Good afternoon, ladies and gents, and welcome to the start of a new week. It’s a calmer-than-expected Sunday so far, but we expect things to kick into high gear in the days ahead.

THE BIG STORY TODAY-’

Does SFE want a piece of El Ezaby Pharmacy? The Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) health and pharma sub-fund is reportedly eyeing a minority stake in the pharma giant El Ezaby Pharmacy in partnership with an unnamed local investment company, Al Mal reports citing unnamed sources it says are in the know. The expected acquisition value was not disclosed.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

There’s no single story capturing the attention of the international business press this afternoon. Among the stories making headlines: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that a group of 14 trucks were able to get into northwest Syria to help with earthquake rescue efforts. This eased growing worries about not being able to get into the war-torn area, but the French group is calling for an urgent increase in the volume of supplies to “match the scale of the humanitarian crisis." Over 46k people have lost their lives since the earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February. (Reuters | AFP)

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

• Investment banks are expected to conclude their sukuk roadshow tomorrow, as Egypt seeks a "benchmark-sized" USD-denominated offering, according to Bloomberg.
• Two state-owned pharma firms could sell minority stakes within six months. Between 30-40% of Chemical Industries Development Company (CID) and Misr Pharma will reportedly be offered to investors, likely in an IPO on the EGX.
• M&A in Egypt took a slight dip in 2022 amid a sharper slowdown in transactions across the Middle East, with the total value of Egyptian M&A transactions reaching USD 8.2 bn last year, according to a report by Baker McKenzie.

*** 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: A new bill could help bring informal manufacturers into the formal economy. The proposed amendments come as the government pushes to localize manufacturing in order to boost exports and reduce our reliance on imports.

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???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-

Renowned Egyptian musician Omar Khairat performs live in the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House at 8pm tomorrow and Tuesday.

Want to become a private equity expert in three days? The Egyptian Private Equity Association (EPEA) and the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA) are hosting a three-day intensive private capital funds masterclass at the Ernst & Young office at Cairo Festival City. The masterclass kicks off next Friday 24 February.

Interested? You can attend the masterclass for EGP 18k or EGP 12k for EPEA and AVCA members. Register to attend here and take a look at the agenda here (pdf).

Find our regular business calendar, which includes a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events and news triggers, in EnterpriseAM and on the web.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect a pleasant daytime high of 22°C tomorrow and a nighttime low of 10°C, according to our favorite weather app.