{"id":593358,"date":"2019-11-26T04:15:26","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T04:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/11\/26\/what-were-tracking-on-26-november-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-11-26T04:15:26","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T04:15:26","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-26-november-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/11\/26\/what-were-tracking-on-26-november-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 26 November 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

<\/a> Some good news with which to start the morning: Tarek Amer will remain in <\/strong>office<\/strong> as central bank governor for a second four-year term. After months of quiet speculation, state media reported<\/a> overnight that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will give Amer a second term. Ittihadiya has yet to make an announcement on the subject, but eyewitness videos now making the rounds (watch, runtime: 0:50<\/a> and watch, runtime: 1:38<\/a>) show a very happy Amer confirming the news and being loudly celebrated by happy central bank staff.<\/p>\n

The move will be widely welcomed by both international investors and the domestic <\/strong>business community.<\/strong> Amer won plaudits for floating the EGP early in his first term and for building reserves while deftly managing monetary policy in the period since the float to ensure Egyptian debt remained \u2018appropriately\u2019 attractive to the carry trade.<\/p>\n

What does this mean? <\/strong>In a word: continuity. For starters, it suggests interest rates will keep coming down (if not in December, then during the course of 2020) in line with market expectations. Amer\u2019s reappointment also signals that his amended Central Bank and Banking Act is set to move through the House of Representatives largely in its current form. More interestingly, it means we can expect a burst of activity out of the CBE on other policy fronts from the man who considers himself the chief economic advisor to the president and who now has four years of runway ahead of him.<\/p>\n

This will be Amer\u2019s final term: <\/strong>The central bank governor may serve no more two four-year terms under the Banking and Central Bank Act, meaning Amer will leave office in November 2023.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Ali Abdel Aal <\/strong>has called<\/a><\/strong> for an \u201cextraordinary session\u201d on <\/strong>Thursday<\/strong> to discuss Amer\u2019s reappointment, sparking speculation that Thursday could also see MPs discussing a cabinet shuffle.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which: Any news of the cabinet shuffle? <\/strong>Nothing new yesterday or overnight, folks. The House is widely expected<\/a> to vote on the cabinet change in an urgent assembly as early as tomorrow. State-owned Akhbar Al Youm Chairman Yasser Rizk, who presents himself as being close to El Sisi, was the first to publicly suggest last week that a change-up in cabinet is on its way. Since then, the rumor mill has been in overdrive with speculation on which ministers are exiting stage right.<\/p>\n

We know for certain at this point that the Social Solidarity Ministry will get a <\/strong>new minister<\/strong>, as current minister Ghada Waly is leaving for a new post as the executive director of the UNODC. Deputy Minister Nevine El Kabbag and SME Authority head Nevine Gamea are reportedly both in the running to succeed Waly, according to Al Shorouk<\/a>. Other cabinet seats that could see new chiefs include trade and industry, health, environment, supply, and agriculture ministries.<\/p>\n

In related news: Tax Authority boss Abdel Azim Hussein will be sticking around for <\/strong>another year,<\/strong> after Finance Minister Mohamed Maait issued a decree<\/a> extending his appointment. Abdel Azim\u2019s new term will begin on 13 December. He was tapped for the role on the same day last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

<\/a> Yesterday was a big day for M&A,<\/strong> with more than USD 70 bn in agreements<\/a> signed heading into what will be a quiet end-of-week for markets as America marks Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Charles Schwab\u2019s USD 26 bn blockbuster buyout of rival TD Ameritrade hogged the headlines:<\/strong> US brokerage firm Charles Schwab yesterday announced plans for a USD 26 bn all-stock acquisition of rival TD Ameritrade, creating a giant brokerage with USD 5 tn in assets under management and 24 mn client accounts. Schwab would acquire USD 1.3 tn in client assets across 12 mn accounts, and around USD 5 bn in annual revenue. The acquisition is slated to close in 2H2020. (CNBC<\/a>\u2502Associated Press<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The merger is likely to attract the attention of antitrust regulators.<\/strong> Charles Schwab CEO Walt Bettinger moved to quell analysts\u2019 concerns, pointing out that the new company would control around 11% of AUM in the US retail wealth management industry and account for just 6% of its revenues, the Financial Times reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This comes amid troubled times for brokerage firms,<\/strong> which have seen their profits squeezed by a new generation of companies offering zero-fee trading. Charles Schwab bowed to pressure earlier this year and scrapped commissions<\/a> on all online stock, ETF and options trades, triggering a new phase in an intensifying price war.<\/p>\n

Lots and lots of other M&A:<\/strong><\/p>\n