World Bank downgrades 2023 growth forecast for Egypt and the MENA region

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

More high-interest CDs — and is the Export Development Bank marked for privatization?

Good morning, folks, and welcome to the penultimate week of Ramadan. It’s the first slow news morning of the Holy Month — the perfect way to start a new week, if you ask us.

A very Happy Easter to all of our readers observing the Western Easter holiday.

Good news for the tired souls among us: This will be our last full work week of the month.

Coptic Easter falls on Sunday, 16 April. It’s typically a bank holiday, but not a national holiday (though it should be);
Monday, 17 April is a public holiday for both the public and private sector to mark Sham El Nessim. Look for confirmation this week that the EGX and central bank will follow suit;
Eid El Fitr should land on or around Friday, 21 April,and Tuesday, 25 April is Sinai Liberation Day.

The caveat: Cabinet has yet to make clear what days we will observe as national holidays in the 21-25 April window. Are you planning to bridge?

** SO, WHEN DO WE EAT? We’ll be breaking our fasts at 6:18pm CLT today. You have until 4:05am tomorrow morning to hydrate and grab a bite to eat.

PSA #1- We’re heading into a week of changeable weather with a good chance of wind and rain in much of the country throughout the week, particularly on the North and Red Sea coasts. In the Greater Cairo Area, things are starting off hot, with the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) forecasting a daytime high of 35°C and a nighttime low of 19°C tonight. The rest of the week will be much cooler, with highs of 25°C and lows of 15°C. Our favorite weather app has the mercury as low as 22°C by day and 12°C by night at points this week.

PSA #2- We’re bringing back daylight saving time (yet again) on Friday, 28 April. You’ll be losing an hour’s sleep as clocks jump forward one hour until the final Thursday of October.

HIGH-YIELD CDs-

Emirates NBD Egypt and United Bank of Egypt have brought new, high-interest rate certificates of deposit to the market.

Emirates NBD has launched three-year CDs, with annual rates of 18.5% (with annual interest payments), 18.25% (quarterly interest), or 18.00% (monthly payouts), the bank said in an emailed statement. The minimum buy-in is EGP 100k.
State-owned United Bank Egypt is also out with fresh CDs, offering three-year sharia-compliant certificates at a variable rate of at least 19%. Interest on the certificates is paid monthly and the minimum deposit is EGP 1k.

CIB has discontinued its 22% CD and is replacing it with a series of three-year, 18-20% annual-rate certificates, according to the bank’s website. Savers will need to commit at least EGP 1 mn to lock in 20%, EGP 200k to access the 19% rate, and 10k for 18%. Interest payouts are monthly.

BACKGROUND- Private lenders including aiBank and Al Baraka Bank Egypt have followed the lead of state-owned banks NBE, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire and launched new certificates of depositin the wake of the central bank’s decision last month to raise interest rates by another 200 bps.

PRIVATIZATION WATCH-

Is the Export Development Bank earmarked for privatization? The Madbouly government is considering including the EGX-listed Export Development Bank (Ebank) in its rebooted privatization program, Al Mal reports, citing unnamed sources it says have knowledge of the matter. A preliminary study is underway to explore the idea, which would see the bank bring on board new investors via a capital increase, the sources reportedly said.

Ownership + financials: Ebank is 84% owned by state financial institutions, with the National Investment Bank holding the controlling 40.75% stake. Banque Misr owns 23.1% and the National Bank of Egypt has a 19.8% stake. The bank’s net income more than doubled to

EGP 1.34 bn in 2022 thanks to high interest rates, which drove a 60% increase in net interest income, according to its most recent financials (pdf).

DATA POINTS-

#1- More of us are banked than ever before: Egypt’s financial inclusion rate — the percentage of citizens above the age of 16 who hold a bank account, mobile wallet or pre-paid card — jumped to 64.8% by the end of 2022, according to central bank data. Some 42.3 mn adults in Egypt were banked as of December 2022, almost 43% of whom were women.

