Private players in talks to develop USD 2 bn Eastern Desert industrial zone

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

Foreigners: You’ll need to pay for your residence permits in FX from Saturday

Good morning, friends, and happy THURSDAY to you all. It’s a good news, meh news kind of morning. Signs of rising foreign interest in investing here again tops the headlines, with new projects worth a combined USD 3.6 bn now on the drawing board. Most interesting is a potential Eastern Desert industrial zone that could be a boon to the domestic manufacturing industry if it goes ahead. The government, meanwhile, is looking to partner with a foreign player on a USD 1 bn steel plant, while Chinese and Arab investors are eyeing wind projects worth as much as USD 600 mn.

SIGNS OF THE TIMES- We also note grumblings from Bloomberg (on our relative vulnerability to a debt crisis), Fitch (on NFAs ), and what appears to be a step from the United States to trim military aid for a third year in a row.

^^ We have more on all of these stories below. But before we jump in:

PSA #1- New FX requirements for residence permits go in effe ct on Saturday: Foreign nationals already in Egypt applying for residence permits will be required to pay their required fees in hard currency starting Saturday, 16 September, according to theOfficial Gazette. There are no changes to payment methods for folks applying for tourist visas from outside Egypt — the new requirement is only for people here on valid tourist visas who want to extend their stay by obtaining a residency permit.

PSA #2- If you’re a Canadian planning to come to Egypt anytime soon, apply for an e-visa now . Electronic visas issued to Canadian travelers before Sunday, 1 October, remain valid for entry until their expiry date. After 1 October, Canadian passport holders will need to obtain a visa directly from an Egyptian embassy or consulate abroad before departure. We’re very much hoping that leaders in both Ottawa and Cairo find a way to move past this.

PSA #3- Egyptian men living abroad and looking to settle their national service obligations have another month after the government extended the deadline for its cash-for-exemption program. Hit this link for the details.

WE HAVE JUST FOUR DAYS TO GO until we see some of you at the Enterprise Finance Forum, which takes place 18-19 September (Monday and Tuesday) at the St. Regis Hotel on the Nile Corniche. This flagship forum is the latest in our must-attend series of invitation-only events, where CEOs, bankers, investors, founders, and corporate leaders will meet to discuss the trends shaping the future of banking, finance, NBFIs, and fintech — and of their clients.

What to expect: Join Karim Awad (CEO, EFG Holding), Hazem Moussa (chairman, Contact Financial Holding), Tamer El Emary (group CEO, GB Capital), Hoda Kassem (Cairo global services center director, HSBC Egypt), Hassan Allam (CEO, Hassan Allam Holding), Pakinam Kafafi (CEO, Taqa Arabia), and many others for talks on everything from investing in uncertain times, to whether NBFIs are a bubble, and what the customers of financial institutions are saying about their bankers behind their backs. Stay tuned for the unveiling of our full list of speakers in the coming days.

Tap or click here to view the FULL AGENDA with SPEAKERS.

There will be plenty of parking available at the venue for all those attending.

** We are honored to count some of the region’s most important financial institutions as

our partners for this special event. The Enterprise Finance Forum could not take place without the support of our partners including Banque Misr, Al Baraka Bank, FABMISR, HSBC, Mashreq, Banque du Caire, CI Capital, Global Corp, Visa, Hassan Allam Utilities, the IFC, and Post for Investment.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- The French FM is in town: France’s top diplomat, Catherine Colonna, is in Egypt today for talks with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, according to a French statement.

On the agenda: Russia’s war in Ukraine, global food security, climate finance, and crises in Sudan, Libya, Palestine and Lebanon.

#2- A South Korean business delegation in Egypt: A delegation of seven South Korean energy and electricity companies is in Cairo to meet with local firms, including Elsewedy Electric, according to Al Mal. The visitors arrived on Tuesday and wrap up their tour tomorrow.

#3- The Hydrogen Egypt Summit concludes at the Nile Ritz Carlton today. Attendees will discuss Egypt’s potential to become a regional green hydrogen hub.

#4- The National Dialogue: The National Dialogue is holding a new round of closed-door meetings this week to draft a new batch of recommendations. The group sent its first batch of recommendations to the president for approval last month.

