Good afternoon, ladies and gents, and welcome to the start of a new week. It’s a relatively calm news day so far today, but we expect things to kick into high gear in the days ahead.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

It’s official- GB Auto has sold a 7.5% stake in MNT to Chimera. GB Auto has finalized the sale of a 7.5% stake in MNT Investments to Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Chimera Investments, GB Auto said in a bourse disclosure (pdf). The GB Capital subsidiary now owns a 49.5% stake in the Netherlands-based payments company.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There’s no single story capturing the imagination of the international business press this afternoon. Among the stories making headlines: China is buckling under the weight of covid-19 outbreaks after rolling back its restrictive covid-zero policies (Reuters | CNBC); Saudi Arabia is expected to be the fastest-growing G20 economy this year after growing at an 8.8% clip in 3Q 2022 (Bloomberg); and consumer finance players in the US are increasingly squeezed by the US Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening cycle (Wall Street Journal)

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

• Deval drives inflation to five-year high: Urban annual inflation accelerated to 18.7% in November, up from 16.2% in October — its highest level in nearly five years.
• Vodacom is Vodafone Egypt’s new majority shareholder: Vodafone Plc’s South African subsidiary, Vodacom, has closed the acquisition of its parent company’s 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt.
• FinMin extends e-invoicing registration deadline for the self-employed: Self-employed individuals — including doctors, pharmacists, and lawyers — now have until 30 April 2023 to register with the Tax Authority’s e-invoicing system, after the Finance Ministry extended the deadline from next Thursday, 15 December.

*** 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: Local gold prices surged to record highs last week, with 21 carat gold reaching EGP 1.8k for the first time ever, leading merchants to stop pricing the precious metal amid confusion about the price of USD, sending the market into a tailspin. We speak to industry professionals about why this has happened as well as larger problems the gold industry has faced in recent years.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Will we finally close an IMF facility this week? The IMF’s executive board will discuss Egypt’s request for a new extended fund facility on Friday, 16 December. Past precedent suggests the board will likely make a decision on the USD 3 bn, 46-month facility during the meeting. Egypt and the Fund reached a staff-level agreement for a new loan program at the end of October.

The Egyptian Private Equity Association is hosting a healthcare summit tomorrow, 12 December at the Semiramis Intercontinental Cairo. The event will be held under the auspices of the finance and planning ministries. You can check out the agenda here (pdf).

Next week: The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, 22 December to review interest rates.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- We’re in for a partially cloudy day tomorrow with temperatures expected to rise to 25°C during the day before falling to 14°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.