Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the last few hours of the work week. It’s been a busy 24 hours, to say the least, so we hope you are all able to disconnect over the weekend.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- Could we see more military-owned firms joining the state privatization program? The government is “ready” to offer up stakes in all military-owned firms as part of the state privatization program, or otherwise expand private sector partnerships with military-owned players, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said today (watch, runtime: 3:02). El Sisi’s remarks come one day after Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly unveiled the government’s plan to sell stakes in 32 state-owned companies through sales to strategic investors and offerings on the EGX over the next 13 months.

#2- Inflation inched up again in January, hitting a new five-year high on the back of the EGP devaluation, coupled with a shortage of foreign currency that led to delayed import arrivals. Annual urban inflation rose 25.8% y-o-y during the first month of the year, up from 21.3% in December, according to figures from state statistics agency Capmas. This is the highest rate since December 2017, and is up from just 8% in January 2022.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

The aftermath of the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey continue to lead the conversation in the international press this afternoon. The death toll from Monday’s earthquake has now surpassed 17.5k across the two countries, with more than 14k of those deaths in Turkey, where public discontent over the government’s handling of rescue efforts continues to grow. (Reuters | Wall Street Journal | Bloomberg | CNBC)

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

• Foreign investors want higher rates before returning to Egypt: Would-be emerging market investors looking to return to Egypt after January’s devaluations were disappointed by the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision to leave interest rates on hold last week.
• Local mobile phone assemblers are going to pay one less tax: Cabinet approved exempting a 5% development fee on imported mobile phone components as part of the government’s efforts to localize the industry.
• Yesterday in M&A: A Sri Lankan financial services conglomerate that established a presence in Egypt last year wants to make new acquisitions, and Nilex-listed medical supplier ICMI has signed a purchase agreement to acquire a textile company.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Universities back in session this weekend: The second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year begins for public universities on 11 February.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will be in Dubai to attend the World Government Summit, which runs 13-15 February. Twenty heads of state will be in town for the Davos-like gathering, which will see policymakers from around the world discuss global trends, according to Emirati state news agency WAM.

Petro-show next week: Oil and gas industry figures from Egypt and the region will congregate at the Egypt International Exhibition Center for the Egypt Petroleum Show (Egyps) starting next Monday. The three-day conference runs 13-15 February.

MPs are back next week: The House will reconvene on Sunday, 12 February.

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 mix of sun and clouds over the weekend. Tomorrow is set to be mostly sunny, with a daytime high of 19°C and a nighttime low of 9°C, while Saturday is expected to be a little more on the cloudy side as the daytime high cools to 18°C and the low will drop to 7°C, our favorite weather app says.