{"id":585549,"date":"2023-04-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/04\/20\/today-happy-eid-al-fitr-the-imfs-recommendations-for-our-economy-and-more-from-last-week\/"},"modified":"2023-04-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T00:00:00","slug":"today-happy-eid-al-fitr-the-imfs-recommendations-for-our-economy-and-more-from-last-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/04\/20\/today-happy-eid-al-fitr-the-imfs-recommendations-for-our-economy-and-more-from-last-week\/","title":{"rendered":"TODAY: Happy Eid al-Fitr + the IMF\u2019s recommendations for our economy and more from last week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends<\/span>, and happy (almost) <\/span>last day of Ramadan<\/span>. We hope you have a <\/span>wonderful Eid Fitr with your loved ones and get a chance to relax and kick back as pretty much the whole country is out until Wednesday, 26 April. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is the last time you\u2019ll see Enterprise in your inbox before next Wednesday<\/span>, when we all return from a much-needed long Eid break and Sinai Liberation Day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not enough holidays for you?<\/span> We\u2019re getting yet another long weekend very soon after Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly made Thursday, 4 May a holiday for the public and private sector to mark Labor Day, which falls on 1 May. <\/span><\/p>\n

Enterprise Weekend comes out on the first day of every weekend<\/span> (which is usually Friday save for long weekends like this)<\/span> at 9:00am CLT.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> LAST WEEK IN 3 MINS- <\/span><\/p>\n

It was a short work week but the news never slept<\/span>, with the latest talk on the privatization <\/span>program, the formation of an investment council, some key energy and M&A news. Not to mention a potential civil war erupting with our neighbor to the south. Let\u2019s get to it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The IMF wants to see progress on privatization before a loan review\u2026: <\/span>The lender wants<\/span> to see progress on privatizing state-owned companies and moving to a flexible exchange rate before it goes ahead with the first review of the country\u2019s <\/span>USD 3 bn assistance package<\/a><\/span>, Bloomberg reported <\/span>last week<\/a><\/span>. The review had been expected by 15 March 2023 under the terms of the package.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026as well as a slowdown of national infrastructure projects: <\/span>IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva <\/span>urged the <\/span>government to curb the pace of large-scale infrastructure projects to get through the current challenging macroeconomic environment. <\/span><\/p>\n

The positives:<\/span> The lender said it had \u201cfruitful discussions\u201d with the Egyptian authorities in <\/span>preparation for the first review on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings last week, where the two sides discussed the implementation of the state privatization program and the outlook for the Egyptian economy. <\/span><\/p>\n

MEANWHILE- President Abdel Fattah El Sisi <\/span>issued<\/a><\/span> a presidential decree to set up the <\/span>Supreme Investment Council<\/a><\/span>, as part of efforts to boost investment and stimulate economic growth. The new council reportedly seeks to eliminate obstacles to new investment and accelerate licensing for new projects, as well as help create an environment that is more conducive to investment. That includes monitoring the progress of state institutions in implementing investment plans, following up on public-private partnerships, and setting mechanisms for settling investment disputes.<\/span><\/p>\n

ENERGY- <\/span><\/p>\n

#1- Eni is reportedly <\/span>preparing to start drilling<\/a><\/span> an exploration well at its Mediterranean <\/span>North East Hap\u2019y concession<\/span> in September, local press reported. Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) \u2014 Eni\u2019s 50\/50 joint venture with the EGPC \u2014 will reportedly handle the drilling of the Orion X1 well, which is expected to cost USD 130 mn. The well is 70% owned by Eni and 30% by London-headquartered oil and gas company Energean. <\/span><\/p>\n

