{"id":628077,"date":"2018-06-25T04:52:54","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T04:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/06\/25\/what-were-tracking-on-25-june-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-06-25T04:52:54","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T04:52:54","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-25-june-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/06\/25\/what-were-tracking-on-25-june-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 25 June 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have another Accidental Legislation Issue this morning<\/strong> as the House of Representatives kicks into overdrive before it winds down for summer recess. Look for more of the same today after the general assembly passed a number of laws and funding agreements yesterday. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi also signed into a law a number of key business-related laws, including the Ride-Hailing Apps Act and amendments to the Industrial Development Authority Act.<\/p>\n

One of the chief trends we\u2019re seeing: The taxman wants you to pay your share. <\/strong>The imposition of the VAT on a wide range of online and offline activities is one of the trends we\u2019re seeing in the recently-passed bills. We have more on yesterday\u2019s legislative news Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

But no, the government isn\u2019t going to tax your iPhone: <\/strong>Finance Minister Mohamed Maait brushed off as \u201crumor\u201d reports on social media<\/a> claiming that the government will be imposing additional taxes on iPhone users (watch; runtime: 0:54<\/a>). He also dismissed entirely<\/a> reports suggesting that the government has plans to impose new income taxes.<\/p>\n

Expect the spate of legislative news to wind down this week:<\/strong> MPs will be off for the coming few days, returning after the start of the new state fiscal year on 1 July, according to Al Mal<\/a>, which cites a report by the state news agency.<\/p>\n

The Madbouly Cabinet should unveil its policy and legislative agenda when the House reconvenes next week. <\/strong>Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told the press yesterday that this should happen before 4 July, but the date hasn\u2019t yet been set. Madbouly was expected to present his plan last Saturday, but decided to give his newly-sworn in ministers more time to prepare.<\/p>\n

Economists see interest rates to be left on hold:<\/strong> Economists polled by the local press widely see interest rates being left on hold when the central bank\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday, largely on the back of the recent subsidy cuts, OPEC\u2019s recent view on ramping up production, and the US Federal Reserve raising interest rates. For the most part, they don\u2019t see inflation rising in the next few months to over 4%.<\/strong> Economist Reham El Desouky sees<\/a> the annual inflation growth to be limited to an average 2-3% over the coming two months. She said she won\u2019t be surprised if the CBE actually raises rates, but any hike wouldn\u2019t exceed 100 bps, she said. Beltone Financial lead economist Alia Mamdouh sees inflation at 3-4% in the next three months, while Pharos Holding head of research Radwa El Swaify sees it at 1-3.5%. She expects the CBE to leave interest rates on hold until October.<\/p>\n

Erdogan <\/strong>has declared victory<\/strong><\/a> in Turkey <\/strong>in an election that will also give him new powers as Ankara becomes home to a presidential system, scrapping the office of the prime minister under controversial constitutional changes passed last year. Naturally, <\/strong>the Muslim Brotherhood is rejoicing<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>Reuters<\/a> and the Financial Times<\/a> have more.<\/p>\n

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