El Sisi unveils fresh package of wage, pension hikes

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What We're Tracking Today

Egypt’s January inflation figures are out soon

Good morning, friends. We lead this morning with a new development in the Ras El Hekma saga, more whispers about the IMF package, and the announcement of an EGP 180 bn package of tax breaks and social support measures.

^^ Jump down to the news well if you’d like to get straight into it.

Among the things happening today that you’ll want to know about:

#1- Cairo is hosting a new round of Israel-Gaza ceasefire talks. The Egypt and Qatar-sponsored talks aim to secure a truce in Gaza. We have the details in the news well, below.

#2- Attention, gold miners: Today is the deadline for the — three times extended — international gold and minerals exploration tender from the Shalateen Mining Company.

INFLATION WATCH-

January inflation figures should be out soon. Both headline and core inflation are expected to have cooled in January on the back of a favorable base effect, according to a Reuters poll. Economists expect annual inflation to fall to 32.5% in January from 33.7% in December.

What analysts think: “[While annual inflation is expected to drop,] monthly inflation is estimated to have intensified,” Naeem Brokerage’s Allen Sandeep told the outlet. Meanwhile, Farouk Soussa of Goldman Sachs cautioned that “the inflation outlook in Egypt is highly uncertain, and will hinge largely on the extent of any devaluation of the official pound rate in the coming weeks or months.”

When can we expect the figures? Inflation data usually comes out on the 10th, but seeing as 10 February falls on a Saturday, we’re expecting the data anytime between today and Saturday.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

#1- The deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Program in El Gouna is fast approaching. The two-week program will kick off on 22 June and offer executives from the Egyptian public and private sectors the skills to help them “become better leaders for their organization and support Egypt’s growth in the years ahead.” The application door is open until Sunday.

#2- BEBA is serving real estate for breakfast: The British Egyptian Business Association is hosting a breakfast briefing in two weeks’ time to talk about measures taken by the government to increase real estate exports and how local developers are following suit. The event will take place on Wednesday, 21 February at the Conrad. You can find the registration form here.

** Real estate players chimed in with their proposals for the real-estate-for-FX scheme in a Hardhat published in December. You can check out the story here.

#3- Capital markets under the spotlight:Egypt’s annual Capital Markets Summit will take place at the InterContinental Semiramis Hotel in Cairo on Monday, 26 February under the theme Structural Reforms Sustaining Development, according to a statement (pdf).

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

The executive regulations for the new building reconciliation law will be out no later than 22 February, Justice Minister Omar Marwan told Prime Minister Moustafa Mabdouly during a meeting held to review the implementation of the law. The law was ratified in December and ever since thousands of violators had their ration cards revoked and a number of those working in related government units have been dismissed from their jobs.

** We delved into the ins and outs of the new law in a Hardhat last year.

DATA POINT-

The trade deficit narrowed by 23% y-o-y to USD 36.9 bn in 2023 thanks to a 14% dip in imports, according to a Trade Ministry statement. Exports recorded USD 35.6 bn during the year.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

As has been the case most of this week, there’s no single big story abroad that has captured the imaginations of the business or mainstream press. Among the stories you need to know about this morning — or might simply find interesting:

Republican Nikki Haley lost to “none of these candidates” in what the New York Times calls an “irrelevant” Nevada primary, but she’s still staying in the race in a bid to “broaden voters’ imagination of what’s possible, both for her prospects in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, and for the nation.”

The S&P hit a record highas strong earnings continued and tech stocks rallied. Among those reporting earnings: Uber posted an operating profit for the first time on a full-year basis.

MORNING DISTRACTIONS-

Finance meme lord Litquidity is a 32-year-old former banker named Hank Medina who did time at Jeffries and Deutsche Bank. Media sat down for his first-ever interview courtesy the Financial Times. Don’t know hom? Check out his IG.
Aussie businesses that call or email employees after hours could face penalties under proposed legislation that would give staff the right to “refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from an employer outside of the employee’s working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable.” (Bloomberg)

Devaluation, the IMF package, and Ras El Hekma: Here’s what you need to know this morning

Cairo was on fire yesterday with talk of devaluation, where we stand on the IMF package, and a land sale and development agreement for the North Coast’s Ras El Hekma. We have the rundown on all of it, along with thoughts on how you might want to view the news.

