THIS EVENING: Egypt’s economy slowed down in 2Q FY 2023-2024

Good afternoon folks, and happy Monday. We have some fresh economic updates to unpack as we start the second day of this relatively hot week.

THE BIG STORY TODAY

Egypt’s GDP growth slowed to 2.3% in 2Q 2023-24, down from 2.65% in 1Q 2023-24 and 3.9% during the same period last year, according to Planning Ministry figures carried by Al Masry Al Youm.

Refresher: The Madbouly government had penciled in GDP growth at a 3.5%clip in the fiscal year ending June 2024, which is on par with projections from both S&P Global Ratings and the World Bank. The IMF is slightly less optimistic, forecasting Egypt’s GDP growth for the current fiscal year at 3%.

On the external debt front: The Planning Ministry data showed the country’s external debt for 2Q 2023-2024 inched up by USD 3.51 bn to some USD 168 bn. This figure could fall after the landmark USD 35 bn Ras El Hekma agreement, which includes USD 11 bn of UAE deposits with the Central Bank of Egypt that will be written off our debts ledger.

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-

It’s all eyes on Erdogan’s electoral blow in the foreign press: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered their biggest defeat in the local elections today as the opposition landed a sweeping victory across several major cities. Ekrem Imamoglu came ahead by 10 percentage points in the megacity of Istanbul, where he is mayor, early results showed. His Republican People’s Party (CHP), meanwhile, retained Ankara and secured 15 other mayoral seats across the country. Erdogan’s defeat — his worst since he rose to power more than two decades ago — comes amid rising dissatisfaction with rampant inflation and soaring borrowing costs as well as discontent from Islamist voters. (Reuters | Bloomberg | Financial Times | Associated Press | CNBC)

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

• El Sisi wants more private sector involvement in the healthcare sector ASAP:President Abdel Fattah El Sisi called for the swift completion of the required legislative steps to facilitate the participation of the private sector in the country’s healthcare sector.
• A fresh subsidized loan program: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly approved a newEGP 120 bn program of subsidized loans for manufacturers in free zones as well as agriculture and renewable energy companies.
• Egypt to receive EUR 1 bn of its EU package before the summer: The European Union is looking to deliver the first tranche of the bloc’s pledged EUR 5 bn of concessional loans as part its EUR 7.4 bn package to Egypt before next summer.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- Look for a sunny day with the mercury climbing to a high of 34°C and dropping to a low of 18°C, according to our favorite weather app.