Good afternoon, wonderful people. We have a (so-far) slow start to the week, but we’re expecting the pace to pick up significantly as everyone shakes off the weekend grogginess.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Eni strikes gas in EastMed: Italy’s Eni has made a new gas discovery in its Nargis-1 offshore exploration well in the Eastern Mediterranean, Reuters reports. The well is in the Nargis concession area, in which Eni and Chevron each have a 45% stake, with Chevron acting as the concession’s main operator.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There isn’t one single story driving the conversation in the global business press this afternoon, but a major plane crash in Nepal is making the rounds. A jet operated by Nepal-based Yeti Airlines carrying 72 people crashed in Nepal today, with at least 68 found dead so far. The story is getting front-page play on Bloomberg, Reuters, and CNBC.

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

• Foreign investors are starting to come back into the market: Hundreds of mns of USD have changed hands in the interbank market since Wednesday morning, when the central bank allowed the EGP to weaken past 32.00 / USD for the first time ever.
• The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) has added five state- and military-owned companies to its pre-IPO fund as the government gears up to restart its privatization program.
• All eyes on Capricorn next month: London-listed Capricorn Energy plans to hold a vote on its merger with Israel’s NewMed on Wednesday 1 February, the same day that shareholders will vote on a motion to overthrow the board called by activist investor Palliser Capital.

*** 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: After a difficult 2022 for manufacturers — with headwinds including inflation and raw material shortages — we speak to industry insiders about their outlook for the year ahead.

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FOR TOMORROW-

Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa is making an appearance at AmCham’s monthly luncheon tomorrow, where he will speak on the government’s strategy to develop Egypt’s tourism industry. The event will be held at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel, Plaza Ballroom, from 1:30pm.

It’s Davos time: The great and the good of global finance, business, politics and media will converge on the Swiss town this week to chew over the biggest challenges facing the planet. With “Cooperation in a Fragmented World” the chosen theme for this year’s event, expect discussions to be dominated by the war in Ukraine, deglobalization, and food and energy security.

Representing Egypt at this year’s event are Planning Minister Hala El Said and International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat, who will take part in a number of panel discussions over the five days.

???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Cairo International Book Fair kicks off next Tuesday, 24 January and opens up to the public on Wednesday, 25 January at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. The fair will run through to Monday, 6 February.

CORRECTION- An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the Cairo International Book Fair begins on Tuesday, 17 January.

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

????️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- There’s a 40% chance of showers tomorrow in Cairo, with a daytime high of 18°C and nighttime low of 9°C, our favorite weather app tells us.