Good morning, friends, and welcome to the first day of the return of daylight saving time.Don’t forget to turn your clocks forward today as the country makes a collective jump into a longer day and shorter evening — much to our dismay. Daylight savings will remain in effect until 11:59pm on Thursday, 26 October, Cabinet said in a statement.

The good news is:We’re getting yet another long weekend next week after Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly made Thursday, 4 May a holiday for the public and private sector to mark Labor Day, which falls on 1 May. Banks will also be closed next Thursday, the Central Bank of Egypt said in a statement yesterday.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

With Eid prompting another shortened workweek, the newsflow managed to give us a bit of a breather — with just a few less-than-ideal updates on the macro front from S&P Global and some good news for our tourism sector. And there were also some key developments in the world of diplomacy. Let’s dive in.

THE BIG STORY OF THE WEEK- S&P Global downgraded our debt outlook to negative due to concerns over the progress of economic reforms and whether they are sufficient enough to help us cover our external funding needs, stabilize the exchange rate and attract foreign currency inflows. It also expects the EGP to end FY 2022-23 having declined 53% y-o-y. Despite the downgrade, the ratings agency held the country’s rating at B and said it expects most of our funding needs to be met by GCC investments, portfolio flows, and fresh borrowing.

BUDGET WATCH- We’re also upping social safety spendingin FY 2023-24, with the Madbouly government planning to raise allocations by 50% y-o-y to EGP 529.7 bn as it looks to offset the impact of soaring inflation on household budgets. A bulk of the money will go towards food and fuel subsidies.

ON THE TOURISM FRONT- Tourism players got a boost after the Madbouly government expanded its subsidized loan program to include the sector. The government is now offering EGP 10 bn worth of loans at a subsidized 11% interest rate to tourism players, pushing the total value of its subsidized loan program to EGP 160 bn.

This coincided with news that our hotel occupancy rose 20-25% y-o-y in 1Q 2023 thanks to tourist inflows from new markets and the depreciation of the EGP.

Egyptian officials — including President Abdel Fattah El Sisi — were also busy trying to put out political fires in Sudan. El Sisi held talks with leaders of the UAE, the UK and the European Council to discuss how to bring the fighting to an end.

We managed to evacuate our troops and citizens:Over 5.3k Egyptian citizens wereevacuated from Khartoum as of yesterday, while some 177 Egyptian troops returned safely to Cairo after being airlifted from Sudan in three separate flights. Twenty-seven Egyptian soldiers detained by the RSF at the Meroe air base earlier this month have also been freed following mediation by the UAE.

But not before we experienced a tragic loss: An assistant administrative attache in Egypt’s embassy in Khartoum, Muhammad El Gharrawi, was killed during the clashes between different military factions in the Sudanese capital. El Gharrawi was en route to the embassy to oversee the evacuation of Egyptians when he was killed.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

It’s going to be the start of a new month — which means we’re looking at a few new key figures.

S&P Global should publish Egypt’s PMI this Tuesday, 3 May. Remember: We sawcontinuing contraction in non-oil private sector activity last month due to high inflation, depreciation of the EGP, and import restrictions suppressing demand in Egypt.

The central bank should also release April’s foreign reserves figures next week.

Expect more updates on the state privatization program: We expect some progress on the privatization program following the lull in Ramadan and the Eid break, especially after indications last week that progress on stake sales will pick up.

Could we also see another EGP devaluation? Jefferies International’s Alia Moubayed is expecting greater exchange-rate flexibility, which she says could work alongside recent rate hikes to boost investor confidence in the local market.

The House of Representatives will reconvene on Sunday for the first time since Eid break.

There are also a few key deadlines coming up:

• Deadline for the tender for the Tenth of Ramadan dry port will expire on 30 April;
• Deadline for the self-employed to register for e-invoicing is 30 April;
• Deadline for corporate tax returns is 30 April.

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

YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS-

• A lot of you were concerned about the ongoing violence in Sudan, with a speech from Egypt’s Permanent Representative to the UN Osama Abdel Khalek on Egypt’s hopes for a ceasefire getting the most clicks. (Tweet)
• The photo that earned Egyptian photographer Mohamed Mahdy a World Press Photo award also got a lot of clicks. (Photo)
• News that India will soon become the world’s most populous country piqued your interest. (Tweet)
• Plenty of you still are still very curious about AI, judging by the number of clicks on Egypt’s new charter for responsible use of the technology. (pdf)
• We were happy to see that our project profile on Darah Provincials Capital Development Project also got a lot of attention. (Enterprise)

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

Ongoing violence in Sudan dominated headlines in the foreign press for the second week running, as multiple ceasefires were broken and more than 512 people were killed. The violence in Sudan has now entered its fourteenth day, forcing residents to flee to neighboring countries including Egypt. Sudanese Armed Forces General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan approved a plan to extend it for an additional 72 hours as of Wednesday, but air strikes and clashes persisted yesterday. Al Burhan also agreed to partake in peace talks proposed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The RSF is yet to respond to the proposal.

Biden’s 2024 re-election bid also took precedence in the global press: US President Joe Biden last week officially announced his plans to run — alongside current vice president Kamala Harris — for re-election next year to “finish the job.” If Biden secures another four years in office he will leave the White House at age 86, extending his run as the oldest serving US president. Biden may once again face off against former US President Donald Trump, who has already launched his bid for the Republican nomination despite being the subject of ongoing criminal investigations.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- We’re in for a pleasantly warm weekend, with highs of 27°C today and 25°C tomorrow, and overnight lows of 14°C-16°C.