{"id":579109,"date":"2023-01-25T04:15:48","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T04:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/01\/25\/this-morning-a-short-slide-into-the-long-weekend\/"},"modified":"2023-01-25T04:15:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T04:15:48","slug":"this-morning-a-short-slide-into-the-long-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/01\/25\/this-morning-a-short-slide-into-the-long-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: A short slide into the long weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy THURSDAY-equivalent. <\/strong>We hope our Egypt-based readers get some well-earned rest on the three-day weekend after what has somehow felt like a very long week.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re out of office, too: <\/strong>EnterpriseAM and EnterprisePM will not be publishing tomorrow as we observe Police Day \/ Revolution Day. We\u2019ll be back in your inbox at our customary time on Sunday, 29 January.<\/p>\n

BUT FIRST- We have another packed issue to see you into the holiday, <\/strong>with tons of investment news, more recalibration of business plans post the float of the EGP, and the likely disappearance of high-yield CDs next week. All of this and more starting in this morning\u2019s news well, below.<\/p>\n

More progress on clearing the import backlog at ports: <\/strong>Imports worth more than USD 1.5 bn were cleared from our ports between 18-23 January, cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad said in a cabinet statement<\/a> yesterday. Saad didn\u2019t disclose the value of goods still to be released, though Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly on 18 January put the figure at USD 5.3 bn<\/a>, of which he said more than half (USD 3 bn) is pending documents from importers rather than hard currency to be released. Some USD 15.4 bn of goods have now been cleared in total since 1 December, per our math.<\/p>\n

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

El Sisi in India: <\/strong>It\u2019s the second day of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi\u2019s three-day visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. El Sisi will be honored as \u201cchief guest\u201d at celebrations to mark the country\u2019s 74th Republic Day tomorrow.<\/p>\n

The national handball team faces hosts Sweden in the quarter finals of the <\/strong>International Handball Federation\u2019s (IHF) Men's World Championship, <\/strong>tonight at 9:30pm CLT in Stockholm.<\/p>\n

Fun fact: We\u2019ve never beaten the Swedish side in the World Championships<\/strong>, having clocked up six losses and one draw. The Pharaohs almost managed to defeat the Swedes on home soil last year, missing out on victory by just a couple points, according to the IHF<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/strong> Are we loving Airbnb<\/strong>?<\/strong> Real estate owners could convert their properties in tourist hotspots and new cities into tourist accommodation, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly suggested in a meeting yesterday, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. Owners should make \u201cbest use\u201d of their real estate assets and help maximize accommodation capacity by renting out their properties to tourists, Madbouly said, without giving details.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>The government ispushing the tourism sector<\/a> to up accommodation capacity and improve services as part of plans to attract as many as 30 mn tourists by 2028. Look out for a new tourism strategy<\/a> later this quarter for details on how those goals will be achieved.<\/p>\n

DATA POINT: Our oil trade balance surplus came in at more than USD 3 bn in <\/strong>2022<\/strong>, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla told Al Arabiya TV in an interview (watch, runtime: 1:58<\/a>). He said the figure was preliminary and unaudited. The country is targeting petroleum exports of more than USD 18 bn this year, El Molla added.<\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD: <\/strong>The international press is caught up in European geopolitics this morning, as the media continues to try and figure out who is and isn\u2019t sending tanks to Ukraine<\/a>, while Finland is wondering if it can still get into NATO<\/a> if it ditches Sweden at the door.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know where to look in the international business press<\/strong> as several stories break at once this morning:<\/p>\n