#1- Some clarity on the Ras El Hekma saga: The General Authority for Investment and Freezone (GAFI) has picked an Emirati consortium to take over the USD 22 bn development of a plot of land in the North Coast’s Ras El Hekma, GAFI head Hossam Heiba told CNBC Arabia yesterday. He explained that the authority had received a number of offers from several international consortiums. Heiba’s comments mark the first official confirmation of the project after a week-long tangle of rumors and denials from officials about the investment’s size and origin.

How you should think about this: It is a bit unusual that commentary on a project of this size is coming from GAFI and not the Prime Minister’s Office. Heiba, in his remarks to CNBC Arabia, made clear that USD 22 bn is the total investment value of the project (and that the final figure could be higher), that the UAE-based consortium would be responsible for lining up and mobilizing financing before developing and managing the project. Both domestic and international companies would likely have a chance to bid for pieces of the construction work, he suggests.

Critically: “We have finished negotiations and are now preparing to sign the contracts,” Heiba said. So: Watch this space.

#2- More whispers on our IMF package: The Madbouly government is closing in on a combined USD 12 bn in financing, with the IMF doubling the value of the package it had offered to USD 6 bn and other, unnamed “development partners” contributing a further USD 6 bn, one government source familiar with the matter told Al Shorouk. The IMF facility would be delivered in nine tranches, the newspaper adds. While the IMF had been pushing policymakers to float the EGP before any cash is released, Cabinet is said to want at least USD 6 bn in hand before moving to a float.

In context: We have previously reported that officials are looking for substantial funding from other countries or international organizations separate from the IMF. The issue is that we’ve already hit the effective ceiling of what we can borrow from the World Bank, there is not a lot of room to ask the European Union or its members for what amounts to direct budget support, and we don’t see Washington, Riyadh, or Abu Dhabi kicking in cash for the same purpose. Arab partners, in particular, are more interested in buying assets than they are in providing cash or deposits.

The USD 12 bn figure has captured the imagination, though. Goldman Sachs also sees Egypt securing a USD 12 bn loan, with USD 7 bn coming from the IMF and the rest from international and regional partners. Sources we have spoken with who have knowledge of proceedings and of the government’s negotiating posture say we’re looking at USD 6-9 bn from the IMF and are still hopeful that we can line up funds from other sources.

Still waiting: An IMF staff delegation, after weeks in town, left a week ago tomorrow with no staff-level agreement (or “SLA” as it is called). We were told at the time that a pact could be within reach “within 10 days,” but there has been no word since. As of this morning, the IMF’s executive board — which would sign off on an SLA — has no meeting listed on its public calendar.

#3- Don’t scream devaluation just yet: Sources with knowledge of the matter were quick to deny (watch, runtime: 0:56) rumors that the devaluation of the EGP is fast approaching. There were rumblings in the capital yesterday that an EGP 180 bn package of tax cuts and social support measures was a prelude to devaluation. (We have details on the package in this morning’s news well, below.)

ALSO- Deval rumors drove the gold market wild: Some traders stopped sales following rumors that a devaluation is imminent, which put the market in a state of “confusion,” gold trading platform iSagha said on its website. Gold prices remained unchanged yesterday, with 24 karat gold going for EGP 3,943 per gram, down almost 15% from last week’s EGP 4,629.

#4- USD at EGP 50? The greenback could officially change hands at EGP 50 or more by the end of the year, Bloomberg’s chief emerging markets economist Ziad Daoud told Asharq Business (watch, runtime: 4:43).“I don’t think Egypt will float the EGP but rather move forward with a devaluation.”

A little more optimistic than other estimates: Oxford Economics sees the EGP falling to 55-60 to the USD in banks by the end of the year if the central bank moves to a flexible exchange rate regime and S&P Global Ratings said it is expecting authorities to devalue the EGP to half its current official value to unlock the remainder of the IMF package.

El Sisi announces EGP 180 bn package of wage hikes, pension increases, and tax breaks

We’re ringing in March with an EGP 180 bn package of wage hikes, pension increases, tax breaks: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced yesterday a set of measures including public-sector wage hikes, income tax breaks, pension increases, and a 50% rise to the public-sector minimum wage to EGP 6k. The measures aim to alleviate the effects of the ongoing economic crisis on citizens and will come into effect starting next month.

#1- Wage hikes: Starting 1 March, all civil servants and workers at state-owned enterprises will see their monthly salaries increase by EGP 1-1.2k. Meanwhile, the public-sector gross minimum wage will rise by 50% to EGP 6k, from EGP 4k currently.

