{"id":565841,"date":"2021-05-09T13:44:18","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T13:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/05\/09\/tonight-new-details-on-construction-licenses-chip-shortage-bites-mega-steel-merger-in-the-gulf-musk-hurts-the-doge\/"},"modified":"2021-05-09T13:44:18","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T13:44:18","slug":"tonight-new-details-on-construction-licenses-chip-shortage-bites-mega-steel-merger-in-the-gulf-musk-hurts-the-doge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/05\/09\/tonight-new-details-on-construction-licenses-chip-shortage-bites-mega-steel-merger-in-the-gulf-musk-hurts-the-doge\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: New details on construction licenses; Chip shortage bites; Mega steel merger in the Gulf; Musk hurts the Doge."},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, wonderful people. <\/strong>Only two more days to go until we start Eid vacation. And the best part? The heat wave is going to die down overnight tonight.<\/p>\n

<\/a> THE BIG STORY this afternoon here at home: Details of the new system through which <\/strong>the government will hand out construction licenses were announced this morning<\/strong>, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. The licensing requirements include setting limits on building heights that vary with street width and standards for built-up areas depending on land size. A two-month pilot phase began on 1 May in districts including Heliopolis, South Giza, Montaza, Kowesna, Kafr El Dawar, Qaha, Marsa Matrouh, Tanta Second, and Sidi Salem. The full rollout is expected at the start of the new fiscal year in July. The government announced a six-month construction ban<\/a> last year in a crackdown on building code violations after getting a sharper teeth to clamp down on illegal construction.<\/p>\n

The measures are designed to curb unlicensed construction<\/strong>, a government campaign<\/a> against which has resulted in bns on EGP in fines collected and settlements reached in the past year.<\/p>\n

<\/a> COVID WATCH- State-owned Vacsera will locally manufacture 2 mn doses of <\/strong>China's Sinovac vaccine by end of June<\/strong>, Health Minister Hala Zayed said at a presser (watch, runtime: 16:12<\/a>). The first shipment of the vaccine\u2019s raw materials will arrive on 18 May, Zayed noted. The vaccine, which is cleared for emergency use<\/a>in Egypt, will be available without charge, she confirmed. The government plans to produce 5 mn doses of the vaccine<\/a> within two months, before raising capacity to 40-60 mn per year. China is also expected to send 500k doses of the Sinovac vaccine<\/a> this month.<\/p>\n

We have steady increases in daily cases<\/strong>.The minister noted that daily covid-19 cases are rising at a steady pace that is likely to continue until Eid Al Fitr, noting that the past three week didn\u2019t witness big increases. She added that hospitals still have enough capacity for new infections.<\/p>\n

EU leaders are pushing back on the US-backed proposal to waive intellectual property <\/strong>rights on covid-19 vaccines<\/strong>, saying that the move is not the answer to increasing vaccine supply, according to the Financial Times<\/a>. Allowing the export of raw materials required for jab manufacturing and sending more doses to developing countries would instead fill in the gap, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said following a two-day EU leaders\u2019 summit in Portugal. This was echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel.<\/p>\n

The waiver:<\/strong> The US last week came out in favor of a proposal pushed by South Africa and India in October to temporarily suspend patents on vaccines, which they claim would allow manufacturers in other countries to produce shots and speed up the rollout in the developing world. The proposal has the backing of more than 100 countries and is being negotiated at the World Trade Organization. Pharma companies and a number of countries have come out against the idea.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY INTERNATIONALLY #1: We\u2019re happy to report that <\/strong>the Chinese<\/a><\/strong>rocket<\/a><\/strong> spared Enterprise World Headquarters when it re-entered the Earth\u2019s atmosphere this morning<\/strong>. Most of the rocket burned up on re-entry and the remaining debris landed in the Indian Ocean. The US wasn\u2019t happy (coz, China), with NASA accusing<\/a> Beijing of \u201crecklessness\u201d and \u201cfailing to meet responsible standards\u201d regarding their space debris. Most outlets have the story this afternoon, from the Associated Press<\/a> and Reuters<\/a> to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(STILL) THE BIG STORY INTERNATIONALLY #2:<\/strong> Last night\u2019s cyberattack<\/a> on a US oil pipeline remains front page news across much of the international press. The White House has pledged to crackdown on hackers, who have stepped up attacks in recent weeks, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

** So, when do we eat?<\/strong> We sit down to eat at 6:38pm, and we\u2019ll have until 3:27am to eat and hydrate.<\/p>\n

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