{"id":594447,"date":"2019-10-30T04:07:42","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T04:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/10\/30\/what-were-tracking-on-30-october-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-10-30T04:07:42","modified_gmt":"2019-10-30T04:07:42","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-30-october-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/10\/30\/what-were-tracking-on-30-october-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 30 October 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Habemus Aramco IPO date: <\/b>Mark your calendars, as Aramco (known modestly as \u201cpotentially the largest IPO in History\u201d) is set to begin trading on the Saudi stock exchange on 11 December. The Saudi government is expected to officially announce the decision next Sunday, with subscription to the offering looking set to commence on 4 December.<\/p>\n

A lot is riding on this IPO, not only for Saudi<\/b>, but for the rest of the region, who see it as a litmus test for investors. Egyptian officials have said that resumption of Egypt\u2019s privatization program will definitely follow the Aramco IPO. You can catch all the details below in Speed Round.<\/p>\n

The date was announced by Al Arabiya during the opening day of the <\/b>Future Investment Initiative Conference 2019<\/b><\/a>, otherwise known as the \u201cDavos in the Desert,\u201d yesterday in Riyadh. This year\u2019s conference turned out to be a much more fashionable affair than last year\u2019s, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, White House adviser Jared Kushner, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and Goldman Sachs COO John Waldron. Both EFG Hermes CEO Karim Awad<\/b> and Qalaa Holdings Chief Ahmed Heikal<\/b> were present as guest speakers. Bloomberg took it upon themselves to explain the who\u2019s who of the conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From the conference \u2014 Will Brexit kickstart the emergence of new global financial hubs?<\/b> Awad spoke yesterday in a panel that included the likes of JP Morgan\u2019s global head of investment and corporate banking Carlos Hernandez, the heads of both the Tadawul and the SIngapore stock exchanges, and UK Minister for Investment Graham Stuart. The panel looked at the rise of new global financial centers in the Brexit era and what that means for MENA. Awad stated that there\u2019s room for more markets to take the lead and grow as financial hubs, singling out Saudi Arabia as a rising destination. New regulations & new listings will bring about massive change for Saudi, he added. \u201cOnce you start companies from Egypt, UAE or other markets listing in the Saudi Stock Exchange, this will be a very positive step for the market to become a hub,\u201d Awad said. Hernandez agreed with Awad\u2019s assessment that Saudi is on the right track.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s agenda will look at the initiatives that will guide capital market development through the next decade of growth. <\/b>A host of other interesting panels will look energy innovation, infrastructure investments, and developments on the Red Sea Project For the full program click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The ghost of Khashoggi haunts the gathering, says the foreign press:<\/b> As expected the foreign press ripped into the conference, whose last iteration took place immediately following the backlash of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Financial Times<\/a>\u2019s assessment of the matter is that Saudi needs this conference to work. Getting investors into Saudi is a matter of life or death with the economy close to its second recession in three years, but keeping them there is a whole other ballgame. Investors are highly skeptical of the government\u2019s repeated promises to limit involvement in businesses and allow the private sector to grow.<\/p>\n

Investment Minister Sahar Nasr was the Sisi administration\u2019s representative. <\/b>Nasr spoke of women empowerment in emerging countries, and reforms her ministry is working on in Egypt to improve their capacity to participate in the economy, the ministry said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The quarter-finals of CIB\u2019s squash championships by the pyramids kicked off yesterday \u2014 and so far the semis are 75% Egyptian:<\/b> Egyptian world no.1 Raneem El Welily went through to the next round<\/a> after just three minutes when compatriot Nour El Tayeb retired from the game. In the semis El Welily will face Nouran Gohar, who beat<\/a> the UK\u2019s Sarah-Jane Perry 3:1. In the men\u2019s round, Ali Farag triumphed over<\/a> Daryl Selby and will face New Zealand\u2019s Paul Coll, who beat<\/a> Fares Dessouky. The second batch of quarter-final games takes place today, with Karim Abdel Gawad, Marwan El Shorbagy, Nour El Sherbini and Hania El Hamammy all in action.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a> Another US rate cut almost a dead cert as Fed wraps up November meeting:<\/b> The Fed\u2019s Open Market Committee will announce later today whether they will push ahead with a third consecutive rate cut. The market is 93.5% certain that we\u2019ll see another 25 bps \u201cinsurance cut\u201d by the end of the day, according to CME Group. This would take the Fed Funds rate down to the 1.5%-1.75% range.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s unlikely to be consensus though:<\/b> Blue chip CEOs have been downplaying<\/a> the possibility of a recession on unexpectedly strong 3Q earnings, which led the S&P 500 to record highs yesterday. The recent optimism may persuade more members to vote against a cut, widening the divisions seen last month when three officials came out against further easing.<\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/b> Market watchers will be paying close attention to Chairman Jay Powell\u2019s post-meeting presser for clues as to whether we may be in for more cuts in the months ahead. For now, the market seems to think the Fed will hit the pause button, with investors giving a one-in-five chance of another cut at the December meeting. The Financial Times<\/a> and MarketWatch<\/a> have more.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lebanese PM Saad Hariri resigns amid protests:<\/b> Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri stepped down from his position yesterday, acceding to the hundreds of thousands of protesters who have filled the streets demanding his resignation, the Associated Press reports<\/a>. Hariri, whose departure is likely to fuel further uncertainty, said he had \u201chit a dead end\u201d in his attempts to find a way out of the crisis. The country\u2019s central bank governor said on Monday<\/a> that the economy risks imminent catastrophe if a political solution is not found, with banks and many businesses having shut their doors for the past two weeks.<\/p>\n

In other global miscellany:<\/p>\n