Good morning, folks, and welcome to the weekend. This one is chock-full of plays, stand-up shows, and concerts, so there’s no real excuse to spend it at home. But if the cooler weather is seeing you bust out your favorite fuzzy socks and curl up with a warm cup of tea, we won’t judge.

Hang tight for the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which opened twelve of its halls this week ahead of the grand opening. Our guide will tell you what to expect past the mesmerizing hanging obelisk.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

ECONOMY-

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) once again left interest rates unchanged yesterday. The current policy rates remain appropriate to maintain the prevailing tight monetary stance until a significant and sustained decline in inflation is realized,” the The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said in a statement following the meeting. The committee is projected inflation to stabilize through the end of 2024, though the ongoing geopolitical tensions, elevated global commodity prices, and a “higher than anticipated pass-through of fiscal measures” could lead to a higher inflation environment.

Where rates currently stand: The overnight deposit rate stands at 27.25%, the overnight lending rate at 28.25%, and the main operation and disc. rates at 27.75%. Rates have remained unchanged since the committee delivered a 600 bps rate hike following a surprise monetary policy meeting in March in conjunction with the float of the EGP and a larger loan package from the IMF being approved soon after.

The IMF’s recently announced plan to cut surcharges could save us a whole lot of dough, officials tell Enterprise: Egypt stands to save between USD 300-400 mn thanks to the IMF reducing surcharges, a government source told Enterprise. Before the decision to cut fees by an average of 36% starting next month, Egypt had been forecasted to pay the IMF USD 646 mn in surcharges over the next five years — marking it as the world’s fourth largest surcharge payer — according to the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

#3- Foreign debt inches down during 2H FY 2023-2024: Egypt’s foreign debt sat at USD 152.9 bn during the end of the last fiscal year, falling some USD 15.1 bn — almost 9% — compared to the USD 168 bn recorded at the end of first half of the fiscal year, according to the central bank data.

DIPLOMACY-

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was in Cairo on Tuesday for a one-day visit that saw him meet with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to discuss strengthening relations, trade and investment, as well as regional tension. The two sides inked the formation of the Egyptian-Saudi Supreme Coordination Council, which will be co-chaired by them. They also inked an Agreement on Promotion and Mutual Protection of Investments between Egypt and Saudi, which chairman of the Egyptian-Saudi Joint Business Council Bandar Al Ameri previously said could bring in upwards of USD 10 bn in bilateral investments over the next three years.

Iran’s FM is in town: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Cairo on Wednesday— marking the first visit by an Iranian FM in around 12 years — as part of a wider regional tour that saw him visit Jordan. The minister discussed regional security and stability with his President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, as El Sisi reiterated Egypt’s call to avoid a full-scale war in the region.

MOVES-

Major General Hassan Rashad was sworn in on Wednesday as Egypt’s new intelligence chief, with outgoing head Major General Abbas Kamel named advisor to the presidency, general coordinator of the security services, and special envoy of the president. Rashad graduated from the Military Technical College, he then joined the General Intelligence Service and rose through the ranks to become the Intelligence Service deputy before his appointment.

M&A WATCH-

Arla is eyeing a complete takeover of Domty: Denmark-based Arla Foods has submitted anon-binding offer to acquire up to 100% of local cheesemaker Domty. Arla is looking to buy a majority stake of up to 100% in the company at EGP 31.48 per share, valuing the company at some EGP 8.9 bn or USD 183 mn. The offer price of EGP 31.48-a-pop represents a 74.6% premium on Domty’s closing price of EGP 18.03 on the day of the announcement.

Raya Holding has received a binding offer to acquire up to 49% of its wholly-owned subsidiary Raya Foods for USD 40 mn, the parent company said in a disclose to the EGX yesterday (pdf), noting that Raya Foods typically contributes c. 5% of the group total revenues. Raya stopped short of disclosing the name of the bidder.

That’s a wrap on Adnoc’s Fertiglobe acquisition: Nassef Sawiris-owned chemical producer OCI has sold its entire 50% stake in ammonia and urea producer Fertiglobe to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) in a USD 3.62 bn transaction. The transaction pushes Adnoc’s stake in Fertiglobe to 86.2%, with the remaining 13.8% free floating on the ADX.

