Good morning, friends, and happy FRIDAY. It’s officially the last few days before the Eid break, which is set to start next Tuesday.

REMEMBER- Public sector employees and banks will be off from Tuesday, 27 June through Monday, 3 July in observance of Eid El Adha and the anniversary of 30 June, according to both the Madbouly cabinet and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

The Manpower Ministry says the private sector will be off from Tuesday, 27 June through Sunday, 2 July, according to a statement out late yesterday. We’re still waiting for the EGX to announce the days it will take off.

EnterpriseAM is taking a publication holiday during the Eid break, and so will Enterprise Weekend. Enterprise Weekend will be back in your inbox on Friday, 7 July at 9:00am CLT.

Until the week-long holiday lands, might we recommend a pool day in Cairo? We expect many of you will join the annual exodus to Sahel or another coastal resort. Those planning a stay-cation in Cairo for the holidays — or looking to spend this weekend in the big city before Tuesday — you won’t want to miss our Enterprise Guide of the best pools in Cairo where you can relax, train, or just hang out with friends.

IT ISN’T A STAY-CATION WITHOUT VIDEO GAMES- As we’re going on a two-week hiatus, we figured we’d give you something a little more engaging with a more prolonged kick than a podcast (and arguably more fun). We’re going out today with our very first videogame review, which has been in demand among our resident gamers for a while now.

You don’t need us to tell you that video games have evolved well beyond its archaic reputation as a childish pastime. For the many of our readers born in the 80s and beyond, videogames were and remain a staple of home entertainment. The technology of the platforms are better than some of the biggest big budget CGI movies, and the artistic merits of the games out there can give literature, theater and film a run for their money. In fact they already are, with video games repeatedlybeing cited as the most lucrative sector of the entertainment industry.

So, if you’re a gamer, look for our Pass the Controller section for reviews on games we’re currently enjoying. And we’d love to hear what games are keeping you from work and family these days. Let us know by dropping us a line on editorial@enterprisemea.com.

☀️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- Prepare for a scorcher today, with the mercury hitting 37°C and dropping to 23°C in the evening. Tomorrow will also see more sun at 37°C and dip to a cooler 24°C at night, according to our favorite weather app.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

Chatter around the privatization program continued to drive the conversation in the news last week, along with a healthy dose of M&As, talk about our economic reform and some legislative updates. But before we dive in, we got an interest rate announcement from the CBE last night…

ECONOMY-

#1- The CBE kept interest rates steadyat its monetary policy meeting yesterday, according to a statement (pdf) out last night. This comes in line with expectations, with seven of nine analysts we polled forecasting a pause due to slowing global tightening and lower prospects of a near-term EGP deval.

#2- Another private-sector minimum wage hike: The second hike of the year tothe private sector’s minimum wage will take place in July with an increase of 11% to EGP 3k. The move comes from the NCW (National Council for Wages) to alleviate the strain of workers during the inflation.

#3- More chatter on the prospects of a fourth deval: Goldman Sachs’ MENA economist Farouk Soussa assertswe will need USD 5 bn under our belts in order to manage an “orderly transition'' to a freefloat. Soussa predicts that Egypt has two risky routes: Either float the EGP without a backup of FX, which would see a steep deval, or keep the IMF program on pause until Egypt fulfills the requirements.

Deutsche Bank, on the other hand, thinks another devaluation would not be “the right way forward” for the country, stressing instead the need to address underlying challenges, like our local debt stock.

PRIVATIZATION WATCH-

#1- IFC to advise us on our privatization program: We signed a transaction advisoryagreementwith the IFC that aims to involve the multilateral lender in the strategy and in developing an implementation plan for the state privatization program, including preparing and restructuring assets and attracting USD 2 bn in private investments.

This comes as the Madbouly government put together a unitaimed at expediting decision-making for the privatization process. The role of the unit in the cabinet is to track progress, work with the IFC, see to investor requests, and assemble periodical reports for the cabinet.

#2- SCA to IPO Canal Mooring and Lights: The Suez Canal Authority is planning to sell a20% stake in the Canal Mooring and Lights on our bourse as part of the state privatization program. The company will be transferred to the newly established holding company that will obtain ownership of some of the authority’s assets earmarked for privatization.

#3- Murmurs around Ezz Steel’s interest in Ezz Dekheila: Reports from Asharq Businessemerged that Ezz Steel subsidiary Ezz Dekheila Steel was handed a EGP 20 bn+ valuation ahead of a potential sale that could see the government offload a 14% stake in the EGX-listed Ezz Dekheila to its parent firm. Later, Ezz Steel denied that it had made offers to acquire more shares in its subsidiary. The stake is owned by government entities the National Investment Bank (NIB) and the National Bank of Egypt.

M&A WATCH-

#1- B Investments ♥️ OFH: Privateequity firm B Investments is mulling a majority stake inOrascom Financial Holding with an issued mandatory tender offer to acquire 51-90% of the company. OFH’s majority shareholder OTMT Acquisition and minority shareholder Orascom TMT Investments already agreed to sell a 51.72% stake of the company.

#2- TFK now owns 100% of Opio in share-swap: E-commerce fashion platform The Fashion Kingdom, an e-commerce fashion platform and Opio agreed to become one entity and retain the TFK name.

DEBT WATCH-

Consumer finance platform valU issued EGP 1.42 bn worth of securitized bonds as part of a EGP 4 bn securitization program.The company has another EGP 4 bn securitization program ongoing, which kicked off in September 2021.

