{"id":582317,"date":"2023-03-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/03\/07\/this-morning-the-cbe-hasnt-moved-forward-its-march-policy-meeting-armenias-foreign-minister-is-in-town\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T00:00:00","slug":"this-morning-the-cbe-hasnt-moved-forward-its-march-policy-meeting-armenias-foreign-minister-is-in-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/03\/07\/this-morning-the-cbe-hasnt-moved-forward-its-march-policy-meeting-armenias-foreign-minister-is-in-town\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS MORNING: The CBE hasn\u2019t moved forward its March policy meeting + Armenia\u2019s foreign minister is in town"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Good morning, ladies and gents.<\/span> First things first\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday\u2019s EnterpriseAM was not a drill: <\/span>We mistakenly sent out yesterday\u2019s edition of <\/span>EnterpriseAM from our \u201ctest\u201d address. The issue was accurate, final and complete. Please accept our apologies for any confusion caused. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> FACT CHECK- The CBE hasn\u2019t moved forward its March policy meeting. <\/span>Economist <\/span>Mostafa Badra <\/span>misspoke when he claimed<\/a><\/span> that the central bank will meet on 18 March, he told Ala Mas\u2019ouleety yesterday (<\/span>watch, runtime: 6:41<\/a><\/span>). The Monetary Policy Committee meeting will go ahead on Thursday, 30 March as scheduled.<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING TODAY- <\/span><\/p>\n

The EFG Hermes One-on-One conference continues at the Atlantis Dubai today. <\/span>The <\/span>largest investor conference in frontier and emerging markets \u2014 which is running this year under the theme Outplaying Challenges \u2014 brings together more than 560 fund and portfolio managers and C-suite execs from almost 180 companies in 29 countries. <\/span><\/p>\n

We have coverage of day one and the results of the 2023 One on One Survey in this morning\u2019s news well, below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan is starting a three-day visit to the Egyptian capital<\/span> <\/span>that will see him meet with Sameh Shoukry and participate in an Arab League session, the <\/span>Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson <\/span>said<\/a><\/span> yesterday. This comes a month after President El Sisi <\/span>visited the country<\/a><\/span> as part of a diplomatic tour that also took him to Azerbaijan and India.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Higher Education Ministry will <\/span>unveil<\/a><\/span>a national strategy<\/a><\/span> for higher <\/span>education<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

THIS WEEK-<\/span><\/p>\n

The US defense secretary is in Egypt:<\/span> US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin <\/span>is in the<\/a><\/span>region<\/a><\/span> this week for a multi-day trip that will take him to Egypt, Israel and Jordan. The Pentagon has not disclosed Austin\u2019s itinerary. Austin <\/span>began his trip in Jordan<\/a><\/span> earlier this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inflation figures for February will land at the end of this week.<\/span> <\/span>Consumer prices <\/span>accelerated at their fastest pace in five years<\/a><\/span> in January on the back of record food price inflation triggered by the devaluation of the EGP. <\/span><\/p>\n

The two-day <\/span>Techne Summit<\/a><\/span> starts on Saturday<\/span> at the National Museum of Egyptian <\/span>Civilization.<\/span><\/p>\n

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EGP WATCH- <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> The EGP has fallen more than 6% against the greenback in the parallel market over the <\/span>past week<\/span> as expectation grows that authorities will again devalue the currency. The EGP was trading at 33.50 to the USD yesterday from around 31.50 last week, <\/span>Bloomberg<\/a><\/span> reports, citing traders. <\/span>That\u2019s more than 8% above the official rate<\/span>, which yesterday rose to 30.84 from 30.77 on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

The derivatives market isn\u2019t a pretty picture right now:<\/span> Twelve-month non-deliverable <\/span>forwards are now trading at 37.60, a 22% decline from the current official rate, according to the news outlet. The one-month EGP contract has fallen around 3.5% to 32.40 since the end of last month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reminder:<\/span> Egypt has already devalued its currency three times over the past year, causing it to <\/span>lose almost half of its value against the greenback.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a consensus among international banks that more declines are coming<\/span> as Egypt <\/span>struggles to attract big-ticket FDIs from the Gulf and foreign portfolio investors continue to sit on the sidelines. <\/span>Societe Generale<\/a><\/span> is expecting the currency to fall to 34.00 by the end of March and 37.00 by end-2023, while Credit Suisse analysts expect the currency to reach 35.00 and Goldman Sachs thinks we could soon see 36.00. HSBC <\/span>expects the currency<\/a><\/span> to range between 30.00 and 35.00 for the remainder of the current fiscal year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Fawry wants to make it easier for Egyptian expats to send money home:<\/span> EGX-listed e-payments giant Fawry will roll out a \u201cremittance hub\u201d by the end of the year <\/span>for Egyptians working across the MENA region to transfer funds home, CEO Ashraf Sabry told <\/span>Asharq Business<\/a><\/span>. The company is currently in talks with Banque du Caire and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank to devise a mechanism for the transfers and <\/span>plans to extend its remittance services to expats in two other unspecified countries in the Gulf and the Levant<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fawry last week <\/span>inked an agreement<\/a><\/span> with Emirati voice-calling app <\/span>Botim<\/a><\/span> to allow <\/span>Egyptian expats residing in the UAE to pay bills and send home remittances and is in the process of signing similar agreements with other UAE-based firms, Sabry said<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Increasing remittances was a key topic of discussion in the Senate yesterday<\/span>, where <\/span>Emigration Minister Soha Gendy told senators that the government would offer incentives to expats to increase transfers. These include offering higher-yielding savings certificates at state-owned banks, land for housing and agricultural projects, and lower-priced plane tickets with EgyptAir.<\/span><\/p>\n

PSA-<\/span> The Senate will reconvene on Sunday, 26 March.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD-<\/span><\/p>\n

There are two stories driving the global conversation this morning:<\/span><\/p>\n