Remember: This will be the third time the public-sector minimum wage rises in just under a year, and marks a 100% increase from the monthly minimum wage in February 2023. The public-sector minimum wage was last raised in September as part of a wider package of measures aimed at supporting vulnerable households amid soaring inflation.

#2- Income tax break: The government will raise the personal income tax exemption threshold to EGP 60k from EGP 45k currently, reducing wage tax bills paid by employers on mns of public and private-sector employees. The government had raised the exemption to 45k from 36k in September of last year.

#3- Pension increases: Pension payouts will rise 15% for 13 mn pensioners starting the beginning of the month. Pensioners who receive support under the Takaful and Karama program will also see their payout increase 15%.

#4- Better wages for educators, doctors, nurses: The state will spend some EGP 15 bn to increase the wages paid out to doctors, nurses, school teachers, and university faculty.

#5- Early bonuses: Civil servants will receive their bonuses early this year — the payout will range from 10-15% of their monthly salary with a minimum payout of EGP 150. They will also receive one-time bonus payouts of EGP 500-900

The total cost:The measures are expected to cost around EGP 180 bn, the statement said without specifying where the money will come from. The tax cut will cost around 5 bn a year, the pension hike EGP 79.5 bn, and the bonuses EGP 48.5 bn.

The story received attention from: Bloomberg, The National and Reuters.

Another round of Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations kicks off in Egypt today

A fresh round of ceasefire negotiations kicks off: Cairo is hosting a new round of Egyptian and Qatari-sponsored negotiations starting today. Egypt has reportedly urged for “flexibility” from all sides, an official source reportedly told Al Qahera News (watch, runtime: 00:39). A Hamas delegation will be landing in Egypt later today to attend the talks.

An agreement is looking less likely after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ conditions for a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement, dismissing them as “delusional” in a press conference last night, the Financial Times reported. The PM insisted on continuing Israel’s war until “absolute victory” is achieved.

What does Hamas want? Hamas submitted its own proposal to end the Israeli aggression in Gaza in response to a ceasefire agreement prepared by Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel, last month. Under Hamas’ proposal all of the remaining Israeli hostages would be freed in exchange for a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and an agreement to end the war. The finer details of this proposal — unfolding in three 45-day stages — were documented by Reuters in full last night.

Blinken’s efforts to calm the storm went unheeded: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed for Israel to accept a ceasefire agreement that would see the release of hostages, during talks with Netanyahu yesterday, Reuters wrote.

Remember: Blinken is on a four-day regional trip — his fifth since the war broke in Gaza in October — due to wrap up later today. He was in Cairo on Tuesday, where he met with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and discussed “developments in unyielding efforts aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.”

SPEAKING OF US-ISRAELI RELATIONS- The US’ blank cheque for Israel is wearing thin: A bill to extend more military aid to Israel was rejected by the US House this week, the Associated Press reported. The aid package was proposed back in November by Senator Mike Johnson but was rejected after it failed to receive the two-thirds majority vote to pass.

ALSO- Saudi Arabia has reiterated its stance, saying that it will not normalize ties with Israel without the recognition of an independent Palestinian state, a Foreign Ministry statement wrote yesterday.

The Egyptian government’s fresh wage, pension hikes were talk of the town yesterday

The economy is back on the airwaves after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi unveiled an EGP 180 bn package of wage hikes, pension increases, and tax breaks. The story received coverage from Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 7:34 and 4:56), Ala Masouleety (watch, runtime: 16:51), Yahduth Fi Masr (watch, runtime: 3:41), and Al Hayat Al Youm (watch, runtime: 10:48).

“The funds for the new package are already available, and will be disbursed to beneficiaries on time,” the Finance Ministry’s budget advisor Mohamed Abdel Fattah told Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 4:12).

^^ We’ve got the full story in the news well, above.

Checking in on the recently-ratified building reconciliation law: Authorities have so far received 2.8 mn settlement requests and the government is expected to accept up to 90% of them, House Local Administration Committee head Ahmed El Segeny told Ala Masouleety’s Ahmed Moussa (watch, runtime: 10:26). El Segeny expects that the government will receive another 500k-1 mn requests in the coming period.

AND- A stocktake of the expat car-for-FX scheme: “The first two phases of the expat car import scheme have so far brought in USD 1.7 bn,” Emigration Minister Soha Gendy told Moussa (watch, runtime: 4:34). The figure means the initiative is within reaching distance of the Finance Minister’s USD 2 bn goal. Some 400k expats have applied for the second phase, Gendy added.