#2- Energy major Chevron is <\/span>reportedly looking<\/a><\/span> for a drilling vessel to explore for more <\/span>natural gas off Cyprus, Egypt, and Israel<\/span> to help fulfill increasing demand for energy in Europe and the region. The company reportedly issued a tender to lease the vessel starting in 2024. The move comes as the company is working to exploit Cyprus\u2019 Aphrodite field with its partners Shell and Israel\u2019s NewMed Energy, with plans to export much of that gas to Egypt for liquefaction. Chevron and Eni also announced a significant discovery in the eastern Mediterranean in January. The gas deposit has been said to hold 3.5 ton cubic feet of natural gas though we\u2019re still waiting on the companies and the Oil Ministry to confirm its size.<\/span><\/p>\n

M&A WATCH- <\/span><\/p>\n

#1- <\/span>Egytrans\u2019<\/a><\/span> board of directors <\/span>approved<\/a><\/span>the acquisition of trucking firm the National <\/span>Transport and Overseas Services Company (NOSCO)<\/span>, which would see the company acquire 99.9% of NOSCO\u2019s shares via a share swap and would value NOSCO at around EGP 174.1 mn, according to our math. The acquisition has been in the works since at least October, when Egytrans the two were exploring a share swap arrangement. The company said in March that it expected to close the transaction during the first half of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

#2- Meanwhile, in startup land: <\/span>Nigeria-based car financing platform <\/span>Autochek<\/a><\/span> is making its <\/span>first foray into Egypt <\/span>after acquiring<\/a><\/span> a majority stake in local automotive startup <\/span>AutoTager<\/a><\/span> \u2014 a digital platform that allows people to sell their cars and access financing to buy new ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

DIPLOMACY- <\/span><\/p>\n

Springtime for Egyptian-Turkish relations: <\/span>Egypt and Turkey <\/span>will soon reappoint<\/a><\/span>ambassadors<\/a><\/span> and formally reestablish diplomatic ties following a decade of hostilities, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry agreed during Shoukry\u2019s visit to Ankara. The two diplomats also agreed to collaborate on developing and strengthening a unified military force in Libya, as well as developing a timeline for holding elections in the country, easing a key source of tensions between them.<\/span><\/p>\n

WHAT\u2019S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK-<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span>Could the state\u2019s privatization program pick up steam following the Eid <\/span>break?<\/span>Several stories<\/a><\/span> we picked up on this week seem to suggest so:<\/span><\/p>\n

#1- Jeffries Int\u2019l is expecting an announcement on the program: <\/span>\u201cWe are expecting <\/span>announcements of state stake sales\u201d after Eid El Fitr, Jefferies International MENA analyst Alia Moubayed told Asharq Business (<\/span>watch, runtime: 7:56<\/a><\/span>) on Sunday. <\/span><\/p>\n

#2- United Bank announcement coming? <\/span>The Madbouly cabinet intends to choose one of two <\/span>shortlisted offers for a stake in state-owned United Bank \u201cimmediately after Eid,\u201d <\/span>Asharq Business reported<\/a><\/span> last week<\/span>, citing a source it says has knowledge of the matter. <\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of which,<\/span> the Kuwait Investment Authority is not involved in a potential stake <\/span>acquisition in United Bank, the authority said in a statement <\/span>yesterday<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

#3- Continental Hotel PPP conditions:<\/span> The Public Enterprises Ministry will release the <\/span>conditions of its planned tender for a private partner to refurbish Cairo\u2019s historic Continental Hotel after the Eid break, Hapi Journal quotes Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels head Mervat Hataba as saying <\/span>last week<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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PSA- Daylight savings is coming the Friday of next week: <\/span>That\u2019s right, folks. Get ready for some <\/span>semi-jet lagged confusion and tardiness as Friday, 28 April, will be the first day of daylight savings \u2014 our first since 2016 \u2014 which will see Cairo Local Time (CLT) pushed forward by one hour. The move, which breezed through the House of Representatives <\/span>earlier this month<\/a><\/span>, was made with an eye towards potentially cutting down our natural gas consumption. <\/span><\/p>\n

Check out our full calendar on the web<\/a><\/span> for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.<\/span><\/p>\n

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