Good afternoon, ladies and gents, and welcome to a relatively calm Sunday afternoon. We may have a full five working days this week, but judging by the volume of out-of-office replies in our inbox, many of you aren’t out of holiday mode just yet.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

Nafeza is coming to air freight: The Customs Authority is rolling out a three-month trial period for the Advance Cargo Information (ACI) on air freight, Al Shorouk reports. The trial means that businesses using air freight to import goods will be required to file shipping documents and cargo data digitally via ACI and register on the Finance Ministry’s digital customs system Nafeza. Enterprise reached out to a source familiar with the matter, who confirmed the report.

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

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

• Fintech, consider yourself regulated: Legislation to regulate the fintech industry received final approval from the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
• The Finance Ministry is penciling in 5.7% growth for its FY2022-2023 state budget, along with a 6.1% budget deficit and 2% primary surplus, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said.
• Get ready for Sovereign Sukuk Act exec regs: The government is looking to finalize the executive regulations of the Sovereign Sukuk Act by the end of the month, setting the stage for the country’s c.USD 2 bn maiden issuance before the end of the fiscal year in June, said Mohamed Hegazy, head of the Finance Ministry’s debt unit.

IN MEMORIAM- Egypt’s first woman judge passes away: Former vice president of the Supreme Constitutional Court and Egypt’s first woman judge Tahani El Gibali passed away at the age of 72 due to complications from covid-19, Youm7 reports. El Gebali took on her history-making judiciary role in 2003, and is remembered as the only woman to have held such a high post in our judiciary.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- It’s covid as far as the eye can see: Bloomberg is looking at the logistical hurdles and public perception issues that are slowing down vaccination rates in developing nations. Meanwhile, the UK wants to cut down on isolation periods in a bid to ease workforce pressure, Reuters reports, as “omicron absenteeism” from employees’ isolation could cost the UK to forego some 8.8% of its GDP in January and February.

This comes as we’re now learning two new names: Deltacron and flurona. Cypriot scientists have identified 25 cases of omicron and delta co-infections, the result of a mutation that combines both strains that is being called deltacron, reports Bloomberg. Researchers have sent their findings about the strain to GISAID, an international database for tracking viruses, but it is still not clear if the strain is more contagious or pathological than other strains. Meanwhile, there’s a growing trend of people contracting the common cold and covid-19 at the same time or back to back, a case now dubbed flurona, due to the spread of the infectious omicron variant, according to Bloomberg. People with flurona have a higher threat of mortality and health complications, a study by the University of Wisconsin found.

FOR TOMORROW-

Inflation figures for December are due out tomorrow. Annual urban inflation slowed for the second month running in November and dipped to its lowest since July as pressure on food prices continued to ease, but some analysts have flagged a potential acceleration in inflation figures. Inflation will be a key metric to watch over the next several months, particularly for the Central Bank of Egypt as it makes interest rate decisions. There are also suggestions that global commodity prices could have knock-on effects on domestic inflation. Global food prices soared 28% last year, reaching their highest level in a decade, driven by poor weather, rising commodities prices and supply chain disruption, according to figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The World Youth Forum kicks off in Sharm El Sheikh tomorrow and runs until Thursday, 13 January.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

SODIC shareholders will vote on the company’s new board of directors at an extraordinary general meeting on Sunday, 16 January. The formation of the new board comes after an Emirati consortium of real estate giant Aldar Properties and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ in December acquired 85.5% of SODIC in an allcash, EGP 6.1 bn transaction.

Egyptians expats stranded in Morocco following border closures will be able to come home on Wednesday, 19 January on a flight operated by national flag carrier EgyptAir from Casablanca to Cairo, the Egyptian Embassy in Morocco said in a statement. Moroccan authorities have twice extended the suspension of all passenger flights in and out of the country first introduced at the end of November amid the emergence of omicron, with the flight ban now set to last until at least the end of January.

First interest day of 2022 next month: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE)’s monetary policy committee will hold its first policy meeting of 2022 on Thursday, 3 February.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- It’s getting cold again, with the mercury forecasted to fall to 17°C during the day tomorrow and a brisk 9°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.