Hong Kong’s InvestHK is setting up its regional HQs in Egypt

INVESTMENT-

InvestHK to set up North Africa HQ in Egypt:InvestHK, the Hong Kong government’s company responsible for FDI, has launched a tender to select the company that will host its North Africa headquarters in Cairo, according to a statement.

TELECOMS-

Asia-Middle East subsea cable in the works: State-run Telecom Egypt has signed an MoU with e&, Indonesia’s Telin, and an undisclosed Indian telecom company to form a consortium to build an 11k km open and subsea cable connecting Indonesia and Singapore to India, Oman, Egypt, and the UAE, a joint statement (pdf ) read. The project — dubbed ICE IV — is scheduled to go live in 4Q 2027.

Telecom loves subsea cables: Telecom Egypt formed a joint venture earlier this week with Hungarian telecom company 4iG to build a subsea cable between Albania and Egypt and signed an agreement with Jordanian telecom service provider NaiTel last month to build a subsea cable linking the two countries.

DESALINATION-

Desalination tender deadline pushed:Six desalination plants will be offered up to the private sector in June, after being pushed back from March, Al Arabiya reports, citing an unnamed government source. The state hopes to sign the final contracts by before the end of the year. The six plants would be the first phase of the government’s plan to tender 21 plants in total.

ICYMI: The tender for the first batch of plants, which a Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) spokesperson told us in May was set to kick off in 3Q 2023, was waiting on the land allocation process to be completed and revisions for financials in light of exchange rate fluctuations.

RETAIL-

Othaim wants to expand in Egypt: Saudi supermarket chain Othaim wants to open up 5-6 new branches across Egypt in 2024 from the 50 branches it currently operates in the country, CEO Muaffaq Mubarah told Al Arabiya in an interview.

AVIATION-

Budget flights to Istanbul: Low cost carrier Air Arabia will launch three weekly flights between Cairo and Istanbul starting 2 April, according to a statement yesterday.

COURTS-

Three media workers freed: Authorities released two journalists and a TV presenter detained for “spreading false news,” according to two Facebook posts (here and here) by human rights activist Hossam Bahgat. They were three of 60 pretrial detainees released yesterday.

Turkey Wealth Fund’s debut international bond issuance was 14x overscribed

Central bank turbulence has not swayed investors away from Turkey: Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund’s debut international bond issuance was met with a strong investor appetite, despite the sudden leadership change within the country’s central bank last week. The Turkey Wealth Fund reeled in some USD 7 bn in orders for its USD 500 mn USD-denominated bond issuance yesterday, according to a term sheet seen by the Financial Times.

Remember: Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed Fatih Karahan to lead the country’s central bank, replacing former governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, who stepped down just eight months into occupying the position.

ALSO WORTH NOTING-

#1- OQ preps to IPO two units: Omani state energy firm OQ wants to list its explorationand production and its methanol and liquefied petroleum gas units, having already invited banks to apply for roles within the IPOs. (Bloomberg)

#2- Samsung boss acquitted of financial crimes: Chairman of the South Korean electronics giant, Jay Y Lee, was found not guilty of allegations of fraud and stock manipulation related to a 2015 merger by a Korean court. (Reuters)

EGX30	27,906	+2.3% (YTD: +12.1%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.83	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	21.25% deposit	22.25% lending
Tadawul	12,166	+0.8% (YTD: +1.7%)
ADX	9,355	+0.2% (YTD: -2.3%)
DFM	4,162	+0.2% (YTD: +2.5%)
S&P 500	4,995	+0.8% (YTD: +4.7%)
FTSE 100	7,629	-0.7% (YTD: -1.4%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,679	-0.3% (YTD: +3.5%)
Brent crude	USD 79.21	+0.8%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 1.97	-2.1%
Gold	USD 2,052	0.0%
BTC	USD 44,162	+2.3% (YTD: +4.6%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 2.3% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 6.3 bn (74.1% above the 90-dayaverage). Foreign investors were net buyers. The index is up 12.1% YTD.

In the green: Sidpec (+12.8%), Oriental Weavers (+8.2%) and Telecom Egypt (+5.1%).

In the red: GB Corp (-6.3%), Ibnsina Pharma (-5.0%) and Juhayna (-4.0%).

Asian shares are mixed this morning in early trading.The Kospi and Nikkei are comfortably in the green, but shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong are weakly in the red as traders look for direction and wait for inflation numbers. Futures suggest major European benchmarks will open largely in the green, with Paris’ CAC 40 being the sole exception. And look for a weak open on Wall Street absent a change in momentum.

