{"id":556806,"date":"2021-10-19T13:40:29","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T13:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/10\/19\/tonight-el-sisi-in-athens-to-talk-cooperation-with-greece-cyprus-the-imf-and-unctad-are-out-with-new-reports\/"},"modified":"2021-10-19T13:40:29","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T13:40:29","slug":"tonight-el-sisi-in-athens-to-talk-cooperation-with-greece-cyprus-the-imf-and-unctad-are-out-with-new-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/10\/19\/tonight-el-sisi-in-athens-to-talk-cooperation-with-greece-cyprus-the-imf-and-unctad-are-out-with-new-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: El Sisi in Athens to talk cooperation with Greece, Cyprus + the IMF and UNCTAD are out with new reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, ladies and gents, and welcome to the second-to-last day of the<\/strong> workweek<\/strong> before we slide into our final long weekend of 2021. The nation will be off this Thursday in observance of Prophet Muhammad\u2019s birthday, which was yesterday.<\/p>\n

<\/a> THE BIG STORY TODAY:<\/strong> There are a handful of stories vying for your attention here at home, including the Sovereign Fund of Egypt<\/strong> signaling it plans to ink agreements with a private sector player to overhaul the Mogamaa<\/strong> by the end of this month, as well as Orascom Construction<\/strong> eyeing a few Sawiris family-owned companies for acquisition<\/strong>. Meanwhile, the barrage of reports and outlooks continues as the IMF releases its Regional Economic Outlook report<\/strong> and we have fresh FDI figures, courtesy of UNCTAD\u2019s latest Investment Trends Monitor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

^^ We\u2019ll have chapter and verse on these stories and more in tomorrow\u2019s edition of EnterpriseAM.<\/strong><\/p>\n

HAPPENING NOW-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> El Sisi talks energy, tourism, transport cooperation with Cypriot + Greek leaders:<\/strong> Trilateral cooperation on energy, electricity, tourism and transport sectors were at the top of the agenda at a summit in Athens this morning between President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Ittihadiya said in a statement<\/a>. Prior to the summit El Sisi met with each of the officials individually: With Mitsotakis<\/a>, he discussed enhancing bilateral relations between the two countries, while regional developments and other issues of mutual interest were the main talking points with Anastasiades<\/a>. This meeting comes shortly after Egypt signed MoUs<\/a> with Greece and Cyprus to link electricity grids via an undersea cable.<\/p>\n

Yes, everyone felt that earthquake. <\/strong>At around 7:30am, the European-Mediterranean<\/a>Seismological Centre tweeted<\/a> that an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit Greece\u2019s Rhodos island and was felt by a number of cities in the eastern Mediterranean. The earthquake was felt in Nicosia, Beirut, and Cairo along with other Egyptian cities and the region around southern Turkey\u2019s Antalya, according to Reuters<\/a>. Aftershocks are not out of the question: Despite a Greek seismologist telling Reuters that we shouldn\u2019t expect any, Gad El Qady, head of Egypt\u2019s National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics<\/a> told local media that earthquakes with that strength are usually followed by more minor aftershocks (watch, runtime: 5:50<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Wall Street looks set to open in the green <\/strong>and European benchmarks are (just barely) clinging to their gains for the day.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE- Foreign investment in the country\u2019s oil industry was down about <\/strong>26% in the state\u2019s 2020-2021 fiscal year<\/strong>, Oil Minister Tarek El Molla said earlier this week<\/a> at the same time as the central bank released its balance of payments report. The question as yet unasked: The oil and natural gas industries rely on constant exploration to do everything from replenish reserves to bring new fields and well into production. The dip in investment coincided with the peak of covid-19 uncertainty \u2014 both in terms of negative oil prices (a catalyst for slashed exploration budgets) and delays to projects that would have gone ahead anyway. It could be months yet before the knock-on effects really become apparent.<\/p>\n

<\/a> A TWITTER THREAD TO THINK ON- A region-wide drought that has some scientists and <\/strong>activists suggesting we\u2019re in the middle of the <\/strong>worst water shortage in 900 years<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong> The thread\u2019s author is Ali El Saffar, who runs programs for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Energy Agency.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD- It\u2019s one of those days where the big story abroad barely <\/strong>merits a footnote (for now) here in Egypt<\/strong>, with both the Financial Times<\/a> and CNBC<\/a> covering Brussels\u2019 vow to punish Poland for \u201cchallenging the supremacy of EU law.\u201d We say \u201cfor now\u201d in reference to it being a footnote because this is exactly the type of story that could, for example, accelerate the fraying of ties in the EU, one of our most important trade, tourism and investment partners.<\/p>\n

The supply chain shortage continues to fuel price increases<\/strong>, with Procter & Gamble saying this morning that \u201cthe marker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors \u2026 would start charging more for certain beauty, oral care and grooming products such as razors,\u201d the Wall Street Journal<\/a> says in its lead story.<\/p>\n

North Korea launches missile in latest weapons test: <\/strong>North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from its east coast this morning, rattling its neighbors, Reuters<\/a> reported citing a statement from the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. The news comes as tensions remain high in parts of Asia after China rattled its saber over the \u201creunification\u201d of Taiwan.<\/p>\n

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