Happy long weekend, ladies and gentlemen. It’s the end of the workweek here in Omm El Donia as we kick off the final long weekend of the year. EnterpriseAM and EnterprisePM will be off until Sunday, but readers of Enterprise Climate will get their morning read tomorrow.

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THE BIG STORY TODAY

OIH is investing USD 200-300 mn in new hotels: Orascom Investment Holding (OIH) is planning to invest somewhere between USD 200-300 mn to set up four new hotels in Egypt, OIH CEO Naguib Sawiris said at an event today, according to Hapi Journal. The hotels include two in Sahel on the north coast, one in Cairo, and another near the Giza Pyramids, Sawiris said, without disclosing further details on the planned timeline for the hotels.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Leading the conversation in the international business press this afternoon: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to formalize the annexation of chunks of Ukrainian territory, despite Russian forces suffering defeats on the frontlines at the same time. Putin ratified a law earlier today to incorporate Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk into Russia, while Ukrainian forces have continued to make advancements and are recapturing several villages in these areas. The story is on the front pages of Reuters, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and CNBC.

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

• Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector contracted at the same pace in September as it did in August, according to S&P Global’s latest purchasing managers’ index.
• Venture capital firm Algebra Ventures’ second fund has reached a USD 100 mn first close, surpassing the USD 90 mn initially targeted.
• Solutions by STC has completed the acquisition of 88.2% of Giza Systems, with B Investments selling its 44.7% stake at an equity valuation of USD 119 mn.

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UPCOMING NEWS TRIGGERS- Here are some data points and news triggers to be on the lookout for in this month:

• Foreign reserves: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should be out with September’s foreign reserves figures later this week. Reserves remained flat at around USD 33.1 bn in August, having fallen 20% since March due to headwinds caused by the war in Ukraine and tightening financial conditions.
• Inflation to notch new highs? Analysts are expecting inflation to have continued rising in September due to the weakening EGP after reaching highs not seen since November 2018 in August. We’ll find out when Capmas and the CBE release the figures next week.

Fuel prices to rise this month? We’re expecting the government to hike fuel prices for the seventh consecutive quarter when the fuel pricing committee meets this month. Fuel prices have risen by as much as 28% over the past 18 months in response to heightened international oil prices, which surged earlier this year on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect daytime highs of 28-32°C in the capital city, and night time lows of 19°C during the long weekend, our favorite weather app tells us.