{"id":594036,"date":"2019-10-17T04:05:03","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T04:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/10\/17\/what-were-tracking-on-17-october\/"},"modified":"2019-10-17T04:05:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-17T04:05:03","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-17-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/10\/17\/what-were-tracking-on-17-october\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 17 October"},"content":{"rendered":"

The IMF and World Bank annual meetings continue through the weekend in Washington, DC.<\/b> Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr, and Oil Minister Tarek El Molla are in the US capital to attend the meetings. The Egyptian delegation had a busy day yesterday with several sit-downs with international institutions and politicians. We have the full rundown of everything you need to know on what\u2019s happening across the pond in this morning\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

The meetings end on Saturday<\/b>; you can visit their website here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re also keeping our eyes open for a memorandum of understanding between Egypt and Euroclear<\/b>, which the State Information Service said<\/a> on Tuesday should be signed while officials are in Washington this week. Egypt\u2019s debt instruments are expected<\/a> to be clearable through the Belgium-based clearinghouse by the beginning of next year.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> Dubai has imposed a limit on state involvement in the economy<\/b>, imposing a moratorium on the creation of new state-linked organizations. New state-owned companies will only be established if necessary on national security or strategic grounds or if private sector companies are unable to deliver the goods or services needed. The move is designed to make sure state-related entities \u201carent\u2019 crowding the private sector and holding back economic development,\u201d Bloomberg<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> The latest from Washington: Central bank stimulus is a double-edged sword, IMF says, as it sounds the alarm on corporate debt levels. <\/b>Around 40% of corporate debt in advanced economies is at risk in the event of a global recession, the IMF warned<\/a> in a report issued during the third day of its annual meeting yesterday. Central bank-run stimulus programs, while successful at mitigating the short-term risks generated by current trade tensions, are giving companies incentives to take on unsustainable levels of debt and investors to plough into risky asset markets.<\/p>\n

And in statement seemingly timed to perfection, Moody\u2019s claimed an \u201cuncomfortably high\u201d risk of global recession within the next 12-18 months.<\/b> \u201cI think risks are awfully high that if something doesn\u2019t stick to script then we do have a recession,\u201d Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody\u2019s Analytics, told CNBC<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ll say this also: Even if we don\u2019t have a recession over the next 12-18 months, I think it\u2019s pretty clear that we\u2019re going to have a much weaker economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carney chipped in with a refreshingly non-apocalyptic statement:<\/b> Central banks will not be left in the dust by Big Tech in the race to develop financial technology, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said during an IMF panel discussion yesterday. Admitting that policymakers would struggle to match the private sector for innovation, he said that systemic central banks like the Federal Reserve are indispensable institutions for maintaining financial stability. (CNBC<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Aramco IPO edges closer:<\/b> Saudi Aramco\u2019s IPO will materialize \u201csooner than everyone thinks,\u201d Aramco Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan said at the Saudi-Russian summit in Riyadh earlier this week, according to a statement (pdf)<\/a>. Aramco\u2019s board of directors is expected to give its final approval to pushing ahead with the IPO plans this week, the statement says. Anonymous sources had told Bloomberg last month<\/a> that the company could kick off its IPO process as early as 20 October and make its stock market debut on the Tadawul in November.<\/p>\n

The Tadawul could do with an IPO right now.<\/b> The Saudi stock exchange plunged into a bear market on Tuesday, after a 1.6% fall left the index down more than 20% down from its recent high in May. Yesterday offered some respite after shares rose 0.5%, lifting the market out of bear territory.<\/p>\n

What is behind the downturn? <\/b>Geopolitical uncertainty in the Gulf has spooked investors in recent months, particularly following the attack on Aramco\u2019s oil facilities last month. Some analysts also suggest the US-China war has had an impact, while passive flows generated by the Tadawul\u2019s inclusion into MSCI\u2019s emerging market index have dwindled after a number of brokers warned that Saudi equities were overvalued. More recently though, analysts have suggested that investors have been offloading shares in order to make room for an Aramco buying spree, Bloomberg<\/a> suggests.<\/p>\n

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KUDOS- Our friends at Hassan Allam won the infrastructure project of the year <\/b>at the 2019 Construction Innovation Awards<\/a> in Dubai on Tuesday for their Al-Mahsama irrigation drain water treatment plant in Sinai. The plant, awarded on an EPC basis, edged out entries from Saudi Aramco, Al Naboodah Construction Group, and KEO International Consultants. It uses treated wastewater from the Al-Temsah Lake to connect 50 hectares of remote, dry land in northern and central Sinai to irrigation with a capacity of 1 mn cubic meters of water a day.<\/p>\n

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Attention VAT taxpayers:<\/b> All companies will be required to submit their VAT disclosures electronically starting January, Tax Authority boss Abdel Azim Hussein said, according to Youm7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Key dates for your diaries this month<\/b> as we head into the weekend:<\/p>\n