Our friends at Abu Dhabi fund manager Chimera Capital have hit final close on their first venture capital fund at USD 75 mn, according to a company press release (pdf). The fund, which now counts Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala among its limited partners, handily exceeded its initial USD 65 mn target. There’s no word yet on whether some of that could be coming our way, though Chimera says it wants to invest in companies across the region at all stages of their growth, and has “already executed on a series of strategic and oversubscribed companies led by top-tier regional and global investors.” The fund will target companies that are early growth through pre-IPO stage.

Chimera is a unit of Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group and run by CEO Seif Fikry (LinkedIn) an Egyptian veteran of the regional capital markets scene and founder of the region’s first UCITS-compliant exchange-traded fund. A unit of Chimera Capital recently invested USD 100 mn in Sawiris vehicle Gemini Global Development, which owns 100% of Ora Developers Egypt.

MEANWHILE- KSA is expecting a rare budget surplus in 2022: Saudi Arabia is expecting a surplus of nearly USD 24 bn next year, or 2.5% of its GDP, ending nearly a decade of consecutive annual deficits, Reuters reports. The kingdom’s revenues surged almost 10% this year on the back of the global oil squeeze, as the crude-exporting nation benefited from price hikes and increased production.

But spending will be fixed even if oil continues to outperform: “We are totally now decoupling the government expenditure from the revenue,” Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told Reuters. Instead, officials are planning budget cuts for the next two years — though they say that this will be countered by massive spending through the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, which will now bankroll most of the country’s development spending, according to Bloomberg.

ADQ’s Agthia has acquired healthy snacks and foods company BMB: Emirati state-owned investment firm ADQ Holding’s food subsidiary Agthia has completed the acquisition of 100% of UAE-based healthy snacks and food company BMB Group, according to a press release. The acquisition will help Agthia expand to new markets including the US and Canada, as well as venture into new verticals like plant-based foods. This marks the company’s third acquisition this year, following its recent acquisition of 75% of Egypt’s Atyab brand owner Ismailia Agricultural and Industrial Investments, and snap-up of Kuwait’s Al Faysal bakery. Our friends at EFG Hermes acted as Agthia’s financial advisors in the transaction.

EV shift drives up lithium prices: Lithium prices are soaring at their fastest pace in years on the back of rising demand from EV manufacturers — who use lithium for rechargeable batteries — and scant supply, the Wall Street Journal reports. The metal’s price is up around 240% YTD.

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 fell less than 0.1% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 1.23 bn (11.7% below the 90-day average). Foreign investors were net sellers. The index is up 7.9% YTD.

In the green: MM Group (+6.1%), Egyptians Resorts Company (+5.5%) and Fawry (+3.1%).

In the red: GB Auto (-3.8%), AMOC (-3.2%) and Mopco (-2.4%).

Asian markets are all in the red this morning — and CNBC thinks it’s because investors are spooked again by the omicron variant after the UK reported its first omicron death and China its first confirmed case. Futures suggest major European, US and Canadian indexes will open in the green later today with the single exception of France’s CAC 40.