{"id":606773,"date":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/09\/21\/cbe-expected-to-leave-rates-unchanged-when-it-meets-today\/"},"modified":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T00:00:00","slug":"cbe-expected-to-leave-rates-unchanged-when-it-meets-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2023\/09\/21\/cbe-expected-to-leave-rates-unchanged-when-it-meets-today\/","title":{"rendered":"CBE expected to leave rates unchanged when it meets today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, wonderful people, and thank you \u2014 one and all \u2014 for an amazing week. <\/strong>It was a delight to see so many of you at our inaugural Enterprise Finance Forum on Monday and Tuesday. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s was also a great week for news, with tons of investment in the headlines <\/strong> from both Gulf investors and the domestic private sector. This morning builds on that theme: While our lead story is a package of state social support measures, we have news of an EUR 1 bn tire factory, funding from our friends at IFC for Damietta Port, and more. And on that topic:<\/p>\n

<\/a> INVESTMENT WATCH- \u201cEgypt is very interesting\u201d -Sagard: <\/strong> Canadian alternative asset manager Sagard<\/a> could invest in financial services firms in Egypt, as well as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, the National<\/a> quotes CEO and chair Paul Desmarais III as saying in an interview. The company, which is backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, is looking to double its assets under management to USD 30 bn in the next five years. <\/p>\n

<\/a> FROM THE RUMOR MILL- <\/strong> Is Saudi\u2019s PIF eyeing three local private companies? <\/strong>Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund PIF is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire three private Egyptian companies that operate in the healthcare, education, and real estate sectors before the end of the year, Da<\/a> ily News E<\/a> gypt<\/a> reports, citing unnamed sources it says are close to the transactions. The real estate developer in question is \u201cone of the largest companies operating in Egypt\u201d, the outlet quotes a source as saying.<\/p>\n

\n

\n

<\/a> WATCH THIS SPACE: We\u2019ll have a timeline next week for the upcoming presidential election<\/strong>, the National Elections Authority said at a press conference yesterday. The NEA will announce the timeline on Monday. The question on everyone\u2019s minds: Is there a scenario in which we can head to the polls in December?<\/p>\n

PSA- Next week is a four-day week <\/strong> thanks to Prophet Mohammed\u2019s birthday falling on a Wednesday. The Central Bank of Egypt conf<\/a> irmed<\/a> yesterday that the banking sector will be taking Thursday, 28 September off. This follows the cabinet's announcement<\/a> last week that the public and private sectors will both be off.<\/p>\n

We may also be in for a three-day weekend the following week <\/strong> in observance of Armed Forces Day, which falls on the Friday. The government typically declares a replacement day for national holidays that fall on Fridays. <\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- IT\u2019S INTEREST RATE DAY- <\/strong> The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is expected to leave interest rates unchanged when it meets today, according to our customary poll<\/a> of analysts. All seven of the people we spoketo think the CBE will leave rates on hold thanks to easing monthly inflation and the need t <\/strong>o retain policy space for a widely anticipated devaluation. A Reuters poll<\/a> returned a similar forecast.<\/p>\n

#2- The three-day <\/strong>Cityscape real estate expo<\/a><\/strong> continues <\/strong>at the Egypt International Exhibition Center today. <\/p>\n

#3- It\u2019s day 3 of the UN general debate: <\/strong> Among today\u2019s speakers<\/a> are Palestine, Sudan, Kuwait, Yemen, France, the EU and China. We\u2019re still waiting on a slot for Egypt.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a> Techtember continues: Reviewers are out this week with their takes on the newly <\/strong> released iPhone 15<\/strong>, and the verdict is quite positive. At the high end of the scale, pundits are loving the new, lighter titanium build on the 15 Pro and the larger Pro Max models, the new programmable mute button, and very strong camera upgrades. The 15 and 15 Plus models get an upgraded processor, improved cameras, and Dynamic Island, but no mute switch or titanium. Both models have subtly updated contours. Oh, and both devices now feature USB-C ports. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Must-read reviews: <\/strong>As always, start with John Gruber\u2019s Daring Fireball<\/a>, then head over to the Verge, which has great takes on both the 15 \/ 15 Plus<\/a> and Pro \/ Pro Max<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Want to watch instead? <\/strong>The Verge, once more (watch, runtime: 12:08<\/a>) \u2014 and Marques Brownlee is in form (watch, runtime: 11:20<\/a>). But if you\u2019re a photographer, head straight to PetaPixel (watch, runtime: 22:02<\/a>) for Chirs and Jordan\u2019s take or head over to the Art of Photography (watch, runtime: 16:25<\/a>), where Ted Forbes holds court.<\/p>\n

When can we expect it here in Egypt? <\/strong>No time soon \u2014 not officially. While you can occasionally get some (lower storage capacity) iPhone 14 models on Amazon.eg, Apple authorized resellers including Tradeline<\/a> have only the now two-year-old iPhone 13 models on their sites.<\/p>\n

MEANWHILE- MICROSOFT has a special event today <\/strong>expected to focus on new Surface hardware and artificial intelligence<\/a><\/strong> . <\/strong>The tech giant will hold the event just days after hardware boss Panos Panay said he was leaving \u2014 apparently to Amazon. Watch the Microsoft event here (recorded) at 8pm CLT<\/a> if you\u2019re so inclined, or catch the live blog from The Verge starting at 5pm CLT. <\/p>\n

Speaking of AMAZON- <\/strong>Jeff Bezos\u2019 merry crew had their own hardware event yesterday and it cemented the retail (and cloud) giant\u2019s status as an also-ran on the device front. The Verge has a rundown on all the announcements here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NEXT UP after Microsoft is GOOGLE<\/strong>, which will formally launch on Wednesday, 4 October the (already kind-of-announced) Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro along with a new watch.<\/p>\n

\n

\n

WEEKEND READING- Learn how to be really, truly happy. <\/strong>Maybe it\u2019s middle age or millennial angst (we have both happening here at Enterprise World HQ), but even the Gen Z crowd (in the form of the resident 16-year-old) is getting into The Atlantic\u2019s happiness column by the inimitable Arthur C. Brooks. Start anywhere you please in the archive<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Need more pointed suggestions? <\/strong><\/p>\n