{"id":566824,"date":"2021-07-15T13:54:15","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T13:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/07\/15\/tonight-imf-thinks-egyptian-economy-will-rebound-are-traditional-banks-going-extinct-also-save-maadi\/"},"modified":"2021-07-15T13:54:15","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T13:54:15","slug":"tonight-imf-thinks-egyptian-economy-will-rebound-are-traditional-banks-going-extinct-also-save-maadi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/07\/15\/tonight-imf-thinks-egyptian-economy-will-rebound-are-traditional-banks-going-extinct-also-save-maadi\/","title":{"rendered":"TONIGHT: IMF thinks Egyptian economy will rebound. + Are traditional banks going extinct? ALSO: Save Maadi."},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, wonderful people \u2014 we hope you\u2019re all looking forward to a week off as <\/strong>much as we are. <\/strong>It literally could not have come a moment too soon.<\/p>\n

REMINDER- Sunday is technically a workday (good luck finding anyone at their desks), <\/strong>but banks and the stock exchange are <\/strong>closed Monday-Thursday<\/strong> in observance of Eid El Adha. Saturday, 24 July, is a holiday for government folks and the private sector alike in observance of the 23 July Revolution. We\u2019re bridging, so you can next expect Enterprise in your inbox at 6am on Sunday, 25 July.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY- The IMF thinks our economy is in line for a strong rebound in <\/strong>FY2021-22<\/strong>, saying that solid fiscal and monetary policies over the past twelve months will help propel us to a 5.2% GDP growth in the current fiscal year from 2.8% in the last one. We have the full rundown in this afternoon\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

THERE\u2019S LOTS HAPPENING NOW- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> GOOD NEWS- The <\/strong>World Health Organization (WHO) says Egypt is now \u201clow-risk\u201d for the <\/strong>continued spread of covid-19 spread<\/strong>, Health Minister Hala Zayed said, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. Egypt has so far administered 4.85 mn doses of covid-19 vaccines to citizens, according to the WHO country dashboard<\/a>. Egypt was not one of the countries mentioned in WHO\u2019s MENA report this week<\/a> that pointed to the \u201ccatastrophic\u201d surge of cases in the region.<\/p>\n

So maybe you can take us off that red list now,<\/strong> ya Engleez? <\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/a> Maadi folks are not going gently into that good night as opposition mounts to the <\/strong>Transport Ministry\u2019s plan to <\/strong>blast a highway<\/a><\/strong> through the middle of the historic neighborhood. <\/strong>Your recommended reading on that front today is Nadine Khaled\u2019s piece in Egyptian Streets<\/a>, which includes pointers to a new Instagram feed<\/a> for people objecting to the plan.<\/p>\n

What can you do? <\/strong>The folks behind the Save Maadi Instagram feed are suggesting people file complaints with shakwa.eg<\/a> (the government\u2019s official \u201cunified complaints\u201d portal) or the state\u2019s hotline: 16528. We\u2019ve also heard that there\u2019s an anti-highway marathon in the works.<\/p>\n

Two rays of hope:<\/strong> MPs have picked up on the unpopularity of the highway (watch, runtime:<\/a>8:07)<\/a> and a Change.org page we noted yesterday<\/a> continues to rack up signatures.<\/p>\n

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More GERD talks today: <\/strong>South Sudan\u2019s Irrigation Minister Manawa Peter Gatkuoth is in Cairo today for talks about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to El Shorouk<\/a>. Egypt has been stepping up GERD talks, with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry holding meetings<\/a> with his European counterparts following Egypt\u2019s unsuccessful bid to get the spineless buggers at the UN Security Council to intervene in the dispute.<\/p>\n

The prospect of a water shortage has Egypt putting desalination on the front burner \u2014 a <\/strong>development that\u2019s attracting plenty of foreign interest.<\/strong> Among those sniffing around: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with the CEO of Norwegien renewable power producer Scatec<\/a>, Raymond Carlsen, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. The two were joined by officials from Orascom Construction and Metito \u2014 the pair that recently delivered a USD 130 mn seawater desalination plant in East Port Said. No concrete announcement came out of the meeting, but Madbouly is pushing the government and businesses alike to push ahead with new projects.<\/p>\n

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