DEBT WATCH-

Egypt is the second-most vulnerable country to a debt crisis in the world: That’s according to Bloomberg, which ranked 60 countries based on the volume of government debt, interest costs, and the yields on USD bonds. Out of the 60 countries, Egypt has the highest interest bill as a percentage of GDP and its gross government debt-to-GDP is behind only Ukraine and Bahrain.

WATCH THIS SPACE-

Gaza Marine gas development to finally get underway? Egypt’s state-owned EGAS will sign an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA) to develop the Gaza Marine gas field in the next four days, Palestinian Energy Authority Chairman Dhafer Melhem told Asharq B usines s yesterday. The PA and EGAS wrapped up negotiations and gas extraction from the field will go ahead without any Israeli partners or operators, he told Asharq.

Remember: Israel gave its preliminary approval to the development of a gas field off the Gaza coast in June. The agreement to develop the field was expected to be inked between EGAS and the Palestine Investment Fund back in 1Q 2023.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

The Arm IPO is dominating the conversation in the global business press this morning after the British chip designer priced its offering at the top of the range yesterday, putting it on course to raise almost USD 4.9 bn in what will be the largest IPO of the year so far. The SoftBank-owned company sold 95.5 mn depositary shares at USD 51 apiece, valuing it at USD 54.5 bn, it said yesterday. (Bloomberg | Reuters | Financial Times | Wall Street Journal | CNBC)

The catastrophic floods in Libya are continuing to receive attention across the world as the death toll from Sunday’s storm continues to climb. More than 5.3k people have now been reported dead and a further 10k are missing in the coastal city of Derna, which suffered tsunami-like flooding after a dam burst during the storm. The story is on the front page of Reuters, Bloomberg, the New York Times and the BBC this morning.

Egypt is sending aid: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has instructed the military to set up camps in the country to provide shelter to victims and has dispatched a Mistral-class aircraft carrier to be used as a field hospital. The UN has estimated that at least 30k people have been left homeless due to the disaster. The Religious Endowments Ministry said yesterday it will send EGP 10 mn worth of humanitarian aid to Libya and Morocco, as well as Slovenia which in August experienced severe floods.

Also worth your attention:

First OPEC, now the IEA is predicting a serious oil squeeze: The International Energy Agency warned yesterday that the continuation of oil supply cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia will create a “significant supply shortfall” that could trigger volatility in the global energy markets. (Bloomberg | Reuters)
AU takes aim at “big three” rating agencies: The African Union will next year establish its own credit rating agency in response to concerns that assessments given by the big three — Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch — are biased. (Reuters)
The AI arms race: Meta is attempting to develop an advanced AI system that can rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT. (Wall Street Journal)

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Help keep Wadi Degla clean: Trail running events organizer Ultra Ibex is holding a trash clean-up in Cairo’s Wadi Degla between 9-11 am this coming Friday, 15 September. Volunteers will clear trash from the 3-km stretch from the entrance of the Wadi, the same area where they collected more than 100 bags of trash last year. All proceeds collected from the event will go towards installing 10 new trash collection units in the Wadi. Register to help out here.

Are you a corporate and want to back the cleanup? Our friends at Ultra Ibex are actively looking for partners.

New capital requirements for FX bureaus in play: Friday is deadline day for FX bureaus to comply with the central bank’s strict new capital requirements. Under new rules aimed at curbing the resurgent parallel market, the central bank is raising the capital requirement for exchanges to EGP 25 mn from just EGP 5 mn currently.

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

Get ready to embark on a sensational journey of entertainment: From October through December, London will be illuminated by the brilliance of three remarkable events sponsored exclusively by Somabay. The laughter will be unstoppable at the uproarious Egyptian Trilogy comedy tour, followed by the enchanting Samar Tarik. Brace yourselves for a captivating finale with the mesmerizing Farah El Dibany. Somabay brings you an unforgettable trifecta of events that will leave you utterly captivated and eagerly anticipating each spectacular moment.