#2- The country’s trade deficit fell 47% y-o-y in January to USD 2.48 bn, according to CAPMAS data (pdf).Exports fell 7% y-o-y to USD 3.85 bn, while imports plunged 28% to USD 6.33 bn.

ZOOMING OUT- Global trade hit a record USD 32 tn in 2022 — but dropped off in the final quarter of the year,according to UNCTAD’s latest Global Trade report (pdf). Deteriorating economic conditions and inflationary pressure saw global trade decline in 4Q — but UNCTAD remains upbeat, saying that trade is expected to remain resilient this year despite geopolitical instability and uncertainty over the economic outlook.

#3- The expat car import scheme is yet to pick up steam: The scheme has brought in just USD 385 mn since its launch in November, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said yesterday. That’s still far short of the Finance Ministry’s ambitious USD 2.5 bn target. Around 600 cars have entered the country under the program.The Madbouly government last month extended the program another two months; it is scheduled to close on 14 May.

#4- Some 26.5k dual-fuel cars have been delivered by the government since 2021 under its swap scheme aimed at reducing the number of petrol-fulled cars on the roads, the Finance Ministry said.

A changing target? The government had said it wants to replace 250k old cars with dual-fuel models by the end of 2023. That plan dates to 2019, and we expect the 250k-car target will fall by the wayside in light of the state’s twin emphasis since mid-2022 on (a) electric vehicles and (b) boosting exports of natural gas to Europe.

#5- Global food prices fell again in March: Global food prices fell for the 12th consecutive month in March, according to the UN food price index. Food prices have cooled on better supply and lower import demand after spiking in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The index fell 2.1% m-o-m to 126.9 points.

HAPPENING TODAY-

The Senate is back in session after a 12-day break. The upper house of parliament will look into a report recommending the government work on building a circular economy — a model that incentivizes markets to limit waste and reuse as much as possible, putting sustainability at the heart of production and consumption.

FDI and exports are on the agenda for some Senate committees:

The Agriculture Committee is looking at policies to boost agricultural exports to bring in more foreign currency;
The Industrial Committee will discuss the Industrial Development Authority’s role in simplifying industrial licensing procedures, which could help draw foreign investment.

Tomorrow: The Senate will discuss a report on government efforts to save water by modernizing irrigation systems.

Later this week: Cabinet ministers present the next fiscal year’s budget to MPs. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and Planning Minister Hala El Said will deliver statements on the new FY 2023-2024 budget in the House of Representatives on Tuesday and Wednesday.

HAPPENING TOMORROW-

Don’t look: Monday is inflation day. Capmas and the Central Bank of Egypt will publish inflation data for March tomorrow, and it’s expected to be another difficult read.

Headline inflation will likely soar to a record high on the back of the foreign-currency shortage, EGP devaluation and higher fuel prices, according to a Reuters poll of analysts. The median forecast of 13 analysts puts inflation at 33.6% in March, up from 31.9% the month prior and surpassing the all-time high of 32.95% in July 2017. Capital Economics is forecasting an even higher figure of 37.1%. “We think that earlier falls in the [EGP] will continue to feed through into Egypt’s inflation, pushing up both food and non-food inflation,” the research firm wrote in a note.

The IMF / World Bank Spring Meetings get underway in Washington: Global finance chiefs will converge on the two lenders’ headquarters in Washington, DC, to discuss the state of the global economy. Expect central banks’ struggle to balance bringing down inflation with protecting growth and financial stability to dominate the agenda amid uncertainty in the global financial markets triggered by the US banking crisis. The meetings run until Sunday, 16 April.

Global economy to see its weakest growth since 1990 this year: The IMF expects global economic growth to fall below 3% and remain around that figure for the next five years, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at an event hosted by the Meridian International Center and Politico. The global lender’s “lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990” comes on the back of geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and financial vulnerabilities exposed by the recent failures of banks in the US and Switzerland. Global GDP growth almost halved to 3.4% in 2022 on the back of the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

** We’ll find out the details of the IMF’s prognosis for the global economy on Monday when it releases its full World Economic Outlook.

