{"id":616450,"date":"2024-03-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/03\/05\/this-evening-vodafone-technical-glitch-resolved-plus-red-sea-shipping-disruption-behind-our-sharp-fall-in-business-activity-in-february\/"},"modified":"2024-03-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T00:00:00","slug":"this-evening-vodafone-technical-glitch-resolved-plus-red-sea-shipping-disruption-behind-our-sharp-fall-in-business-activity-in-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/03\/05\/this-evening-vodafone-technical-glitch-resolved-plus-red-sea-shipping-disruption-behind-our-sharp-fall-in-business-activity-in-february\/","title":{"rendered":"THIS EVENING: Vodafone technical glitch resolved. PLUS: Red Sea shipping disruption behind our sharp fall in business activity in February"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen and happy hump day.<\/strong> We are rolling through what remains of the last full week before Ramadan starts\u2026but first a mea culpa\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Correction: <\/strong>We mistakenly wrote in today\u2019s issue of Enterprise Egypt AM that Dr. Mahmoud Mohiedin is the World Bank\u2019s Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda. Mohieldin is instead the UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an executive director at the International Monetary Fund.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY TODAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vodafone Egypt\u2019s technical hiccup is resolved:<\/strong>Vodafone said it solved the technical issues it encountered early in the morning that prevented its users from accessing 4G mobile or data services today. Vodafone\u2019s team confirmed to Enterprise that the glitch was triggered by network component updates the company carried out early in the morning, and that it resolved the issue and all its 4G services are now functioning normally. The company also said it will compensate its users with bonuses on their subscription packages within 24 hours.<\/p>\n

ALSO- Business activity saw \u201csolid deterioration\u201d in February: <\/strong>Egypt\u2019s non-oil private sector activity contracted at its sharpest rate in over a year last month as inflationary pressures dampened domestic demand and Suez Canal disruptions caused supply-side challenges, according to S&P Global\u2019s Egypt PMI (pdf)<\/a>. The index fell to 47.1 in February down from 48.1 in January, logging an 11-month low and remaining below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for the 39th straight month.<\/p>\n

The culprit? <\/strong>\u201cRed Sea shipping disruption has roughly halved Suez Canal revenues so far in 2024, which February PMI survey data indicated had a considerable impact on foreign currency inflows and inflationary pressures,\u201d S&P Senior Economist David Owen wrote. Price pressures, low domestic demand and supply-side challenges saw new orders fall at their fastest rate since March 2023.<\/p>\n

THE BIG STORY ABROAD<\/strong><\/p>\n

China\u2019s optimistic 2024 outlook is getting some ink in the international press this<\/strong> afternoon. <\/strong>Premier Li Qiang announced an ambitious 5% GDP growth target for the Chinese economy that has been struggling with a housing market crisis and deflation. Experts forecast a 4.6% expansion (matching last year\u2019s numbers), and policy makers are now under a lot of pressure to meet the goal while deflation continues to be a problem. The intention is to restore confidence which has been lacking due to recent economic volatility and dwindling foreign investment. (Bloomberg<\/a> | Financial Times<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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