Egyptian private players in talks to develop USD 2 bn Eastern Desert industrial zone

Private players could invest big in the Golden Triangle: A handful of private players are in talks with the government to help set up an industrial zone in the Eastern Desert’s Golden Triangle, government sources confirmed to Enterprise after the news was first reported by Asharq Business. The planned industrial zone’s first phase is set to cost USD 2 bn in initial investment, says Asharq, adding that the zone will ultimately cater to the mining, agriculture, trade, and tourism sectors.

Who’s in the run ning? Orascom Construction subsidiary Orascom Industrial Parks, IDG, Elsewedy Industrial Development, and CPC Egypt have all held meetings with the government about their potential involvement, sources with knowledge of the discussions tell us. Polaris Parks was also named by Asharq and confirmed by our sources, though the company’s general manager, Bassel Shoriah, told us that it is not in fact involved. Elsewedy and Orascom declined to comment when we reached out yesterday. Representatives of IDG could not be reached.

A group project? The government expects to reach an agreement with “several” of the developers in early 2024, our sources said. The developers will be responsible for parceling out the land by sector and allocating plots to investors, they said, adding that the zone has already received offers from companies working in cement, building materials, glass, silicon, rubber, phosphate, and gold refining.

ICYMI- Earlier this summer, the zone received three offers from local and international investors to set up fertilizer complexes worth a total USD 1.6 bn.

What’s so golden about this triangle? Located in the area between Qena, Safaga and Quseir, the 2.2 mn-feddan desert area is thought to hold some 75% of the country’s entire mineral wealth — including reserves of gold, iron, copper, silver, granite, and phosphates. Phosphates are a key component of fertilizer, one of the country’s most lucrative exports.

Years in the making: Plans to develop the Golden Triangle Economic Zone go back further than 2016, when a study conducted by Italian consulting firm RINA(formerly known as D’Appolonia) and funded by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development estimated the project to be worth some USD 16 bn. In the following years, the state established the authority responsible for the zone and made the necessary land transfers, before the pandemic arrived and stalled investment, government sources told us.

Egypt enlists foreign firm for USD 1 bn steel complex

The government plans to open a USD 1 bn flat steel production complex in cooperation with an unnamed international company, according to a cabinet statement Wednesday. Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad said that production will be exported and used for the local market.

What does USD 1 bn get you these days? The two-phase steel production complex will have an annual production capacity of 1.8 mn tons and directly employ 2k people. Production is set to start 18-24 months after all approvals have been obtained The complex has already gotten the greenlight from the Suez Canal Economic Zone to operate as a special economic zone, though it’s not yet clear where it will be located.

Flat is the new black: The proposed complex will make forms of flat steel that have not previously been manufactured domestically. The aim is that the locally produced flat steel plates, coils, and slabs will replace imported components used to build bridges, trains, electric cars, electrical transformers, ships, energy infrastructure, and household appliances, Saad said.

This isn’t the only steel project we’ve heard about recently: Russia-based steel maker Novostal M is reportedly planning to spend USD 400-500 mn to set up a factory in Egypt.

Expect more foreign steelmakers to enter the market: The government is planning to issue six more pellet steel production licenses to major foreign investors or local-foreign consortiums in 2024, an Industrial Development Authority (IDA) source recently told Enterprise. Prior to the war in Ukraine, steel licenses were granted to local firms, but the government is now prioritizing foreign companies to attract FX into the country, our source said.

That could mean even tougher competition for local firms: Many steel producers are struggling amid soaring production costs, slowing demand, and raw material shortages prompted by both the slowdown in the economy and the FX crunch.

Arab, Chinese companies could invest USD 600 mn in Egypt wind plants

Yet more foreign investment in our wind power? Three unnamed firms hailing from the Arab world and China are looking to invest USD 600 mn to build wind farms here, Al Borsa quotes unnamed government sources as saying. The firms are expected to submit official offers within weeks, in hopes of breaking ground on the projects in 1Q 2024, the sources said.

More interest in Zafarana: The companies are interested in acquiring part of the Zafarana wind farm, according to Al Borsa’s sources.

Remember: A further stake in Zafarana will be offered to international investors in addition to the portion that the government has in principle agreed to sell to multinational shipping giant Maersk. Zafarana, along with the Gabal El Zeit wind farm, is up for a partial sale under the government’s rebooted privatization program.

