Good morning, lovely people, and happy Friday to you all. It’s been a busy week for all of us at the Enterprise HQ, so we greet you this weekend with big TGIF energy and a light, fun Weekend Edition issue to cleanse our collective palates.

Enterprise Weekend comes out each Friday at 9:00am CLT. We’ll be back on Sunday at 6am with EnterpriseAM. Until then: Enjoy the weekend.

LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS-

IT WAS A BUSY WEEK ON ALL FRONTS, with plenty of updates on the state’s rebooted privatization program, our maiden sovereign sukuk issuance, and a slew of investment and M&A news.

THE AWARD FOR THE TWO BIGGEST STORIES OF THE WEEK GOES TO…

#1- Our maiden USD 1.5 bn sovereign sukuk issuance closed c.4x oversubscribed — a great indicator of foreign investors’ outlook on Egypt. The offering drew significant demand from across Europe, Asia and North America as well as the GCC, including from new investors to Egypt. The issuance is the first in a three-year, USD 5 bn sukuk program.

#2- For the third week running, it’s all privatization, all the time: It started with news that the government wants to sell sizable minority stakes in state-owned Chemical Industries Development Company and Misr Pharma to investors in the coming six months, likely in an IPO on the EGX. Later, we learned that Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo is in talks with the government to acquire the remaining 20% of the Bank of Alexandria (Alexbank) it doesn’t own. The government also said it will offer a 20% stake in its new hotels company to strategic investors, followed by an offering of 5% on the bourse, while Misr Life Ins. stake sale is said to be likely to go ahead by the end of 1H 2023. There was also an update on Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s takeover of United Bank: The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has reportedly hit ‘pause’ on talks for the acquisition due to a dispute over its valuation following the devaluation of the EGP, which has lost almost half its value over the past year.

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ON THE M&A FRONT- Saudi dairy producer Almarai has bought PepsiCo’s entire 48% stake in the parent company of juice and dairy producer Beyti for SAR 255 mn (c. USD 68 mn), handing it full ownership of the company. Two unnamed British and French investment funds are also seeking an acquisition of a 20% stake in Marcyrl Pharma, with the British fund eyeing a 15% stake, and the French eyeing the remaining 5%.

MEANWHILE- The Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s (SFE) health and pharma sub-fund is reportedly eyeing a minority stake in pharma giant El Ezaby Pharmacy in partnership with an unnamed investment firm, while shareholders of tourism developer Remco agreed to sell 100% of the Stella di Mare Beach Hotel in Sharm El Sheikh to military-owned Tolip Hotels and Resorts for EGP 700 mn.

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AUTOMOTIVE + EV INVESTMENTS ARE ALL THE RAGE: Stellantis, Nissan and Al Mansour Automotive could invest a total of USD 145 mn in the nation’s auto industry over the next three years under individual framework agreements signed with the government earlier this month. Meanwhile, Croatian electrical equipment manufacturer Koncar could establish a factory for manufacturing EV chargers and manufacture electrical components for power transmission infrastructure in Egypt with the help of local Saudi contractor Al Massa Group. On the outbound investment side, Vortex Energy — the clean energy investment platform from our friends at EFG Hermes Holding — and London-based private equity and infrastructure fund manager Zouk Capital said they will make an USD 80 mn equity investment in British EV charging outfit EO Charging.

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ON THE MACRO SIDE OF THINGS- The EGP slipped 5 piasters against the greenback, with the USD changing hands at 30.68 from 30.63 at the start of the week. The currency hit the 30 mark at the end of January following a sharper devaluation and has lost nearly half its value against the greenback over the past year amid the fallout from the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates.

AND ICYMI- The Enterprise Reader Survey results are out. Spoiler alert: The consensus among Enterprise readers is that 2022 was not a great year for business — and there’s plenty of uncertainty about what to expect in the coming months. And for the first time in forever, most respondents are uncertain whether they’ll do better than their competition this year.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

The House of Representatives will reconvene on Monday to give final sign to on a few things on its plate from last week:

#1- A two-month extension to the government’s expat car-for-FX scheme, which cabinet approved last week, will head to the House for a final discussion and vote on Monday, as we reported earlier this week. Among the issues up for debate: MPs have yet to agree on a response to a proposal to grant Egyptians living in the Gulf 50% off of taxes and customs.

#2- A government-drafted bill that would allow unlicensed industrial projects to obtain temporary licenses will also be up for a final discussion and vote on Monday. The House Industry Committee had approved the bill last week in a bid to provide temporary relief to the informal businesses.

???? YOUR MOST CLICKED LINKS (IN ORDER OF MOST CLICKED)-

• Bing’s ChatGPT-powered search tool going rogue seemed to interest a lot of you. (NYT)
• We’re very happy to report that last week’s Enterprise Guide on the 2023 cars you can actually buy today also got a lot of attention. (Enterprise)
• More AI-powered-Bing-chatbot-dark-alter-ego stories got attention. (Stratchery)
• The EBRD’s regional economic update — which saw the bank slash its forecast for our GDP growth for this year — got a lot of clicks. (pdf)
• You folks seriously couldn’t get enough of the AI horror stories. (The Verge)

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

US-Russia-China saber-rattling dominated the global front pages over the past week, following US President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv, and the US’ warnings to China against supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine (and sending more balloons into the US airspace). Russian President Vladimir Putin later decided to suspend Russia’s nuclear pact with the US in response to Biden’s moves.

In the business press: Facebook parent Meta’s move to launch a monthly subscription service aimed at content creators called Meta Verified that will introduce additional features and new services got a lot of attention.

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

⛅THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- Today will be slightly cloudy, with a daytime high of 20°C and an overnight low of 9°C. The sun will be back tomorrow, with a daytime high of 21°C and an overnight low of 9°C.

AND BRACE YOURSELVES- We’re looking at a heat wave starting on Monday this coming week that will push daytime highs to 29°C to 32°C through Thursday, according to our favorite weather app.