Happy hump day, wonderful people, and what a news dump day it is. There’s a little bit of everything happening this afternoon on the local and international front, making for an altogether interesting news cycle.

BUT FIRST- WhatsApp is back up after a global outage that lasted more than an hour, preventing many of us from sending or receiving messages, and forcing us to make phone calls and speak to humans.“We’ve fixed the issue and apologize for any inconvenience,” a spokeswoman for the messaging service told the Wall Street Journal, without saying what caused the outage.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Upmarket real estate developer SODIC submitted a preliminary EGP 2.46 bn non-binding offer to acquire 100% of Orascom for Real Estate (ORE) — a subsidiary of Orascom Development Egypt (ODE), according to a disclosure to the bourse (pdf). ODE granted SODIC exclusivity to kick off the due diligence process. ODE is currently considering the offer, sources in the know told Enterprise, but declined to comment further. Our friends at EFG Hermes are the sole sell-side financial advisor on the transaction.

#2- The state ownership policy document will be finalized within weeks, before heading to the cabinet to be reviewed for final approval, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said during the final day of the Egypt Economic Conference 2022. The document, which was being discussed yesterday, was expected to be unveiled during the conference.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Rishi Sunak’s appointment as the UK’s new prime minister is leading the conversation in the international business press this afternoon. The former hedge fund manager and UK chancellor takes over the position from Liz Truss, whose economic policy “mistakes” he vowed to fix in a speech today. The GBP rallied on Sunak’s appointment, rising 0.4% against the USD, while gilt yields continued to fall. The story is on the front pages of the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and CNBC.

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

• Day two of the Egypt Economic Conference 2022 saw discussions on all things privatization and industry, from the state ownership policy document, to financing avenues for the private sector, and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s role in boosting private sector involvement.
• PIF now owns a slice of EIPICO: Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is strengthening its position in Egypt’s pharma sector, acquiring a 4.7% stake in EGX-listed Egyptian Pharma Company.
• We could see more private sector players taking to the nation’s rivers after the House gave preliminary approval to amendments modernizing a 1956 law regulating river transport.

FOR TOMORROW-

Egypt and the UAE will host a three-day gathering starting tomorrow to mark 50 years of bilateral ties. Day one is an economic forum featuring ministers, senior officials and business leaders from the two countries.

Enroot Development is hosting a conference titled Empowering the South: Green Economies and Climate Resilience tomorrow at the Greek Campus. Speakers at the conference include former deputy prime minister Ziad Bahaa El Din, UN High-level Climate Champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin, and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat. You can register for the event here.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

An IMF delegation will land in Cairo in the first week of November to continue loan talks, Jihad Azour, the IMF’s director for the Middle East and Central Asia, said earlier this week.

Cairo ICT kicks off on Sunday 27 November at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. The expo wraps up Wednesday, 30 November. You can register here.

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

⛅ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Today’s rains will give way to a sunnier day — albeit with intermittent cloudiness — tomorrow in the capital city. The daytime high will be 27°C and the nighttime low will be 19°C, our favorite weather app says.