We have tons of private-sector led wind projects in the pipeline: Private players — among them an Orascom Construction-led consortium, the Masdar-Infinity-Hassan Allam consortium, Acwa Power, and Scatec — have lined up a whopping 28 GW of fresh wind projects in Sohag governorate alone.

US set to to withhold at least USD 85 mn in military aid over rights concerns>

The US has reportedly made a decision on (some of) Egypt’s military aid: The US will suspend at least USD 85 mn in military assistance to Egypt this year on human rights grounds, according to Reuters. Two sources told the newswire that the State Department has decided to withhold USD 85 mn and will soon make a decision on whether to suspend another USD 235 mn.

Remember: Some USD 320 mn of the USD 1.3 bn the US gives to Egypt in military aid each year is contingent on the country making improvements to its human rights situation. Of this:

USD 85 mn is tied to making “clear and consistent progress” in releasing political prisoners, ensuring due process and preventing the intimidation of US citizens.
USD 235 mn is linked to other democracy and human rights requirements, though this can be overruled by the government on national security grounds.

Some US lawmakers want Biden to go the whole way: Democratic lawmakers in the House and the Senate are putting pressure on the White House to withhold the full USD 320 mn. The Biden administration has blocked Egypt from receiving USD 130 mn in aid in each of the past two years.

ALSO FROM THE DIPLO SPHERE-

Education Minister Reda Hegazy met with USAID Egypt director Sean Jones yesterday to discuss the agency’s support for education projects in Egypt. (Education Ministry statement)
Communications Minister Amr Talaat held talks in Washington yesterday with US deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology Anne Neuberger. (Communication Ministry statement)

ADQ may need to make an MTO for Sidpec following its merger with Ethydco

The Sidpec-Et hydco merger could trigger an MTO: Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ’s acquisition of a 27% stake in state-owned Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company (Ethydco) could mean that a mandatory tender offer (MTO) is triggered when Ethydco merges with EGX-listed Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (Sidpec), A l Ma l reports, citing sources it says are in the know.

Transaction #1- ADQ is buying into Ethydco. The Abu Dhabi wealth fund will pay USD 280 mn for a 27% stake in Ethydco currently held by the state-owned National Investment Bank and GASCO, local media reported over the summer.

Transaction #2- Ethydco and Sidpec will merge. EGX-listed Sidpec’s board in July signed off on the all-share merger after approving a fair value study by financial advisor Baker Tilly. The study values Ethydco shares at EGP 2,420.09 apiece and Sidpec shares at some EGP 30.60 each. Sidpec is issuing up to 877 mn new shares in a capital increase to allocate to Ethydco shareholders under the merger.

The FRA is looking into how #1 impacts #2: The country’s financial regulator is looking into whether “future shareholders’ stakes” in Ethydco would trigger an MTO that would require ADQ to make an offer for all of the merged Sidpec-Ethydco entity, according to Al Mal’s sources. An MTO is generally triggered when a company looks to acquire 33% or more of the shares or voting rights of another company.

BACKGROUND: Ethydco was among three firms in which ADQ agreed to buy a 25-30% stake back in July, for a total USD 800 mn. The other two firms were Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab), and Egyptian Drilling Company (EDC). The three firms had been warehoused in the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s pre-IPO fund. All three stake buys are expected to close by the end of this month.

Fitch expects net foreign liabilities in Egyptian banks to rise amid FX crunch

Egypt’s net foreign asset position will likely get worse before it gets better: That’s according to a report from Fitch, which says that a combination of foreign outflows, import backlogs and a managed exchange rate will likely intensify FX liquidity pressures in the banking sector.

ICYMI- Record liabilities: Net foreign assets in the banking sector have deteriorated heavily over the past two years, swinging from a EGP 26.4 bn surplus in June 2021 to a record EGP 529 bn deficit(USD 17.1 bn) in June this year due to the ongoing FX crunch.

The pressure points:

#1- The exchange rate: “Prolonged management of the exchange-rate regime could put further pressure on the banking sector’s NFL position,” the rating agency writes. Under its USD 3 bn IMF program, the government committed to moving to a fully-flexible exchange rate but since March has maintained a stable USD exchange rate while it tries to build up FX reserves ahead of a possible float.