Brownfield gold mining tender launches tomorrow: Shalateen Mineral Resources will on Monday invite international companies to bid in a gold mining tender for brownfield sites in the Eastern Desert, it said in a statement Friday. The company — whose major shareholders are the Egyptian Mineral Resources Authority, the military’s National Service Projects Organization, and the National Investment Bank — is offering concessions in five areas in the Eastern Desert. The tender will close on 10 August.

ALSO-It’s deadline day for NGOs to register with the government: All local and foreign NGOs have to register with the government by 11 April under the 2019 NGO Law.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The US press is focused on what appears to be a major leak of military intelligence to the internet. Western officials are said to be “stunned and infuriated” that detailed and highly classified documents — including on the war in Ukraine and US spying operations around the globe — have ended up circulating online.

Misinformation? US officials say Moscow is likely behind the leak, while Kyiv is claiming some of the files are “fictitious” and part of a Russian disinformation campaign. Our advice: Maintain a critical eye and get your news from trusted sources as this story unfolds. (Financial Times | Reuters | New York Times | CNBC | Wall Street Journal)

MORNING MUST READ-

It’s looking like the year of layoffs: US employers announced some 90k job cuts in March, more than four times the number in the same month last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. data. This pushes the total number of jobs lost in 1Q 2023 to 270k, nearly five times more than last year’s 56k.

US tech companies announced a whopping 102k job cuts last quarter. The figure in 1Q 2022? Just 267. (See: mass layoffs at Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, to name just a few.) That puts the tech sector on track to mark the most cuts ever for the full year. The standing record is 2001, after the dot-com bubble burst and 168k people found themselves out of a job.

We are delighted to share with you that the Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum will be taking place on Monday, 15 May at the Four Seasons Hotel at Nile Plaza.

DO YOU WANT TO ATTEND? The first wave of invites is going out soon. If you’re a C-suite exec, exporter, investor, official, banker, or someone who should be part of the conversation, please TAP OR CLICK HEREto request a spot at this exclusive event.

WANT TO BECOME A COMMERCIAL PARTNER? Ping a note to Moustafa, our head of commercial, here.

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

Peaceful moments. Plentiful experiences. A Ramadan escape like no other at Somabay. Book an unforgettable Ramadan escape and experience ultimate relaxation this Ramadan by Somabay’s breathtaking coastline. For more information and booking inquiries, please email info@stayr.somabay.com, contact us via telephone or WhatsApp on +2(0) 015 5600 5693, or visit our websites: somabay.com and somabayholidays.com.

World Bank downgrades growth forecasts for Egypt and the region as inflation bites

World Bank revises downward its Egypt economic growth forecast: The World Bank now expects Egypt’s economy to grow at a 4.0% clip during the fiscal year 2022-2023, according to its April MENA Economic Update (pdf). The forecast marks a downward revision from its October forecast of 4.8% and roughly tallies with the government’s latest estimates.

We’re still expected to be among the top performers in the MENA region: Only Djibouti is expected to see higher growth among regional oil importers in 2023, at 4.4%. Egypt is also forecast to outperform all oil exporters bar Oman, as weakening global oil demand sees GDP growth in the GCC moderate from 7.3% in 2022 to 3.2% this year.

Blame inflation: The downgrade comes thanks to a toxic soup of factors familiar to our regular readers. Household and business purchasing power are being constrained as a result of the devaluation of the EGP, imported inflation, higher fuel prices, and monetary tightening, the bank writes (pdf). “Inflation is eroding incomes and constraining business activity,” it says. The lender is predicting inflation to average 18.9% in FY 2022-2023 before moderating to 15.0% next fiscal year and 10.0% in FY 2024-2025.

REMEMBER- Analysts are predicting another month of record inflation when March data is released tomorrow, after price hikes hit a five-and-a-half year high of 31.9% y-o-y in February.

Driving growth: The services sector — mainly tourism and Suez Canal receipts — as well as construction, the WB says. GDP growth is forecast to remain steady at 4.0% next fiscal year before improving to 4.7% in FY 2024-2025.

