{"id":614259,"date":"2024-01-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/01\/30\/shin-bet-head-in-cairo\/"},"modified":"2024-01-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T00:00:00","slug":"shin-bet-head-in-cairo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/01\/30\/shin-bet-head-in-cairo\/","title":{"rendered":"Shin Bet head in Cairo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people. <\/strong>It\u2019s a light news morning as we reach the final hump day of January.<\/p>\n

In case you missed it, EnterpriseAM KSA is now into its third edition. <\/strong>Our newest addition to the Enterprise family is written for business leaders in Saudi Arabia as well as investors, and others doing business or deploying capital there. It\u2019s published at 7am KSA, Sunday through Thursday. Subscribe to receive your own copy<\/a> or you can check out the website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want news from the UAE as well?<\/strong>Subscribe here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

** Our apologies for sending yesterday\u2019s issue of EnterprisePM later than usual. <\/strong>Technical issues on the part of our email service provider held us up. EnterprisePM should land in your inbox at the usual time later today. <\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY AT HOME- <\/p>\n

Shin Bet head was in town: <\/strong>The head of Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet Ronen Bar was reportedly in Cairo yesterday, where he met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, Israeli sources told Axios<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The two were just together in Paris<\/strong>, where they held \u201cconstructive\u201d talks<\/a> with Qatari Prime Minister Mohamed Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, CIA head William Burns, and Israel\u2019s Mossad head David Barnea. The talks likely centered around the proposed Hamas-Israel agreement that would see Israel halt all fighting in Gaza for about two months in exchange for Hamas releasing over 100 Israeli hostages.<\/p>\n

Things are tense between the two sides <\/strong>after Israel reportedly informed Egyptian officials of its plans to send troops to Rafah and Philadelphi Corridor, which Egypt stood in firm opposition to. <\/p>\n

DATA POINTS- <\/p>\n

#1- The <\/strong>expat car-for-FX initiative<\/a><\/strong> is expected to clock in orders totaling USD 2 bn <\/strong>from its first two phases<\/strong>, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n

<\/a>#2- Egypt\u2019s LNG exports fell <\/strong>51.8%<\/strong> y-o-y i<\/strong>n 2023<\/strong>, dropping to 3.52 mn tons, according to a report (pdf)<\/a> from the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a>Italy pledges Africa investments:<\/strong> Italy plans to invest EUR 5.5 bn across various African countries in a bid to boost ties with African nations, Bloomberg<\/a> wrote, citing statements made by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The investment aims to curb illegal immigration by providing people with \u201copportunities, work, training and legal migration\u201d and will target a variety of sectors \u2014 energy, education, health, agriculture, and water. Meloni\u2019s statements came during the Italy-Africa summit in Rome yesterday, which was attended by International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat.<\/p>\n

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HAPPENING TODAY- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- The Fed gets down to business: <\/strong>The Federal Reserve is kicking off its two-day policy meeting today. Economists are forecasting<\/a> that the Fed will leave rates at their current 22-year high of 5.25-5.5%.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2- The IMF\u2019s World Economic Outlook: <\/strong>The IMF will be out<\/a> with its January 2024 WorldEconomic Outlook update today at 3:00pm CLT. <\/p>\n

#3- STEM <\/strong>education under the spotlight<\/strong>:<\/strong> The second and final day of the Education Ministry\u2019s Egyptian Education System STEM conference kicks off today in Conrad Cairo hotel in cooperation with USAID. The conference will look at the future of STEM education in Egypt and ways to develop it. It comes as part of Egypt\u2019s program to expand the availability of STEM schools \u2014 which focus on the scientific, mathematical, and tech fields and target high-potential students. <\/p>\n

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HAPPENING THIS WEEK-<\/p>\n

The CBE decides our interest rate path: <\/strong>The Central Bank of Egypt\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its first meeting of the year on Thursdayto decide whether to hike or leave interest rates unchanged.<\/p>\n

What the experts say: <\/strong>Analysts surveyed in an Enterprise poll<\/a> were split, with four of the nine analysts forecasting that rates would remain unchanged, while others think that we could see hikes between 150-200 bps.<\/p>\n

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CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR- <\/p>\n

#1- Round two of Visa\u2019s fintech<\/strong> accelerator kicks off:<\/strong> Visa is accepting applications for the second cohort of its training and mentorship program Africa Fintech Accelerator, which builds on its pledge to invest USD 1 bn in Africa by 2027 to support digital transformation, a statement (<\/a>pdf<\/a>)<\/a> from Visa said. The program will select seed to series A startups operating in Africa to receive one-one mentorship, in addition to getting access to a large network of potential partners and investors. Applications<\/a> will be open until 29 February.<\/p>\n

PLUS- First demo day will take place next month<\/strong>: <\/strong>Visa will host the program\u2019s first demonstration day on 13 February in the Kenyan capital, during which the first cohort of 23 startups will pitch to investors.<\/p>\n

#2- <\/strong>Vodafone to host tech summit in Sharm El Sheikh:<\/strong> Vodafone will host a two-day conference under the headline \u201cThe Future of Business, Digital Transformation Now & in the Future\u201d at Rixos Sharm El Sheikh. The event will bring together tech industry leaders from various sectors \u2014 manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, oil and gas, hospitality and retail \u2014 and government entities to discuss the impact of digital transformation on the way business is done and companies are run. The event kicks off tomorrow and wraps up on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Check out our full calendar on the web<\/a><\/strong> for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.<\/p>\n

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The roundup of news and trends that move your markets and shape corporate agendas delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n

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THE BIG STORY ABROAD- <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a quiet morning abroad<\/strong>, with no single story capturing the collective imagination of the global business press. <\/p>\n

Every major outlet is watching how Washington will respond to a drone attack on a US <\/strong>base in Jordan that killed three. <\/strong>The consensus is that the White House is looking for something that\u2019s tough enough to send a message, but not so tough as to ratchet tensions even higher. Officials in Washington have been careful to stree they don\u2019t want war with Iran. <\/p>\n

Tehran is trying to <\/strong>put distance<\/a><\/strong> between itself and the attack<\/strong>, which reports say was carried out by one of the many armed groups it backs. <\/p>\n

Want to go deeper? <\/strong>Politico<\/a> | Financial Times<\/a> | New York Times<\/a> | Reuters<\/a> <\/p>\n

Three business stories worth knowing about this morning: <\/strong><\/p>\n