Toxic work environments go virtual

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TONIGHT

THIS EVENING: Are Sidpec and Abu Qir joining the privatization program?

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a relatively brisk day here in Omm El Donia, with a little bit of everything keeping us busy during this shortened workweek.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Sidpec + Abu Qir Fertilizers to join the privatization list with secondary offerings? The government is reportedly mulling adding secondary stake sales in state-owned, EGX-listed petrochemicals players Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (Sidpec) and Abu Qir Fertilizers to the Madbouly government’s rebooted privatization program, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed sources it says are in the know.

#2- We have the names of the qualifying bidders for gov’t desalination program: Seventeen consortiums have been pre-qualified to submit bids for desalination projects the government is tendering to the private sector, according to a Sovereign Fund of Egypt statement (pdf). The list includes a consortium of Orascom Construction, Scatec, Toyota Tsusho Corp, Acciona Agua, and Metito Utilities; a Hassan Allam-Engie consortium; a consortium of Infinity, GS Inima, China Energy Engineering Corporation; and Desal Egypt, with EMCO Engineering, Amarenco Solarize Egypt, and Redcon Construction.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

JPMorgan Chase is now the proud owner of First Republic Bank: JPMorgan Chase will acquire USD 103.9 bn of First Republic Bank’s deposits and most of its USD 229.1 bn in assets, after US regulators seized the bank over the weekend in an attempt to prevent the collapse of another bank in the country. This comes after the bank had also receivedtakeover bidsfrom PNC Financial Services and Citizens Financial Group. The Federal Deposit Ins. Corporation (FDIC) will share the losses with the bank, and the estimated cost to its ins. fund is USD 13 bn. The crisis was caused by customers withdrawing more than USD 100 bn of deposits in March, following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. (Reuters| AP | Bloomberg | FT | WSJ)

HAPPENING NOW-

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria gathered in Amman to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League and the Jordanian plan to politically resolve the Syrian crisis, our Foreign Ministry said.

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

Egypt + JICA sign funding agreement for Metro Line 4: The Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) will lend JPY 100 bn (c. USD 733 mn) to Egypt to finance the construction of Cairo Metro Line 4.
Sudan ceasefire extended for another 72 hours: The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia have agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 72 hours to end Wednesday night.
S&P Global Ratings has cut its outlook on the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and CIB to negative.

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.

? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The NBA Basketball Africa League Nile Conference group phase kicked off last week and runs through 5 May at Hassan Moustafa Sports Hall in Sixth of October City, according to a Youth and Sports Ministry statement. Six African teams will go head-to-head in Cairo to secure one of four slots in the playoffs and finals in Kigali, Rwanda in May, where they will face the top four teams from the Sahara Conference group phase that took place in Senegal in March, the NBA said.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s going to get just a touch warmer tomorrow: Expect the mercury to peak during the day at 31°C, before cooling to 17°C in the evening.

Is the office gossip culture creating a toxic work environment? Plus: New moguls make money fast

Even with hybrid or fully remote work setups, office politics woes are still a fixture of business life: “Toxic personalities” in the workplace are just as pervasive in the post-covid era, a survey of 800 US employees found, according to Bloomberg. Those surveyed cited an uptick in coworkers sucking up to their superiors, in hopes of making sure their work is acknowledged, since virtual work makes it “more difficult to get quality time with managers,” Pepperdine University professor and co-author of the study Dana Sumpter said. More than a third of the survey respondents reported behaviors such as rumor spreading, excessive flattery towards bosses, blame-gaming, backstabbing, and credit snatching, while half of those polled expressed the pressure felt to partake in these behaviors. Perhaps more tellingly, a quarter of respondents have actually left a job because of these behaviors.

The solution? Hostile behavior could be eliminated once managers take control of the situation by eliminating factors that encourage these toxic habits, while praising positive behaviors like collaboration and ethical social behavior, Sumpter tells the business information service.

Finding the silver lining: The survey found that spreading rumors could help shed light on what’s happening behind the scenes, spreading awareness among workers. It also highlighted that sucking up is part of social conventions which improve communication flows.

