{"id":571627,"date":"2020-05-19T03:59:53","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T03:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/05\/19\/what-were-tracking-on-19-may-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-05-19T03:59:53","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T03:59:53","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-19-may-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/05\/19\/what-were-tracking-on-19-may-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 19 May 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> It looks like many private-sector businesses will be required to give employees a five-day <\/strong>Eid next week.<\/strong> A Cabinet statement yesterday<\/a> said Manpower Minister Mohamed Saafan has ordered a five-day paid Eid El-Fitr holiday for the private sector \u2014 the same as for public-sector employees.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s already a five-day holiday for retail businesses: <\/strong>The decision comes as the Madbouly government looks to keep people off the streets<\/a> with stricter lockdown measures next week, including an extended 5pm-6am curfew, the closure of malls and other retail outlets, and measures to limit travel between governorates. Supermarkets and pharmacies are exempt from the closure order.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still an open question whether Planet Finance will follow suit. <\/strong>We\u2019re waiting to see whether the Central Bank of Egypt will order banks to close for the full five days, and it\u2019s unusual for Egypt\u2019s banks to be cut off from the global financial system for a full calendar week. The EGX typically follows the CBE in closing. Enterprise will be off next week whatever days the banks are closed<\/strong> and then slide back into your inbox after the break.<\/p>\n

The House general assembly is on break until 7 June<\/strong>, parliament speaker Ali Abdel Aal said yesterday, according to Al Shorouk<\/a>. Committee meetings will continue as usual. Tap or click here<\/a> if you need a refresher on what\u2019s on the legislative agenda as we slide toward summer recess.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the House: We\u2019re in an election year. <\/strong>Easy to forget amid all the corona news, but we had been scheduled to go to the polls in November to elect a new House as well as senators to fill the newly reconstituted upper house of parliament. The current House will sit one last time from October 2020 until January 2021, we reported<\/a> lat last year.<\/p>\n

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Things we\u2019re keeping an eye on this morning: <\/strong><\/p>\n

1- Markets rallied yesterday on hopes that a covid vaccine may not be as far away as <\/strong>most scientists fear<\/strong> after an eight-person trial of an mRNA-based vaccine by American biotech outfit Moderna showed promise<\/a>. MSCI\u2019s gauge of global stocks was up 2.9% yesterday, and shares in Europe and the US soared. The rally is front-page news on both sides of the Atlantic<\/strong>, with both the Wall Street Journal<\/a> and the Financial Times<\/a> leading with it as we eased toward our dispatch deadline this morning. You can read more about the eight-person (yes, 8) in the New York Times<\/a> and in Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The markets today: <\/strong>Asian markets are uniformly in the green in early trading this morning. Futures suggest a mixed open for European shares and that US stocks are set to open (every so slightly) in the red.<\/p>\n

2- The future of air travel on most western airlines is \u2026 ugly<\/strong>, the Wall Street Journal writes. Not the future of the industry \u2014 your likely experience in the air as flights resume. The headline says it all: The new airline travel: Fewer flights, more layovers, rules for bathrooms<\/a>. Priority boarding may be a thing of the past, getting off the plane is going to take even longer \u2014 the list goes on. The only solution: Fly EgyptAir direct <\/strong>as much as you possibly can.<\/p>\n

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The heat wave is set to continue unabated until the weekend. <\/strong>Expect a daytime high of 42-43\u00b0C through Thursday, 37\u00b0C on Friday and then a balmy 32\u00b0C on Saturday before things cool off further to 29\u00b0C for the Sunday, the first day of Eid.<\/p>\n

So, when do we eat? <\/strong>Maghrib prayers are at 6:44pm and you\u2019ll have until 3:18am to finish caffeinating. Fajr is coming one minute earlier every day through the end of the Holy Month.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> ** YOU HAVE TWO DAYS LEFT TO TELL US HOW COVID-19 IS IMPACTING YOUR<\/a><\/strong>BUSINESS<\/a><\/strong>. <\/strong>We run an annual reader poll asking what you expect of business conditions and the economy in the year ahead. Covid-19 has us thinking that the results of this year\u2019s survey<\/a> need updating. Take a minute and tell us how covid-19 has impacted your business, whether it\u2019s changed your outlook on the economy, and what you think of WFH. W<\/strong>e\u2019ll have the results for you immediately after the Eid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEED AN INCENTIVE? <\/strong>Five respondents will get an Enterprise mug and a bag of our own custom coffee from our friends at 30 North<\/a>. Want to enter? Leave your name, title, company, email address and telephone number in the comments field at the end of the survey.<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

\"enterprise\"<\/p>\n

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

<\/a> Egypt has now disclosed a total of 12,764 confirmed cases of covid-19<\/strong> after the Health<\/a>Ministry reported<\/a> 535 new infections yesterday \u2014 the highest single-day count to-date. The ministry also said that another 15 people had died from the virus, taking the death toll to 645. We now have a total of 4,001 confirmed cases that have since tested negative for the virus after being hospitalized or isolated, of whom 3,440 have fully recovered.<\/p>\n

The Madbouly government is actively talking with the business community about what the <\/strong>post-covid economy will look like. <\/strong>Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Planning Minister Hala El Said, and GAFI head Mohamed Abdel Wahab held a discussion yesterday with a working group \u2014 which also includes members of academia \u2014 to hear proposals on how best to move towards \u201ccoexisting\u201d with the virus that causes covid-19 while supporting the economy, according to a statement<\/a>, which did not name who from the business community attended.<\/p>\n

Eighteen hotels and resorts have reopened after meeting covid-19 health and safety <\/strong>standards<\/strong>. The properties are located in Matrouh, the Red Sea, and South Sinai governorates. Tap or click here to check the the full list<\/a> of destinations. The facilities are presently capped at 25% capacity.<\/p>\n

UK-based biotech company Primerdesign has delivered 40k PCR test kits to Egypt<\/strong>, the<\/a>British Embassy said yesterday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Amcham Egypt Foundation<\/strong> has launched a campaign with Egypt\u2019s business <\/strong>community to lend a hand to the Health Ministry<\/strong> in its response to the pandemic, according to an emailed statement (pdf)<\/a>. The campaign will provide more than 260 new and refurbished ventilators within the next few weeks, along with a supply of personal protective equipment. The campaign has backing from AmCham\u2019s 2k members.<\/p>\n

You can watch campaign videos, produced by our friends at Tarek Nour Communications<\/strong>, here (runtime: 1:56<\/a>), here (runtime: 2:08<\/a>), and here (runtime: 2:19<\/a>). Among the many CEOs and chairmen making appearances are our friends<\/p>\n