Good morning, folks. As many of you may know all too well, the government extended planned rolling blackouts for an additional hour at the beginning of the week, leaving many of us in the dark and some areas were reportedly without power for up to five hours and more yesterday. The electricity and oil ministries reacted to public frustration at the unexpected extension by issuing a joint apology that also laid out that the extended power outages will continue until the end of the week.

Our energy sector was the hot topic of the nation’s talk shows and is set to be an important point of discussion in the upcoming two-day EU-Egypt Investment Conference that will kick off on Saturday. The country needs a clear roadmap to assign power outages in Egypt to the dustbin of history and we will be keenly watching to see what long-term solutions if any the conference presents. We’ve got more about the unfolding powercut drama in the news well below.

BUT FIRST, a programming note: Please join us in welcoming the AUC School ofBusiness Executive Education (ExecEd) as our latest partner.

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Each month, the folks at ExecEd will help make us all a bit smarter about some of the most pressing ideas and topics in business and executive education. It is thanks to them and all of our other partners that we are able to bring you EnterpriseAM every morning without charge.

PSA-

Public sector employees have a long weekend coming up, with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announcing yesterday that Sunday June 30 will be a paid holiday to mark the eleventh anniversary of the 30 June revolution. We’re yet to hear word if the private sector and banks will follow suit.

WEATHER- It’s getting uncomfortably hot in Cairo today, with a high of 41°C and a low of 27°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s also warming up in Alexandria, with a high of 36°C and a low of 23°C.

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HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- The House reconvening is fueling speculation that a new government will be sworn in soon: The House of Representatives will convene today and tomorrow after three weeks off to discuss and vote on several amendments and agreements, but some in parliamentary circles think Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly will use the chance to unveil his new cabinet line up this week.

New government or not, the House has bills to discuss and votes to cast: MPs will meet today to discuss and vote on amendments to the law regulating the performance of economic courts, aiming to speed up the settlement of economic lawsuits before courts, to stimulate investments and fast-track settling economic disputes. MPs will also decide on a EUR 250 mn loan agreement with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to turn Alexandria’s Abu Qir railway into a metro.

#2- Three new Japanese factories to kick off operations in the SCZone: Japanese hygiene and health food products company Saraya will inaugurate three plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) today, according to a cabinet statement. The new facilities include a plant for producing jojoba oil for export to European and Asian cosmetic companies, a factory for manufacturing natural cosmetics, and a factory for producing zero-calorie natural sweeteners.

And there’s more in the pipeline: Another factory that will produce non-sterile nitrile gloves will be opened in the still-to-come second phase of the company’s two part investment plan that will bring the total amount of investments in the project to USD 12 mn.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- CIB lowers FX markup fees and eases credit card limits: In the face of rumors of upcoming FX tightening, the Commercial International Bank (CIB) will reduce its FX markup fees and increase local and international transaction limits for credit cards, effective as of tomorrow, the lender said in a statement (pdf).

In details: In addition to the bank lowering its FX commission to 5%, down from 10%, CIB customers will be able to spend the equivalent of EGP 75k-100k on monthly local FX transactions depending on the type of the account, up from EGP 50k. Monthly limits for purchases made while cardholders are abroad will be capped at the equivalent of EGP 100k-300k, up from EGP 75k-200k previously.

#2- Nafeza denies it is making things hard for car importers: Both the Nefeza digital customs window and the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) systems have been "fully operational and functioning 24/7" and are not responsible for what an industry group claims is a backlog of imported vehicles in the nation's ports. 

The claim originated with the automotive division of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce. Alaa El Sabaa, a member of the division, told Al Arabiya (watch, runtime: 4:55) that an outage had resulted in what he said was a backlog of 8k-9k imported cars. El Sabaa blamed the backlog for a shortage of vehicles in the market and for pushing car prices up.

Is the system down? “We reached out to the Finance and Trade Ministries … the response was that there is something related to the system,” El Saba said.

That's not the case, says Captain Ossama Al Sharif, the chairman and managing director of Misr Technology Services Company (MTS). 

