Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to an already-busy start to the workweek. The news cycle is hitting the ground running today, with a handful of happenings in capital markets.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- EGX-listed e-payments giant Fawry’s board of directors has decided to delay its US listing due to the current unfavorable environment for US tech stocks, a source from Fawry told Enterprise, adding that this was decided during Fawry’s earnings call last week. The company had been exploring an SEC-registered secondary offering, with plans to create an American depositary shares program (ADS) to allow it to list. The source did not disclose where Fawry currently stands in its preparation process for the IPO.

#2- Saudi Arabian food conglomerate Savola Group is close to acquiring the Egyptian Belgian Company — famous for its Ole-branded baked goods — in a transaction valued near EGP 600 mn, a source familiar with the matter told Enterprise, confirming a report from Hapi Journal. Hapi Journal reported that the acquisition would see the company acquire the manufacturer’s assets and brand name. The sources did not disclose the exact timeline for the acquisition.

#3- Ibnsina Pharma is getting in on the hospital business with the acquisition of brownfield El Shorouk Hospital in Shorouk city in a EGP 430 mn transaction, the company announced in a press release (pdf). The 105-bed hospital includes operating rooms, ICU beds, specialty clinics, as well as several other units.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Ukraine isn’t accepting a ceasefire agreement with Russia just yet: The war “will be bloody, there will be fighting but will only definitively end through diplomacy,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told local media (watch, runtime: 00:34). Kyiv is not willing to shake hands on any agreement that would have it surrender its territory, Ukraine’s lead negotiator tells Reuters. This comes as Russia continues to attack the southeastern city of Donbas, attacking civilians in efforts to capture the remaining Ukrainian-held territory in the city. The story is dominating the front pages of the international press: Reuters | BBC | Euronews | CNBC.

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

• CBE goes for 200-bps rate hike to tamp down inflation: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) raised interest rates for the second time since March as it looks to rein-in inflation and attract foreign investors back to the local bond market, enacting a 200 bps rate hike on Thursday.
• Tourism revenues to more than double in 2021-2022 -Maait: Egypt’s tourism revenues will more than double in FY 2021-2022 from a year earlier, according to figures announced by Finance Minister Mohamed Maait last week.
• Gov’t outlines climate strategy: The Madbouly government launched its new national climate strategy, which feeds into the state’s Vision 2030 sustainable development plan and aims to reduce harmful emissions and prepare the country to withstand the impact of a warming climate.

*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: With Egypt’s increased focus on growing local manufacturing to limit imports, the government released a study of which sectors and products are priority areas to produce locally. Today, we take a look at the industries of choice on the government’s radar and break down why these sectors were chosen, which products are in the spotlight, and how much the country could potentially save by cutting down on their imports.

FOR TOMORROW-

Registration for this year’s Hajj through tourism companies closes tomorrow (Monday, 23 May) after the Tourism Ministry pushed the deadline from last Friday.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

We have two all-Egyptian finals tonight at the CIB-sponsored PSA squash championships: World #1 Nouran Gohar faces world #2 Nour El Sherbini for the women’s championship title while the men’s final match will see second seed Ali Farag play world #3 Mohamed El Shorbagy. The finals get underway this evening. The PSA has a good scene-setter here.

What’s at stake: The championship, which has been taking place at SODIC’s Club S Allegria and at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, has a record USD 550k in total player compensation for each of the women’s and men’s titles.

We don’t have long to wait before Egypt’s next squash tournament kicks off: The CIB-sponsored El Gouna International Squash Open 2022 starts this Friday and runs through to 3 June.

Davos 2022 kicked off today: The World Economic Forum (WEF) will kick off its first in-person annual meeting in more than two years today, bringing the world’s captains of industry, policy and media back to the alpine village in Switzerland. Expect plenty of talk about Ukraine (sans the you-know-whos), climate, food security, and the growing uncertainty over the global economy. “History at a turning point” indeed.

On Day #1: The first day of the event will see attendees chew over the global food crisis, the impact on the global economy of sanctions on Russia, and climate tech, as well as the future of globalization, national digital currencies and the effects of social media on societies. It will also see a special address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

WEF runs through Thursday and you can check out the day-by-day agenda here, if you’re so inclined.

The Islamic Development Bank will hold its 2022 annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh from 1-4 June under the slogan “post-pandemic recovery: resilience and sustainability,” according to a statement from the Planning Ministry. Several Egyptian ministries and representatives from the bank’s 57 member countries and other financial institutions are set to attend the meetings.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury will rise to 33°C during the day tomorrow before falling to 18°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.