Good morning, friends. We hope your second consecutive long weekend — but the last one of 2024 — is so far getting off to a relaxing and enjoyable start. Despite the brevity of the week, we were dealt a slew of news and updates.
…BEFORE WE GET UNDERWAY, A MEA CULPA- In last week’s Enterprise Guide, we had the incorrect link for the LinkedIn profile of Iman Mostafa, founder of Hazel Farm. We’ve updated the story with the correct link in our web edition, and we apologize for the error.
Spending long hours at your desk has a myriad of downsides, making it important to make conscious decisions to counteract a sedentary lifestyle. This weekend, we bring you a guide on how to make your office space work for you and help you start moving out of your chair to make you more productive and improve your well-being.
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-
We had a macro-heavy news week with mounting pressure from external debt obligations and the FX crunch dimming international financing institutions and ratings agencies' expectations of Egypt’s economic performance next year. A handful of privatization updates, some investment news, and preparations for December's presidential elections have also kept us busy.
ECONOMY-
#1- EBRD cut its 2024 Egypt growth forecast: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) cut its Egypt growth forecast for 2024 by 0.7 percentage points to 4.5%.
#2- Morgan Stanley adopted a negative outlook on our debt due to concerns about our financing gap and uncertainty about how we’ll roll out reforms required by our USD 3 bn agreement with the IMF.
#3- Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo cut its 2023 and 2024 growth forecasts for Egypt due to the country’s ongoing economic crisis. The lender now expects the economy to grow at a 3.4% clip this year, down from its 4.1% forecast in June, and 3.9% in 2024, down from 5.5%.
#4- Contraction in Egypt’s non-oil private sector deepened in September as the impact of successive currency devaluations caused a sharp fall in output, according to S&P Global’s latest PMI figures. The index slipped to a four-month low of 48.7 from 49.2 in August .
#5- We’re going to have to repay almost a fifth of our total external debt obligations in 2024 alone. Egypt will likely have to spend USD 29.2 bn on debt repayments in 2024 — USD 10 bn more than our expected debt servicing bill for this year and over USD 1 bn more than we previously expected.
#6- Egypt’s net foreign asset position improved marginally in August to negative USD 25.9 bn from negative USD 26.3 bn the previous month. This marks the second consecutive month that net foreign liabilities have fallen after reaching a record high of USD 27.1 bn in June.
#7- Egyptian and Emirati central banks reached a currency swap agreement worth almost USD 1.4 bn. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will be able to obtain up to AED 5 bn (USD 1.36 bn) in exchange for EGP 42 bn under the agreement.
ELECTIONS 2023-
#1- El Sisi will seek a third term in office: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi announced his candidacy for December’s presidential election on Monday on the final day of the “Story of a Homeland” conference.
Three other candidates are almost in the race: The Al Wafd Party’s Abdel Sanad Yamama, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party’s Farid Zahran, and the Republican People’s Party Hazem Omar, all secured the required endorsements from members of Parliament earlier this week.
And two others are awaiting qualification: Former MP Ahmed Tantawi and head of the Dostour Party Gameela Ismail are also trying to collect signatures to get onto the ballot.
PRIVATIZATION WATCH-
#1- Midar could go up for an EGX listing in 1H 2024: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is reportedly preparing to list state-owned real estate firm Midar on the EGX in 1H 2024. Earlier this year, the SFE added Midar to its pre-IPO fund. It was previously reported in July that the SFE could offer 25-30% of the company to a strategic investor before eventually taking it public on the EGX.
…Banque Misr and the NIB could be letting go of their stakes: Banque Misr and the National Investment Bank — which together own almost 75% of the company — could be fully exiting Midar, leaving Banque Misr’s investment arm Misr Capital (5.65%), the National Bank of Egypt (8.9%) and Arab Contractors (10.94%) as the remaining shareholders.
#2- Another plastics manufacturer could be up for grabs: The government is looking to offload 10-15% of its 22% stake in state-owned thermoplastic producer Egyptian Propylene and Polypropylene (EPP) to a foreign investor. An unnamed privately-owned Saudi company has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring shares.
INVESTMENT WATCH-
#1- FDI inflows were up 10% y-o-y in FY 2022-2023, General Authority for Freezones and Investment (GAFI) CEO Hossam Heiba said. While no exact figures were provided, based on our math, a 10% uptick should put us around USD 9.8 bn.
