{"id":622948,"date":"2018-10-17T03:24:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T03:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/10\/17\/what-were-tracking-on-17-october-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-10-17T03:24:54","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T03:24:54","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-17-october-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/10\/17\/what-were-tracking-on-17-october-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 17 October 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> ** #8 \u2013 Making us proud this morning is Yehia Badawy, one of four co-founders behind the<\/strong>region\u2019s first fully licensed digital currency exchange<\/strong>. Based in Bahrain, \u201cRain is a digital currency exchange and custodian in the Middle East that allows people to buy, sell, and store digital currency in a regulated, secure, and compliant way,\u201d according to an emailed statement (pdf)<\/a>. Rain received its sandbox license from the Central Bank of Bahrain in 2017 and has been running trial operations for nine months with an eye on becoming fully operational in 2019. The exchange will be held to strict international standards on security, regulation, and pricing, which the co-founders understand is integral to building trust with customers \u2014 which they note is \u201cthe biggest issue in this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rain\u2019s launch comes as someone is clearly playing with crypto in Egypt: <\/strong>Domestic bitcoin volumes surged in the first week of October to the local-currency equivalent of EGP 1.1 mn, almost as much as in all of September, according to data from Coin Dance<\/a> (below).<\/p>\n

Must-read of the morning: \u201cThe world\u2019s largest insolvent private equity firm.\u201d <\/strong>The Wall Street Journal has an insanely good (and detailed) drill-down into the flow of money as Abraaj allegedly used investor funds to pay its own operating expenses. \u201cAt least USD 660 mn of investor money was moved without the knowledge of most investors into bank accounts that forensic accountants call the Abraaj treasury, according to documents and people familiar with the situation. More than USD 200 mn flowed from those accounts to Mr. Naqvi and people close to him<\/strong>, according to company documents and people familiar with the situation.\u201d Among the alleged beneficiaries: One of Naqvi\u2019s sons, an online luxury-clothing retailer started by Naqvi\u2019s former personal assistant, and a Pakistani influence peddler who was offered USD 20 mn to get a former prime minister to clear a transaction. Read Private-equity firm Abraaj raised bns pledging to do good \u2014 then it fell apart<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Khashoggi affair is still front page news around the world<\/strong>, preoccupying the international business as top global banking execs drop out<\/a> of a high-profile investment conference in the kingdom and US President Donald Trump appears to give cover to Riyadh\u2019s trial balloon suggesting the dissident journalist was killed in an interrogation gone wrong. Blaming KSA for Khashoggi\u2019s disappearance is another instance of \u201cguilty until proven innocent,\u201d Trump told the Associated Press overnight<\/a>. The Donald\u2019s remarks came as former New York Times Cairo bureau chief David Kirkpatrick led a team of reporters in an investigation that alleges suspects in the Khashoggi case have direct ties to Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Uber valued at USD 120 bn in potential IPO, rival Lyft also looking at 2019 offering:<\/strong> Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley presented Uber with proposals valuing the company at USD 120 bn in a potential IPO that could materialize in 2H2019, according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. The proposed valuation is nearly 2x what Uber was valued at around two months ago, the Journal notes. However, there is no certainty \u201cUber will go public on the time frame or with the valuation envisioned by investment bankers hungry for fees,\u201d particularly as the conditions of the IPO market are fickle. The Financial Times<\/a> also has the story, and elsewhere the Journal notes<\/a> that Uber rival Lyft has tapped JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Jefferies as underwriters<\/strong> for its USD 15 bn IPO, also scheduled for 2019.<\/p>\n

Pot is legal in Canada today. <\/strong>Toronto\u2019s Globe & Mail<\/a> has the rundown on everything from where to buy it to how to invest in it and whether you can get high at work.<\/p>\n

In miscellany this morning:<\/strong><\/p>\n