Good afternoon, friends — and hold onto your hats. While the news flow is fairly moderate so far today, wind speeds in Cairo are anything but. The west-south-westerly gust is blowing at speeds greater than 40 km/h, according to our favorite weather app. On its wings comes the news that CI Capital is offering to buy a 26% stake in Cleopatra Hospitals, and official confirmation that Abu Qir will be looking to sell no more than 10% of its shares on the EGX. Elsewhere in things that put the wind up us: early research suggests the Pfizer vaccine could be significantly less effective against Omicron; low-earth orbit is set to become commercially viable with a helping hand from NASA; and blockchain-encrypted pixels (otherwise known as NFTs) are more valuable if they resemble white men.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY-

MCI Capital makes a play for 26% of Cleopatra Hospitals: MCI Capital Healthcare Partners for Medical Care, a subsidiary of CI Capital, has submitted a voluntary tender offer to acquire a 26.2% stake in Cleopatra Hospitals Group for EGP 5 per share, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) announced in a bourse filing (pdf). The transaction, which is currently being studied by the FRA, could be worth more than EGP 2 bn at the price and number of shares stated in the filing.

Abu Qir appears to have capped its secondary stake sale on the EGX at 10% of the company’s total shares, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf) filed today. The disclosure names CI Capital, Renaissance Capital, EFG Hermes and Al Ahly Pharos as advisors on the offering, which comes as the government looks to restart its privatization program following e-Finance’s successful IPO in October.

^^ We’ll have more on these stories in tomorrow’s EnterpriseAM.

HAPPENING NOW-

The two-day North Africa Trade Finance Summit ends today. The event is bringing together business leaders, people from the financial industry, logistics experts and policymakers to discuss trade finance.

It’s the first day of the Global Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research which runs through to Friday at the St. Regis Al Masa Convention Center.

FOR TOMORROW-

Inflation figures for November will be released tomorrow by Capmas and the Central Bank of Egypt. Urban inflation slipped slightly to 6.3% in October from 6.6% the month before, which was the highest reading since January 2020.

The Cairo Woodshow kicks off tomorrow at the Cairo International Convention Center.

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from this morning’s EnterpriseAM:

• Aldar and ADQ are now SODIC’s majority shareholders: The Emirati consortium of real estate giant Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ have acquired 85.5% of SODIC in an all-cash, EGP 6.1 bn transaction.
• SFE jumping on the green bond bandwagon? The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is considering issuing green bonds, which would follow successful sovereign and corporate bond sales in Egypt over the past year.
• FinMin goes green: The government will introduce next March a stimulus package to aid Egypt’s transition to a green economy. The measures will be announced during budget season ahead of the new fiscal year and will offer targeted financial incentives to encourage sustainable and carbon emission-reducing projects.

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD-

Merkel is out and Scholz is in: The German parliament today swore in Olaf Scholz as the country’s new chancellor, marking the end of Angela Merkel’s 16-year reign. A left-leaning social democrat, Scholz enters office heading a three-party coalition, promising more of Merkel’s famed stability and increasing green investments. (AP | BBC | New York Times | The Guardian | France24)

The UAE’s stock market is aligning with the new Monday-Friday routine: The Abu Dhabi and Dubai exchanges will follow the government in switching from a Sunday-Thursday to a Monday-Friday workweek at the beginning of 2022, an Emirati official told Bloomberg today. Schools are also almost certain to follow the move, meaning the private sector likely won’t be far behind. The switch is meant to pull in international investment and business, but will put the UAE at odds with its Gulf neighbors, meaning investors will have to find a way to juggle the two, according to the outlet.

No Friday afternoons off for the wicked: while government workers will get a half day on Friday (giving them time to attend afternoon prayers), the markets will observe a full business day, the official said.

OMICRON WATCH-

Omicron has a stealth mode: A handful of cases have been identified of a new version of the Omicron variant that cannot be distinguished from other coronavirus variants by PCR tests. The “Omicron-like” strain, which has around half of the gene mutations of omicron proper, was found in samples from South Africa, Australia and Canada. Unlike Omicron proper, it can only be differentiated from other variants by genomic testing and not through standard PCR screening — making it difficult to say how far the sneaky strain has spread. It's also not yet known whether the variant on the variant may behave differently in terms of transmissibility and severity. The Guardian and Bloomberg have more.

An early study has given us an idea of just how much less effective against Omicron the Pfizer jab is: Research conducted by South Africa’s Africa Health Research Institute found that Omicron reduced virus-blocking antibodies by 40-fold for people who have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, Bloomberg reports. The loss of immune protection is “robust, but not complete,” Alex Sigal, head of research at the laboratory, said, while maintaining that booster shots can still increase protection against the new strain.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Booster shot registration: The Health Ministry will begin allowing senior citizens with chronic medical conditions, as well as all medical staff, to register for a booster covid-19 vaccine as of next Sunday, 12 December.

Interest rates: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee will hold its final meeting for the year to review interest rates on Thursday, 16 December.

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

???? TOMORROW’S WEATHER- There’s a slight chance of rain tomorrow, while temperatures will reach a daytime high of 21°C and a nighttime low of 13°C, our favorite weather app tells us.