Good afternoon, ladies and gents, and welcome to the second-to-last day of the workweek before we slide into our final long weekend of 2021. The nation will be off this Thursday in observance of Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, which was yesterday.

THE BIG STORY TODAY: There are a handful of stories vying for your attention here at home, including the Sovereign Fund of Egypt signaling it plans to ink agreements with a private sector player to overhaul the Mogamaa by the end of this month, as well as Orascom Construction eyeing a few Sawiris family-owned companies for acquisition. Meanwhile, the barrage of reports and outlooks continues as the IMF releases its Regional Economic Outlook report and we have fresh FDI figures, courtesy of UNCTAD’s latest Investment Trends Monitor.

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

HAPPENING NOW-

El Sisi talks energy, tourism, transport cooperation with Cypriot + Greek leaders: Trilateral cooperation on energy, electricity, tourism and transport sectors were at the top of the agenda at a summit in Athens this morning between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Ittihadiya said in a statement. Prior to the summit El Sisi met with each of the officials individually: With Mitsotakis, he discussed enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries, while regional developments and other issues of mutual interest were the main talking points with Anastasiades. This meeting comes shortly after Egypt signed MoUs with Greece and Cyprus to link electricity grids via an undersea cable.

Yes, everyone felt that earthquake. At around 7:30am, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre tweeted that an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit Greece’s Rhodos island and was felt by a number of cities in the eastern Mediterranean. The earthquake was felt in Nicosia, Beirut, and Cairo along with other Egyptian cities and the region around southern Turkey’s Antalya, according to Reuters. Aftershocks are not out of the question: Despite a Greek seismologist telling Reuters that we shouldn’t expect any, Gad El Qady, head of Egypt’s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics told local media that earthquakes with that strength are usually followed by more minor aftershocks (watch, runtime: 5:50).

Wall Street looks set to open in the green and European benchmarks are (just barely) clinging to their gains for the day.

WATCH THIS SPACE- Foreign investment in the country’s oil industry was down about 26% in the state’s 2020-2021 fiscal year, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said earlier this week at the same time as the central bank released its balance of payments report. The question as yet unasked: The oil and natural gas industries rely on constant exploration to do everything from replenish reserves to bring new fields and well into production. The dip in investment coincided with the peak of covid-19 uncertainty — both in terms of negative oil prices (a catalyst for slashed exploration budgets) and delays to projects that would have gone ahead anyway. It could be months yet before the knock-on effects really become apparent.

A TWITTER THREAD TO THINK ON- A region-wide drought that has some scientists and activists suggesting we’re in the middle of the worst water shortage in 900 years. The thread’s author is Ali El Saffar, who runs programs for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Energy Agency.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- It’s one of those days where the big story abroad barely merits a footnote (for now) here in Egypt, with both the Financial Times and CNBC covering Brussels’ vow to punish Poland for “challenging the supremacy of EU law.” We say “for now” in reference to it being a footnote because this is exactly the type of story that could, for example, accelerate the fraying of ties in the EU, one of our most important trade, tourism and investment partners.

The supply chain shortage continues to fuel price increases, with Procter & Gamble saying this morning that “the marker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors … would start charging more for certain beauty, oral care and grooming products such as razors,” the Wall Street Journal says in its lead story.

North Korea launches missile in latest weapons test: North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from its east coast this morning, rattling its neighbors, Reuters reported citing a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. The news comes as tensions remain high in parts of Asia after China rattled its saber over the “reunification” of Taiwan.

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

• ECA poking into M&As again: ​​​​The Egyptian Competition Authority is not happy that a number of mergers and acquisitions have taken place without it being notified.
• British outfit Willis Towers Watson is looking to acquire two unnamed ins. brokerages operating in Egypt as part of a regional expansion plan.
• EgyptAir Holding Company will now be able to take out a long term, EGP 5 bn loan from state owned banks backed by the Finance Ministry.

FOR TOMORROW-

Trading of e-Finance shares on the EGX officially begins tomorrow under the ticker EFIH, the state-owned fintech platform and payments infrastructure provider’s Chairman and CEO Ibrahim Sarhan and the EGX confirmed. The retail component of the IPO officially closed on Sunday 61.4x oversubscribed. Shares will open at EGP 13.98 each, meaning the IPO is worth about EGP 5.8 bn (USD 367 mn).

Tomorrow is also the last day EBRD Vice President of Banking Alain Pilloux will be in town as part of a visit that kicked off earlier this week. Pilloux is here for a series of high-level meetings (pdf).

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Two days left until the Cairo International Furniture Show, Le Marche. The four-day event runs from this Thursday, 21 October until next Sunday, 24 October. It is the first and largest furniture, material and home accessories exhibition in the region.

Fall conference season is still going strong. Among the exhibitions and business events here and throughout the region:

• The GITEX Global at the Dubai World Trade Center is on its third day today and runs through this Thursday. The event brings together players in Big Tech to discuss what’s next in areas such as AI, cloud, 5G, cybersecurity, blockchain, and more.
• Cairo Water Week begins next Sunday, 24 October. The annual event will wrap next Thursday, 28 October.
• The two-day Intelligent Cities Exhibition & Conference takes place next Wednesday and Thursday, 27 and 28 October.
• Later this month: The Middle East Angel Investment Network is hosting its Angel Oasis in El Gouna on 27-29 October, with separate pricing for in-person and virtual attendance.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Continued highs of 28°C and lows of 18°C are forecast for tomorrow and Thursday, with some clouds expected on the last day of the short work week before the sun comes out to play for the long weekend, according to our favorite weather app.