{"id":631818,"date":"2018-03-28T03:47:43","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T03:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/03\/28\/what-were-tracking-on-28-march-2018\/"},"modified":"2018-03-28T03:47:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T03:47:43","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-28-march-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2018\/03\/28\/what-were-tracking-on-28-march-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 28 March 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have very little non-election news of note for you this morning<\/strong>, ladies and gentlemen. \u2018Tis simply one of those days.<\/p>\n

<\/a> It\u2019s the third day of voting in the 2018 presidential election, and it\u2019s still unclear if it will be the last. <\/strong>The National Elections Authority (NEA) continues to deny reports that it will announce an extension of balloting to Thursday, with spokesman Mahmoud El Sherif saying \u201cwe have not yet made up our minds,\u201d State Information Service reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Turnout has been particularly strong in several governorates<\/strong>, including Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Qalyubia, Asyut, and Aswan, El Sherif also said<\/a>, adding that even North Sinai is seeing residents head to the polling stations, despite the ongoing military campaign in the area. There are 59 mn eligible voters in Egypt<\/strong>, and election results are set to be announced on Monday, 2 April.<\/p>\n

Everyone from community leaders to government, security and religious leaders are pushing to drive turnout<\/strong>, the Associated Press<\/a> reports, including incidents in which managers have ordered employees out to vote. And as is the case in every poll since 2011, we\u2019re all being reminded by House Spokesman Salah Hassaballah that any of us who don\u2019t vote face EGP 500 fines, according to Youm7<\/a>. The NEA has also threatened the same thing, state-owned Ahram Online<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

Some business leaders are trying a softer approach<\/strong>, and have given staff time off to go out and vote today. These included businesses associated with the the Investors Association of 6 October City, Ahram Gate reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AU says there have been no voting irregularities:<\/strong> \u201cNo violations or complaints were registered by the AU observers\u2019 team,\u201d said the head of the African Union observers mission<\/a> Abdallah Diop, according to Ahram Online<\/a>. \u201cVoters cast their ballots in a very peaceful and organised environ<\/p>\n

ment on the first and second day of elections,\u201d he added. Similar praise came from the head of the COMESA\u2019s observers mission there.<\/p>\n

The international press is still still <\/strong>obsessing over turnout<\/strong><\/a>and the rather unlikely notion of an upset victory for that guy who did the country a solid by allowing his name to be placed on the ballot. \u201cTurnout appeared low on Tuesday as Egyptians voted on the second day of an election that President Abdel Fattah El Sisi is virtually certain to win,\u201d says the Associated Press<\/a>. Reuters notes<\/a> that authorities continued to push \u201cfor a high turnout on Tuesday,\u201d adding that Sisi voters with whom the wire service spoke said they were casting their ballots for stability.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post\u2019s editorial board, meanwhile, is sneering about Egypt\u2019s \u201csham election\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 and using it as a cudgel against the Trump administration. The paper\u2019s editorial writers summon all the usual charges against Omm El Donia, adding that even \u201ca number of innocent Americans\u201d have been hurt and that \u201cunder Mr Sissi, Egypt is failing.\u201d<\/strong><\/a> Heaven forbid that the US embassy say something nice about our electoral process in a tweet<\/a>: That\u2019s the Trump administration propagating false news on Egypt\u2019s behalf, the newspaper says.<\/p>\n

From the remainders bin: <\/strong>There are noticeably more female voters at the polling stations, Gulf News observes<\/a>, quoting Egyptian women saying they feel safer and more empowered under the Sisi regime. Valdai Club<\/a> does a \u201cmacro assessment\u201d of Sisi\u2019s first term in office, CNBC has a guide<\/a> on all Egypt elections-related matters, and Asharq Al-Awsat<\/a> also has coverage.<\/p>\n

The <\/strong>seventh annual Cityscape Egypt conference<\/strong><\/a> runs today through Saturday <\/strong>at the Egypt International Exhibition Center. With over 17,000 participants and over 90 companies attending, the conference gives property developers a chance to showcase their upcoming projects and discuss industry issues. The conference will be kicked off<\/a> by Housing Minister Mostafa Madbouly.<\/p>\n

<\/a> Will Saudi be upgraded to FTSE emerging market status today?<\/strong> FTSE Russell will announce today whether it will include Saudi Arabia on its list of emerging markets countries, Bloomberg reports<\/a>. Tadawul chairwoman Sarah Al Suhaimi is very optimistic that the country will be promoted to EM status based on positive feedback from investors. After a series of market overhauls including a shift to a T+2 settlement system from T+0 last year, KSA\u2019s next big step is \u201cestablishing our clearing house that will allow us to have derivatives in the kingdom,\u201d Al Suhaimi tells Bloomberg. FTSE refrained from promoting the country to from unclassified status last September, saying that it would \u201csoon\" meet criteria to be included. Al Suhaimi expects a positive decision from FTSE could draw inflows of c. USD 3 bn. An upgrade to MSCI emerging market status would see about USD 15 bn inflows, EFG Hermes estimates.<\/p>\n

Investors appear to biting<\/strong>, as the Tadawul index rose 1.08% on Tuesday, good for a 10% YTD gain so far this year, while the iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia exchange traded fund rose 10.5% in March, Bloomberg reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This comes as the chairwoman of the Tadawul says the bourse is \u201cdoing everything\u201d to get ready for the Saudi Aramco IPO. <\/strong>Al Suhaimi was a guest on CNBC\u2019s Power Lunch yesterday<\/a>. She made her remarks as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman suggested the Aramco IPO may be kicked to 2019<\/a>. In other KSA news yesterday, the Kingdom\u2019s Public Investment Fund said it was looking at opening offices in the US, UK and Japan as it seeks to become a \u201cglobal investment powerhouse.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Saudi and Russia seem to be hashing out a long-term energy pact that could have far-reaching consequences for the global energy market<\/strong>. The agreement would extend the short-term oil pact they made to curb falling oil prices back in 2017. \u201cWe are working to shift from a year-to-year agreement to a 10 to 20 year agreement,\u201d Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman told Reuters in an interview<\/a> on Monday. \u201cWe have agreement on the big picture, but not yet on the detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other EM news,<\/strong> China\u2019s government is relaxing capital controls for the first time in two year,<\/strong> the Financial Times reports<\/a>. The government has revived a programme allowing global asset managers, including JPMorgan Chase, to raise funds from Chinese onshore clients for investment in offshore hedge funds.<\/p>\n

Also in the headlines this morning:<\/p>\n