It was a two-topic night on the airwaves last night as the nation’s talking heads dissected the new USD certificates of deposit announced by the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr yesterday and opined on the ongoing heat wave hitting the country.

NEW CERTIFICATES TO PULL IN FX-

The news in brief: From today, the two state-owned banks will offer their customers two new USD-denominated certificates as they look to encourage savers to deposit their hard currency in the banking system and ignore the black market.

NBE + Banque Misr chiefs were on the media circuit: Banque Misr Chairman Mohamed El Etreby joined Kelma Akhira ( watch, runtime: 18:51), Yahduth Fi Masr ( watch, runtime: 6:37), and Masa’a DMC ( watch, runtime: 11:46) to brief them on the new CDs. NBE Deputy Chairman Yehya Aboul Fotouh joined Al Mas’ouleety ( watch, runtime: 4:34 | 3:25) and Kelma Akhira ( watch, runtime: 11:23).

EUR CDs next? “We could consider EUR certificates but the interest rates would be lower. The interest rate on EUR is globally lower than that on the USD,” El Etreby told Masa’a DMC’s Ramy Radwan.

Banque du Caire IPO in 1Q 2024? The government will “hopefully” move forward with the long overdue Banque du Caire stake sale during the first quarter of next year, El Etreby told El Hadidi ( watch, runtime: 0:44). The bank was added to the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s pre-IPO fund back in January ahead of preparations for its listing on the EGX and sale to strategic investors. The bank was among three financial institutions earmarked for sale in the government’s privatization strategy unveiled earlier this year.

It’s been a long time coming: The state has wanted to sell a stake in the bank since 2016 but has pulled back multiple times due to poor market conditions.

^^ We have the full details in the news well, above.

FEELING HOT HOT HOT-

Most of the nation’s talking heads commented last night on the ongoing heatwave sweeping the country that has triggered rolling blackouts due to soaring electricity demand. Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad was on Yahduth Fi Masr ( watch, runtime: 5:30) to discuss climate change while Kelma Akhira ( watch, runtime: 2:10), Masa’a DMC ( watch, runtime: 4:02) and Al Hayah Al Youm ( watch, runtime: 1:35) also discussed the temperatures

Tags: