{"id":577844,"date":"2022-12-07T04:00:27","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T04:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/12\/07\/this-morning-the-imf-executive-board-finally-has-egypt-on-its-schedule\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T04:00:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T04:00:27","slug":"this-morning-the-imf-executive-board-finally-has-egypt-on-its-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2022\/12\/07\/this-morning-the-imf-executive-board-finally-has-egypt-on-its-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: The IMF executive board finally has Egypt on its schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people. <\/strong>We hope you\u2019re all looking forward to a beautiful day.<\/p>\n

We start this morning by thanking the 300 of you who joined us yesterday morning for <\/strong>our first ever <\/strong>Enterprise Climate X Forum <\/strong>at the Grand Egyptian Museum. Together, we took a deep dive into the fundamentals of what we think is the world\u2019s largest and most important industry. (And big thanks to everyone for having shown up on time \u2014 there\u2019s a reason Enterprise is a breakfast brand\u2026)<\/p>\n

We\u2019re exceptionally grateful to our friends <\/strong>at USAID, HSBC, Mashreq, Attijariwafa Bank, Etisalat by e&, Hassan Allam Utilities, and Infinity for having made yesterday possible.<\/p>\n

We also owe enormous thanks to the team at the GEM and the GEM Authority for having <\/strong>trusted <\/strong>us to be the first business conference at the new museum. <\/strong>It is simply a spectacular facility and we look forward to doing more events there in the future.<\/p>\n

More events? <\/strong>Yes. Yesterday was just the first of our planned series of Enterprise X Forums, at which we\u2019ll take deep dives into the industries and ideas that are driving opportunities for our community. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

COVERAGE-<\/strong> Enterprise Climate has the rundown this morning on our climate finance panel<\/a> and we have a recap below of what three industry leaders had to say about renewables, green hydrogen and EVs. Look for more in both EnterpriseAM and Enterprise Climate in the days ahead.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> The IMF\u2019s board has finally put us on its schedule: <\/strong>The IMF\u2019s executive board will discuss Egypt\u2019s request for a new extended fund facility next Friday, 16 December, according to its calendar<\/a>. It\u2019s unclear whether the board will make a decision on whether to approve the USD 3 bn, 46-month facility during the meeting. Egypt and the Fund reached a\u00a0staff-level agreement<\/a> for a new loan program at the end of October.<\/p>\n

REFRESHER- <\/strong>Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said<\/a> earlier this week that we could receive the first USD 750 mn tranche of the bailout loan before the end of the year. The 46-month loan agreement, which was announced in tandem with October\u2019s EGP devaluation, is part of a series of measures to help shore up our economy amid the fallout of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

<\/a> DATA POINT-<\/strong> Egypt\u2019s foreign reserves continued to edge up in November, rising to USD 33.5 bn from USD 33.4 bn a month earlier, according to central bank data<\/a> released yesterday. Reserves have risen by almost USD 400 mn since August, a reversal after falling 20% earlier in the year on the back of the war in Ukraine and tightening financial conditions globally.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING THIS WEEK-<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019ll find out tomorrow<\/strong> how the latest EGP devaluation impacted consumer prices in <\/strong>November <\/strong>when the central bank and CAPMAS publish the latest inflation data. A poll of analysts conducted by Reuters<\/a> sees annual urban inflation rising to 18.75% from 16.20% in October<\/a>, which would be the highest level in almost five years. The survey also sees core inflation reaching 21.60% in November \u2014 its highest since November 2017 \u2014 up from 19% the month prior. The EGP has tumbled 24.8% since 27 October, when the central bank said it was moving to a flexible exchange rate, opening the door to a new wave of imported inflation.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unlicensed shops are going to have to start thinking seriously about going legit from <\/strong>next Sunday <\/strong>when a long-awaited law<\/a> regulating shops goes into effect. The date was revealed<\/a> yesterday by Local Development Minister Hesham Amna, who said that the government will begin implementing the law from 11 December. The bill<\/a>, passed by the<\/a>House<\/a> in 2019, will require shops to acquire licenses, introduce a new inspection regime, and specify ins. requirements as part of efforts to formalize the largely informal retail sector. According to one estimate<\/a>, some 80-90% of stores are currently unlicensed. Owners of unlicensed shops will have one year to apply for a commercial license.<\/p>\n

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Gov\u2019t could intervene to solve poultry market snarl:<\/strong> The government could intervene to protect the poultry industry from soaring feed prices, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said<\/a> during a meeting with industry figures yesterday. Madbouly did not provide details on what action could be taken to help bring prices of feed under control, yet stressed that the government \u201cwould not allow the persistence of such conditions. \u2026 We will not allow instability in poultry production,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>A feed shortage on the back of import restrictions has sent prices of poultry and eggs skyrocketing, with the government trying to address the shortage by releasing thousands of tons of poultry feed from ports since mid-October. Agriculture Minister El Sayed El Quseir said yesterday that 960k tons of feed have been released from ports since mid-October, though this appears to have done little to calm prices.<\/p>\n

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

WORLD CUP- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> It was all cheers from the Arab world (and us) yesterday<\/strong>, as Morocco sealed a historic win against Spain to become the first Arab team ever to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals. After playing out a tense 0-0 draw with the Spaniards, the Atlas Lions triumphed in an easy shoot out that saw Spain miss all three of their penalties and Morocco\u2019s star full-back Achraf Hakimi seal victory with a cheeky Panenka.<\/p>\n

Morocco will have a tougher time getting past Portugal in the next round<\/strong>, who thrashed Switzerland 6-1. All the pre-game talk centered on Fernando Santos\u2019 decision to drop Ronaldo, who saw his inexperienced replacement, the 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, bag the first hat trick of the competition as the Portuguese swatted aside a lackluster Switzerland.<\/p>\n

We now have two football-less days ahead of us before the quarter-finals get underway. <\/strong>Here\u2019s how they line up (all times CLT):<\/p>\n