INFRASTRUCTURE-

GREGY is coming: The government will soon launch a tender to select an international consulting firm to develop a plan and prepare the necessary studies for an electricity linkup with Greece that will enable exports of Egyptian renewable energy into Europe — dubbed GREGY — CEO of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company Sabah Mashaly told Arab World News. It remains unclear how much the project will cost but the EU will fund the project through grants, she added.

POLICY-

The latest on import backlog clearing efforts: The central bank is supplying the necessary FX to speed up the release of goods, CBE governor Hassan Abdalla said during a meeting with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly. The meeting centered around the state’s efforts to ease the import backlog. After the float of the EGP and flow of FX brought back FX liquidity into the banking system, the Madbouly government has made easing the backlog one of its top priorities, with some USD 3 bn worth of goods released in the span of a few days, Madbouly said last week.

Madbouly and Abdullah also discussed structural reforms aimed at making the economy more flexible. The PM mentioned the “unprecedented” interest in the industrial sector with the aim of increasing production and exports.

M&A-

Raya IT to acquire outsourcing firm? Raya Holding’s IT arm Raya Information Technology is looking into acquiring an unnamed outsourcing and application development company, it said in an EGX disclosure (pdf). The company will announce the transaction once the decision is approved by its board.

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