The depreciation may have a silver lining: “Relative to other developing oil importers in MENA, Egypt’s forecast reflects the expectation that its competitiveness might be increased due to the recent depreciation of the EGP,” the World Bank says. “Reforms to boost investment, exports, and FDI remain crucial for competitiveness,” it adds.

The World Bank is now expecting the MENA region to grow at a 3.0% clip during 2023, down 0.5 percentage points from its previous forecast. Oil exporters will see the biggest deceleration in growth as last year’s hot energy markets on the back of the war in Ukraine give way to a more uncertain global outlook, though the historical growth gap between oil exporters and importers in MENA is expected to persist.

Sounding the alarm on food insecurity: The April update has a special focus on what the World Bank says is “a full-blown food insecurity crisis brewing across the region,” largely thanks to inflationary pressures. Food insecurity in MENA now affects some 17.6% of the population, it writes, up from 11.8% in 2006. “Inflation hits the poor much harder than the rich, because the poor spend most of their budget on food and energy,” it says — and data suggests the difference in impact is higher in Egypt than any other country in MENA. Egypt will need some USD 2.8-4.2 bn to meet the needs of the “severely food insecure” in 2023, the report reads.

Consumer healthcare giant IDH pivots to a post-covid reality, with core revenues up 18% in 2022

Egypt- and London-listed Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH) continued its pivot to the post-covid world in 2022, with its bottom line declining 65% y-o-y in 2022 as covid-19-related revenues sharply declined, according to the company’s earnings release (pdf). Net income fell to EGP 527 mn from almost EGP 1.5 bn in 2021 on the back of a 31% decline in revenues, the company said.

Sales of conventional tests were up 18% last year, supported by rising test volumes and per-test revenues, the company said. Sales returned to their pre-covid trend following a spike revenues driven by demand for pandemic-related tests. 2022 saw a 75% fall in covid-related revenues as infection rates fell and governments ended mandatory testing. Conventional revenues accounted for 81% of IDH’s sales last year.

A challenging year: “This year’s successes came against a difficult operating backdrop with our markets, and particularly our home market of Egypt, facing an unprecedented mix of economic challenges stemming from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and lingering impacts of the pandemic,” said CEO Hend El Sherbini. “We are confident that despite the ongoing economic challenges witnessed in our geographies, we have put in place the necessary strategies and mitigation mechanisms to continue delivering double-digit conventional revenue growth in 2023.”

Looking ahead: IDH will launch operations in Saudi Arabia “in the coming months,” the company said. It also intends to open 20-25 new branches, including three new branches in Jordan and two-new Al Borg Scan branches in Egypt. While IDH has made “multiple” price hikes to its products in the local market to account for rising inflation, it aims to continue absorbing some of the cost increases to ensure its services remain accessible and boost loyalty among patients, El Sherbini said. The FX crunch in Egypt has seen the company’s board postpone its decision on a 2022 dividend to its August meeting.

Egyptian Mercantile Exchange to sell yellow corn to support flailing poultry industry

Feed suppliers can now register to buy yellow corn through the EMX: The Supply Ministry is selling imported yellow corn to poultry feed factories through theEgyptian Mercantile Exchange (EMX), according to a ministrystatement(pdf). Medium-sized poultry feed factories with production capacities of 20-100 tons per day can now register on the EMXhereuntil 11 April.

Where is the corn going? Poultry feed factories should use the corn to make and sell fodder to small poultry breeders that have a maximum production capacity of 20k birds per year, according to the statement. Factories must disclose the buyers and the quantities of feed sold.

Easing the feed crisis: Egyptian poultry companies have struggled to obtain chicken feed over the past year as capital controls and a shortage of foreign currency prevents importers from bringing supplies into the country.

ICYMI- Egypt’s commodities exchange launched in November: Traders are currently able to buy and sell only wheat on the EMX but the Supply Ministry intends to expand the list of tradable commodities to eventually include oil, sugar, rice, cotton, steel, and gold.

