{"id":546724,"date":"2022-05-26T04:00:08","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T04:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/05\/26\/this-morning-madbouly-luring-us-investors-to-infrastructure-the-us-is-plotting-how-to-normalize-ties-between-israel-and-saudi\/"},"modified":"2022-05-26T04:00:08","modified_gmt":"2022-05-26T04:00:08","slug":"this-morning-madbouly-luring-us-investors-to-infrastructure-the-us-is-plotting-how-to-normalize-ties-between-israel-and-saudi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/05\/26\/this-morning-madbouly-luring-us-investors-to-infrastructure-the-us-is-plotting-how-to-normalize-ties-between-israel-and-saudi\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Madbouly luring US investors to infrastructure + the US is plotting how to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi"},"content":{"rendered":"

The torrent of news continues on this fine (warm) Thursday morning<\/strong>, and we\u2019re loving every second of it.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the heat: <\/strong>It looks very much like spring weather came to an end yesterday. The mercury is set to rise steadily from 36\u00b0C today in the capital city to 40\u00b0C by Sunday and to stay between 38-44\u00b0C as far into the future as the weather witches who run our favourite app can see.<\/p>\n

<\/a> THE BIG STORY here at home: The Madbouly is looking to attract<\/strong> foreign <\/strong>investors with major new projects.<\/strong> In a meeting with US and Egyptian CEOs yesterday, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said his government will launch a string of major new projects in the coming months and pledged fresh incentives to draw foreign investors into the country, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the PM cooking up? <\/strong>Data centers, LNG terminals, telecom towers, oil and gas pipelines, and wind plant upgrades are all in the government\u2019s plans, he said during a virtual meeting of the Egypt-US Business Council.<\/p>\n

Energy is a high priority for Egypt<\/strong>, Madbouly said, reiterating the nation\u2019s plan to become the premier East Mediterranean energy hub and establish new conventional and renewable power plants, he said.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> MEANWHILE- Egypt\u2019s economy grew at a 5.4% clip in 3Q 2021-2022<\/strong> (the three months ending 30 March 2022) accelerating from 2.9% in the same period last year, according to figures<\/a> released by the cabinet yesterday. The figure indicates that the economy continued to rebound from the covid-induced slowdown the year prior, despite rising inflation and the commodity price shock exacerbated by Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in late February.<\/p>\n

Growth in the January-March period slowed notably from the first two quarters of the fiscal year<\/strong>, which began on 1 July 2021. The economy expanded by 9.8% in 1Q<\/a> and 8.3% in 2Q<\/a>. It\u2019s not just about Ukraine: The slowdown in 3Q reflects stronger growth in the corresponding quarter last year, versus the first two quarters of the year whose GDP figures were magnified by a strong base effect.<\/p>\n

Full-year outlook upgraded:<\/strong> The government has revised upwards its 2021-2022 growth outlook to 6.2% on the back of the figures. The Planning Ministry had in March cut its full-year forecast<\/a> to 5.7% due to the war.<\/p>\n

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WAIT, WAIT \u2014 there\u2019s more: Egypt\u2019s official COP27 website will launch in the coming <\/strong>days<\/strong>, cabinet said<\/a> yesterday. The announcement comes almost two weeks after Egypt unveiled the logo<\/a> for the upcoming COP27 conference, which will take place in Sharm El Sheikh in November.<\/p>\n

Also on the sustainability front: The US Securities and Exchange Commission<\/strong> (essentially their version of our FRA) has proposed new disclosure and naming requirements for ESG funds in what the Wall Street Journal<\/a> says is \u201can effort address concerns about \u2018greenwashing\u2019 by asset managers seeking higher fees.\u201d Not surprisingly the industry is split on the proposed requirements, with money managers saying the rules will drive up their costs \u2014 and force them to pass that on to their investors.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> WATCH THIS SPACE #1<\/strong>- <\/strong>It\u2019s a beautiful day in this neighborhood<\/a><\/strong> (with apologies to Mr. Rogers). Two aides to US President Joe Biden are on a secret visit to Saudi Arabia<\/strong> for talks on raising oil production, improving ties between Washington and Riyadh, and an agreement between Egypt, KSA and Israel that could pave the way for an unprecedented normalization of relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, Axios<\/a> reported, citing three current and former US officials.<\/p>\n

Biden could be in Riyadh next month:<\/strong> The trip comes ahead of a potential visit by Biden to the kingdom at the end of June. Sources say that the two countries need to reach an understanding on all three issues if the president is to visit the country.<\/p>\n

What has this got to do with us?<\/strong> Axios reported on Tuesday<\/a>that the Biden administration is working with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to finalize the transfer of Tiran and Sanafir islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, a move that it believes could lead to a normalization of ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

This comes as we continue to deepen economic ties with Israel<\/strong>, particularly on transforming Egypt into the Eastern Med\u2019s premier energy hub. (See related story at the top of this morning\u2019s news well, below.)<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, MbS is reportedly looking at pulling off his <\/strong>first regional tour<\/a><\/strong> since <\/strong>2018<\/strong>, with whistle stops in Cairo, Amman, Turkey, Greece and Cyprus.<\/p>\n

Wait, there\u2019s more: <\/strong>Turkish Foreign Minister Mevl\u00fct \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu became the first Turkish minister to visit Israel in 15 years yesterday, traveling to Jerusalem for talks with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, Axios<\/a> reports. The two agreed to revive a joint economic committee and launch talks on a civil aviation agreement, but stopped short of announcing a return of ambassadors as Turkey had reportedly hoped.<\/p>\n

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WATCH THIS SPACE #2- Egypt + Qatar ties are growing: <\/strong>Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar discussed investment opportunities in the health sector with his Qatari counterpart Hanan Mohamed Al-Kuwari, on the sidelines of the 75th session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva. (Arab News<\/a>)<\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TODAY- <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s the final day of Davos 2022:<\/strong> \u201cSombre<\/a>,\u201d \u201capocalyptic<\/a>,\u201d and \u201cuncertain\u201d are just some of the words describing this year\u2019s World Economic Forum (WEF) as the event wraps today. War, food shortages, debt crises, economic uncertainty and climate change have dominated discussions at the elite gathering. And underlining the concerns about a deglobalizing world economy, journos are starting to question<\/a> the future of the WEF in a rapidly changing world. The UK seems more than happy to help push Davos into irrelevance, and is apparently plotting a rival summit of its own<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s just a sample of the ominous forecasts coming out of Switzerland:<\/strong><\/p>\n