Good morning, folks: The domestic news cycle has slowed to a crawl as we reach the final hump day of November, but expect it to pick back up again next week as election season kicks into higher gear.

PSA #1- Attention importers: You don’t have to settle your VAT dues in FX. Regulatory amendments that went into effect last week that require businesses whose goods or services are invoiced or paid for in foreign currency to settle VAT dues in FX do not apply to import operations,the Finance Ministry clarified yesterday. VAT will only be collected in FX from companies that are licensed to transact in foreign currency, like tourism companies that cater to foreigners.

PSA #2- The golden license e-platform is online: Willy Wonka may have golden tickets for his chocolate factory, but we’ve got a one-stop shop golden license to set up projects in Egypt — which can now be applied for on the interwebs. The Madbouly government’s initiative to encourage investment has started the first phase of its online application platform, according to a cabinet statement. For those who have endured weeks, if not months, of trudging various ministries to get approvals for projects, you’ll be glad to hear the new application platform boasts a ten-minute registration process.

Our friends at Hassan Allam were the first company to use the platform: Hassan Allam Holding logisticssubsidiary Hassan Allam for Strategic Warehouses was the first to use the platform and submitted an application for an EGP 1.5 bn project in Luxor to build, operate, and maintain a warehouse complex.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Shoukry in New York for UN Security Council meeting: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other Arab and Islamic officials continue their diplomatic tour today, heading to New York to discuss Gaza at a UN Security Council meeting convened by China. The council is scheduled to discuss the situation in Gaza at 3pm EST.

This is the last stop on the delegation’s UNSC tour: The committee has visited London, Paris, Beijing and Moscow this month as part of a tour of P5 UN Security Council members aimed at building momentum for a permanent end to the violence.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- World leaders are set to touch down in Dubai on Thursday for COP28 — with one notable exception. Thirteen days of intense negotiations in Dubai to save our planet from climate catastrophe will run from 30 November to 12 December. However, US President Joe Biden is reportedly sitting out the conference and sending US climate envoy John Kerry in his stead due to his preoccupation with the war on Gaza and upcoming presidential election, according to an anonymous White House official cited by the US’ paper of record. You can check out the full agenda for the busy 13-day conference here.

UAE pushes for fossil fuel supply agreements ahead of climate talks –BBC: The BBC and the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) alleged in a report yesterday that the UAE aimed to leverage its position at COP host to agree new oil and gas supply agreements with several countries ahead of the climate talks, citing leaked documents. The COP28 spokesperson said that the documents are “inaccurate.”

#2- OPEC+ meeting set for Thursday as oil prices tumble: OPEC+ member states are meeting on Thursday to discuss how the cartel of oil-producing nations will respond to falling oil prices, decide on next year’s production targets, and make a decision on whether to prolong production cuts. The kingdom wants the cartel members to reduce their production quotas for 2024, a request that is facing resistance from African members – namely, Angola and Nigeria, writes Reuters, citing the bloc’s delegates.

Deja vu? The meeting was initially scheduled for Sunday, but was pushed back after the alliance members failed to reach a consensus on the output quotas for African members.

Through the grapevine: The bloc’s production cuts are expected to be prolonged to at least the group’s next meeting and there’s also talk of an additional 1 mn barrels per day cut, according to industry insider chatter picked up earlier in the month by the Financial Times.

Market reax: Brent crude oil prices took a beating after OPEC+ postponed their meeting last week and fell below USD 80 a barrel yesterday.

#3- US and EU inflation data incoming: Euro area figures and the US personal consumption expenditures price index due Thursday are expected to show inflation slowing to its weakest rate since early 2021 — forecasts which if correct will further stoke optimism that rates on both sides of the Atlantic have reached their peak. Bloomberg has more.

ELECTION 2023-

Egyptian expats go to polls: Egyptians abroad go to polls on 1-3 December to choosebetween incumbent President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Al Wafd Party’s Abdel Sanad Yamama, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party’s Farid Zahran, and the Republican People Party’s Hazem Omar.

