Good afternoon all you lovely people, and happy Tuesday. We have a packed issue for you today, with all the latest on a potential USD 1.8 bn data center, Trump’s surprise foreign policy moves, and global coal consumption.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

#1- Gov’t in talks with Spain’s WHM to set up a USD 1.8 bn healthcare data center: Spanish medical consultancy WHM has reportedly proposed setting up a USD 1.8 bn data center as part of a consortium of international investors and in partnership with the ICT Ministry, Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib said in a statement. The terms of the project, which aims to help turn Egypt into a regional hub for AI-related medical services, are set to be nailed out over a series of follow-up meetings between the two parties. Khatib also highlighted further investment opportunities available to the company in Egypt, as well as the government’s willingness to provide incentives for WHM to expand its activities in the Egyptian market.

#2- Beltone in place to acquire majority stake in Baobab: Beltone Holding has inked a share purchase agreement to acquire a majority stake in African SME-focused financial services provider Baobab Group for an undisclosed amount, the company said in a disclosure(pdf) to the EGX. The Egyptian financial services provider will formally acquire the stake after the remaining approvals and procedures are completed.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the upcoming acquisition: We first heard about the transaction last month, when it was announced Beltone Holding subsidiary Beltone Capital had entered into a put option agreement to acquire the stake. Beltone said at the time that the acquisition would drive Beltone’s regional growth strategy through expansions in Africa, utilizing Baobab’s existing operations in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria, along with its 500k customers customer base.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

US president Donald Trump’s raft of foreign policy moves over the last 48 moves continue to reverberate across the world’s front pages, with the US president’s decision to suspend enforcement of an anti-corruption law that prevents US individuals and corporations from bribing foreign officials the latest move in a string of decisions that have seen Trump threaten to “let all hell break loose” in Gaza, impose 25% tariffs on steel aluminum imports, and threaten to withhold aid from Egypt and Jordan if they fail to comply with his plans to forcibly displace Palestinians from Gaza. Trump is set to meet today with Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss the latter proposal, with Trump yet to fully renege on his plan to see the US occupy and redevelop the enclave.

Over in int’l business news, outlets continue to report on an Elon Musk-led consortium’s nearly USD 100 bn offer to buy the non-profit behind OpenAI — a key competitor of Musk’s AI outfit xAI. The move aims to block OpenAI’s bid to access more capital by transitioning to a for-profit structure, with Musk claiming that CEO Sam Altman’s plans to spin off the non-profit that currently holds a controlling stake in OpenAI’s for-profit subsidiary betray the company’s mission and undervalue the company. Musk also stands to gain from a higher sale price for the non-profit, given his early investments in the ChatGPT-maker.

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

  • Trump threatens to withhold aid from Egypt and Jordan: US president Donald Trump told reporters the United States may withhold aid if Egypt and Jordan refuse to take in refugees forced out of Gaza as part of his plan to push Palestinians out of their homeland.
  • Annual headline urban inflation dipped to 24.0% in January, marking a 0.1percentage point drop from the 24.1% recorded in December. F&B price inflation for January was up 0.5 percentage points to 20.8%, while F&B prices rose 1.8% m-o-m after two consecutive months of drops.
  • Beltone Leasing and Factoring inks agreement to fund Al Ahly sports complex: Beltone Holding subsidiary Beltone Leasing and Factoring inked a EGP 4 bn syndicated leasing term sheet with Al Qalaa Al Hamraa to fund the construction of Al Ahly Club’s stadium and sports city in Sheikh Zayed.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Temperatures are maintaining their recent chillier low this week with tomorrow’s mercury rising to a mere 19°C in the morning before dropping to 10°C in the evening, according to our favorite weather app.

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