{"id":550476,"date":"2022-10-30T04:00:43","date_gmt":"2022-10-30T04:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/10\/30\/last-nights-talk-shows-the-govt-really-wants-to-talk-about-industry-as-the-egp-devaluation-sends-the-currency-to-record-lows-against-the-greenback\/"},"modified":"2022-10-30T04:00:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T04:00:43","slug":"last-nights-talk-shows-the-govt-really-wants-to-talk-about-industry-as-the-egp-devaluation-sends-the-currency-to-record-lows-against-the-greenback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/10\/30\/last-nights-talk-shows-the-govt-really-wants-to-talk-about-industry-as-the-egp-devaluation-sends-the-currency-to-record-lows-against-the-greenback\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Night\u2019s Talk Shows: The gov\u2019t really wants to talk about industry as the EGP devaluation sends the currency to record lows against the greenback"},"content":{"rendered":"

The economy dominated the conversation on the airwaves last night and over the <\/strong>weekend<\/strong> in the wake of the currency devaluation on Thursday and the announcement of a fresh loan agreement with the IMF. Everyone covered the 16%+ slide in the EGP, with Al Hayah Al Youm host Mostafa Sherdy describing the float on Thursday as \u201cbitter medicine\u201d (watch, runtime: 3:58<\/a>) and Kelma Akhira\u2019s Lamees El Hadidi trying to explain to her viewers why the government has had to again devalue the currency and what might come next for the economy (watch, runtime: 21:44<\/a>). Since launching on Thursday, savers have invested more than EGP 12 bn into the National Bank of Egypt\u2019s three-year 17.25% CDs, NBE Vice President Yehia Aboul Fotouh told Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 5:52<\/a>).<\/p>\n

<\/a> PRESSURE ON BUSINESSES TO HIKE WAGES<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi used an appearance at an manufacturing expo to pressure the private sector to raise wages<\/strong>, asking Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) boss Mohamed El Sewedy in a back-and-forth<\/a> how much the private sector planned to raise wages. El Sewedy told the president businesses were committed to an EGP 300 bump.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND- <\/strong>El Sisi asked the question just days after he (a) suggested EGP 10k is an appropriate minimum wage<\/a> for \u201ca working man\u201d and (b) after his government promised it would give civil servants and employees of state-owned enterprises an EGP 300 per month bump<\/a> and raise the minimum wage to EGP 3k.<\/p>\n

El Sewedy<\/a><\/strong> and Federation of Investors Associations boss <\/strong>Sobhi Nasr<\/a><\/strong> (among <\/strong>others<\/a><\/strong>) hit the airwaves <\/strong>to drive home the message, promising that private-sector employees will get an extra EGP 300 in their next monthly paycheck.<\/p>\n

The catch: Neither FEI nor EFIA have the power to impose a wage hike on anyone<\/strong>, including their members. The private-sector minimum wage is set by Cabinet\u2019s national minimum wage council. The private-sector minimum wage is currently EGP 2.4k.<\/p>\n

Yes, it will be inflationary, but raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do: <\/strong>Regular readers know that we think that figure is ridiculously low \u2014 and that we think the council should with extreme prejudice reject applications for exemptions from the minimum wage. If you can\u2019t find a way to build a real business while paying the minimum wage, then your business (or industry) doesn\u2019t deserve to exist.<\/p>\n

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A push for import substitution:<\/strong> The talking heads made a big deal of last week\u2019s IMCE expo, which saw the launch of a new government initiative dubbed Ebda<\/a> that aims to accelerate the localization of industrial production and lower the country\u2019s reliance on imported goods. \u201cWe must manufacture a large segment of the industrial components we buy abroad. This way we help the GDP grow and create jobs,\u201d President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said at the event yesterday, calling on companies to focus on ramping up local production (w<\/a>atch, runtime: 2:1<\/a>1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

About Ebda<\/strong>: The National Initiative of Developing Egyptian Industry (Ebda) will offer a number of incentives to companies to invest in industrial production in a bid to onshore manufacturing, reduce imports and create jobs. It will offer companies five-year tax exemptions and land plots under a usufruct framework, according to Ittihadiya<\/a>, which is yet to provide further information. The conference saw the launch of 64 projects in various industries under the initiative, Gebaly said.<\/p>\n

Golden licenses for all: <\/strong>El Sisi announced that all investors will be granted three-month golden licenses, making it easier for them to set up projects. This got coverage from DMC\u2019s Al Youm (watch, runtime: 3:05<\/a>), El Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 1:16<\/a>) and Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 0:38<\/a>). Check our explainer on golden licenses here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

El Gebaly waxed lyrical on the event and what it could mean for local industry:<\/strong> The IMCE will be a \u201cgreat push\u201d for local industries in the coming period, El Gebaly told DMC\u2019s Al Youm (watch, runtime: 3:11<\/a>). He also phoned in to Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 11:00<\/a>) and talked to El Hadidi about some of the projects that were inaugurated at the event including a EGP 1 bn feed project in Gamasa\u2019s industrial zone in Dakahlia and a revived soda ash project. The launch of the projects under the initiative also got coverage from Al Hayah Al Youm (watch, runtime: 19:03<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Also on the airwaves last night:<\/strong><\/p>\n