{"id":558133,"date":"2021-09-28T13:49:33","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T13:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/09\/28\/tonight-abu-auf-parent-company-eyes-2q2022-egx-listing-egypt-36-out-53-countries-to-hunker-down-in-during-covid-also-uk-perils-get-worse\/"},"modified":"2021-09-28T13:49:33","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T13:49:33","slug":"tonight-abu-auf-parent-company-eyes-2q2022-egx-listing-egypt-36-out-53-countries-to-hunker-down-in-during-covid-also-uk-perils-get-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/09\/28\/tonight-abu-auf-parent-company-eyes-2q2022-egx-listing-egypt-36-out-53-countries-to-hunker-down-in-during-covid-also-uk-perils-get-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: Abu Auf parent company eyes 2Q2022 EGX listing. + Egypt #36 out 53 countries to hunker down in during covid. ALSO: UK perils get worse."},"content":{"rendered":"

We hope you\u2019re all ready to slide into the back half of the week <\/strong>now that hump day is behind us. It\u2019s a quiet afternoon for news here at home and abroad, but the winds blowing in global markets are a little bit \u2026 stiff? Unpredictable? We\u2019re not joining the bears in salivating over the prospect of a correction, but you could be forgiven for thinking that others are.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORIES TODAY so far: <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Healthy food provider Abu Auf\u2019s parent company, AUF, will be making its EGX <\/strong>debut in 2Q2022 with EFG Hermes quarterbacking the transaction<\/strong>, the company said in a statement (pdf)<\/a>. AUF could offer up to 49% of its capital, with the proceeds funding the company\u2019s regional expansion plans. In the market now:<\/strong> State-owned fintech platform and digital payments infrastructure provider e-Finance<\/a> is pulling the trigger on its sale this fall. EGX chairman Mohamed Farid has telegraphed that the pipeline is deep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

^^ We\u2019ll more on AUF\u2019s IPO in tomorrow\u2019s edition of EnterpriseAM.<\/strong><\/p>\n

#2- Egypt inched up slightly in <\/strong>Bloomberg\u2019s Covid Resilience Ranking<\/a><\/strong> to #36 from the 53 countries included, compared to standing at #39 in August<\/a>. The news comes as government officials continue to suggest we\u2019ll hit the peak of the pandemic\u2019s fourth wave toward the end of October.<\/p>\n

<\/a> HAPPENING NOW- Major European indexes are firmly in the red this afternoon <\/strong>from Paris and Frankfurt to London and the Stoxx600. Futures suggest Wall Street will follow suit later this afternoon at the opening bell. Here at home, the benchmark EGX30 closed the day down 0.5%. Trading was light, with total turnover for the day down about a quarter from the trailing 90-day average. The selloff is providing the only glimmer of excitement on what is so far a very quiet news day in Egypt and abroad.<\/p>\n

ALSO- Brent crude breached the USD 80 \/ barrel barrier for the first time in three years<\/strong>, building on a performance that saw it test that limit yesterday.<\/p>\n

Why should you care <\/strong>if you\u2019re not in the hydrocarbons business? The Financial Times<\/a> thinks this is \u201cthe clearest signs yet that the world is heading into a global energy crunch<\/strong> likely to weigh on economic growth.\u201d Prices are skyrocketing in Europe<\/a> for everything from natural gas to coal and hydropower, thanks in large part to supply constraints heading into winter.<\/p>\n

Things are getting nasty in the UK<\/strong>, where Boris Johnson\u2019s government has put the army on<\/a>standby<\/a> after consumers drained filling stations of petrol. Officials say that supply to petrol stations is improving<\/a>, but that has so far done little to reduce lineups for the pumps.<\/p>\n

Wait \u2014 it could get worse. We can all starve<\/strong>, warns Bloomberg<\/a>, writing that global commodities markets are being upended after crops in Brazil have been \u201cscorched, frozen and then dried out by the worst drought in a century.\u201d Brazil accounts for 75% of global orange exports, 54% of soy exports, 50% of sugar, 32% of coffee and 22% of worldwide corn exports.<\/p>\n

Throw in a global shortage of tennis balls <\/strong>and it\u2019s enough to make you worry that, indeed, Winter Is Coming.<\/p>\n

LATER TODAY- Fed boss Jay Powell will speak at the Senate Banking Committee <\/strong>in Washington at 6pm today. Expect inflation to be very high on the agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CLOSER TO HOME- Where in the world is Jake Sullivan?<\/strong> Axios<\/a> reported last week that the White House national security advisor was due in Cairo this week as part of a Mideast tour that would also take him to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Sullivan was scheduled to meet yesterday<\/a> with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. A White House statement<\/a> out yesterday confirmed only that Sullivan \u201cwill travel to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,\u201d but made no mention of a stop in Cairo.<\/p>\n

** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today\u2019s EnterpriseAM:<\/strong><\/p>\n