Good afternoon friends and happy Thursday. We have a smattering of privatization updates as our news cycle winds down over the weekend.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

It’s a wrap on the Eastern stake sale: The Chemical Industries Holding Company (CIHC) closed the sale of a 30% stake in its subsidiary, state-owned tobacco manufacturer Eastern Company, in a EGP 16.4 bn transaction on the EGX today, according to a bourse news bulletin (pdf). The sale saw CIHC offloading some 669 mn shares to UAE-based Global Investment Holding.

Remember: The government in August revealed that Eastern was added to the list of companies geared for privatization via stake sales to strategic investors, the EGX, or a mix of both.

The company valuation is less than what we had anticipated: The sale values the company at some EGP 54.7 bn, according to our math. CIHC had planned to divest 30% of the company for EGP 19.3 bn, cabinet said in September. That would have valued Eastern at EGP 64.5 bn.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Results of the first talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in a year took over the international press this afternoon. Not much was expected, due to brewing conflict over trade, Taiwan, and human rights, says Bloomberg, but the pair managed to emerge from their four-hour meeting with a few small victories. Agreements covered how to address the fentanyl crisis and restoration of military communications that were severed by China last year in protest of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. (The Financial Times | Associated Press | The Wall Street Journal)

HELP GAZA-

Want to support relief efforts in Gaza, but don’t know how? We’ve got you. More than 1 mn people in Gaza have been thrown from their homes and every human being there lacks access to food, water, and fuel amid the most intense bombardment any population has endured this century.

The folks at Talabat are processing donations for a range of Gaza relief appeals by charities including the Egyptian Food Bank and Misr El Kheir. Pay in EGP using your credit card.

Or check out our list of charities to which you can make direct donations via bank deposit and / or Fawry.

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

  • Brussels is putting together a major financial assistance package for Egypt: The EU plans to marshal bns of EUR of investment for Egypt and potentially provide debt relief in some form as the bloc tries to help stabilize the economy and curb migration across the Mediterranean in the wake of the conflict in Gaza.
  • There are signs of unrest in our local tobacco industry: The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) has received a complaint from tobacco distributors JTI-Nakhla and Al Mansour International Distribution Company.
  • Egypt’s unemployment rate inched up to 7.1% in 3Q2023, a 0.1 percentage point increase from the previous quarter, according to data released yesterday by state statistics agency Capmas. Unemployment was down 0.3 percentage points compared with the same period last year.

🌤️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Expect the mercury to rise to a high of 27°C and drop to a cooler 20°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

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