Movement coming? The IMF was scheduled to conduct a review of the program this month, a review that is thought to be contingent on authorities moving towards a flexible exchange rate. The current consensus is that there will be another devaluation of the currency before the year is out, the scale and timing of which is uncertain.

#2- A growing import backlog: The sector’s NFL position will widen if banks are used to clear the estimated USD 5.5 bn import backlog, as they were at the end of December, Fitch writes.

The upside risk? “Exchange-rate pressure could moderate if the authorities succeed in selling assets to external investors, boosting capital and foreign-currency inflows into Egypt,” according to the rating agency.

Privatization so far: Several asset sales announced in July have netted the government USD 1.65 bn in FX proceeds, while an agreement this month to sell 30% of Eastern Company will bring in another USD 625 mn. Its revised target aims to raise USD 5 bn via its asset sale program by the end of 2Q 2024.

#3- Expect more outflows from local debt: Fitch said it is “highly likely” that foreign investors will continue to pull money from the local debt market due to negative real interest rates, low appetite for emerging-market assets, and tight global financial conditions.

Remember: Investors have pulled more than USD 20 bn from the local debt market since last year. Foreign t-bill holdings have declined from USD 21.3 bn at the end of January 2022 to about USD 13 bn at the end of April.

Matouk Bassiouny launches in Korea

Law firm Matouk Bassiouny & Hennawy has opened an office in Korea, it said in a press release ( pdf) yesterday. MBH has appointed Jiyoung Bae (LinkedIn) to head the Korea desk and has made her a partner in the firm. Jiyoung has more than 15 years’ experience in the industry specializes in our part of the world. She joins the firm after serving as an attorney at Korean law firm Bae Kim & Lee’s(BKL) Dubai office for more than four years.

MBH + BKL are collaborating: The two firms have signed an MoU to “facilitate cooperation,” MBH said, without disclosing further details.

Libya floods + Smart Green Projects get attention on the airwaves

Libya flood aftermath still in focus: Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 5:16 | 3:31), Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 6:17), Yahduth fi Masr (watch, runtime: 5:12), and Ala Masouleety (watch, runtime: 4:14) all continued covering the aftermath of the floods in Libya, focusing on Egypt’s humanitarian support efforts for Libyan victims, as well as relief being provided to families of the Egyptian victims.

Smart Green Projects, round 2: Al Hayah Al Youm’s Mohamed Sherdy spoke with head of the Smart Green Projects (SGP) initiative, Hisham Badr, for updates on the second iteration of the program(watch, runtime: 4:31). Badr said the government received more than 5.7k applications for the program and started assessing them earlier this week. The projects will eventually be whittled down to 18, who will present their green tech solutions at the COP28 summit in Dubai in December.

ALSO- New steel complex gets coverage: Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 5:37) and Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 7:09) dedicated airtime to the state’s plans to set up a USD 1 bn flat steel complex with an international partner. We have more details in the news well, above.

The government is extending its land-for-FX scheme for another 6 months. PLUS: Avanz Capital is planning fresh investment in Egypt

REGULATION-

Gov’t extends land-for-FX initiative: The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) will extend the government’s land-for-FX initiative for six months, Housing Minister Assem El Gazzar said in a s tatem ent yesterday. The NUCA has so far allocated 219 plots of lands for foreign investors under the initiative, which allows foreign investors to bid for state-owned land in exchange for hard currency, the minister said. El Gazzar did not disclose the USD value of the land sold.

INVESTMENT-

Avanz plans fresh investment: Private equity firm Avanz Capital plans to invest more than EGP 450 mn in Egyptian firms, A l M al quotes Managing Director Haitham Wajih as saying. The company is in advanced talks to invest EGP 200 mn into two investment funds, and will deploy an additional EGP 250 mn in three more companies by early 2024, Wajih said.

