Good morning, folks. It’s already shaping up to be a busy week for local business news — and mostly welcome news for a change. In today’s issue, we’ve got news of a potentially 11-digit Chinese investment, inflation falling to a two-year low, yet another digital outsourcing project getting off the ground, and more. We’re short on digital ink in this morning’s issue, so let’s jump right in.

PSA-

WEATHER- It’s another sunny and crisp day in Cairo today, with a high of 21°C and a low of 12°C, according to our favorite weather app.

It’s a similar story in Alexandria, with a high of 21°C and a low of 10°C.

There’s also a chance of fog across large parts of the country tomorrow, so take care on the roads this morning.

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WATCH THIS SPACE-

#1- A mystery real estate giant from the private sector will be joining the EGX this month, EGX boss Ahmed El Sheikh told Asharq Business without giving us much to identify the as yet unnamed company.

El Sheikh also announced that the bourse is gearing up to launch two new indexes, including a sustainability index in mid-2025, and another sharia-compliant sustainability index in 1H 2025.

The EGX could also soon welcome three new special purpose acquisition companies – known more commonly as SPACs — with the companies currently preparing to submit applications to the Financial Regulatory Authority to list their shares on the EGX, El Sheikh told Hapi Journal. The companies are following in the footsteps of Impact investor Catalyst Partners’ SPAC, Catalyst Partners Middle East, which became Egypt’s first SPAC to trade on the EGX in November.

#2- A blackout-free summer in 2025? Egypt has secured enough energy supplies to ensure that the nation’s power plants can run at full capacity when the summer season approaches and demand jumps, Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat told Asharq Business. To keep the lights on and ACs whirring away, the government will increase natural gas supplies to power plants by 9% y-o-y to 4.9 bn cubic feet per day.

HAPPENING TODAY-

#1- Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty is in Riyadh to discuss developments in Syria, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. The discussions will explore ways to support a comprehensive Syrian-led political process that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people while preserving Syria's stability, unity, security, and sovereignty over its territories.

#2- MPs will once again spend the day discussing and voting on articles of the draft Criminal Procedures Law, which has been with the House for the last few weeks as they work through the 540-article bill.

DATA POINT-

Morocco has unseated Egypt as Africa’s most visited country, with its 17.4 mn tourists in 2024 standing considerably above Egypt’s 15.7 mn for the year, according to the country’s Tourism Ministry.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles are continuing to dominate the global press this morning, with the prospect of increased wind speeds looking set to make an already out of control situation even harder to contain. Firefighters have been battling six separate wildfires across the country, which have so far taken 16 lives and laid waste to thousands of homes. (Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | Reuters | Associated Press | New York Times | Guardian)

Some are already picking up on the colossal and potentially impossible challenge this will present to the ins. industry, with Bloomberg addressing the costs and the implications of the “what’s almost certain to become the costliest wildfire in US history.” Early estimates on Thursday by JPMorgan were already forecasting insured damages reaching USD 20 bn and beyond, leading some, including climatologist Daniel Swain, to ask “Could a single event cause insurers to become insolvent? That’s the great fear.”

Our part of the world is also ranking high on the world’s digital front pages this morning, with news that Shin Bet domestic security chief Ronen Bar and other senior Israeli officials will head to Doha for ceasefire talks. Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has also been in the region to purportedly work towards an agreement, with the incoming president warning that there will be “all hell to pay” if all the Israeli hostages are not released by the time he is inaugurated on 20 January. (Associated Press | Financial Times | Bloomberg)

TikTok’s ongoing battle with US legislators is once again topping the business press, as the Supreme Court hears arguments over a law requiring its Chinese parent ByteDance to divest the platform by 19 January or face a nationwide ban due to concerns of Chinese influence. TikTok's legal team has argued the law violates the First Amendment and warned that it could set a precedent for targeting other companies. (Reuters | Financial Times)

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