The economy dominated the airwaves last night in the wake of the Telecom Egypt stake sale and the introduction of new measures aimed at curbing soaring local gold prices.

The reaction to the Telecom Egypt sale: Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi was the only one to cover the successful sale of a 10% stake in Telecom Egypt (TE) to investors, bringing on former EGX board member Ihab Said to discuss what it means for the government’s privatization efforts (watch, runtime: 8:54). The sale will be conducted in EGP, meaning that no new FX will enter the country should the buyers be local, he pointed out. We have the full details in this morning’s Privatization Watch, above.

Talks over the sale of TE’s 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt are still happening, Said said, adding that they were stalleddue to disagreement over the stake sold. “I expect, over the coming period, that we see this sale happening,” he added. TE’s stake in Vodafone Egypt has received interest from the Qatari and Abu Dhabiwealth funds.

Peace in Gaza?Israel and Islamic Jihad agreed to an Egypt-mediated ceasefire yesterday, putting an end to days of violence. Palestine’s factions will respect the ceasefire, Emad Gad, deputy director of Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 12:35). The two sides had no choice but to accept Egypt’s mediation of the situation because the Biden administration was not going to step in, he added. Kelma Akhira also covered the news (watch, runtime: 2:54).

Gold prices drop: Local gold prices have dipped following the decision last week to allow people to bring gold into the country without paying customs. The price of 21-carat gold has fallen around 8% since Wednesday to EGP 2,350 per gram. “Gold prices have dropped after people started feeling like there is a sufficient supply in the market,” Hani Milad, head of Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce’s (Fedcoc) gold and jewelry division, told Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 5:29). “We will start to see an abundance of gold in the market which will help local gold prices match international prices,” he added

More about the decision: It applies to both Egyptians and foreigners entering the country, Assistant Supply Minister Ibrahim Ashmawy told Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 4:24| 2:05 | 2:06). He explained that the decision doesn’t have any regulations yet but the government has learnt from previous experiences — such as the car import scheme — not to overcomplicate the rules. El Hekaya (watch, runtime: 3:14) and Masa’a DMC (watch, runtime: 5:00) also dedicated some airtime to gold prices.

FACT CHECK- Food subsidies aren’t going anywhere: The Madbouly government will not be replacing food subsidies with cash handouts, cabinet said yesterday after local media misinterpreted comments made by ITDA head Ibrahim Ashmawy. “Transitioning from ration cards to cash handouts is not supported at the moment due to ongoing economic conditions, price hikes, and inflation,” Ashmawy told Kelma Akhira’s El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 3:42 | 3:29), adding that ration cards have become part of Egyptian culture that all point against that move.

Ashmawy defends recent price hikes: “Price adjustments are always happening in response to inflation and global price changes — wheat, oil, sugar,” he said. The Supply Ministry raised the prices of almost all subsidized commodities sold to ration card holders earlier this month and indicated it would make further incremental price hikes. “These are all tiny increases that don’t match up with inflation levels,” he added.

Also on the airwaves:

  • Khufu is closed for renovation: Former Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass appeared on Kelma Akhira to discuss the two-month closure of the Pyramid of Khufu among other topics (watch, runtime: 0:57).
  • Moussa and El Wazir hit the streets: Transport Minister Kamel El Wazir joined Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa yesterday (watch, runtime: 11:10) to discuss all things transport and talk to members of the public about the government’s rail infrastructure projects.
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