Nadia Tawil joins AfricInvest Group. PLUS: Sharif Farouk to continue as Egypt Post chairman after boardroom shuffle

Our friend Nadia El-Tawil has joined private equity firm AfricInvestas investment officer in Cairo, capping a 12-year run at Compass Capital that included a five-year stint as a director. AfricInvest has raised more than USD 2 bn and made more than 200 investments in 35 countries. Its portfolio in Egypt includes Masria Digital Payments (MDP).

Chairman Sharif Farouk (LinkedIn) retained his position on the board of directors at Egypt Post following a shuffle that saw changes to other senior positions including the vice chairmen for regional affairs, digital transformation, and financial inclusion, according to a Communications Ministry statement.

Egyptian talk shows cover the famous iftar table in Cairo’s Matareya district. PLUS: Escalating violence in Israel-Palestine conflict

The Ramadan spirit lives on: Cairo’s Matareya district on Thursday hosted its annual 15 Ramadan mass iftar table, said to be the longest in Egypt. The iftar brings together Cairenes of all ages and backgrounds to break their fast, one of the district’s residents told El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 2:43).

Now in its ninth year, the Matareya iftar brought together some 4k people including the South Korean ambassador to Egypt, Ala Mas’ouleety reported (watch, runtime: 9:48). The National also took note.

ALSO- The talking heads covered escalating violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories in the wake of Israeli authorities’ repeated storming of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque last week. Two terror attacks yesterday claimed the lives of three civilians in Tel Aviv and the West Bank. Meanwhile, the Israeli military has bombed targets in Lebanon and Gaza after Palestinian militants in Lebanon and Hamas fired rockets over the weekend. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry last week condemned Israeli actions at Al Haram Al Sharif and yesterday called on all sides to avoid further escalation.

Palestinian Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Fadi Al Hadmi discussed the latest developments on El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 2:49).

Egypt’s economy in the foreign press on 9 April, 2023. PLUS: Ramses II in Paris

It’s still all about the economy in the foreign press this morning.

What’s it going to take for Egypt to secure vital investment from the Gulf? The Wall Street Journal is the latest to report that Gulf countries want to see the government go further with its economic reform program to secure USD bns worth of investment pledges.

The National reports that the FX crunch is having a severe impact on Egypt’s hospitals, some of which it says are facing a shortage of medical supplies.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister is pushing the idea that Egypt could become a hub for the re-export of Russian grain to the Middle East and Africa. See interview with state-owned RT Arabic. (Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in January that Egypt wants to become a major hub for grain.)

ALSO MAKING HEADLINES-

Ramses in Paris: The sarcophagus of Ramses II has gone on display in Paris for afive-month exhibition. (AFP)
Video Assistant Referee tech is back in the Egyptian league: VAR was missing for a round of matches after the country fell behind on payments to the Spanish company supplying the tech. (Reuters)
GERD good for all? Egypt and Sudan could benefit from the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam if Ethiopia were to agree to a joint data-sharing and water management plan, researchers say. (DW)

Egypt’s e-finance looks to partner with Saudi fintech Thiqah. PLUS: Our first biogas plant

FINTECH-

E-finance looks to enter Saudi market: State-owned fintech player e-finance has signed an MoU with Saudi-based Thiqah Business Services that could see them partner to provide digital solutions and e-payments services in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, it said in a statement (pdf) on Thursday. The partnership would be the company’s first step into the Saudi market and comes as part of its strategy to expand into new markets overseas.

The Saudi connection: Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF became the single-largest shareholder in e-finance last year after it acquired a 25% stake. The partnership with Thiqah “reflects the PIF’s first efforts in catapulting [e-finance] into foreign markets,” said e-finance Chairman Ibrahim Sarhan.

ENERGY-

The military is building the country’s first biogas-powered plant: A subsidiary of the military’s National Service Projects Authority has signed an agreement withAl Mawarid Industrial Products Company to establish the first plant in the country to generate electricity using biogas, according to Al Mal. The plant will produce 1 MWh of electricity by processing 85k tons of livestock manure.

VC funding to US startups plummets on tech slowdown, SVB collapse

Venture capital funding to US startups fell 55% y-o-y to USD 37 bn in 1Q 2023 as the tech slowdown continues to squeeze companies,Bloombergreports, citing research firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. Investors have cut down both the size and number of their investments as the fallout from SVB’s recent collapse compounded the troubles of an industry already grappling with rising interest rates, thousands of layoffs, and plummeting valuations.