My Morning Routine: Mohamed Barakat, Managing Partner at Barakat, Maher & Partners in association with Clyde & Co

Mohamed Barakat, managing partner at Barakat, Maher & Partners in association with Clyde & Co: Each week, My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. Speaking to us this week is Mohamed Barakat (LinkedIn), managing partner at Barakat, Maher & Partners in association with global law firm Clyde & Co.

My name is Mohamed Barakat and I am the managing partner at Barakat, Maher & Partners in association with Clyde & Co. I’m an Egyptian-American who grew up in Egypt, but lived most of his adult and career life in the US. After several years working for Baker McKenzie in the Gulf, primarily Saudi Arabia, I was approached by Clyde & Co to launch an office in Cairo, which we did about a year ago.

We have grown the office to 15 associates after having started with four people that came from my previous firm. Our projections are that by mid-year 2024 we will have an office of 20-25 people, with the aim of having 18 people by the end of 1Q 2024.

Why Egypt? Egypt has the third largest GDP in the Arab world and there’s a lot of crossover between Egypt and the Gulf and Africa. From a global law firm's perspective, Egypt is uniquely positioned to offer not only the ability to grow your practice, expand, and be the gateway into North Africa, but also act as an interchange between Gulf offices as well as African offices.

Of course there are issues in Egypt regarding a dearth of hard currency, but I think a lot of these are temporary. The structural foundation of Egypt’s economy and the macroeconomic aspects of the country have always been strong.

The saying “never waste a good crisis” definitely stands for lawyers in Egypt, and we’ve seen a slew of activity in debt capital markets recently.

Barakat, Maher & Partners stands on two pillars: We’ve got the corporate commercial side, whether that's mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital markets, employment, cooperative advisory, or cross border work. The other backbone of our practice is disputes and arbitration, and we do a lot of ins. work, as it is a core service for Clyde & Co.

Management is the focus of my day: A lot of my day-to-day work involves creating a strategic overview of workflow, assessing the appropriate associate to assist on a project, and handing it down. I spend time managing our deliverables, our clients, and their expectations, and then of course the other side is managing the running of our office and the related admin. Plus, many of our clients are US-based firms that do business across the Middle East, so I often work with other offices in these jurisdictions.

Regionally, the legal sector has seen an influx of work into Saudi: There’s been a lot of regional expansion, specifically into Saudi Arabia after the government has changed its policies to enable foreign law firms to directly invest into the kingdom and now requires firms to establish a regional headquarter in the country. I’ve seen a lot more of my clients moving to establish a presence in the kingdom as a regional HQ that will eventually oversee the activities among different Middle East countries.

Law keeps me on my toes: What I enjoy about law in general and about being part of a global firm is the variety — you get to work with different people, countries, mindsets, regulatory regimes, education systems, and methods of writing and thinking. It makes the profession very intriguing and attractive.

My day starts typically between 4:30 am and 6ish, with coffee and water. I probably spend an hour catching up on my emails and seeing what I have to handle in terms of priorities in the day, then from there I hit the gym for cardio and calisthenics. On the way to work, I always speak with each of my three partners to organize our thoughts and find out about new transactions or clients. At the office, I read Enterprise for half an hour and then back to emails.

Saturdays are my only day off in the week. On Fridays, I work because the US and Dubai are working and on Sundays I work because Egypt is. Saturdays are for doing all the stuff that I didn’t do during the week. I spend time with my parents, I try to read, and I buy healthy groceries for the week.

We have a flexible work model at the office: From my perspective, I don’t require that anybody be in the office, so long as the work is done with the quality required for a Clyde & Co law firm, the hours are there, and no balls are dropped. Part of what Covid showed us is that the old concept of brick and mortar offices is not required anymore.

I fast to stay focused: With my role within the practice it’s very important to stay focused. I find intermittent fasting helps me reach ketosis — the metabolic state that occurs when your body burns fat for energy instead of glucose — which makes you quite crisp and sharp.

You’re always “on” in the legal profession, so a work-life balance is very difficult. The silver lining is that if you enjoy what you’re doing, the whole concept of work-life balance really fades away. We (lawyers) enjoy what we do. We enjoy the pressure and seeing a transaction closed. Of course it's tedious at times, but there’s always reward in that.