Voters here at home will cast their ballots on 10-12 December. First-round results are dueon 18 December and a runoff, if necessary, will take place in early January 2024.

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

HELP GAZA-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than 1 mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century.

The folks at Talabat are processing donations for a range of Gaza relief appeals by charities including the Egyptian Food Bank and Misr El Kheir. Pay in EGP using your credit card.

Or check out our list of charities to which you can make direct donations via bank deposit and / or Fawry.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- The foreign media can’t seem to shift its attention from the war on Gaza and the latest on the truce agreement (we have the details in this morning’s War Watch, below). The business pages are all about one of fast fashion’s biggest players, Shein, inching closer towards its IPO.

Shein files paperwork to go public: Chinese-founded fashion retailer Shein has filed for a US IPO in what is expected to be New York’s largest IPO of the decade. The company tapped Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley to advise on the listing, which could happen as soon as 2024. The company, which was last valued at USD 66 bn in May, reportedly entered talks with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq back in July. (CNBC | Financial Times | Bloomberg | Wall Street Journal)

FROM THE RUMOR MILL- Gulf investors are reportedly eyeing not one, not two, but three state-owned companies earmarked for privatization.

#1- An Emirati investor wants 100% of Misr Life Ins. and has submitted an initial offer to company owner the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE), Economy Plus reported citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The SFE is looking into the offer but is more likely to reject it in favor of moving forward with its initial plan of listing 25% of the company’s shares during 1H 2024 as part of the state privatization program. The SFE has tapped NI Capital to advise on the offering.

#2- UAE and Qatar eye pharma acquisitions: Emirati and Qatari sovereign wealth funds and investors are eyeing stakes in state-owned pharma companies Chemical Industries Development (CID) and Misr Pharma, Al Mal reports, citing sources it says are in the know. No formal offers have been made, but the government has held negotiations with foreign investors and pre-IPO stakes of around 30% in each company could be offered up, the local media outlet added

ICYMI: CID and Misr Pharma — both subsidiaries of the Holding Company for Pharma Industries (HoldiPharma) — are on the government’s list of 35 state-owned companies earmarked for privatization via stake sales to strategic investors, the EGX, or a mix of both.

What’s next? The stake sales are expected to be finalized in January if the two sides reach a formal agreement, according to Al Mal, while a senior government official told Enterprise that he expects the two companies will launch IPOs before the of 1Q 2024. The total stakes offered through stake sales to strategic sales and floated on the bourse will not exceed 50%, our source added.

WAR ECONOMICS-

Jordan looks to Arab nations as Gaza war threatens Israeli gas flows: Ongoing Israeli natural gas supply shortages have pushed Jordan to explore alternative sources, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh told state-run AlMamlaka. Jordan has already spoken to two unnamed Gulf nations — both of which expressed their readiness to provide the country with its gas needs — as the country gears up “for various scenarios in light of the ongoing war,” Khasawneh said, ruling out the potential of any disruptions to its inflows from the Leviathan field.

DATA POINT-

The second round of theexpat car-for-FX initiative has so far raised USD 460 mn with payment orders over USD 1 bn, Customs Authority head El Shahat Ghatwary told Asharq Business. Some 135k registration requests have already been completed in the second phase of the scheme, a senior source at the Customs Authority told Enterprise, adding that another 15k requests will be finalized in the next few days once they receive import approvals.

Remember: The second iteration of the car import scheme opened in October and is expected to generate up to USD 1.1 bn in hard currency receipts. The first round of the scheme, which wrapped up in May, reportedly raised around USD 900 mn — a little over a third of the USD 2.5 bn targeted by the Finance Ministry. The scheme allows expats to receive full rebates on customs fees, VAT, and other taxes within five years of purchasing a vehicle, provided they pay them upfront in FX.

*** 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 where Egypt lies in Africa’s green energy investment landscape.