TRADE-

More measures to unclog Egypt-Sudan border traffic: Transport Minister Kamal El Wazir and his Sudanese counterpart agreed to establish logistics zones in Aswan and Wadi Halfa, Sudan to unclog truck traffic at the Arqin and Qastal border crossings between the two countries, a ministry sta tem ent. This comes a few days after Egypt said it had created two mini logistics zones in Wadi Karkar and Abu Simbel to reduce the truck and vehicle pile up at the crossings.

Rising oil prices drive hotter-than-expected US inflation in August

Inflation headache returns for the Fed: US consumer prices climbed more than expected in August on the back of rising energy prices, according to data out yesterday. Inflation rose 3.7% y-o-y during the month from 3.2% in July, slightly above forecasts for 3.6% growth. Prices climbed 0.6% on a monthly basis.

Driving the growth: The bulk of the monthly increase came from increased gasoline costs, driven by rising global oil prices. Global prices have reached 10-month highs this month after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to extend supply cuts through to the end of the year in a bid to push oil prices towards USD 100 a barrel. OPEC data suggests that the curbs are setting the market up for its largest supply deficit in a decade in 4Q 2023, potentially triggering a fresh bout of volatility in the market.

Just what the Fed doesn’t want: The prospect of a fresh energy supply shock and USD 100 oil will complicate the Federal Reserve’s efforts to curb inflation and introduce fresh uncertainty into the markets about the direction of interest rates. Yesterday’s hotter-than-expected inflation data make it more likely that the central bank raises rates by another 25 bps in either its November or December meetings, analysts told Bloomberg yesterday.

Adnoc is looking to turn its “fledgling” trading business into a multi-bn USD operation before the decade is out, Bloomberg reported yesterday. The Emirati energy giant will focus on sales of LNG to Europe (filling a hole caused by Vladimir Putin) as well as Africa. Adnoc is pursuing contracts for LNG, crude, and refined fuels, the business information service says, flagging the focus on Europe and Africa as a “change in strategy” for the outfit, which traditionally focused on Asian markets.

Remember: Adnoc is eyeing a slice of our energy industry. Adnoc has been pursuing expansion in our neighborhood as it angles for a piece of the growing Eastern Mediterranean gas industry. The company in March submitted a bid alongside BP to acquire 50% of Israel’s NewMed, which owns 45% of the Leviathan gas field that feeds into Egypt’s Idku and Damietta LNG processing plants. Egypt is hoping to pump more LNG to Europe in the coming years after Israel agreed to ramp up exports from Leviathan. On the downstream side, Adnoc in February bought a 50% stake in one of our largest fuel retailers, TotalEnergies Egypt.

BP CEO Bernard Looney resigns: The multinational oil giant announced Looney’s departure on Tuesday, stating that he had not been “fully transparent ” aboutpast personal relationships with colleagues. No more details were given about the nature of the allegations. BP CFO Murray Auchincloss will act as interim CEO, according to the release.

EGX30	19,362	+1.1% (YTD: +32.6%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.83	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	19.25% deposit	20.25% lending
Tadawul	11,122	-0.3% (YTD: +6.1%)
ADX	9,755	+0.1% (YTD: -4.5%)
DFM	4,051	-0.3% (YTD: +21.4%)
S&P 500	4,467	+0.1% (YTD: +16.4%)
FTSE 100	7,526	0.0% (YTD: +1.0%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,223	-0.4% (YTD: +11.3%)
Brent crude	USD 92.19	+0.1%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.71	-1.2%
Gold	USD 1,930.90	-0.2%
BTC	USD 26,232	+0.5% (YTD: +58.6%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 1.1% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.5 bn (29% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 32.6% YTD.

In the green: Ezz Steel (+5.1%), Talaat Moustafa Group (+3.5%) and Elsewedy Electric (+3.2%).

In the red: Juhayna (-1.5%), Edita (-0.8%) and Egypt Kuwait Holding (-0.8%).

Asian markets are uniformly in the green this morning. Futures suggest a mixed open in Europe (Euro Stoxx 50 and DAX 30 are trending up, while both the FTSE 100 and CAC 40 looking to open under pressure). Futures point to a comfortably green open for stocks in New York and Toronto later today.

My Morning Routine: Ahmed Nounou, co-founder and CEO of Garment IO

Ahmed Nounou, co-founder and CEO of Garment IO: 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 Ahmed Nounou (LinkedIn), CEO of Garment IO.

