Good afternoon, friends. We start the week with the continued drama of the IMF third review of the USD 8 bn program to Egypt.

THE BIG STORIES TODAY

#1- IMF third review disappeared again from the fund’s Executive Board’s schedule: The IMF Executive Board has removed the third review of our USD 8 bn loan program from its schedule for the second time earlier this morning.

But the meeting could still take place on 29 July, a senior government source told Enterprise, adding that the discussions are still ongoing with the IMF to agree on some outstanding points about the new government’s plan before the 29 July meeting.

Remember: The IMF Executive Board was initially scheduled to discuss the third review on 10 July, before the Fund pushed the meeting to 29 July to “finalize some details,” according to IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack, who assured in a press briefing earlier this month that these postponements are “not unusual in these kinds of circumstances.” Once the fund’s board approves the review, we’ll be getting a fresh USD 820 tranche into the state coffers and will allow Egypt to apply for an additional USD 1.2 bn in climate finance. Egypt and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on the third review early last month.

What’s causing the holdup? The potential delay could be a means to give the fund more time to discuss the new government’s program, including the gradual phasing out of subsidies, mechanisms to restore economic growth, improving the investment climate, reducing the budget deficit, and creating a wider space for the private sector, another government source suggested.

#2- Dodging annoying spam calls may now be a thing of a past thanks to new regulations from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) that require promotional callers to register with the database of Egyptian mobile operators, allowing people to receive spam alerts from their mobile carrier when they’re receiving a promotional call, the NTRA said in a statement (pdf).

THE BIG STORY ABROAD

Bangladesh’s supreme court has rolled back a controversial government job quota, the reinstatement of which last month triggered a wave of civil unrest across the country. Clashes between protestors, police, and supporters of the ruling party have seen over 100 killed.

93% of gov’t jobs now to be given on merit: The quota, originally struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018, allocated around a third of public sector jobs to descendents of veterans of the 1971 war of independence with Pakistan, and has been said to privilege supporters of incumbent prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. The top court’s decision has drastically rolled back this allocation, stating that hiring for 93% of government jobs must be merit-based.

The story got ink from: FT | Reuters | NYT

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

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*** It’s Inside Industry day — your weekly briefing of all things industrial in Egypt. Inside Industry focuses each Sunday on what it takes to turn Egypt into a manufacturing and export powerhouse, ranging from initial investment and planning to product distribution, through to land allocation to industrial processes, supply chain management, labor, automation and technology, inputs and exports, regulation and policy.

In today’s issue: We took a look at the 276-page document outlining the new cabinet’s three-year strategy, and what it has in plan for industry.

☀️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- The mercury is at its peak with a high of 40°C, but will be dropping to a low of 28°C at night, according to our favorite weather app. Alexandria and Sahel are looking at slightly cooler temperatures with a high of 33-34°C and a low of 24-25°C.

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