{"id":552199,"date":"2022-08-18T13:35:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T13:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/08\/18\/this-evening-hassan-abdalla-tapped-as-acting-governor-of-the-cbe-ahead-of-todays-mpc-meeting-interest-rates-decisions-dominate-the-international-business-press\/"},"modified":"2022-08-18T13:35:55","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T13:35:55","slug":"this-evening-hassan-abdalla-tapped-as-acting-governor-of-the-cbe-ahead-of-todays-mpc-meeting-interest-rates-decisions-dominate-the-international-business-press","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/08\/18\/this-evening-hassan-abdalla-tapped-as-acting-governor-of-the-cbe-ahead-of-todays-mpc-meeting-interest-rates-decisions-dominate-the-international-business-press\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS EVENING: Hassan Abdalla tapped as acting governor of the CBE ahead of today\u2019s MPC meeting + Interest rates decisions dominate the international business press"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, lovely people, and a very happy THURSDAY.<\/strong> It\u2019s been quite a week for us all, with an uncharacteristic flood of news over the past few days \u2014 and it\u2019s not over yet.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> It\u2019s official: Hassan Abdalla is taking over as acting governor of CBE:<\/strong> President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has appointed Hassan Abdalla, the former CEO of Arab African International Bank and current chairman of state-owned media giant United Media Services Company, as acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), replacing Tarek Amer, according to Extra News<\/a>. It is unclear how long Abdalla will hold the position for, but Egypt\u2019s constitution allows the president to appoint a temporary caretaker to fill the position until the House of Representatives begins its next legislative session in the fall, at which time it would need to approve a nominee for a full term.<\/p>\n

The decision comes as the CBE\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee is set to meet later today to<\/strong> review interest rates<\/strong> for the first time since Amer stepped down as governor of the central bank yesterday. The emerging consensus<\/a> is that the MPC will raise rates, although economists and analysts are divided on the increment, with some forecasting a raise as small as 50 bps and others seeing a potential 200 bps hike.<\/p>\n

ABOUT ABDALLA-<\/strong> He joined Arab African International Bank (AAIB) in 1982 and became the multinational bank\u2019s vice chairman and managing director in 2002 \u2014 a position he held until he left the bank in 2018, having positioned it as one of the nation\u2019s top private-sector banks. He\u2019s the founder and chairman of advisory and private equity firm Panther Associates, and has previously been a board member at the Central Bank of Egypt and EGX, the Institute of International Finance, the Communications Ministry\u2019s ITIDA, and several private and public sector companies in Egypt.<\/p>\n

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MEANWHILE- Alaraby Group plans to set up several factories in Africa within the next 10<\/strong> years<\/strong>, Al Borsa<\/a> quotes CEO Mohamed Elaraby as saying. The group owns two factories in South Africa and Sudan, and plans to begin operating at a new plant in Nigeria at the end of 2023, he said, adding that they are currently in the process of settling on two more African countries where they will set up additional factories. Elaraby did not specify the expected investment value of the new factories.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much like here at home, the conversation in the international business press is being led<\/strong> by interest rates and monetary policy.<\/strong> Turkey\u2019s central bank enacted today<\/a> a 100 bps interest rate cut, saying that persistent inflation is a result of \u201cgeopolitical developments, effects of pricing formations that are not supported by economic fundamentals.\u201d Although the Turkish bank said it expects to see inflation beginning to ease, the TRY fell against the USD again, Bloomberg<\/a> reports. It was also interest day over in Ghana, where the central bank raised (pdf)<\/a> interest rates by a massive 300 bps in a late meeting yesterday to tamp down soaring inflation and address the plunge of its currency. The Financial Times<\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n

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** CATCH UP QUICK<\/strong> on the top stories from today\u2019s EnterpriseAM<\/strong>:<\/p>\n