{"id":571017,"date":"2020-04-27T03:38:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T03:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/04\/27\/what-were-tracking-on-27-april-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-04-27T03:38:17","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T03:38:17","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-27-april-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/04\/27\/what-were-tracking-on-27-april-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 27 April 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a relatively light news day, but the big story of the day is \u2026 big:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Madbouly government did the right thing yesterday and formally asked the IMF for a <\/strong>helping hand <\/strong>in the form of a one-year \u201crapid financing\u201d facility and a separate stand-by funding arrangement. Key cabinet members have signaled for some weeks now that the government was open to asking the IMF for assistance as Egypt looks to weather an unprecedented global storm. Weighing on growth: The collapse of the global tourism industry, measures imposed to stem the spread of covid-19, and the spectre of falling remittances from expats abroad on the back of plunging oil prices. We have the rundown in this morning\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

The big story globally: Countries further along the infection curve than Egypt are laying <\/strong>out plans that look set to see them reopen their economies<\/strong> starting in May. We have the rundown in this section, below, in On The Global Front.<\/p>\n

The news comes as figures crunched by the Financial Times<\/a> suggest the global death toll <\/strong>from covid-19 could be as much as 60% higher than so-far reported<\/strong> in the 14 countries the salmon-colored paper studied.<\/p>\n

Smiley Face\u2019s Revenge: <\/strong>Cottonil is (once again) the self-styled \u201cbad boy\u201d of Ramadan airwaves as the Consumer Protection Authority moved yesterday<\/a> to (once again) yank one of the undergarment maker\u2019s holiday advertisements for offending our tender collective sensibilities. Al Masry Al Youm<\/a> has the story, or you can catch the offending ad here (watch, runtime: 1:03<\/a>). The CPA has styled itself as TV\u2019s morality police since 2016<\/a> and has also gone after campaigns outside of Ramadan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, how are the markets looking? <\/strong>The EGX30 climbed 2.5% yesterday in heavy trading, leaving the benchmark down 25.7% for the year-to-date. Asian markets started the trading week solidly in the green this morning as traders try to get their head around (a) prospects for economies reopening against (b) further pressure on the oil market. Futures suggest a mixed open in Europe<\/strong> and that US equities will open in the green.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 IN EGYPT-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Egypt has now identified a total of 4,534 confirmed cases of covid-19<\/strong> after the Health<\/a>Ministry reported<\/a> 215 new infections yesterday. The ministry also said that another 10 people had died from the virus, taking the death toll to 317. We now have a total of 1,502 confirmed cases that have since tested negative for the virus after being isolated or hospitalized, of whom 1,176 have fully recovered.<\/p>\n

Sixteen cases have been confirmed among medical staff in Benha University <\/strong>Hospital<\/strong>, along with one patient, the local press reports<\/a>. The hospital had tested 140 members of staff and 10 patients based on their contact with other confirmed coronavirus cases.<\/p>\n

The oil and tourism ministries will give airlines a USD 0.10 \/ gallon discount on fuel<\/strong> when air traffic resumes to boost inbound and domestic tourism, according to a Tourism Ministry statement<\/a>. Several airlines have reportedly been in negotiations with the government in pursuit of measures to mitigate the economic repercussions of the covid-19, including talks with banks and Egypt's Sovereign Wealth Fund overpotential stake sale<\/a> and zero-interest loans.<\/p>\n

Manufacturers are also looking to get lower energy prices for factories<\/strong> in light of the sharp decline in oil prices, Al Shorouk reports<\/a>. The government slashed natural gas prices<\/a> for many many industries last month in what translated into a 25% cut for cement companies and 18% cut for metallurgy and ceramic manufacturers; electricity prices for factories also fell. The lower electricity prices alone will cost state coffers an estimated EGP 6 bn.<\/p>\n

More repatriation flights:<\/strong> An Air Cairo flight brought home Egyptians stranded in Germany<\/a>, Thailand, and Malaysia<\/a>. The carrier will also repatriate more citizens from Jakarta today, while EgyptAir will operate repatriation flights from China, Ukraine<\/a>, and Washington<\/a> over the next few days, according to Civil Aviation Ministry sources.<\/p>\n

ON THE GLOBAL FRONT-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> May could be the magic month as countries around the world are debating their plans to <\/strong>exit lockdown <\/strong>and restart their economies. As we noted yesterday, some lightly-hit Canadian provinces and a number of US states<\/a> are making clear their roadmaps or are already easing restrictions. New York signalled overnight that restrictions in the northern part of the state could be eased after 15 May<\/a>. The news comes as U<\/strong>S officials debate the pace and uniformity with which restrictions<\/strong> should be lifted, theWall Street Journal<\/a> notes.<\/p>\n

Other countries looking at easing lockdown measures:<\/strong><\/p>\n