TRANSPORT-

El Sisi inaugurates the country’s newest railway station: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi yesterday inaugurated the country’s newest and largest railway station — Giza’s Bashteel Station — saying that it, along with other national projects being set up, is reviving the transport sector after it has been neglected for decades. The government has spent some EGP 2 tn on the transport sector over the past ten years, El Sisi added. The station was designed and constructed by regional engineering and construction giant Hassan Allam Holding.

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

It was a busy week for news, with business news jostling for space with wall-to-wall coverage of the approaching US election and Israel’s indiscriminate strikes in Lebanon and Gaza.

Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar is dead, Israel says, claiming to have killed him in a shootout yesterday and verified the identity of the body through dental records and fingerprints.

News outlets on both sides of the Atlantic are asking whether this means the end of Israel’s war on Gaza after US President Joe Biden said Sinwar’s killing means “Now’s the time to move on … towards a ceasefire. It’s time for this war to end.”

Netanyahu is having none of it, saying: “But the war, my dear ones, is not over yet. Great challenges still lie ahead of us. Together we will fight.”

Israel's ever-expanding wars on Lebanon and Gaza entered a depressing new chapter, with concern among rights groups growing that Israel is implementing a plan — dubbed the Generals Plan — to starve north Gaza and turn it into a closed military zone with no water, food, or medicine allowed to enter after civilians have been pushed out. Residents in northern Gaza have not received any food aid since 1 October according to the UN World Food Program, which estimates that around 400k Gazans remain in the area.

The US presidential election — which is now only 18 days away — continued to fight for space on press’ digital front pages, with Trump reacting to Harris’ rise in the polls by ratcheting up the rhetoric. He described Democrats as an “enemy from within” that may have to be dealt with by the National Guard on election day during an interview with Fox News and repeatedly refused to state plainly that he would abide by a peaceful transfer of power if he lost the election.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- This weekend will be maintaining this week’s sunny mornings and chilly fall evenings. The capital will be seeing highs of 31°C today and 30°C tomorrow, with a low of 21°C on both days, according to our favorite weather app.

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-

A reunion of five wealthy friends in Sahel takes a turn in the play Sa7ebna. The play begun yesterday and will continue until Sunday, 20 October at AUC Tahrir you’ll get to follow the narrative where tensions rise, and buried emotions and conflicts come to light. You can grab tickets at Ticketsmarche.

City Centre Almaza is hosting a comedy night with The High Five group tonight. Doors open at 7pm, so catch a spot at the fun-filled evening of laughter on Ticketsmarche.

The Ma3 Kamel E7terami season finale will hit the El Masrah Theatre stage live for the first time. Tonight Mohamed El Aty will be giving you a night of comedy that breaks the fourth wall. Reserve your spot at Ticketsmarche.

Catch Massar Egbari and Disco Misr at El Malahy tonight. The concert is slated to start at 7pm. Get your tickets at Ticketsmarche.

Egyptian artist Ash is back with a concert from the heart of the Pyramids of Giza, part of his world tour, tonight. Get your tickets from Nacelle’s website.

Calling all plant parents. The autumn edition of the International Flower Expo has begun on Thursday, 10 October at Al Horreya Garden. Take home anything from ornamental plants, trees, and all different kinds of flowers. The expo will continue until Sunday, 10 November.

The celebration of music continues at the Arab Music Festival. The festival’s lineup includes Medhat Saleh, Ali El Haggar, Abeer Nehme, Wael Jassar, Lotfi Bouchnak, and more. The festival will run until Thursday, 24 October — tickets can be booked through Tazkarti.

For the love of tapestry. Today in History is Amsterdam-based Egyptian artist Dina Danish’s first exhibition in Egypt in nearly a decade. Composed of a collection of appliqué tapestries that resemble medieval banners, the exhibition is still open at the Gypsum Gallery till Saturday, 30 October.

The largest collection of prints in the country. Cairopolitan is bringing together a collection of artwork from over 180 local and regional artists to display in the Cairo Prints Exhibition. The gallery will be open from tonight till Monday, 18 November in Garden City.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

The fourth edition of Forever is Now is approaching. This year, a lineup of 12 global visionary artists are ready to display their work at the iconic Pyramids of Giza — including two groundbreaking AI-powered projects. The exhibition will start on Thursday, 24 October and continue till Saturday, 16 November.