{"id":617326,"date":"2024-03-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/03\/20\/blinken-will-land-in-egypt-tomorrow\/"},"modified":"2024-03-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T00:00:00","slug":"blinken-will-land-in-egypt-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2024\/03\/20\/blinken-will-land-in-egypt-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Blinken will land in Egypt tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. <\/strong>It\u2019s another busy morning here at home led by news of US Secretary of State Blinken\u2019s upcoming trip to Cairo where he will be meeting with Egyptian officials to push for a ceasefire in Gaza. <\/p>\n

^^ We have the full story in the news well, below. <\/p>\n

PSA- <\/strong>So, when do we eat? <\/strong>Maghrib prayers are at 6:07pm in the capital city, and you\u2019ll have until 4:30am tomorrow to hydrate and caffeinate ahead of fajr.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1-<\/strong>Gov\u2019t allocates EGP 596 bn for subsidies and social support in the next fiscal <\/strong>year<\/strong>, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement<\/a>. This includes EGP 134 bn for commodity subsidies, more than EGP 147 bn to subsidize fuel products, and north of EGP 40 bn for Takaful and Karama, Maait said. <\/p>\n

How does this compare to the current fiscal year?<\/strong> The government\u2019s budget for FY 2023-24<\/a> penciled in EGP 127.7 bn for food subsidies, and EGP 119.4 bn for fuel subsidies. Takaful and Karama programs were allocated EGP 31 bn for the fiscal year.<\/p>\n

The government expects to spend some EGP 3.9 tn in the upcoming fiscal year<\/strong>, while total government revenues are expected to come in at EGP 2.6 tn. Tax revenues are forecasted to hit EGP 2 tn in FY 2024-25, with no plans for new taxes, Maait said. <\/p>\n

** More on next year\u2019s budget: <\/strong>We got our first look<\/a> at the Finance Ministry\u2019s fiscal projections for the fiscal year 2024-2025 in January. <\/p>\n

<\/a> #2-<\/strong>Expo<\/strong>rts from Israel\u2019s Leviathan gas field to Egypt were up 28% last year<\/strong>, jumping to 6.3 bcm from 4.9 bcm in 2022, Israel\u2019s NewMed Energy said in itsannual report.<\/p>\n

<\/a> <\/p>\n

WATCH IS SPACE- <\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- The Saudi government <\/strong>approved<\/strong> last night an MoU between its Finance Ministry and Egyptian counterparts<\/strong> to establish a high-level financial dialogue, a statement<\/a> from the Saudi cabinet read without adding further details.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #2-<\/strong>Executive regulations for the new building reconciliation law will be issued within <\/strong>days<\/strong>, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alaa Foad said, according to Al Borsa<\/a>. The executive regulations of the law \u2014 set to make it easier for owners of unauthorized buildings built by 15 October of last year to legalize their properties in return for paying a reconciliation fee \u2014 were due on 22 February<\/a>, but are yet to be issued. Foad said the delay stems from the government wanting to reach common ground on the act between the local development, housing, and agriculture ministries.<\/p>\n

** We delved into the ins and outs of the new law in a <\/strong>Hardhat<\/a><\/strong> last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

HAPPENING TODAY- <\/p>\n

<\/a>The US Federal Reserve wraps its two-day meeting. <\/strong>Nobody expects it to announce a rate cut this evening (Cairo time), but pundits will be scouring its statement for hints of when it might start<\/a>. A Moody\u2019s analyst tells CNBC that \u201cI expect them to reaffirm three rate cuts this year, so that would suggest the first rate cut would be in June.\u201d <\/p>\n

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

Leading the front pages this morning:<\/strong><\/p>\n