LEGISLATION WATCH-

#1- Tax changes aimed at increasing state revenues have been ratified and are now the law of the land.The taxes include hikes on income tax, a higher personal income tax exemption threshold, many new development fees (including the ‘entertainment tax’) and some additions to the incoming capital gains tax on EGX transactions.

#2- Meanwhile, lawmakers gave preliminary approval to the creation of the Intellectual Property Authority, a body that aims to protect intellectual property and is part of the larger plan to improve business conditions in the nation by appealing to foreign investment.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

#1- It’s crunch time for the privatization program: The government had been aiming to raise USD 2 bn via asset sales by the end of June, and has so far raised some USD 147 mn by selling off Pachinand a 10% stake in Telecom Egypt.

REMEMBER- Several sales were rumored to close before the end of the month: An Emirati state institution was reported to be interested in snapping a 25-30% stake in EGX-listed Eastern Company before the end of the month. The parties were at the time negotiating the value and size of potential stake. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), was also reportedly close to acquiring a 25-30% stake in Vodafone Egypt from Telecom Egypt through Qatari ruling family’s telco Ooreedo, with the sale potentially closing before the end of the month.

Egyptian Linear Alkyl Benzene (Elab) was also said to be earmarked for a listing on the EGX this month. The government is reportedly seeking to sell more than 40% stake in the company via a public share sale on the EGX and private offerings to strategic investors, according to the report. It is unknown how much of the company would be allocated to strategics.

More recently, we picked up chatter that a Qatari investor could announce it will buy a significant minority stake in a state-owned hotels holding company in the coming days. Several sources familiar with the government’s plans told us yesterday that the investor is in line to acquire as much as 30% of the company and could make an announcement in a few days. The government had recently transferred ownership of seven Egyptian hotels (including Cairo Marriott and Marriott Mena House) to a holding company it intends to part-privatize.

#2- Modi on his way to Omm El Donia: The sub-continent’s PM will arrive in Cairo for a two-day visit tomorrow. This comes after his meeting with US President Joe Biden and CEOs, where they discussed military and technology cooperation.

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

ENTERPRISE IS LOOKING FOR SMART, TALENTED PEOPLE of all backgrounds to help us build some very cool new things. Enterprise — the essential morning read on all the important news shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region — is looking for writers, reporters and editors to help us build out new publications. Today, we run four daily Egypt and MENA-focused publications, five weekly industry verticals, and a weekend lifestyle edition designed to make our readers feel just a bit smarter.

We have tons more in the pipeline — come help us build new publications. We offer the chance to work in a fast-paced newsroom on a broad range of topics and in a variety of formats. Our goal is simple: To create value for our growing community of >250k daily readers by telling stories that matter.

Journalists looking to explore business, finance and economic stories are welcome. So are recent journalism school graduates.

That said, we're looking for gifted story-tellers from all walks of life and across all professions, as long as they show a keen interest in learning to write about the stories, topics, businesses, and figures moving markets. Egyptian and foreign nationals alike are welcome to apply. So are job-switchers: If you’re an equities analyst tired of the rat race, we’re a great place to come work.

NEVER WORKED IN A NEWSROOM BEFORE? We have the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program. Whether you are a recent graduate, an industry vet, or looking to switch careers, the Enterprise Business Writing Development Program will give you the tools you need to tell the most important stories to our audience of C-suite officials, government ministers, diplomats, financiers, investors and entrepreneurs.

During the program you will learn:

• The key news stories and trends shaping business and the economy in Egypt and the region, across various sectors;
• Business and finance for non-finance people: Whether it's industry jargon or key concepts or simply how to read a balance sheet;
• How to construct an Enterprise story: From idea formulation down to the structure, style and tone of writing;
• How to develop sources that will give you the key insights needed to tell a complete story;
• How to communicate these stories with the confidence and language of an insider.

Not an internship program — a career: The three-month program will see full-time, paid participants take part in workshops and lectures from veteran business journalists, while also working on and filing stories that will run on any of our publications. Those who have successfully completed the program, will then be given long-term job offers.

Apply directly to jobs@enterprisemea.com and mention “writing development program” in your subject line.

YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS-

• Acasia Group’s new CEO Ranya El Saadawi’s LinkedIn got a lot of interest, after we reported news of her appointment.
• IFC’s appointment as the advisor for the state privatization program also got a lot of attention. (Statement, pdf)
• Many were interested in shawarma spot El Hamra Streetafter we recommended it in EnterprisePM.
• A lot of you took a look at tennis star Mayar Sherif’s stats, after she beat Spanish hopeful Marina Bassols Ribera in the Valencia Open to become the highest-ranked Egyptian in Open era history.
• valU’s bumper EGP 1.4 bn securitized bonds issuance also got plenty of interest. (Statement, pdf)

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

The search for the missing Titanic submersiblethat fell off the radar on Sunday has takenup the most space on the international news this week. The search for the 5-man crew entered a critical stage yesterday, as the 96 hours’ worth of oxygen it was reported to hold were likely depleted. British b’naire, aviation exec, and adventurer Hamish Harding is among the passengers.

The Blinken x Xi Jinping meeting in Beijing last week caused some chatter as the two attempted to “stabilize tensions” between their nations. Talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese leader Xi Jinping did not reach any breakthroughs, and Biden later accused Jinping of being a “dictator,” driving a new rift in the already tense relations between the two countries.

IN THE BUSINESS PRESS- The Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 bps to 5%, in line with market expectations. The move comes as the BoE looks to bring down inflation to “the 2% target sustainably in the medium term.”