{"id":547772,"date":"2022-07-06T04:19:02","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T04:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/07\/06\/this-morning-its-pmi-day-we-all-have-a-week-off-next-week-to-celebrate-eid\/"},"modified":"2022-07-06T04:19:02","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T04:19:02","slug":"this-morning-its-pmi-day-we-all-have-a-week-off-next-week-to-celebrate-eid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/07\/06\/this-morning-its-pmi-day-we-all-have-a-week-off-next-week-to-celebrate-eid\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: It\u2019s PMI day + We all have a week off next week to celebrate Eid"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not that bad of a slog heading into the weekend, <\/strong>ladies and gentlemen. Especially with the M&A news we have in store.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Countdown to the Big Eid \u2014 and it really is big this year:<\/strong> The central bank (pdf)<\/a> and the Manpower Ministry<\/a> brought us good news yesterday, announcing that banks and the private sector will be off from Sunday 10 July to Thursday 14 July in observance of Eid Al Adha. This follows the cabinet, which said<\/a> on Monday that the public sector will take the full week off.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s offi<\/strong>cial: This fiscal year\u2019s state budget is the law of the land.<\/strong> President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has ratified the budget<\/a> for the new fiscal year, which will see government spending rise 12% to EGP 2.07 tn. The budget was published in the Official Gazette.<\/p>\n

The House is on its summer recess from today: <\/strong>MPs spent yesterday scrambling to get as many bills approved as possible before heading for their annual two-month break in Sahel. We have more on yesterday\u2019s legislative business in the newswell, below.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORIES at home are led with news that<\/strong> Madinet Nasr Housing and Development is officially the target of a takeover bid<\/strong> launched by SODIC, whose new Emirati owners are eager to consolidate their new position in the Egyptian real estate market. The Aldar Properties \/ ADQ-owned company is offering to buy MNHD for EGP 3.20 - 3.40 a share in an all-cash transaction, valuing the company by as much as EGP 6.36 bn.<\/p>\n

We also got good news on the macro front:<\/strong> The Egyptian economy grew by 6.2% last year, Planning Minister Hala El Said said yesterday, above the 5.4% target in the state budget and in line with recent forecasts.<\/p>\n

Also on the econ front:<\/strong> Remittances from Egyptian expats rose 24% y-o-y in April to USD 3.1 bn<\/strong>, according to central bank figures (pdf)<\/a> released yesterday. On a monthly basis, remittances saw a marginal decline from USD 3.3 bn in March<\/a>. The bulk of remittances are sent from Egyptians working in the Gulf, making them sensitive to oil fluctuations. The rise in inflows in March and April coincided with a surge in oil prices, which reached their highest levels since 2008 on the back of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine. Remittances came in at USD 8 bn in 3Q2021-2022.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re on track to at least match last fiscal year\u2019s record:<\/strong> Inflows reached a record USD<\/a>31.4 bn<\/a> in FY 2020-2021. Egypt is one of the largest recipients of remittances in the world, and they have become an increasingly important source of foreign currency, particularly following the hit to tourist revenues caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The World Bank has forecast remittances to rise 8%<\/a> in 2022, from USD 32.2 bn in the previous calendar year. This would put the figure at around USD 34.8 bn.<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TODAY-<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s PMI day<\/strong>:<\/strong> We\u2019ll find out this morning how Egypt\u2019s non-oil private sector performed in June when S&P Global drops the latest purchasing managers\u2019 index (PMI). It seems like a distant memory the last time we reported growth in activity (for that, we\u2019d need to go back to November 2020) but contraction in the sector has accelerated<\/a> over the past three months on the back of the war in the Ukraine, which has fuelled a pick-up in inflation and undermined confidence in the direction of the economy. The PMI will be released at 6:15 CLT, just after we hit \u2018send\u2019 on this morning\u2019s issue.<\/p>\n

The Saudi + Emirati figures are in:<\/strong> Private sector activity in both countries continued to grow in June despite rising inflationary pressures. Higher prices failed to dent demand in Saudi, which saw its private sector grow at its fastest pace since September, while the UAE continued to see solid growth even as prices rose at their quickest rate in 11 years. Check out the releases here: Saudi Arabia<\/a>(pdf)<\/a> | UAE (<\/a>pdf<\/a>)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Flat6Labs is hosting its investor-startup mixer<\/strong> at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence today. The event brings together Flat6Labs\u2019 startups and prominent investors.<\/p>\n

AFTER EID-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Egypt and the UAE will sign an agreement to establish a huge 10 GW <\/strong>wind plant<\/strong> following the Eid Al Adha holiday, cabinet said<\/a> yesterday. The statement offered little information on the project but said that the details have already been worked out and a formal agreement will be signed after the break. This came during a visit to Cairo by UAE Industry and Advanced Technology Minister Sultan Al Jaber, who met President Abdel Fattah El Sisi<\/a> and Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly<\/a> to discuss investment.<\/p>\n

Officials from Egypt, the UAE and Jordan will hold talks in Cairo later this month<\/strong> to discuss the new industrial partnership<\/a> agreed in May, cabinet said. Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ will invest USD 10 bn in industrial projects under the initiative, which will see the three countries collaborate to boost manufacturing and exports.<\/p>\n

National Dialogue meetings to resume 19 July:<\/strong> The board overseeing the National Dialogue will hold its second meeting on 19 July, during which it will discuss the agenda and form subcommittees. Board members met for the first time yesterday: For more on this, head to Last Night\u2019s Talk Shows.<\/p>\n

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Three stories are dominating the global front pages this morning:<\/strong><\/p>\n