The world’s top computer-led trading firms are behind a new class of megarich,Bloombergreported last week. And they’re making their fortunes differently: Unlike Warren Buffet and Steve Schwarzman, the new moguls are making a lot of money, fast. While they have not yet surpassed Buffet in terms of wealth, their risky innovations — including heavy reliance on technology — are paying off handsomely as they follow financial trends.

Hedge fund management company Citadel is at the helm of the market, with USD 59 bn in equities, commodities and more made USD 16 bn in bottomline for clients last year. Ken Griffin, the company founder and CEO, is worth an estimated USD 35 bn. Griffin is followed by Jeff Yass, the founder of Susquehanna International Group — a derivatives-focused trading firm — whose fortune is estimated at USD 33.1 bn. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao comes third with USD 28.2 bn, which he earned from the crypto exchange company.

But where are the women? The list, which comprises 26 finance tycoons, does not feature any women. Also, it excludes people who’ve been previously listed among the richest 300 in 2013 for a more updated outlook, retirees, people who’ve inherited money that contributes significantly to their current standing, and individuals over the age of 70.

Snowfall: Mapping the onset of the illicit substance epidemic in LA

? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-
(all times CLT)

Snowfall transports us to 1980s Los Angeles, when illicit substances first took over the city. The addictive show (no pun intended) is a depiction of the crack cocaine (aka “snow”) epidemic that ruled over the city of angels with devastating consequences. We see it in the most significant social changes, but also in subtle artistic choices like the absence of bars on windows in neighborhoods before the onset of the substance craze. The series has a number of different plotlines but the most compelling one is the one that follows Franklin Saint, an ambitious young man who is lured by the glistening appeal of money when he finds himself at a lavish, drugloaded house party in the Valley. The show is available to watch on Disney+.

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.

Expressionist depiction of Egypt’s rural communities: Artist Omar Abdel Zaher’s latest art exhibition, Roots, will open at Safarkhan Art Gallery tomorrow and run through 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.”

Top of the Pops with Bubblegum Kollectiv returns this Wednesday, 3 May with Afrobeats and Reggaeton night at Cairo Jazz Club Agouza. DJ Amen-Ra will start the evening at 9pm.

Enjoy art for a good cause: The French Embassy in Cairo is hosting Le Printemps des Artistes, a nonprofit exhibition from this Friday-Sunday, 5-7 May at the Diplomatic Club in downtown Cairo. The exhibition — which will be open to the public at no charge — will feature nearly 400 art pieces from 80 Egypt-based artists. The exhibition will benefit French NGO Samusocial International Egypt, which “supports street children and isolated young mothers in Cairo,” according to a press release (pdf).

Learn how to (properly) use your phone camera with the help of professional photographer Mohamed Elmaandi, who will be running a 10-hour workshop on mobile photography. The workshop will run on Friday and Saturday, 5 and 6 May at the AUC School of Continuing Education from 9:30am until 6:30pm.

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

Who else has a 40-year roster of songs to choose from at a concert? Catch Amr Diabperforming some of his biggest hits — old and new — at AUC on Friday, 12 May. Tickets are available through Tazkarti.

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.

From apartheid South Africa to the small screen: Trevor Noah’s Born a Crimeis a poignant autobiography which follows his upbringing as a mixed-race boy in apartheid-era South Africa. Born to a Xhosa mother and a Swiss father, the comedian’s very existence was considered illegal — resulting in his hiding during his early years in fear of government officials stripping him away from his family. We follow Trevor on a heart-wrenching and turbulent journey as he and his mother navigate post-liberation South Africa where they face poverty, abuse, and violence. The memoir mixes tragedy and comedy to create a remarkable reading experience for the reader.

What the markets are doing on 1 May, 2023

The EGX30 fell 2.0% at today’s close on turnover of EGP 2.09 bn. Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 18.6% YTD.

In the green: Eastern Company (+1.5%), Ezz Steel (+0.7%) and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank - Egypt (+0.4%).

In the red: AMOC (-10.7%), Abu Kir Fertilizers (-4.7%) and Qalaa Holdings (-4.5%).

THE ENTERPRISE ENTERTAINMENT CALENDAR

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.

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