{"id":581532,"date":"2023-02-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/02\/15\/a-rainy-post-valentines\/"},"modified":"2023-02-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T00:00:00","slug":"a-rainy-post-valentines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/02\/15\/a-rainy-post-valentines\/","title":{"rendered":"A rainy post-Valentine\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Good morning, wonderful people, and a very happy almost-THURSDAY. <\/span>We have an <\/span>absolutely stacked issue for you this morning, so we\u2019re going to jump right in.<\/span><\/p>\n

PSA #1- School\u2019s rained out in Alex:<\/span> Schools across Alexandria will be closed today due to bad weather<\/span>, Alexandria Governor Mohamed El Sherif announced in a <\/span>statement<\/a><\/span>yesterday. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the forecast?<\/span> We\u2019ll see moderate rainfall on the North Coast and Nile Delta, according <\/span>to the <\/span>Egyptian Meteorological Authority<\/a><\/span>. There\u2019s a 30% chance of intermittent rain in parts of Cairo, too, according to the EMA \u2014 though our favorite weather app only sees a few clouds on the horizon, <\/span>with a very low possibility of sprinkles between 1-3pm CLT<\/span>. Alexandria will see a high of 16\u00b0C and low of 10\u00b0C, while Cairo is set to a high this afternoon of 16\u00b0C and an overnight low of 9\u00b0C. <\/span><\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/span><\/p>\n

SCZone courts Japanese FDI: <\/span>SCZone Chairman Walid Gamal El Din is in Tokyo to drum up investment in the zone<\/span> from Japanese investors, according to several statements (<\/span>here<\/a><\/span>, <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>, and <\/span>here<\/a><\/span>.) In the first two days of<\/span> the tour<\/span>, Gamal El Din met with more than 100 representatives from Japanese firms including manufacturer <\/span>AGC Group<\/span>, industrial group <\/span>Mitsui<\/span>, tech startups <\/span>ArkEdge Space<\/span> and <\/span>LocationMind<\/span>, and engineering construction provider <\/span>DAI Nippon Construction<\/span> to discuss potential projects. Water treatment, desalination plants, and green fuel production were the focus of some of the talks. <\/span><\/p>\n

Separately in Cairo, SCZone officials met with representatives from Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby<\/span> to discuss efforts to localize the palm oil industry, according to a <\/span>statement<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE- <\/span><\/p>\n

#1- The World Bank could finalize its development finance program with Egypt next month<\/span>, <\/span>the lender\u2019s MENA president Ferid Belhaj told <\/span>Reuters<\/a><\/span> on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai. The bank\u2019s board could meet to approve the framework agreement, which will likely extend for five years, on 21 March, he said. The lender has extended some USD 900 mn in finance to the country so far this fiscal year and \u201cwill see how things go \u2014 we may commit more,\u201d Belhaj said. <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been lobbying for more from the WB: <\/span>Finance Minister Mohamed Maait <\/span>called on the World Bank<\/a><\/span> to provide more money to support development programs. Maait made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation from the multilateral lender days ago. Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly called for finalizing the bank\u2019s development finance program with Egypt \u201cas early as possible\u201d in a <\/span>meeting with bank representatives<\/a><\/span> a few weeks back. <\/span><\/p>\n

There will \u2014 as always \u2014 be strings attached: <\/span>The level of state involvement in MENA economies \u201chas always been a matter of concern for us,\u201d Belhaj told Reuters. He also called for greater transparency in Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan when it comes to the <\/span>level of public debt<\/a><\/span>. <\/span>\u201cEgypt needs debt transparency that touches on the debt of state-owned enterprises,\u201d Belhaj told <\/span>Bloomberg TV<\/a><\/span> in a separate interview <\/span>(<\/span>watch, runtime: 10:34<\/a><\/span>)<\/span>. \u201cThey are moving ahead with it, but there is still effort to be made,\u201d Belhaj added. <\/span><\/p>\n

#2- <\/span>Get ready for 5G?<\/span> Egypt is nearing the completion of a detailed study on the launch of 5G<\/span>, CIT Minister Amr Talaat told Asharq Business in Dubai (<\/span>watch, runtime: 10:19<\/a><\/span>.) \u201cA timeframe [for implementation] will be announced soon,\u201d Talaat said. His statements come nearly a year after Talaat told the media outlet that his ministry had contracted with a consultancy firm to \u201clook into the optimal form of providing the service to individuals and corporations\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

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