{"id":550223,"date":"2022-10-19T04:01:32","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T04:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/10\/19\/this-morning-were-getting-the-full-natgeo-treatment-treats-for-isheep\/"},"modified":"2022-10-19T04:01:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T04:01:32","slug":"this-morning-were-getting-the-full-natgeo-treatment-treats-for-isheep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/10\/19\/this-morning-were-getting-the-full-natgeo-treatment-treats-for-isheep\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: We\u2019re getting the full NatGeo treatment + treats for iSheep"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, nice people, and happy almost-THURSDAY. <\/strong>It\u2019s another heavy news morning here in Omm El Donia, so we\u2019re going to jump right in.<\/p>\n

But first: A huge thank you <\/strong>to everyone who wrote in yesterday with words of encouragement and new ideas after reading our five-step recipe to boost exports + FDI<\/a><\/strong>. We\u2019re wading through our inbox and WhatsApps and will reply to you all over the coming day or two.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not done with the idea. <\/strong>We\u2019re asking those of you attending next weeks\u2019 Egypt and Egypt-UAE economic conferences to champion the idea \u2014 and we\u2019ll have more for you in the weeks to come.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY here at home dovetails nicely with our (not so) little project: <\/strong>The House passed yesterday the legislative framework that would set up a council to make policy for the automotive assembly industry<\/strong>. We\u2019re (very) cautiously optimistic that after years of fits and stars on the so-called \u201cautomotive directive\u201d this could signal today\u2019s policymakers are more serious than were their predecessors about turning Egypt into an assembly and export hub for cars (conventional and EVs alike)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The background: <\/strong>After opening the door to investment in a domestic assembly industry in the 1990s and early 200s \u2014 and seeing Hyundai, Mercedes, Jeep, BMW and Toyota models put together here \u2014 we allowed policy drift to settle in and lost our first-mover advantage to regional competitors.<\/p>\n

How did we mess up? <\/strong>In plenty of ways, but this was the big one: Officials at the time knew our trade agreements with the European Union and Morocco would provide offshore assemblers with zero-customs access to our market \u2014 and did absolutely nothing about it. Lots of lip service was paid to the notion of helping prepare the industry for the shock through an \u201cautomotive directive\u201d that would help the industry move forward. Until the talk stopped and the market was flooded with EU, Moroccan and now Chinese imports. Let\u2019s hope we\u2019re serious this time \u2014 as we noted yesterday, two of the smartest guys we know think we could still build a car industry that exports to the GCC, Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n

ALSO- Fundraising may have slowed down on Planet Startup, but fintech is still looking <\/strong>really interesting. <\/strong>We have at least four stories this morning with a fintech flavor to them, including an investment round led by our friends at e-Finance and Yalla super app\u2019s push into the UAE and beyond.<\/p>\n

^^ More on all of this in this morning\u2019s news well, below.<\/p>\n

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EGP WATCH- <\/strong>The EGP will weaken to EGP 21 against the greenback by the end of the <\/strong>year<\/strong>, Fitch Solutions predicts in its latest MENA monthly outlook (pdf)<\/a> report. \u201cA strong USD and delays in reaching an IMF agreement have led to a faster depreciation than we had expected,\u201d Fitch writes. The research house does not see the pace of depreciation slowing before 2H 2023, when it expects the USD to peak and our economy to stabilize as capital inflows start trickling in.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- The EGP has lost a little more than a quarter of its value<\/strong> against the greenback this year. Pundits see the currency settling<\/a> somewhere between 22-24 to the USD \u2014 and Enterprise readers think<\/a> the EGP will settle at 22.12 on average.<\/p>\n

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COUNTDOWN TO COP- We have 18 days to go<\/strong> and you can expect a whole lot of talk about green hydrogen<\/strong> in Sharm El Sheikh as Egypt prepares to announce framework agreements<\/strong> for the burgeoning industry, Enterprise Climate<\/a> reports this morning.<\/p>\n

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HAPPENING TODAY- <\/strong>Cairo Water Week<\/a><\/strong> enters its final day: <\/strong>Some 18.5k attendees from 90 international and regional organizations are convening at the Nile Ritz Carlton in Cairo for the event. The focus of this year\u2019s edition is on preparations to discuss water resources at COP27. Catch the full agenda here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORIES ABROAD- Geopolitics + the energy crisis are still getting top billing in <\/strong>the international press. <\/strong>US President Joe Biden is expected to today announce the release of another 15 mn barrels of oil into the markets from strategic reserves in December, the FT<\/a> reports. Expect an official announcement from the Biden administration today, along with a plan on how to replenish dwindling US stockpiles.<\/p>\n

ICYMI- Biden wants more supply in the global oil markets to face down a looming winter<\/strong> energy crisis in Western nations<\/strong>, putting him at loggerheads with OPEC+ leader Saudi Arabia, which is cutting output on predictions of a recession induced demand slump.<\/p>\n

ALSO- Egypt is getting lots of ink in the new issue of National Geographic, which shines <\/strong>attention on the Grand Egyptian Museum, the new administrative capital<\/strong>, and the centenary of the discovery of King Tut\u2019s tomb. Meanwhile, Global Construction Review<\/a> reports that the GEM is 99.8% complete. The NatGeo stories are:<\/p>\n