Good morning, friends, and happy Friday. We hope this first full week of 2024 has been brisk and the weekend restful or an opportunity to get active…

… which brings us to our running guide this weekend, where we illustrate the steps you can take to start one of the lowest-maintenance sports out there.

This guide is for the newbie or seasoned runner, and we are certain that our suggestions will tempt you off of your sofa and into some sneakers.

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-

TOURISM-

An all-time high record of 14.9 mn tourists visited Egypt in 2023, breaking the previous record of 14.7 mn tourists set in 2010, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The figures come in line with the state’s target to reel in 15 mn tourists during 2023, despite the headwinds that the industry has been facing. The number of tourists last year is also up 27.4% compared to the 11.7 mn tourists that the country welcomed in 2022.

M&A WATCH-

#1- ADQ invests big in historic hotels: Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ and its subsidiary Adnec Group will take part-ownership of several luxury Egyptian hotels after it signed an agreement to acquire 40.5% of Icon, the hospitality arm of Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG), through a capital increase in a USD 882.5 mn transaction. ADQ will own a stake in Icon’s existing portfolio of 15 luxury assets across Egypt, in addition to the recently acquired seven historic hotels.

Advisors: EFG Hermes was the sole financial advisor to TMG Holding on both ADQ and Adnec’s acquisition of a stake in Icon and was sole financial advisor to TMG on its acquisition of the heritage hotels from the Government of Egypt. White & Case UAE and Egypt were legal counsel to ADQ and Adnec, while Gibson Dunn, Sarie El-Din & Partners, and Shahid Law were counsel to TMG.

#2- General Atlantic is on track to buy Actis to form USD 96 bn asset manager: US private equity firm General Atlantichas agreed to acquire London-based, emerging markets-focussed infrastructure fund manager Actis. The move will add USD 12.5 bn worth of assets under management to General Atlantic’s USD 83 bn portfolio. The value of the acquisition wasn’t disclosed.

DEBT WATCH-

#1- Unlocking a larger IMF package is “critical” for the success of Egypt’s loan program, the international lender’s director of communications, Julie Kozack, said during a press briefing. She did not provide any details on the size of the larger package needed or a timeline on when we can expect it to be announced.

Negotiations in progress: The Fund is currently in discussions with Egyptian authorities regarding the policy requirements necessary for the Fund to sign off on the first two reviews of the loan program, namely tightening fiscal and monetary policy and moving towards a flexible exchange rate, Kozack said.

#2- FinMin eyes possible local-currency bond sales in BRICS countries: Egypt could issue bonds in the local currencies of New Development Bank (NDB) member countries, which the country joined in April 2023.

#3- Fresh funds to boost our food and energy security: Egypt will receive a USD 250 mn sharia-compliant trade loan facility from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (IFTC) to support Egypt’s food and oil security.

RETAIL-

Prepare to bid farewell to some of your favorite retail shops: Kuwaiti retail conglomerate Alshaya Group — one of the region’s largest retail franchise operators — will be sharply reducing its business activity in Egypt.

What does that mean? The company’s brands will be gradually exiting the local market — some of the brands will fully shut their doors, while others will just decrease operations. Alshaya owns the franchising rights for Starbucks, H&M, Mothercare, Debenhams, American Eagle Outfitters, and other household names.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-

Egypt wants to set terms for helping the EU control migration ahead of next week’s meeting:“Economic support, investment guarantees, technology transfer, jobs, and food security” is what we want from the European Union in exchange helping it curb migration across the Mediterranean, ambassador to the EU Badr Abdelatty told the Financial Times ahead of a meeting between Egypt and European officials on 23 January.

We may be in for a three-day weekend next week in observance of 25th of Jan Revolution and Police Day, which falls on Thursday.

AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS-

Regional tensions escalated wherever you look on the map:

#1- Iran is opening fire on its neighbors, claiming to fight “anti-Iran terror groups”. The Islamic Republic fired missiles and launched drones against targets in Syria, Iraq, and Pakistan in 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, openly claiming responsibility for the operations. It says the missile attacks underscore that it will be “tough and decisive” with its foes, the New York Times reports.

#2- Pakistan retaliated yesterday with drones and rockets on Baloch separatist militants in Iran, killing more than nine people in a neighboring village, two days after Iran attacked the Pakistani separatist group Jaish al-Adl. The two countries frequently exchange accusations of harboring separatist groups to attack the other country, but this marks the biggest conflict between them. With instability in the region already at a high from Israel’s war on Gaza, officials from both parties want to stop the tension before it escalates, with the Foreign Ministers from each nation hopping on a call to settle the dispute. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Associated Press)

#3- Oil and gas woes deepen amid Red Sea escalation: Global oil giant Shell has suspendedshipments through the Red Sea indefinitely amid fears of further escalations in the waterway as the US and UK air strikes on Houthi facilities in Yemen enter its eighth day today.

