{"id":623054,"date":"2018-10-21T04:11:13","date_gmt":"2018-10-21T04:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/10\/21\/what-were-tracking-on-21-october-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-10-21T04:11:13","modified_gmt":"2018-10-21T04:11:13","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-21-october-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/10\/21\/what-were-tracking-on-21-october-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 21 October 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

It looks set to be another busy news week as the House of Representatives convenes today for its first general assembly<\/strong> of the new legislative season \u2014 and as corporate Egypt slides into earnings season.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, an IMF delegation is in town to kick off the Fund\u2019s fourth review <\/strong>of Egypt\u2019s progress on a laundry list of economic reforms pledged as a condition of the USD 12 bn extended fund facility we landed back in November 2016<\/a>. The delegation arrived on Thursday, government sources<\/a> said, and the review begins this week. Expect sit-downs between IMF staffers and both the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank, sources tell Al Shorouk<\/a><\/p>\n

End of an era: <\/strong>The H\u00f6egh Gallant floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), until recently the final critical link in Egypt\u2019s natural gas import chain, left Egypt on Thursday, ending an era of gas imports and ushering Egypt\u2019s re-emergence as a regional gas export hub. The FSRU set course for the US Sabine Pass production facility, according to Reuters<\/a>. H\u00f6egh had agreed<\/a> with Egypt to amend the terms of a five-year contract for the FSRU that will see the Norwegian company hired as an LNG carrier to a third party.<\/p>\n

Saudi admits Khashoggi was killed at consulate: <\/strong>After two weeks of denying any knowledge of his disappearance, Saudi Arabia has admitted that dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi died at its consulate in Istanbul. KSA authorities said that Khashoggi died during a fight inside the consulate, but provided no details on the nature of the altercation, Reuters reports<\/a>. Saudi prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident and vowed to take action against any and all persons found to be implicated, the Saudi embassy in Cairo said in an emailed statement (pdf)<\/a>. Five top officials have been sacked (including the deputy head of intelligence) and 18 arrested, the Washington Post reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The international community is not buying it. <\/strong>Turkish officials, who had leaked audio recordings last week of what they claimed were Khashoggi\u2019s final moments, promised to continue their investigation<\/a>. They had said that Khashoggi was dismembered and beheaded by Saudi agents. The European Union asked for a more \u201cin-depth\u201d investigation, with Germany describing the story as \u201cinadequate.\u201d US President Donald Trump also said he would not be \u201csatisfied until we find the answer,\u201d but said the move \u201cwas a good first step.\u201d Egypt\u2019s Foreign Ministry<\/a>, meanwhile, commended the kingdom for the \u201cbrave and decisive\u201d preliminary investigations.<\/p>\n

The story dominates front pages around the world this morning<\/strong>, including the New York Times<\/a>, Washington Post<\/a>, Bloomberg<\/a>, the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, and the Financial Times<\/a>, which delves into the history of Khashoggi\u2019s squabble with the Saudi crown. Amr Adib also took a few moments to add his two cents (watch here, runtime: 3:03<\/a> and here, runtime: 1:44<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Post has published Khashoggi\u2019s last column<\/strong>, headlined What the Arab world needs most is free expression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stories worth reading on the fallout:<\/strong><\/p>\n