#2- We have a USD 350 mn Chinese waste recycling project on the horizon: A Chinese recycling company is in talks with GAFI to launch a recycling project with an investment of up to USD 350 mn.
DEBT WATCH-
#1- The Export-Import Bank of China is lending Egypt USD 400 mn to finance the third phase of the electric light rail train (LRT). The loan would finance completion of the delayed project.
#2- Edita is getting USD 45 mn from the IFC: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed off on a USD 45 mn loan to baked goods producer Edita Food Industries to finance regional and domestic growth.
#3- Contact Financial Holding closed a EGP 1.5 bn securitized bond issuance for subsidiaries in its consumer finance portfolio, including Contact Credit.
#4- Al Ahly Capital Holding’s microfinance arm raised EGP 707 mn in a securitized bond issuance. Al Ahly Pharos Investment Banking said that the bond was backed by a EGP 787 mn portfolio from Al Ahly Tamkeen Microfinance and issued by Al Ahly Securitization Company.
OVER IN PARLIAMENT-
#1- The House is back in session… The House of Representatives reconvened on Sunday for its fall legislative session where it is set to discuss a raft of new government-drafted laws that include raising the minimum wage-tax exemption and extending the expat car import initiative.
…as is the Senate: Senators reconvened on Tuesday after the two-month summer recess with committee elections top of the agenda.
#2- House committee election results are already in: The pro-government Mostaqbal Watan party dominated proceedings, securing the leadership of a bulk of the chamber’s 25 committees.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Capmas and the CBE will publish last month’s inflation data next Tuesday, 10 October. Annual urban inflation has been accelerating for the past several months, hitting an all time high of 37.4% in August.
The government is also set to announce new measures aimed at curbing soaring prices of basic goods next week. “We will work together to ensure that there is an abundance of various commodities in the markets, which will contribute to lower prices, especially food commodities,” Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said following a meeting with officials last week.
Also happening next week :
- Arab Savings and Financial Literacy Conference will run 10-12 October (Tuesday-Thursday) at the St Regis Hotel, Nile corniche.
- Ceramica Expo will run between 10-12 October (Tuesday-Thursday) at the Cairo International Convention Center.
- The Egyptian-Italian Business Forum will take place 11-12 October at the Marriott Mena House.
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-
- The Central Bank of Egypt’s latest external position report detailing our current debt situation reeled in a lot of interest. (CBE statement — pdf)
- Morgan Stanely kind of unliking us on Bloomberg was widely read. (Bloomberg)
- Our story about Egypt’s challenging debt repayment schedule also attracted a lot of readers. (Enterprise)
- On a related note, many of you were curious about the currency swap with the UAE agreed between the two countries’ central banks. (Statement)
- McKinsey’s presentation “What every CEO should know about Generative AI” received plenty of love. (Presentation — pdf)
AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

US House Speaker McCarthy’s ouster this week saw wide coverage by Western news outlets: The US House of Representatives voted to remove House speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position. The historic vote came in retaliation for his brief alliance with house Democrats to pass legislation that would prevent a government shutdown on Saturday. McCarthy has now become the first US House speaker to be removed.
The Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to scientists who uncovered novel method of studying atoms made the rounds: Scientists Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics this year after successfully conducting experiments using extremely short pulses of light that paves the way for more accurate study of electrons. The bursts of light used by the group each lasted an attosecond, which is one quintillionth of a second, and allows scientists to better observe the movement of electrons inside atoms.
Sam Bankman Fried’s first court hearing in New York also got some attention: Former crypto currency mogul Sam Bankman Fried’s fraud and conspiracy trial kicked off in Manhattan earlier this week. Bankman-Fried, who was behind cryptocurrency exchange FTX, is facing trial for charges related to the sudden collapse of FTX last year.
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⛅ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- Friday will have more cloudy weather with a high of 32°C and a low of 25°C. On Saturday we can expect much of the same but with the mercury dropping to 24°C at night.
HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND-
Learn how to translate sketches into a visual journal at an illustration workshop with Keem The Kid at Cocoon Cultural Center every Tuesday, 7-10pm, and Saturday, 3-6pm, from 7-21 October. Sign up using this link.
HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-
T he Garden Market is coming up with music, local brands, handcrafted goods, fresh farm products and vintage finds at Merryland Parkon Friday, 13 October.
Swiss Club is celebrating Oktoberfest on Friday, 13 October. To RSVP, check their Facebook page for more information.


