We made it to the weekend, friends, and we’re being rewarded with yet another big news day to really feel like we’ve earned some rest.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has withdrawn its bid to acquire a controlling stake in EFG Hermes, the premier financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets, the Emirati bank said in a statement. FAB’s withdrawal came due to “ongoing global market uncertainty and volatile macro-economic conditions,” according to the Emirati lender, which stressed the strategic importance of Egypt as a market.

EFG Hermes’ shares closed down nearly 20% at EGP 15.46 after a trading day that saw circuit breakers triggered twice in one session when the corporation’s shares slid 10%, according to an EGX news bulletin.

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

THE BIG STORIES ABROAD

It’s one of those rare days when the global press has big stories outside of the Russia-Ukraine war:

#1- Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants Twitter. All of it. After snapping up a 9.2% stake in the platform earlier this month for around USD 2.89, Musk now wants to acquire the entire social media company, submitting a non-binding proposal to buy Twitter for around USD 41 bn, according to a regulatory filing. Musk is offering USD 54.20 per share — a 38% premium over Twitter’s closing price on 1 April, according to Reuters. The story is leading the conversation in the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and others.

#2- New York police have arrested a suspect in this week’s shooting in the city’s subway, ending a nearly 30-hour-long manhunt, the Wall Street Journal reported. Alleged attacker Frank James, 62, was taken into custody last night in lower Manhattan, close to the scene of Tuesday’s attack which injured 23 people during morning commute rush. James will be charged with committing an act of terror on mass transit, and faces life imprisonment, according to federal prosecutors.

CORRECTION + APOLOGY- In the Wednesday edition of EnterpriseAM, we erroneously reported that the government was exploring the possibility of purchasing wheat outside the established tender system. The story incorrectly reported remarks attributed to Mr. Sherif Bassili, the chairman of the Egyptian Holding Company for Silos and Storage. Mr. Bassili spoke with Enterprise on background only and we misconstrued his remarks. We have retracted the story, which no longer appears on our website, and apologize to Mr. Bassili.

SMART POLICY- The Madbouly government is working hard to rebuild wheat stocks, including through increasing its purchase from the domestic harvest and, just yesterday, by purchasing 350k tons of wheat from France, Russia, and Bulgaria in its first successful tender since war broke out in Europe’s breadbasket

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

• Egypt to increase LNG exports to Europe with Eni: The Italian energy firm yesterday signed an agreement in Cairo with the state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) designed to “maximize” Egyptian LNG exports to Europe and boost Eni’s gas production here.
• State grain buyer the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) bought 350k tons of wheat from France, Russia, and Bulgaria in its first successful tender since war broke out in Europe’s breadbasket. The average price (accounting for freight) stood at nearly USD 490 per ton — the highest in nearly six years, and up by around half what GASC paid in its last international purchase in mid-February. GASC and the Mabdouly cabinet are working overtime to shore up reserves after the global market was upended by the war in Ukraine.
• Abu Dhabi sovereign fund confirms blockbuster EGX stake buys + Could Abu Auf be next in line for ADX investment? Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ has confirmed its acquisition of stakes in five EGX-listed companies — CIB, Fawry, Abu Qir Fertilizers, Alexandria Container & Cargo Handling, and Mopco — this week, for around USD 1.8 bn. Separately, Agthia, the ADQ food subsidiary that acquired Ismailia, is in talks with Abu Auf’s parent company AUF on a potential stake sale.

NEXT WEEK-

Early pensions ahead of Eid: The government will disburse pensions for retired public sector workers early this month, on 22 April, ahead of Eid El Fitr and Coptic Easter, the National Authority for Social Ins. announced yesterday.

The World Bank + IMF’s spring meetings are taking place in Washington next Monday, 18 April, and will run until Saturday, 23 April.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar will address AmCham’s Pre-Annual General Meeting and Iftar which will be held on Monday, 18 April from 6-8pm at The Nile Ritz Carlton. Abdel Ghaffar will give a talk titled “Bolstering Investments in Egypt’s Healthcare and Pharma sectors: Vision and Strategic Priorities.”

Consoleya is hosting an investors’ talk and sohour with Cairo Angels next Sunday, 17 April at 9pm. The event will begin with a Fireside Chat on e-commerce, featuring former Jumia CCO François D’hautefort, with Cairo Angels Founder Hossam Allam as moderator, with a sohour and networking session for investors following the talk. You can register for the event here.

Companies have less than a week to file their first quarterly ESG compliance report: Listed firms and non-bank financial services companies need to submit their first quarterly ESG report by 20 April, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) announced last week. The regulator is making it mandatory for corporates to publicly disclose their performance on key environmental, social and governance metrics each year when they submit their annual financial statements, starting 2023. Reach out to Moustafa Taalab at InkankIR, our parent company, if you need some help.

Further afield, Egypt will host the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in 2023, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait and execs at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank agreed during a meeting, according to a cabinet statement. The move comes as Egypt aims to bolster multilateral cooperation between Asia and Africa and become a regional logistics hub for transport and energy.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Enjoy this weekend’s weather before a heatwave hits on Sunday: Expect a daytime high of 29°C on Friday and 32°C on Saturday with overnight lows of 14-20°C, our favorite weather app tells us. On Sunday, we’re hitting 42°C during the day in a brief heatwave that will dissipate by Monday.