Suez Canal revenues since the beginning of the year are down 40% y-o-y, Suez CanalAuthority head Osama Rabie told Kol Youm last week (watch, runtime: 24:33). Shipping volumes fell 30% y-o-y during the first 11 days of the year with 544 vessels passing the canal during the period compared to 777 in 2023.

By the numbers: Different carriers have been differently impacted by the current tension in the waterway — the number of gas carriers has dropped by 96% from last month, followed by container ships with an 80% m-o-m dip, oil tankers (55%), and bulk carriers (25%).

#4- A depressing milestone: The conflict in Gaza clocked day 100 this week as Israel’s bombardment of the enclave and ground offensive has killed 24k people, injured over 60k injuries, and internally displaced over 85% of the population. Despite diplomatic efforts, Israel’s offensive shows few signs of waning.

THIS WEEK THE WORLD HEADED TO DAVOS-

All eyes on Davos: World leaders, heads of global banks, the world’s brightest economists, Gulf bn’aires, and Wall Street giants gathered in Switzerland for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum under the theme of “rebuilding trust.” Regional heavyweights have made appearances, including leading officials from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Palestine as well as our very own International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat. The meeting kicked off on Monday and wraps up today.

TRUMP TAKES IOWA-

Republicans put their weight behind the Donald: Former US President Donald Trump took the caucuses, as expected with Ron DeSantis landing in second place with a very wide margin after edging out Nikki Haley. Although DeSantis is now in pole position to battle it out with Trump for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Haley is still not out of the picture entirely, boasting strong numbers in the next two Republican primary nomination states — New Hampshire and South Carolina

Trump was always tipped to come out on top, but a much stronger than expected showing has pundits openly suggesting that his appeal has expanded beyond his base (at least in very white, very Republican midwestern states…) and that Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are “running out of time” to stop him.

?️ THE WEATHER THIS WEEKEND- Today will be mostly sunny with patchy skies and a high of 23°C in the day before dropping down to 16°C at night. Saturday will bring similar weather but with a warmer high of 25°C and a low of 16°C, according to our favorite weather app.

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND

THEATER-

Crash to Fly, a grown-up adaptation of timeless Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, will be playing in the Falaki Main Stage theater today through to Sunday, 21 January starting at 8pm. Click here to reserve your tickets.

ARTS-

Picasso Art Gallery has opened its doors to solo exhibitionist Hicham Rahma. Each of his paintings will exhibit “mixed tales with rich folkloric elements” with “magical strangeness and astonishing interaction.” This exhibition opens from 11am to 9pm, except for Sundays, until Friday, 2 February. Click here for more information.

Practice your knitting and needling skills at a crochet workshop at the Monalisa ArtStudio. This three-hour course will teach you all the fundamentals from basic stitching shapes to making scarves. The course will be taking place every Saturday and Wednesday until Wednesday, 28 February from 1-4pm. Check out their Facebook page for more information.

SPORTS-

Put on your hiking boots and hike up Wadi with the Wadi Clan tomorrow at 8:30am. The mid-level hike, made for all fitness levels, is part of their gradual increase in difficulty challenge with the chance to work up to joining their group on their Sinai mountains climb. Click here to reserve your spot and for more details.

Watch the African Cup on the big screen. Mivida is hosting The Stadium, screening upcoming matches from today through to this Thursday and again on Saturday and Sunday. The Lake District is within arm’s reach in case you need to fuel up before or after the matches. More of a doer? The Stadium is also hosting sports activities you can partake in. You can book your tickets through Ticketsmarche.

HAPPENING NEXT WEEKEND-

BOOKS-

The Cairo International Book Fair is starting on Wednesday, 24 January until Tuesday, 6February. The event will be open to the general public on 25 January from 10am to 2pm, except Friday and Saturday, when their doors will close at 9pm. The fair will be in the Egyptian Center for Fairs and Conferences in the Fifth Settlement, New Cairo.

FOOD-

Why go to Dubai Village when the Walk of Cairo has a day of street food?This one-day street food and tasting event, on Friday, 26 January, will bring together artisanal, farm, and comfort food from all of the best bites around. There are also activities and entertainment for the youngsters as well — all you have to do is bring yourself.