUNDUP-

The EGX30 fell 1.6% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 1.91 bn. Foreign investors were net buyers. The index is up/down 14.7% YTD.

In the green: Oriental Weavers (+2.0%), Ezz Steel (+1.7%) and Credit Agricole Egypt (+1.4%).

In the red: Egypt Kuwait Holding-EGP (-9.2%), Eastern Company (-3.5%) and Fawry (-3.3%).

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

APRIL

12 April (Wednesday): Medhat Saleh concert at 9:30pm, the Cairo Opera House.

14 April (Friday): Hazem Shaheen concert at 9pm, Rawabet Art Space.

14 April (Friday): Egyptian Project live performance at 9pm, Skas Restaurant, El Obour.

15 April (Saturday): Nesma Medhat folk storytelling performance at 8pm, Maq’ad of Sultan Qaitbey.

15 April (Saturday): BigBang stand-up comedy night at 8:30pm, Room Art Space and Café.

16 April (Sunday): Coptic Easter — banking holiday.

16 April (Sunday): Irtigalia improv performance at 9pm, Room Art Space and Café.

17 April (Monday): Sham El Nessim.

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).

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.

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