Happy hump day, friends. We’re nearly at the end of the business week, the month, and the whole year — and the news cycle is starting to take its cue.

PSA- Banks will be off on Sunday, 1 January to mark the end of their fiscal year and will be returning to work on Monday, 2 January, Hapi Journal reports, citing a statement from the Central Bank of Egypt. The EGX has also followed suit and declared Sunday a holiday in light of banks’ closure, in a statement seen by Enterprise.

Enterprise will also be off: Tomorrow is the last day EnterpriseAM and EnterprisePM will be publishing issues until Monday, 2 January. Both editions will be off this Thursday, 29 December and on Sunday, 1 January. Our publishing schedule will return to normal at the appointed hour on Monday, 2 January.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

EGAS kicks off oil + gas exploration tender: State-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) launched today a tender for 12 new oil and gas exploration blocks in the Mediterranean and Nile Delta, according to an Oil Ministry statement. The tender includes six onshore blocks and another six offshore blocks. Companies interested in participating in the tender have until 12pm on 30 April 2023 to submit their bids.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The reopening of China in a “decisive break” with covid-zero policies continues to lead the conversation in the international business press this afternoon. As Beijing removes strict policies on quarantine requirements and travel restrictions, Chinese citizens are beginning to make international travel plans for the first time in nearly three years, while US stock futures are also rallying on the policy u-turn. The story is getting ink from the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, and CNBC.

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

• It’s official: There are exceptions for FX withdrawal limits. The Central Bank of Egypt yesterday confirmed reports that people withdrawing FX overseas for medical or educational purposes will be exempt from withdrawal limits.
• Yet another bidder vying for Pachin: Eagle Chemicals wants to acquire 100% of Paint and Chemical Industries (Pachin) for EGP 29.5 a share, the highest offer Pachin has received yet.
• Banks to secure FX for letters of credit to help clear import backlogs? El Sisi suggested that banks will in the next four days acquire the foreign currency required to cover letters of credit for goods stuck at ports.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Companies have T-minus four days to register with the Egyptian Tax Authority’s e-invoicing system after the Finance Ministry earlier this month gave companies an additional two weeks. Only 150k companies had signed up to the new system as of the end of November, well below a sought goal of 1 mn companies to register under the system.

REMEMBER- This deadline no longer applies to the self-employed: The Finance Ministry pushed the deadline for self-employed professionals — including doctors, pharmacists and lawyers — to 30 April 2023 after widespread opposition to the system.

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

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect temperatures to fall to 19°C during the day tomorrow before falling to a crisp 10°C in the evening, our favorite weather app tells us.