Good afternoon, wonderful people. It’s nearly the end of this workweek that has felt like an entire month on its own. Our almost-weekend reward: A healthy news cycle that’s keeping us on our toes.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-

FAB makes a play for EFG Hermes: The UAE’s First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has presented a non-binding offer to buy a majority stake in Egypt’s largest investment bank, EFG Hermes, in a potential allcash acquisition, EFG said in a bourse disclosure (pdf). FAB is looking to acquire at least 51% of the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets, preliminarily pricing EFG’s shares at EGP 19.00 apiece — marking a 21% premium on EFG’s closing price yesterday. FAB’s offer gives EFG a market value of around EGP 18.5 bn, the ADX-listed bank said in a regulatory disclosure (pdf).

EFG’s shares ended the day up 9.3%, closing at EGP 17.20. The investment bank’s shares had hit an intraday high of EGP 18.80 following the news of FAB’s acquisition offer.

^^We’ll have more on this story and others in tomorrow’s edition of EnterpriseAM.

HAPPENING NOW-

The House of Representatives is discussing amendments to the law governing non-residential rent in a plenary session. The bill would, if passed, allow landlords to eventually evict government agencies, public and private companies, embassies, clubs, associations and other entities leasing properties under the old rent system. The proposed amendments would do away with a system that currently protects non-residential renters from paying open-market rates on properties. The House Housing Committee had signed off on the bill last month.

The remaining amendments to the Real Estate Registry Act are also on the agenda for the House general assembly. Parliament had approved a portion of the proposed changes yesterday, including changes that place a 37-day time ceiling on the home registry process.

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

• Please lend responsibly: The Financial Regulatory Authority set out responsible lending principles for non-bank SME financing products, offering guidance on how to act in borrowers’ best interests by making sure they are offered the most affordable and suitable options.
• WB sees growth underpinned by tourism rebound + gas exports: The World Bank expects a recovery in the tourism sector and rising gas exports will be the main drivers for its January prediction that our economy will grow 5.5% in FY2021-2022.
• Our first eco-friendly plastic alternatives factory? US environmental safety firm Okyanus Group and local infrastructure agent Income International unveiled a proposal to build a local plastics alternatives factory in a meeting with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly yesterday.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- It’s a thoroughly mixed bag in the foreign press, which is (for once) not fixated on Ukraine tensions. The apparent shift towards living with covid-19 is getting ink on the front page of the New York Times and Reuters, which report on New York’s decision to drop mask mandates, while US medical chief Anthony Fauci tells the Financial Times that the worst of the pandemic is pretty much over in the US..

FOR TOMORROW-

Macro Group’s shares will begin trading on the EGX tomorrow under the ticker MCRO.CA at EGP 4.85 each. Macro raised EGP 1.3 bn in the IPO, which saw it sell 264.5 mn shares at EGP 4.85 apiece, valuing the company at around EGP 2.8 bn. The institutional offering — which was allocated 95% of the shares — was 1.8x oversubscribed, while the retail component saw stronger demand, closing on Monday 102x oversubscribed.

Inflation figures are due: The Central Bank of Egypt and state census bureau Capmas are set to release January inflation data tomorrow. Annual urban inflation rose to 5.9% in December from 5.6% in November. While analysts we spoke with expect prices to continue rising, they don’t see them going outside the central bank’s target range of 7% (±2%) by 4Q2022.

Keep an eye on the US, which will release its own CPI data just a few hours later. The data, which will be released at 3:30pm CLT (8:30am EET), is expected to show another jump in inflation figures last month, with the consumer price index expected to rise 7.3% in January after rising to a 40-year record 7% in December

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will be in town this Friday, 11 February for a two-day visit that will see her meet with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other officials for bilateral talks, the German Embassy in Cairo said in a statement. Baerbock is also expected to discuss potential collaboration between the two countries on the COP27 climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh this November.

Egypt will host the Arab League’s Arab Sustainable Development Week from Sunday, 13 February to Tuesday, 15 February. Held at Arab League headquarters in Tahrir Square and the Nile Ritz-Carlton, the forum will bring together ministers, senior officials, policymakers and private sector players from across the region to discuss ways to strengthen sustainable development. Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Planning Minister Hala El Said, and IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin are among those set to speak at the conference.

Catch an art exhibition for a good cause: The Sawiris Foundation for Social Development and AlexBank are organizing (pdf) the first art exhibition by marginalized children in partnership with Townhouse Gallery, Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment, and Ubuntu Art Gallery. The exhibition will showcase work from art workshops attended by 250 children from institutions such as Banati Foundation, Samusocial International, Association for the Protection of the Environment, Educate Me Foundation, the UNHCR, and Save the Children International. The opening of the exhibition is slated for 13 February before opening its doors to the public at Townhouse Gallery from 14-19 February.

⛅ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re going to be winding down the week with weather similar to today’s, with a daytime high of 18°C and a nighttime low of 10°C. Tomorrow will be less sunny: Our favorite weather app tells us to expect a partly cloudy day.