{"id":597135,"date":"2019-07-17T03:57:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T03:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/07\/17\/what-were-tracking-on-17-july-2019\/"},"modified":"2019-07-17T03:57:59","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T03:57:59","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-17-july-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2019\/07\/17\/what-were-tracking-on-17-july-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 17 July 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Americans are coming:<\/b> Economic reform has made Egypt more attractive to US investors, US Chamber of Commerce Executive VP Myron Brilliant told Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly during a meeting yesterday, according to a cabinet statement<\/a>. Companies are particularly looking to invest in Egypt\u2019s energy, health and digital sectors, he said.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll also be treated to a visit by US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry before the month is out<\/b>, as we mentioned yesterday. The man overseeing the spread of US \u201cfreedom gas\u201d<\/a> to all corners of the globe will be in town to address an AmCham event.<\/p>\n

Madbouly also met with Emirati businessman Jamal Al Ghurair<\/b>, who said his Al Ghurair Group is looking to build a seed storage facility and a river transport project in Damietta, the cabinet said in a separate statement<\/a> without providing further details.<\/p>\n

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IMF acting head warns of \u201cself-inflicted wounds\u201d:<\/b> The IMF\u2019s acting managing director, David Lipton, told CNBC that countries must work to solve current tensions in trade and technology to avoid \u201cself-inflicted wounds\u201d to the global economy (watch, runtime: 03:11<\/a>). This is particularly important at a time when Europe has limited monetary and fiscal maneuverability to cope with a recession. Global trade growth fell to a seven-year low of 1% in the first quarter of 2019 and investment has slowed, raising growth concerns in the eurozone<\/p>\n

And speaking of the IMF: Christine Lagarde has officially submitted her resignation from her position as the fund\u2019s managing director<\/b> following her nomination as the next president of the European Central Bank, according to an IMF statement<\/a>. The resignation, which comes into effect on 12 September, \u201cwill expedite the selection process\u201d for Lagarde\u2019s successor, the statement says. A number of names have cropped up<\/a> in the list of Lagarde\u2019s potential successors, including Allianz chief economic advisor Mohamed El Erian, outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, and the former governor of the Indian central bank Raghuram Rajan.<\/p>\n

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Venture capital mega-round funding is still in vogue \u2014 and it\u2019s delaying IPOs: <\/b>The number of funding rounds of USD 100 mn or more reached record highs in 2Q2019, according to a CB Insights and PwC report<\/a>. These \u201cmega-rounds\u201d constituted over half of the USD 28.7 bn total raised over the quarter, representing a 10% increase in funding from 1Q2019.<\/p>\n

Everyone wants in on fintech:<\/b> Much of the funding was directed towards fintech startups, which attracted USD 5.1 bn last quarter, despite seeing 38 fewer agreements than in 1Q2019. The five largest fintech fundraising rounds in 2Q 2019 each totaled at least USD 300 mn. The result? Companies are staying private for longer, with only three fintech startups listing on the stock market in 2018.<\/p>\n

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan vs. the World:<\/b> Two days after inviting US sanctions<\/a> for purchasing Russian missile systems, Turkey is now facing punitive measures by the Europeans. Bloomberg reports<\/a> that EU foreign ministers agreed yesterday to cut off funds and high-level communication with the Turkish government after it ignored demands to halt natural gas exploration in Cypriot waters.<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s response? \u201cBite me.\u201d<\/b> EU sanctions \u201cwill not impact our determination in any way to carry on with hydrocarbon activities in the eastern Mediterranean,\u201d the Foreign Ministry said, according to Bloomberg<\/a>. EU measures targeting Turkish drilling companies may not be far away.<\/p>\n

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Are we really this unhealthy?<\/b><\/p>\n