My name is Ahmed Nounou and I am the co-founder and CEO of Garment IO. Garment IO digitizes garment factories’ operations and utilizes AI to help them make better decisions. My day revolves around talking to clients, understanding their needs, and trying to solve their problems. I am also very involved with our team in designing solutions that will fit clients’ needs and exploring new avenues beyond our current client base.

We’re expanding to Morocco next week. We already operate in Saudi Arabia and we’re always trying to explore other territories.

Before Garment IO, I was working as an international consultant based out of Dubai. I was flying on a weekly basis to see clients all over the world. It was a good, well-paid job that I had for ten years and then I started to lose the passion. I had to choose between staying in this stable job with a high income, or listening to my inner voice telling me that this is not me.

It all started with my upbringing. I spent every summer in my father’s factory — my family has been in this industry for a while. I graduated as an electronics engineer, worked a couple of years in an engineering company, then decided to shift to the family business. My objective was to transform the factory from local production to exports. I learnt a lot about the industry, starting from the business side — trying to get clients and financing — through to operations and how to manufacture and compete at an international scale.

The main issue in the industry is that factories operate at very low efficiency and have a lack of actionable data. I had no idea what was happening on the production lines unless I was on the production lines — you don’t know how many pieces you produced and you don’t know where the bottlenecks are. Without this insight, production costs can end up higher than your selling price.

A good factory operates at 60% capacity. You don’t know how well your factory is doing unless you have this live actionable data upon which you can make smarter decisions.

I wake up around 6:30 am. I read EnterpriseAM first thing in the morning — sometimes even before I get out of bed — to know everything that’s happening and get the highlights.

Then I go to the gym, have my morning coffee, and start my workday. I’m trying to spend the first 15 minutes of the day making a plan for my day, writing down the most important things that I need to get done before doing anything else. Then I start with the most important calls I need to make, followed by meetings, whether with outside clients, my team, or other partners.

One of my personal goals is to spend more time with my family, seeing my girls grow. That’s one thing that is very important to me. On the professional level, I want for Garment IO to become a regional and a global company in the near future. We also want to grow on the sectoral level by tapping into other industries.

Maintaining a work-life balance can be a bit challenging for me because I spend so much time at work. Most of my family recently moved to Canada, adding another dimension to work-life balance. I spend around one in every three months in Canada, where I take advantage of the time difference to finish work at around noon and have the rest of the day to spend with my family.

When the workday is done I like to meet people, go out with friends, or do something mentally undemanding. That, and sports. I am very active and try to do activities throughout the day.

I watched the TV series The Diplomat recently and I highly recommend it. I’m also a fan of Ted Lasso.

CALENDAR

SEPTEMBER

13-14 September (Wednesday-Thursday): Hydrogen Egypt Summit, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

15 September (Friday): Ultraibex Wadi Degla Protectorate clean-up event.

15 September (Friday): IMF to review USD 3 bn program.

15 September (Friday): Deadline for applications to EGYAID scholarship program.

15 September (Friday): Deadline for FX bureaus to comply with new capital requirements.

17-18 September (Sunday-Monday): Arab Security Conference and Exhibition, Nile Ritz Carlton, Cairo.

17-19 September (Sunday-Tuesday): Sharm Rendezvous (insurance conference), Rixos Premium Seagate, Sharm ElSheikh.

18-19 September (Monday-Tuesday): Enterprise Finance Forum, St. Regis Hotel, Cairo.

19-20 September (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

20-23 September (Wednesday-Saturday): Cityscape Egypt, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Cairo.

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

23-29 September (Saturday-Friday): Engineering Export Council of Egypt Iraqi trade mission.

25 September (Monday): Nasdaq deadline for Swvl Holdings Corp to increase its market value of publicly held shares to a minimum of USD 15 mn.

25-26 September (Monday-Tuesday): Egypt to host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s annual board meeting, Sharm El Sheikh.

27 September (Wednesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.

26 September (Tuesday): Taqa Arabia’s ordinary general assembly meeting.

27 September (Wednesday): Deadline for bidding in the fifth phase of the investment map offered by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA).

