Good morning, everyone. We’ll know the results of the presidential election today — a little after 2pm CLT, to be precise, when the National Elections Authority holds a press conference. The authority announced the presser this past Friday and the State Information Service confirmed it overnight.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is widely expected to take the majority of the vote, avoiding a runoff, according to the domestic press. The nation’s talk show hosts have already taken to the airwaves to chew over prospects for a post-election cabinet shuffle.

ALSO TODAY: The IFC’s Sérgio Pimenta landed in Cairo yesterday for a three-day visit. The Madbouly government’s privatization program will be at the top of the agenda in his meetings with state officials, members of the private sector, and the IFC’s local partners, according to state-owned daily Al-Ahram.

The IFC was recently named a strategic advisor to the state asset sale program. Pimenta yesterday attended the Ministry of International Cooperation’s launch of its new policy platform and 2023 annual report. The IFC has “invested and mobilized” more than USD 3 bn in Egypt over the past five years, Pimena said on X. It’s his third visit here this year.

** We sat down with Pimenta back in Marchfor a talk about private-sector participation in the economy and the green transition. The IFC has invested in sectors including finance, climate, manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy, and healthcare.

MoIC also launched yesterday Hafiz, its new portal for the private sector to explore areas where MOIC’s partners can help execs grow their businesses. The platform will allow companies — including MSMEs and startups — to access 75 financial and non-financial services from international institutions and lenders. You can read about the new platform here.

AND- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is in Kuwait, where he landed last night to offer his condolences for the loss of the late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, according to a statement from Ittihadiya.

PSA- The weather’s about to get chilly as we tumble toward the first official day of winter, according to the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA). The national weather service says there’s a likelihood of fog in low-lying areas today and a chance of rainfall later in the week. Our favourite weather app sees the mercury easing from a high of 24°C today to 20°C by the weekend.

PLUS- It’s the final day of GERD talks in Addis Ababa: Representatives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan are gathering for the final day of negotiations to break the deadlock over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and water rights to the Nile in the Ethiopian capital. This round of talks kicked off following an agreement between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in July.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

The House will be back in session after a one-month break. MPs are taking it easy for their first day back, with one item on their agenda: discuss and vote on a draft law to establish a syndicate for graduates of tech colleges and schools. MPs are also meeting on Wednesday to discuss and vote on a number of bills and presidential decrees.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-

#1- The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee will meet to set interest rateson Thursday. It’s the last time this year the bank will review rates. Our customary analyst poll sees the CBE holding rates steady for the third meeting in a row.

#2- You can catch the El Gouna Film Festival in Cairo: Downtown’s Zawya cinema will screen films from El Gouna Film Festival’s program throughout the week, as the GFF looks to reach a broader audience.

WAR ECONOMICS-

It’s business as usual at the Suez Canal: The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) “is closely following the consequences on traffic in the canal of current tensions in the Red Sea,” authority head Osama Rabie said in an SCA statement. The flow of traffic in the waterway remains “normal,” Rabie said, despite attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on ships passing along the Red Sea having made headlines since Israel invaded Gaza. Only 55 vessels have so far diverted away from the Suez Canal since 19 November while over 2k have crossed as normal, Rabie added.

ICYMI- Four of the world’s five largest shipping firms said this weekend they are pausing Red Seatransits.

TELECOM WATCH-

Three bidders are said to be chasing Telecom Egypt’s cell towers in what could be a USD 250 mn sale. The UK’s IHS Tower, Mobi Tower, and Helios Towers are competing to buy the majority of Telecom Egypt’s cell towers in a sale and leaseback agreement that could be worth between USD 150-250 mn, Al Borsa reports, citing sources it says have knowledge of the transaction. Telecom Egypt is looking to sell 2.5k of its 2.8k towers in an effort to conserve USD, according to Al Borsa. The three interested bidders are said to be doing due diligence ahead of making offers.

Sound smart: Sale and leaseback agreements on tower infrastructure are a common way for mobile network operators to channel cash back into core operations while outsourcing the headache of running infrastructure to specialized providers.

AND- Better telecom services for compound residents? The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) yesterday discussed a number of complaints filed by residential compounds residents who say they don’t have enough choice of provider in certain areas. With operators still building out coverage in some districts, residents are complaining they’re effectively “forced” to purchase service from whoever best serves their compound, even if they prefer another operator. The NTRA and Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) discussed the complaints at a meeting yesterday with a number of unnamed real estate developers and telecom providers, NTRA said in a statement (pdf).

DATA POINTS-

#1- Non-oil exports rose 5.3% y-o-y in the first 10 months of 2023 to USD 29.5 bn, driven by building materials and agricultural products, Al Borsa reports.

#2- Soft loans make up 16% of the nation’s external debt, International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat said during a presser yesterday. External debt has quadrupled over the past decade, reaching a record high of USD 165.4 bn at the end of March due to increased borrowing from multilateral lenders and international debt markets.

ALSO- The government and private sector players received a combined USD 8.8 bn in external financing this year, a 36% y-o-y decrease, she said.

SIGN OF THE TIMES-

Go green or don’t go at all: The Canadian government will reportedly soon pass a new law requiring all vehicles sold by 2035 to be electric, Canada’s Toronto Star reported. The new regulation requires that zero-emissions vehicles — electric, hydrogen, and plug-in vehicles — make up 20% of new car sales by 2026, 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2035. The regulation also aims to shorten the wait times for EVs, which have grown to hurt the appetite for EVs.

CORRECTION- Our story on OCI selling its entire 50% stake to Adnoc incorrectly cited share price data from an Adnoc subsidiary that was not involved in the agreement. We have since corrected the story on our website.

** Missed this week’s Inside Industry? In our weekly vertical exploring all things industry and manufacturing, we looked at how 2023 was a challenging year for industry, despite sector-wide optimism at the start of the year. You can check out the story in our PM edition here.

*** It’s Blackboard day: We have our weekly look at the business of education in Egypt, from pre-K through the highest reaches of higher ed.

In today’s issue: We take a look at how education has adapted to macroeconomic headwinds and the rise of AI in 2023.