{"id":556253,"date":"2021-10-18T04:04:57","date_gmt":"2021-10-18T04:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/10\/18\/this-morning-senate-to-discuss-cgt-oil-keeps-climbing-new-apple-and-google-gadgets\/"},"modified":"2021-10-18T04:04:57","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T04:04:57","slug":"this-morning-senate-to-discuss-cgt-oil-keeps-climbing-new-apple-and-google-gadgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/10\/18\/this-morning-senate-to-discuss-cgt-oil-keeps-climbing-new-apple-and-google-gadgets\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: Senate to discuss CGT, oil keeps climbing + New Apple and Google gadgets"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the biggest IPO we\u2019ve seen in years to government incentives for the private <\/strong>sector and progress on a closely watched fintech bill<\/strong>, it\u2019s a really busy newsday in a city that is looking forward to the last long weekend of 2021.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s just going to get busier <\/strong>through Wednesday morning. Here\u2019s how it\u2019s all looking:<\/p>\n

The CGT could soon be on the Senate\u2019s radar: <\/strong>Senator Ahmed Samir Zakaria has joined the chorus of voices speaking out against the 10% capital gains tax<\/a>, saying in an official letter (pdf)<\/a> to Senate Speaker Abdel Wahab Abdel Razek that the proposed levy threatens Egypt\u2019s long-term goal to become more investor-friendly. Zakaria proposed running a series of meetings to discuss the feasibility of the capital gains tax in the upper house of parliament.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the CGT?<\/strong> The 10% tithe<\/a> would hit the net realized portfolio gains each tax year of domestic investors on the EGX. After years of delays, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait has said the tax will come into effect on 1 January 2022. Many, from fund managers<\/a> to figures from the securities industry and MPs<\/a> have voiced concerns about the timing of introducing the tax, asking for it to be postponed<\/a> after having been already pushed several times<\/a>. Some are also suggesting replacing it with another levy, or scrapping it entirely to protect a still-recovering EGX. A related drive could put the tax on the agenda of the House Planning and Budget Committee<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SMART POLICY- The government is aiming to increase the number of prepaid water <\/strong>meters<\/strong> installed in homes to 16.6 mn by 2030, in a bid to reduce water waste, cabinet said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- It\u2019s all about China this morning. <\/strong>The Financial Times\u2019 exclusive that China launched a hypersonic missile<\/a> that stunned the US intelligence community is still leading the FT\u2019s front page \u2014 and is now being referred to by the commentariat as a \u201cSputnik moment\u201d for the United States<\/a><\/strong> (readers will remember we flagged the missile story yesterday). Meanwhile, China\u2019s 3Q growth figures are out, and they\u2019re grim: <\/strong>Growth slowed sharply to 4.9% thanks to the twin energy and supply chain crises. The story leads the front pages everywhere from CNBC<\/a> to the Wall Street Journal<\/a> and Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Oil prices have hit new highs around the world<\/strong>, with Brent crude (the international benchmark) touching a high we haven\u2019t seen since October 2018<\/a> and WTI (the US price) reaching a peak unseen since October 2014.<\/p>\n

Qatar smells opportunity, saying it has begun construction on <\/strong>up<\/strong> to<\/strong> four giant new natural <\/strong>gas liquefaction facilities <\/strong>it expects will help it raise its annual production of LNG to 110 mn tonnes a year from 77 mn currently, Qatargas, the world\u2019s largest LNG producer, said yesterday<\/a>. The gas-rich Gulf nation said last week<\/a> that it had maxed out its production capacity despite high demand from other countries amid the ongoing energy crisis. The statement doesn\u2019t make clear when the new facilities are set to start operations<\/strong>, but it could be years depending on when construction begins \/ began.<\/p>\n

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

EBRD Vice President of Banking Alain Pilloux is in town through Wednesday<\/strong> for a series of high-level meetings (pdf).<\/a><\/p>\n

i-Sheep PSA:<\/strong> A Mac revamp and new AirPods are among new tech expected to be unveiled<\/a> at Apple\u2019s launch event today. You can catch a livestream here<\/a>; it kicks off tomorrow at 10 am PDT, or 7 pm CLT for the folks tuning in from home. Bloomberg\u2019s Mark Gurman has the rundown on everything you can expect.<\/a><\/p>\n

Google will debut its new Pixel <\/strong>phones (the 6 and the 6 Pro) tomorrow night at the same time (watch here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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MARKET WATCH- Investors should brace themselves for a wave of market volatility<\/strong> that is bound to kick in as soon as the Fed begins to roll back its massive crisis-era stimulus, Mohamed El Erian<\/strong>, the Allianz chief economist and Queens\u2019 College president, said on Fox News yesterday (watch, runtime: 9:10<\/a>). \u201cI worry a little bit that this wonderful world we\u2019ve been living in of low volatility \u2026 may come to a stop with higher volatility, but a lot depends on behavioral changes,\u201d El Erian said.<\/p>\n

High inflation here to stay?<\/strong> The market sage also dispelled<\/a> the US Federal Reserve\u2019s much-challenged narrative that high inflation is transitory. \u201cWe should look forward to another year at least of high and persistent inflation,\u201d he says, adding that the two main problems, inflation and supply chain bottlenecks, are only partially due to transitory reasons.<\/p>\n

CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fall conference season is still going strong.<\/strong> Among the exhibitions and business events here and throughout the region:<\/p>\n