{"id":631487,"date":"2018-03-20T04:03:35","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T04:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/03\/20\/what-were-tracking-on-20-march-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-03-20T04:03:35","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T04:03:35","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-20-march-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/03\/20\/what-were-tracking-on-20-march-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 20 March 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Debating the Ismail government\u2019s deficit-reduction target: <\/strong>The analyst community is asking questions of the deficit reduction target in the draft FY2018-19 budget approved by cabinet on Sunday<\/a>. The document sees the deficit falling to 8.4% of GDP against an expected 9.6-9.8% this year<\/a>. Sigma Capital chief economist Aya Abdullah sees the goal as very achievable, considering the revenues the government hopes to net from the state IPO program. CI Capital Asset Management economist Noaman Khalid disagrees, projecting that next year\u2019s budget deficit would not fall below 9% of GDP. He tells Al Shorouk<\/a> that the government\u2019s debt obligations are too high to hit its deficit target.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the government is expecting GDP growth to reach between 5.3% and 5.4% in 3Q2018-17,<\/strong> Finance Minister Amr El Garhy tells Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Definitive plans for an international IPO of Saudi Aramco appear dead in the water<\/strong>, with Saudi officials apparently believing an international IPO has become much more complicated than they initially believed, the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. The decision to list in Riyadh only \u2014 for now \u2014 has come in part because of concerns about legal risks and also because the need for a bigger listing has been negated by rising oil prices. An IPO on the Tadawul next year appears definite based on comments by the kingdom\u2019s oil minister.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman lands in Washington for meetings with US President Donald Trump<\/strong>, and coverage of the event by the US media is reaching a fever pitch. Most, including the Wall Street Journal<\/a>, appear focused on political dimension of the visit, particularly MbS\u2019 push for a had line on Iran. On the economic front, the conversation appears dominated by the change in the nature of US-Saudi ties<\/a> in light of the US shale revolution. See also coverage from the Financial Times<\/a> and CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MbS explains the November Ritz Carlton crackdown:<\/strong> In advance of the visit, bin Salman sat down with CBS\u2019 60 Minutes to discuss a wide range of issues, not least of which was the purge of last November, which the Prince denies was a power play, saying instead it was a move to rein in corruption. Adviser Mohammed Al Sheikh said that the move wasn't easy given the names involved. \u201cBut we just felt that we had to do this. And and we had to do it that way.\u201d Al Sheikh said that corruption had been equal to 20% of Saudi government spending or up to USD 20 bn annually. Bin Salman boasted that the crackdown retrieved USD 100 bn, but that objective was not the money, but to show that \u201ca new sheriff is in town.\u201d Other issues discussed include Saudi\u2019s rivalry with Iran, human rights, the campaign in Yemen, and more freedom for Saudi women. You can catch the full interview here (watch, runtime: 26:36<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Also making headlines on a busy news morning internationally:<\/p>\n