By the numbers: The number of investments in startups dropped to a five-year low of under 3k deals in the last quarter, while exit activity — IPOs and sales to other companies — fell to USD 71.4 bn in 2022, the first figure under USD 100 bn in six years.

“The whole market is taking much more caution toward investment,” said one analyst at PitchBook. “It’s not going to be easy for companies to raise capital even if they’re growing at a pace they set in their last round.”

Also worth noting:

Never let a good crisis go to waste: Short sellers made their biggest monthly earnings since the 2008 financial crisis in March by taking positions against banks at the center of the recent banking crisis. Hedge funds made a total of USD 7.2 bn wagering against US and European banks amid the recent turmoil, which saw the collapse of three US lenders and almost toppled Swiss giant Credit Suisse. (Financial Times)
Samsung to slash chip output following earnings plunge: South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics will make a “meaningful” cut to semiconductor production in a bid to ease a supply glut following dismal 1Q earnings that saw its operating profit plunge 96% to its lowest in 14 years. (Financial Times)

EGX30	16,709	-1.8% (YTD: +14.5%)
USD (CBE)	Buy 30.83	Sell 30.96
USD at CIB	Buy 30.85	Sell 30.95
Interest rates CBE	18.25% deposit	19.25% lending
Tadawul	10,906	-0.1% (YTD: +4.1%)
ADX	9,462	-0.1% (YTD: -7.3%)
DFM	3,411	-0.1% (YTD: +2.2%)
S&P 500	4,105	+0.4% (YTD: +6.9%)
FTSE 100	7,742	+1.0% (YTD: +3.9%)
Euro Stoxx 50	4,309	+0.3% (YTD: +13.6%)
Brent crude	USD 85.12	+0.2%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 2.01	-6.7%
Gold	USD 2,026.40	-0.5%
BTC	USD 27,959	-0.1% (YTD: +69.1%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell 1.8% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.5 bn (19% below the trailing 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 14.5% YTD.

In the green: Ezz Steel (+3.4%), Juhayna (+2.7%) and Sidi Kerir Petrochemicals (+0.8%).

In the red: Egypt Kuwait Holding – EGP (-3.7%), CIB (-3.2%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (-3.0%).

US, China vie for dominance in subsea internet cables

Internet cables are not exempt from the US-China tech struggle: Chinese state-owned telecoms companies are planning a major global data cable network that will rival a similar project being backed by the US, Reuters reports, citing four people involved with the plans. The USD 500 mn fiber-optic network would be one of the world’s largest, linking China to France via Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, the people said.

Splinternet: “The plan is a sign that an intensifying tech war between Beijing and Washington risks tearing the fabric of the internet,” the newswire writes. A Reuters report last month revealed that Washington has prevented a number of Chinese subsea cables from going ahead over the past four years, and at the same time is pushing ahead with the US-backed SeaMeWe-6 cable, which would also connect France to Singapore via Egypt and other countries.

CALENDAR

APRIL

April: GAFIto launch the country’s first integrated electronic platform to facilitate setting up a business.

April: SCZone roadshow in China.

April: SCZone to begin providing ship bunkering services in the Suez Canal’s ports.

9 April (Sunday): Senate to reconvene.

10 April (Monday): Shalateen Mineral Resources gold mining tender opens.

10-16 April (Monday-Sunday): IMF / World Bank Spring Meetings, Washington DC.

