Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s another day where the news cycle at home is primarily led by capital market activity, while the international press is looking at Moscow as it ramps up its offensive against Ukraine.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Andersen values Alex Medical some 8% higher than Tawasol-LimeVest’s acquisition bid: Alexandria Medical Services is worth EGP 52.80 per share, according to the fair value study the healthcare provider commissioned from financial advisors Andersen, the company said in a disclosure (pdf) to the bourse. The figure is some 7.8% higher than the ongoing mandatory tender offer (MTO) from the Tawasol Holdings-LimeVest consortium at EGP 49.00, and 8.6% more than Yas Holding’s competing bid of EGP 48.62 per share. Andersen values the entire company at EGP 822.2 mn.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Putin drafts reserves, threatens nuclear war: Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization of Moscow’s 300k-strong army reserve as the country’s offensive in Ukraine has struggled. “Russia will use all the means at its disposal,” Putin said, in an apparent threat that Moscow could use its nuclear weapons in the war. The order comes ahead of referendums scheduled for the weekend in the south-eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia to vote on joining Russia.

The story is everywhere in the international press: The Financial Times | Reuters | The Wall Street Journal | NPR | New York Post

Meanwhile, German police raided 24 properties linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, and Schleswig-Holstein as part of an ongoing investigation for sanction violations, Bloomberg reported, citing Munich prosecutors. Usmanov is investigated for hiring security staff to guard a luxury compound in Bavaria. The bn’aire is a close ally to Putin and has a net worth of USD 17.8 bn. Reuters and the Washington Post also have the story.

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

• Central bank eases FX rules for imports: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has relaxed restrictions on the use of foreign currencies for imports in a bid to ease the buildup of goods at ports.
• Importers get more time to learn how to use Nafeza: The government has postponed the rollout of the Advance Customs Information (ACI) customs system to air freight until 1 January to give importers, customs brokers, shipping agents and overseas companies more time to get used to the system.
• Alex Medical’s board is taking issue with theTawasol Holdings-LimeVest consortium’s bid to acquire up to 74% of the company, saying the offer doesn’t represent the value of the company and lacks concrete plans for the future.

FOR TOMORROW-

The Central Bank of Egypt will meet to discuss interest rates, and the signs are pointing towards a third hike of 2022. Six of seven analysts and economists surveyed in our regular poll expect the Monetary Policy Committee to raise rates during its meeting tomorrow as inflation rises and the EGP continues to weaken. HC Securities also added its voice to the chorus, saying earlier this week it sees the central bank raising rates by 100 bps at this meeting and another 100 bps in the November meeting due to Egypt’s deteriorating external position and expectations for inflation to accelerate in the coming months.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Our friends at HSBC are hosting an energy transition webinar series next Tuesday-Thursday, 27-29 September. The series will look at the “latest climate analysis in relation to the global energy market and transition to net zero” in six different sessions covering energy security, what is required to ensure the success of COP27, financing and investment needs for the energy transition, and the scaling up of renewables in the region, among other topics. You can register for the series here.

WANT MORE on the region’s energy transition? Catch this op-ed in EnterpriseAM by HSBC’s Group Head, Center of Sustainable Finance and Head of Climate Change Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Zoe Knight on to the capital that’s needed to help drive that shift.

A Spanish business delegation will be in town next Tuesday and Wednesday (27-28 September) for the Egypt-Spain Multilateral Partnership Forum, organized by the Spanish Institute for Export and Investment, according to a press release (pdf). The two-day conference will include seminars and panel discussions on trade and investment in transport, energy, and water with Egyptian ministers and representatives from government bodies, alongside officials from international financing institutions and Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Xiana Méndez Bértolo. The agenda for the conference is available here (pdf).

GITEX Global is being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center from 10-14 October. The event, which is running under the theme “enter the next digital universe,” will bring together players in Big Tech to discuss AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, the metaverse, and more.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Our favorite weather app tells us to expect a warmer end to the week, with a daytime high of 35°C and nighttime low of 23°C.