Good afternoon, friends, and a very happy Thursday to you all. We’re gearing up for the weekend after a long week of headlines and will see you again on Sunday.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Food sector acquisitions just keep coming: Raya Holding has received a binding offer to acquire up to 49% of its wholly-owned subsidiary Raya Foods for USD 40 mn, the parent company said in a disclose to the EGX today (pdf), noting that Raya Foods typically contributes c. 5% of the group total revenues. Raya stopped short of disclosing the name of the bidder.

Market Reax: Raya Holding’s share jumped 12.8% to a record high of EGP 3.44 at today’s close on the back of the news.

ICYMI- The new offer comes two days after another major bid in the food sector from Denmark-based Arla Foods at EGX-listed Domty, which saw the dairy producer’s shares jump 40% since Tuesday’s session.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

European Central Bank is widely expected to announce the third interest rate cut of 2024 sometime today, CNBC reports. The change is assumed to be in response to EU policymakers marking diminished inflation risks — with price markups rising only to 1.8% last month opposed to the projected 2% seen for the past three years — as well as a weakening growth outlook that now projects a 0.8% increase in GDP in comparison to the previous 0.9% estimate. The ECB pinpoints manufacturing weakness in Germany and a looming fiscal consolidation project in France as major factors. If the cut is implemented, it would mark the first time in 13 years that the ECB reduced rates at consecutive meetings.

It’s a totally different story in our neck of the woods, as all of the analysts and economists we surveyed earlier this week for our EnterpriseAM poll see the MPC holding rates steady at its meeting later today as the central bank works to prioritize controlling inflation over any monetary policy easing. Analysts we spoke to pointed to sticky inflation, current investor wariness of Egyptian debt, and Israel’s war on its neighbors endangering Egypt-bound gas flows and ramping up the price of energy imports, as well as a seasonal rise in educational expenses as factors that could cause inflation to persist during 4Q 2024 — cementing the expectations of the ongoing tightening cycle carrying over to the first quarter of next year.

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

  • World Bank revises downward our growth outlook for FY 2024-2025: The international lender sees the Egyptian economy growing at a 3.5% clip during the fiscal year 2024-2025, trimming its outlook 0.7 percentage points from the 4.2% forecasted in June.
  • United Bank’s IPO is in motion: United Bank has officially submitted a request to list its shares on the EGX as the central bank pushes ahead with its plan to sell a stake in the lender in an initial public offering before the end of 1Q 2025.
  • The government is preparing for all scenarios: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly explained at his weekly press conference that the government is preparing for all potential scenarios in the region amid escalating tensions around Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Cooler temperatures are stable, with the mercury expected to reach a high of 31°C and a cooler low of 21°C in the capital, according to our favorite weather app.

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