11 April (Tuesday): House to reconvene.

11 April (Tuesday): Deadline for feed suppliers to register on the Egyptian Mercantile Exchange.

11 April (Tuesday): Deadline for NGOs to reconcile their status.

15 April: Lamees El Hadidi’s startup competition show, El Forsa, closes applications.

16 April (Sunday): Coptic Easter

17 April (Monday): Official holiday in observance of Sham El Nessim.

17 April (Monday): National Paints Holding’s and Eagle Chemicals’ MTOs for Pachin ends.

21 April (Friday): Eid El Fitr (TBC).

25 April (Tuesday): Sinai Liberation Day.

27 April (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Sinai Liberation Day (TBC).

28 April (Friday): First day of daylight saving time.

30 April (Sunday): Tenth of Ramadan dry port tender deadline.

30 April (Sunday): Deadline for self-employed to register for e-invoicing.

30 April (Sunday): Deadline for corporate tax returns.

30 April (Sunday): End of Mediterranean, Nile Delta oil + gas exploration tender.

Late April – 15 May: 1Q2023 earnings season.

MAY

1 May (Monday): Labor Day.

1 May (Monday): Deadline to apply to VC funds program by GIZ Egypt, AfricaGrow and Dutch development bank FMO.

2-3 May (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

3 May (Wednesday): National Dialogue begins.

4 May (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Labor Day (TBC).

4 May (Thursday): IEF-IGU Ministerial Gas Forum, Cairo.

9-11 May (Tuesday-Thursday): First edition of the Arab Actuarial Conference, Cairo.

12-15 May (Friday-Monday): Egypt Fashion Week.

14 May (Sunday): Expat car import scheme ends.

15 May (Monday): Enterprise Exports & FDI Forum, Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza.

16-18 May (Tuesday-Thursday): Egypt will host its first conferenceon cybersecurity and defense intelligence systems (CDIS-Egypt).

18 May (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

19 May (Friday): Arab League summit, Riyadh.

20-21 May (Saturday-Sunday): eGlob Expo, St. Regis Almasa Hotel, Cairo.

22-26 May (Monday-Friday): Egypt will host the African Development Bank (AfDB) annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh.

JUNE

June: Indian representatives to discuss prospect investments in the Suez Canal.

7-10 (Wednesday-Saturday): The second edition of Africa Health Excon.

10 June (Saturday): Thanaweya Amma examinations begin.

12 June – 15 July (Monday-Saturday): Thanaweya Amma exams.

13-14 June (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

15 June (Thursday): Deadline for bids in EGPC’s mature oil fields tender.

19-21 June (Monday-Wednesday): Egypt Infrastructure and Water Expo debuts at the Egypt International Exhibition Center.

22 June (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

28 June-2 July (Wednesday-Sunday): Eid El Adha (TBC).

30 June (Friday): June 30 Revolution Day.

30 June (Friday): Egypt to exit Grains Trade Convention.

JULY

1 July: House of Representatives deadline to approve the FY 2023-2024 budget.

18 July (Tuesday): Islamic New Year.

20 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Islamic New Year (TBC).

23 July (Sunday): Revolution Day.

25-26 July (Tuesday-Wednesday): Federal Reserve interest rate meeting.

27 July (Thursday): National holiday in observance of Revolution Day.

Late July-14 August: 2Q2023 earnings season.

AUGUST

August: Hassan Allam Utilities + Agility to open Yanmu East logistics park.

3 August (Thursday): Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

10 August (Thursday): Shalateen Mineral Resources gold mining tender closes.

22-24 August (Tuesday-Thursday): BRICS summit, Johannesburg, South Africa.

SEPTEMBER

9-10 September (Saturday-Sunday): G20 summit, New Delhi, India.

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

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

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

21-23 September (Thursday-Saturday): Narrative PR Summit, Somabay.

26 September (Tuesday): Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (TBC).

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

OCTOBER

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

6 October (Friday): Armed Forces Day.

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

Late October-14 November: 3Q2023 earnings season.

26 October (Thursday): Daylight saving time ends.

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

NOVEMBER

November: Cairo to hostIntra-African Trade Fair.

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

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

DECEMBER

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

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

EVENTS WITH NO SET DATE

2023: The inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum.

2023: Egypt will host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in 2023.

Summer 2023: EGX to launch a shariah-compliant index.

1H 2023: GAFI roadshow set to launch to drum up foreign investment for golden licenses

1H 2023: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank intends to launch a digital consumer finance company

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.

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

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

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

2Q 2025: Safaga Terminal 2 to initiate operations.

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