27 September (Wednesday): Deadline for bidding in tender for five solar plants on north coast.

28 September (Thursday): Eastern Company will hold an ordinary general assembly meeting to approve the company’s financials for the 2022-2023 FY.

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

28-29 September (Thursday-Friday): Medical Tourism Conference, Sharm El Sheikh.

30 September (Saturday): The start of the new academic year for Egyptian universities.

30 September (Saturday): The start of the new academic year for Egyptian schools.

Signposted to happen sometime in September:

Sustainable Debt Coalition Initiative agreed at COP27 to launch
IDH to open first branch in Saudi Arabia
The Egypt-Germany trade and investment joint conference in Cairo
ADQ to acquire stakes in Elab, Ethydco and EDC by end of month

OCTOBER

1-3 October (Sunday-Tuesday) International Expotec for water economics management, Egypt International Exhibition Center, Fifth Settlement, Cairo.

2-5 October (Monday-Thursday): ADIPEC 2023, Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center.

2 October (Monday): Government meeting with investors to look into liberalizing electricity grid.

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

7 October (Saturday): HHD shareholders to consider NOSI’s offer to acquire Heliopark land.

9 October (Monday): The Narrative PR Summit, Somabay Red Sea.

9-11 October (Monday-Wednesday): Arabs Savings and Financial Literacy Conference, Four Seasons Hotel.

10-12 October ( Tuesday-Thursday) Ceramica Expo, Cairo International Convention Center.

13 October- 20 October (Friday-Friday): The sixth edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF).

Late October-14 November: 3Q2023 earnings season.

15-17 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Automotive Aftermarket Exhibition, Cairo International Convention Center.

26 October (Thursday): Daylight saving time ends.

29-31 October (Sunday-Tuesday): Egypt Energy, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

29 October - 2 November (Sunday- Thursday): Cairo Water Week.

30-31 October (Monday-Tuesday): Intelligent Cities Exhibition and Conference, Dusit Thani LakeView, Cairo.

30-31 October (Monday-Tuesday): Global Business School Network (GBSN), American University of Cairo.

31 October - 1 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

Signposted to happen some time in October:

Deadline for ins. providers to link their databases with the FRA
Egyptian-Jordanian Business Council, Amman, Jordan
Gov’t expects to finalize sale of Gabal El Zeit wind plant
October or November: Gov’t expects to finalize stake sale for military-owned fuel retailer Wataniya

NOVEMBER

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

8 November (Wednesday): Turkish-Arab Economic Forum 2023, Istanbul.

9-15 November (Thursday-Wednesday): Intra-African Trade Fair, Cairo.

14-15 November (Tuesday-Wednesday): Destination Africa, Royal Maxim Palace Kempinski Hotel.

15-24 November (Wednesday-Friday): Cairo International Film Festival, Cairo.

19-22 November (Sunday-Wednesday): Cairo ICT, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

22 November (Wednesday): Deadline to apply to FRA for credit rating license.

23 November (Thursday): Worldview Education Fair, Cairo. (Register here)

30 November-12 December (Thursday-Tuesday): COP28, Dubai.

DECEMBER

9-15 December (Saturday-Friday) :The Engineering Export Council of Egypt’strade mission to Saudi Arabia.

10-11 December (Sunday-Monday): eGlobe Expo, St. Regis Almasa Hotel, Cairo.

12-13 December (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

12-14 December (Tuesday-Thursday): Food Africa Expo, Egypt International Exhibition Center.

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

Signposted to happen sometime in December:

Gov’t expects to finalize sale of a stake in military-owned bottled drinks company Safi
Gov’t expects to finalize sale of Zafarana wind farm

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

2H 2023: Egyptian government expected to sign agreements with a consultant for the EuroAfrica electricity interconnector.

2H 2023: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expected to hold a summit.

3Q 2023: E-Finance to launch in Saudi Arabia.

4Q 2023: EGX to launch its new futures exchange.

4Q 2023: EGX to launch a shariah-compliant index.

End of 2023: A Developments’ first phase of the Lazoghly development completed.

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

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.

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

November 2024: Egypt to host the 12th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12).

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to start operations.

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