Good afternoon, friends. It’s finally the end of what has been a very busy week. So busy, in fact, that we had a bit of a Freudian slip in yesterday’s edition of EnterprisePM, when we suggested that we’re entering a long weekend. Our apologies for the false hope.

We do, however, have a long weekend next week: Next Thursday, 26 January will be a paid holiday for public and private sector workers to mark Police Day and the 25 January revolution, which both fall on the preceding Wednesday, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly confirmed in a statement yesterday. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for the central bank and stock exchange to make their own announcements.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

B Investments plans EGP 2 bn investments this year: Private equity player B Investments is planning to invest EGP 2 bn (USD 67.5 mn) through two acquisitions in the healthcare and food and beverage industries, Bloomberg Asharq quotes Chairman Hazem Barakat as saying. The firm expects to close one healthcare acquisition in 1Q 2023, followed by a food and beverage acquisition in 2Q 2023, according to Barakat.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There’s no single story leading the conversation in the international business press this afternoon. Among the stories making the rounds:

• The European Central Bank will likely keep up its monetary tightening cycle to tamp down inflation, president Christine Lagarde said. (Financial Times)
• Turkey’s central bank left interest rates unchanged again, but could be moving towards interest rate cuts in the future. (Bloomberg)
• French citizens are striking to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plan, which would push back the national retirement age by two years. (Reuters)

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

• Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly has good news for manufacturers and growers: In a press conference following yesterday’s weekly cabinet meeting, the PM announced the approval of new 11% subsidized loans for industry and agriculture as well as a 40% y-o-y increase in the price the state will pay local farmers for wheat this season.
• IMF pact, EGP flexibility get the thumbs up from Fitch: Our USD 3 bn loan agreement with the IMF and the move to a permanently flexible exchange rate regime have garnered praise from Fitch Ratings, although our sovereign debt remains at risk of a downgrade if our external position continues to be squeezed in the short term.
• Egypt’s tourism revenues will rise almost 20% in 2023 as more people visit the country on the back of a weaker EGP and the easing of covid-era travel curbs, with revenues expected to reach a record USD 13.6 bn this year, Fitch Solutions expects.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

The Cairo International Book Fair will open its doors to the public at the International Exhibition Center in New Cairo next Thursday, 26 January, according to Youm7. The event, which runs until 6 February, is expected to draw mns of visitors during the two weeks. The book fair has launched a mobile app for the event (get the Android version here.) Meanwhile, Ahram Online is out with a feature on how soaring paper prices have put a squeeze on the publishing industry ahead of the event.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will visit Egypt this coming Saturday, 21 January and Sunday, 22 January, Italy’s Agenzia Nova reports.

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 a mainly sunny weekend with daytime highs of 21-23°C and nighttime lows of 10°C, our favorite weather app tells us.