It’s the debt and macro hump day, ladies and gentlemen, with local headlines dominated by securitization news.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY-

The debt market is heating up with new securitization transactions: Madinet Nasr Housing and Development (MNHD) has closed its first EGP 300 mn issuance as part of a three-year EGP 3 bn securitization program, according to a press release (pdf) from our friends at EFG Hermes, who acted as sole advisors on the issuance. The three-tranche offering is backed by a receivables portfolio of EGP 373.9 mn.

Meanwhile, Al Oula is also looking to tap the securitization market with a EGP 900 mn issuance in 1H2022, Al Mal quotes Managing Director and Vice Chairperson Ayman Abdel Hamid as saying.

…And sukuks: Palm Hills Developments (PHD) is also looking to close a EGP 3 bn sukuk sale this quarter through Contact Financial Holdings’(formerly Sarwa Capital) sukuk arm, Sarwa Promoting and Underwriting head Ayman Elsawy tells Enterprise, confirming a story that came out today in Al Borsa.

FOR TONIGHT-

The World Bank will release its updated Egypt, MENA and global growth forecasts at 4:30pm Cairo time. The latest Global Economic Prospects report will primarily focus on the impact of Omicron to global growth. The World Bank previously upgraded Egypt’s growth outlook in October 2021, saying it expected our economy to grow 5.0% in FY2021-2022, up from the 3.3% in FY2020-2021.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell’s confirmation hearing in the US Senate’s banking committee will take place tonight. Powell will likely face a grilling on how the Fed plans to combat inflation, when the planned interest rate hikes are expected, as well as whether he should have acted faster to put a lid on surging US inflation, the Wall Street Journal reports.

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

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

• Annual urban inflation rose to 5.9% in December: This compares to 5.6% in November, signaling the end of a two-month downward trend despite a slowdown in food price inflation.
• Gov’t wants to nearly double annual exports by 2025: Egypt aims to increase export revenues to USD 60 bn a year by the middle of the decade as part of plans to eventually reach USD 100 bn a year, Trade Minister Nevine Gamea said this week.
• UK tourists head to Egypt as covid test rules eased: The UK arm of travel agency TUI is reporting a rise in bookings to Egypt after the UK government relaxed covid testing requirements last week.

HAPPENING NOW-

It’s day two of the World Youth Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, which got underway yesterday. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly gave speeches on how Egypt plans to mitigate the impact of climate change. You can check out the full agenda for the forum here (pdf).

The Alexandria and Dekheila ports were reopened today after a one-day closure due to bad weather conditions, according to the Alexandria Port Authority.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

PSA- Calling seed-stage fintech startups: You have until Tuesday, 15 February to apply to Orange Ventures’ seed challenge for a shot at EUR 500k. To qualify you need to have a seed-stage fintech business that has raised less than EUR 1 mn so far. You can apply here.

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week looks ahead to COP27: The UAE will host heads of state, business leaders and policymakers at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) from 15-19 January. ADSW will see 45k attendees from 175 countries meet to discuss climate action. Expectations for the UN’s COP27 summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in November will likely be high on the agenda. COP28 is set to be hosted by the UAE in 2023.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is due in town from 20-21 January on an official visit, during which he will meet President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Egypt is the last leg of a Middle East tour that will also take Moon to the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

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

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- More omicron records from the US: The US recorded 1.35 mn new infections yesterday, in the biggest case count for any country since the start of the pandemic, reports Reuters. The US’s seven-day average doesn’t look much better, with new cases tripling in two weeks to over 700k new infections per day thanks to omicron. Preliminary findings from two South African clinical trials find that the new strain has a much higher rate of "asymptomatic carriage" than earlier variants, according to another Reuters article. The mean asymptomatic carriage rate rose to 16% during the period of omicron spread compared to 2.6% during the beta and delta outbreaks, one of the studies found.

IN MEMORIAM- Mostafa El Ahwal, founder of International Associated Cargo Carrier (IACC) Holdings, passed away on Friday. El Ahwal founded IACC Holdings, a privately owned investment company focused on shipping and logistics, in 1979. Since then, IACC’s subsidiaries now include regional container line Transmar, marine services and ship agencies’ company Safina Shipping Services, stevedoring, warehousing and port services company Transcargo International, and integrated logistics services company IACC Logistics. El Ahwal was a member of the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association, chairman of Egypt East Africa Business Council, head of COMESA Business Council, head of EBA Transportation Committee and a member of the Saudi-Egyptian Businessmen’s Association.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- There’s a very slight chance of rain along with cloudy skies tomorrow. The mercury will reach 19°C during the day and 10°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.