Good morning, friends. It may only be a three-day work for those of us in Egypt, but it’s already shaping up to be a busy one for local business and economy news. We’ve got a packed issue for you today, so let’s jump right in.

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PSA-

Power cuts will be limited to the afternoons until July: The government will limit rolling blackouts to 3-7pm from today through 20 July in a bid to give students more uninterrupted study time during the examination period, according to a statement by the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company.

WEATHER- We’ve got even more beautiful weather to come in Cairo today, with sunny skies throughout the day and a high of 31°C and a low of 19°C, according to our favorite weather app.

While for our friends in Alexandria, expect to see sunny skies throughout the day with a high of 26°C and a low of 18°C.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- A contracting company will list its shares on the EGX next week, bourse head Ahmed El Sheikh told Asharq Business without naming the company (watch, runtime: 2:13). El Sheikh hopes that two of the recently-listed companies on the exchange will offer their shares soon, he added without specifying the companies.

What we know: Act Financial got the green light last month to list its shares on EGX with a plan to move forward with the IPO in the current quarter. Qalaa Holdings’ subsidiary National Printing Company is also expected to hit EGX in 2Q 2024 after the EGX approved its temporary listing in February.

#2- The EGX’s long-awaited sharia-compliant index to launch before the end of June: The bourse has put together a committee to launch the index this quarter with 30 to 50 companies, El Sheikh said. The EGX has been working for the past five months on the index, hand-picking EGX-listed companies whose activities are sharia compliant in preparation to launch the index in May or June 2024, El Sheikh added.

#3- The government is working to amend the economic zones law in a bid to make domestic economic zones more attractive in the face of international competition, according to a cabinet statement. The changes are currently being discussed and the Supreme Committee for Legislative Reform will prepare the amendments before they are presented to cabinet for approval.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- We’re getting our first proper insight into private sector activity following the EGP float: S&P Global will publish Egypt’s PMI figures for Apriltoday measuring the country’s non-oil private sector activity, which has been in contraction for the last 40 months.

Remember: We’re still yet to see the hoped for uptick in business activity following the float of the EGP, with March’s data showing “ softer but still-solid deterioration ” on the back of persistent currency challenges and elevated inflationary pressures. Data for April will give us an insight into the private sector during the first full month following the float of the national currency.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

#1- Inflation nation no more? State statistics agency Capmas will be out with inflation data for April tomorrow. Analysts and policymakers are optimistic — and with good reason — that we’re on a deflationary path and that we will see inflation easing for a second consecutive month. Annual urban inflation cooled 2.4 percentage points to 33.3% in March on the back of a softer increase in food prices as traders priced in a lower exchange rate following the fall of the parallel market.

The polls are already in: Annual urban inflation is expected to slow 0.5 percentage points to 32.8% in April, according to a median forecast of 17 analysts polled by Reuters. Standard Chartered’s Carla Slim projected headline inflation to fall further to 32.1% and they “expect Egypt’s broader disinflation trend to continue, with annual inflation declining to 25% by the end of the fiscal year 2023-24.”

Core inflation is projected to decline 1.0 percentage point to 32.7%, according to a median of nine analysts surveyed by the newswire.

But not everyone is so optimistic: “The effective EGP exchange rate weakened by 3% m-o-m against the USD in April and coupled with the administered 0-21% hike in local fuel prices, this will have pushed up the headline rate to 34% y-o-y in April,” said Capital Economics’ James Swanston.

#2- It’s day two of the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee meeting: Ministers from both countries are meeting in Cairo today to discuss strengthening trade relations, crossborder investments, banking collaboration, and pushing for greater energy, logistics, and food security cooperation, according to a statement from the International Cooperation Ministry. The meetings will conclude tomorrow, according to the statement.

ATTENTION, EGYPT INVESTORS-

Foreign investors are falling in love with Egypt again… Foreign investors we speak with (debt, equity, and strategic alike) have a growing appetite for Egypt. They’re buying into local debt, eyeing promising shares, and committing bns of USD to both new ventures here and the growth of their existing businesses. They like the Egypt story that’s taking shape after the float of the EGP, and its competitive advantages are clear to many of them: It’s a massive consumer opportunity and a regional export hub of tomorrow.

The Enterprise Optimism Forum 2024 will do exactly what it says on the tin: Spark conversations about a future that we think is much brighter than so many in our community feel right now. Think of it as much-needed shock therapy combined with an early, actionable roadmap for those of us who are “long Egypt.”

We’ll be talking with you about the agenda over the coming couple of weeks.It features speakers from Egypt and abroad who are future-proofing their businesses and angling to capture tomorrow’s opportunities — and who aren’t afraid to answer some tough questions.

*** Interested in attending? Tap or click here to let us know. Seating is limited.

DATA POINT-

Egypt is planning to ramp up natural gas production 8% y-o-y next fiscal year to an average of 5.7 bn cubic feet a day, Asharq Business reports, citing an anonymous government source. Egypt’s average daily natural gas production hit an average of 5.8 bn cubic feet per day in 2023, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla previously said. That’s 6.8% less than the 6.2 bn cubic feet the country produced per day in FY 2022-2023.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s a busy morning on the front pages of the world’s business press. Truce talks between Hamas and Israel continue even as Israeli forces took over control of the Rafah crossing into Egypt, a key port of entry for humanitarian aid.

The Wall Street Journal is leading with Stormy Daniels’ “salacious details of her allegedtryst” with former US President Donald Trump, but gives more prominence to a deep look at The Line, Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Neom gigaproject, where it claims “construction costs per square foot are more than double what is standard on other Middle East towers.”

MEANWHILE- The US will no longer allow Intel and Qualcomm to sell chips to Huawei, the Dow has now posted its longest streak in the green since December, and Semafor reports on the pipeline that’s now driving Wall Street financial firms to load up on former military brass.

FOR OUR FELLOW TECH NERDS- Apple finally moved the iPad’s FaceTime camera to the long edge as it launched a redesign of the iconic gadget that also leapfrogged the M3 generation of processors straight to M4. The Verge notes that the tablet is super-thin and that the Pro’s new keyboard case aims to make it feel “just like a MacBook.”

AND- Google launched yesterday its Pixel 8A phone, a midrange device that packs most of the power of the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro into a package that will now include seven years of software updates.

FINALLY- OpenAI is getting into the AI search game, developing a product to rival Google, Bing, and Perplexity, Bloomberg reports. The ChatGPT maker is also reportedly poaching Google staff for the project, per the Verge.

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists on subject matter knowledge, while also working on constructing and filing Enterprise stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

*** It’s Hardhat day — your weekly briefing of all things infrastructure in Egypt: Enterprise’s industry vertical focuses each Wednesday on infrastructure, covering everything from energy, water, transportation, and urban development, as well as social infrastructure such as health and education.