A book I’ve just finished is Is God a Mathematician by Mario Livio, which philosophically discusses if the pure theory of mathematics is a language of God discovered by humans or if it’s something we invented. Has mathematics been pressed upon the fabric of creation or is it something that Einstein, for example, developed intellectually? It’s a very fascinating book.

Something that I’ve come to realize over my life, is that there are three pillars of success: discipline, persistence, and perseverance. Whether it's in my career, in work outs, a diet, or even learning a new language, these are three characteristics that have propelled me to achieve. Discipline to continue, persistence to achieve the goal, and perseverance to continue on, even if you fail.

CALENDAR

2024

FEBRUARY

11 February (Sunday): Deadline to apply for the Chicago Booth Executive Programin El Gouna.

15-16 February (Thursday-Friday): Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lulada Silva meets with President El Sisi in Cairo.

18 February (Sunday): The Senate reconvenes.

19-21 February (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Energy Show, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

22 February (Thursday): The executive regulations for the new building reconciliation law will be out.

24 February-1 March (Saturday-Friday): Egypt hosts the 71st African Airports Council International (ACI) Conference and Exhibition at the Alamera Hall Air Forces House Center and Le Méridien, Cairo Airport.

25 February (Sunday): Deadline to bid for 23 blocks in an international oil and gas tender.

26 February (Monday): Eighth edition of the Capital Markets Summit at the InterContinental Semiramis Hotel, Cairo.

MARCH

1 March (Friday): New public-sector minimum wage goes into effect.

10 March (Sunday): First day of Ramadan (TBC).

20 March (Wednesday): End of sugar export ban.

28 March (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

29 March (Friday): Egypt removed from JPMorgan Chase’s Emerging Local Markets Index Plus.

APRIL

9 April (Tuesday): Eid El Fitr (TBC) (national holiday).

15-21 April (Monday-Sunday): The IMF / World Bank Spring Meetings.

25 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC) (national holiday).

28 April (Sunday): Grace period to ins. brokerage firms to comply with Law 215 for 2023 expires.

28-29 April (Sunday-Monday): Saudi Arabia hosts a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on ‘global collaboration, growth, and energy.’

29 April (Monday): The government’s car export scheme expires.

MAY

1 May (Wednesday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC) (national holiday).

5 May (Sunday): Coptic Easter.

6 May (Monday): Sham El Nessim (national holiday).

23 May (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

29 May (Wednesday): Virtual launch of Chicago Booth Executive Program.

JUNE

15-19 June (Saturday-Wednesday): Eid El Adha (TBC) (national holiday).

30 June (Sunday): June 30 Revolution Day (national holiday).

JULY

7 July (Sunday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

18 July (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

23 July (Tuesday): Revolution Day (national holiday).

SEPTEMBER

2-5 September (Monday-Thursday): Egypt International Airshow, El Alamein International Airport.

5 September (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

15 September (Sunday): National holiday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

25-26 September (Wednesday - Thursday): The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) 2024 annual meeting, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

OCTOBER

6 October (Sunday): Armed Forces Day.

17 October (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

21-27 October (Monday-Sunday): The World Bank and IMF annual meetings.

NOVEMBER

21 November (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

DECEMBER

26 December (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

January 2024: The Red Sea Ports Authority is set to finalize an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Ports Group for the operation and maintenance of the tourist passenger terminal in the Sharm El Sheikh Sea Port.

February 2024: Egypt will sign a USD 1.5 bn financing agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

February 2024: Funds from the Islamic Development Bank for the high speed electric railway will get the sign off.

1Q 2024: Egyptian-Qatari Joint Supreme Committee.

1Q 2024: Opening of the newly developed Pyramids Plateau in Giza.

1Q 2024: The government is set to finalize the sale of the Gabal El Zeit wind farm.

February-May: The Grand Egyptian Museum could officially open to visitors.

June 2024: Gov’t expects to finalize sale of Beni Suef combined-cycle power plant.

1H 2024: Gov’t expects to finalize sale of four water desalination plants.

1H 2024: The European Union is set to hold an investment conference in Egypt during spring.

2H 2024: Gov’t to launch the Cairo Ring Road BRT buses.

November 2024: Egypt to host the World Urban Forum (WUF12).

End of 2024: The launch of the high-speed train line linking Ain Sokhna with Al Alamein City.

2024: Standard Chartered Bank to open a branch in Egypt.

2025

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to start operations.

2027

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

End of 2027: Trial operations at the Dabaa nuclear power plant expected to take place.

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