BACKGROUND- Launched in 2021, the government’s digital customs window Nafeza speeds up customs procedures, improves border security, and makes it harder for importers to dodge taxes and fees. Through Nafeza, businesses importing goods at ports file shipping documents and cargo data digitally and ahead of arrival via the Advance Customs Information system that follows World Customs Organization protocol. MTS designed, manages, and develops Nafeza and ACI in Egypt; 80% of its shareholders are state-related authorities and entities, it said in an email to Enterprise. 

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication in our email edition to reflect comment from MTS denying there has been a service outage with Nafeza or ACI.

#3- A new university education investment venture in the works: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt, along with the Higher Education Ministry and an unnamed foreign university operator, are working out a new joint venture to invest in public universities, writes Al Borsa, citing Planning Minister Hala El Said. This new partnership will be inked and finalized within ten days, according to El Said.

#4- The former president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) is being investigated for corruption and misuse of funds in one of the highest profile corruption probes ever launched by the world’s largest multilateral development lender, reports the Financial Times. Werner Hoyer, who ran the EIB from January 2012 until January 2024, rejected the allegations against him and promised to fully cooperate with the authorities heading up the probe.

The local angle: The EIB has played an important role in Egypt since 1979, and has provided substantial financial backing to support the country’s SMEs, water infrastructure, and green transition efforts. So far, the lender has put forwards EUR 15.2 bn spread between 126 projects over the 45 years it’s been here.

FX WATCH-

The EGP weakened against the greenback to its lowest level since 21 April by the time banks closed yesterday, with the national currency settling at EGP 48.37 at the Central Bank of Egypt and other local lenders. The EGP was the worst performing emerging market currency yesterday, reports Asharq Business.

This drop comes right after the USD breached the EGP 48 level on Sunday for the first time since April, pressured by a pileup of orders for FX after Egyptian banks closed for the Eid Al Adha break.

DATA POINT-

Government per capita spending on health is just USD 40 per year, Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar told Asharq Business. The World Bank’s most recent data set on domestic government health expenditure put the global average at just over USD 1k.

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The new capital’s business district up and running by October? The new administrative capital’s financial and business district is set to open its doors for business next October, Administrative Capital for Urban Development Chairman Khaled Abbas, told Middle East News Agency. The district will host the headquarters of the Central Bank of Egypt and Afreximbank, along with the Egyptian Stock Exchange and other important local and regional financial institutions.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The big business story this morning: Nvidia shares have now slid more than 16% since Thursday, when their rise briefly made the company the most valuable in the world ahead of Apple and Microsoft. The company’s shares tumbled 7% yesterday, helping drag the Nasdaq down 1.1% for the day. (The Dow Jones Index, which doesn’t include Nvidia, was up 0.7%.) That’s left traders reading sheeps’ entrails running technical analysis in search of a support line. Want to go deeper? Check out the Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg.

Climate change is still getting big play on the front pages of major global business news sites. Bloomberg looks at Saudi’s heat-preparedness after some 1.3k pilgrims died on Hajj this year and a heat dome remains parked over the US and parts of Canada. Dubai, meanwhile, will spend USD 8 bn upgrading its drainage system after rains paralyzed the emirate in April.

KEEP AN EYE ON the global logistics system, where an uptick in Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, drought in central America, and worker strikes in the United States, Canada, and Germany have “intensified upheaval in shipping.” Read: ‘It’s all happening again.’ The supply chain is under strain in the New York Times.

Briefly noted: The US and UK press are trumpeting that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange isset to be freed after striking a plea bargain with the United States. And former European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer is under investigation for corruption.

ELECTION WATCH- French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal takes on his two top challengers in a debate today, with President Emmanuel Macron warning of “civil war” if the far-right or far-left come first at the ballot box. The two-step parliamentary election process starts on Sunday.

Up next: Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer face off in a debate tomorrow, while Joe Biden and Donald Trump will clash on Thursday.

*** It’s Going Green day — your weekly briefing of all things green in Egypt: Enterprise’s green economy vertical focuses each Tuesday on the business of renewable energy and sustainable practices in Egypt, everything from solar and wind energy through to water, waste management, sustainable building practices and how you can make your business greener, whatever the sector.

In today’s issue: We take a look at the incentives, challenges, and solutions to promoting solar adoption in residential areas.