Happy hump day, wonderful people. It’s an interesting Tuesday afternoon here at home, where capital markets look set to take over the news cycle through the end of the week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Tawasol-LimeVest consortium ups bid to acquire Alex Medical: The Tawasol-LimeVest consortium has increased its bid to acquire 100% of Alexandria Medical Services a day after Yas Holding reentered the bidding war for the healthcare provider. The company has upped the per-share price of the offer by some 2.8% to EGP 49 per share, the Financial Regulatory Authority said in a statement (pdf) to the EGX. The offer values Alex Medical at some EGP 763.2 mn by our math — and comes in some 0.8% higher than Yas’ offer.

CORRECTION- This story was updated on 20 September, 2022 to correctly reflect that the updated offer is 0.8%, not 2%, higher than Yas’ offer. 

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The Federal Reserve is kicking off its two-day policy meeting amid rising economic uncertainty and market volatility surrounding the pace at which it’s raising interest rates. The central bank is widely expected to announce a third successive 75-bps hike when the meeting wraps tomorrow on the back of last week’s disappointing inflation data. An increase of this magnitude would take the Fed Funds Rate to its highest level since March 2008.

The meeting and the market’s reaction is leading the conversation in the international business press this afternoon, as US stock futures dropped and yields on 10-year US Treasuries rose. The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and CNBC all have the story on their front pages.

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

• EFG Hermes Group CEO Karim Awad is “extremely bullish” on the countries in which EFG does business — and singled out the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
• Part 2 of our exclusive sitdown with Mahmoud Mohieldin: UN High-level Climate Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin tackles the hard questions on climate finance: from the role of the private sector — and especially mid-sized business — vs the role of governments, to climate debt vs climate investment.
• Yas Holding relaunches its bid to acquire Alex Medical: The UAE’s Yas Holding (formerly known as Emirates Advanced Investments) appears to be reentering the bidding war for Alexandria Medical Services.

FOR TOMORROW-

Intellectual property strategy coming: Egypt will launch its intellectual property strategy tomorrow. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director-General Daren Tang will make an appearance at a ceremony being put on to launch the program.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Central Bank of Egypt will meet to discuss interest rates on Thursday, and the signs are pointing towards a third hike of 2022. Six of seven analysts and economists surveyed in our regular poll expect the Monetary Policy Committee to raise rates as inflation rises and the EGP continues to weaken. HC Securities also added its voice to the chorus, saying earlier this week it sees the central bank raising rates by 100 bps on Thursday and another 100 bps in the November meeting due to Egypt’s deteriorating external position and expectations for inflation to accelerate in the coming months.

Our friends at HSBC are hosting an energy transition webinar series next Tuesday-Thursday, 27-29 September. The series will look at the “latest climate analysis in relation to the global energy market and transition to net zero” in six different sessions covering energy security, what is required to ensure the success of COP27, financing and investment needs for the energy transition, and the scaling up of renewables in the region, among other topics. You can register for the series here.

WANT MORE on the region’s energy transition? Catch this op-ed in EnterpriseAM by HSBC’s Group Head, Center of Sustainable Finance and Head of Climate Change Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Zoe Knight on to the capital that’s needed to help drive that shift.

A Spanish business delegation will be in town next Tuesday and Wednesday (27-28 September) for the Egypt-Spain Multilateral Partnership Forum, organized by the Spanish Institute for Export and Investment, according to a press release (pdf). The two-day conference will include seminars and panel discussions on trade and investment in transport, energy, and water with Egyptian ministers and representatives from government bodies, alongside officials from international financing institutions and Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Xiana Méndez Bértolo. The agenda for the conference is available here (pdf).

GITEX Global is being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center from 10-14 October. The event, which is running under the theme “enter the next digital universe,” will bring together players in Big Tech to discuss AI, cybersecurity, blockchain, the metaverse, and more.

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 daytime high in the capital city will be the same as today, 32°C, while we’re in for a slightly cooler evening with a nighttime low of 22°C, our favorite weather app suggests