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Monday, 8 May 2017

What we’re tracking on 08 May 2017

The central bank is selling USD 1 bn worth of one-year, USD-denominated treasury bills today. The bills’ settlement date is 9 May and they mature on 8 May, 2018.

The House Budget Committee is due to start discussing today the state’s 2017-18 budget. Separately, Al Borsa reports that Finance Minister Amr El Garhy and Planning Minister Hala El Said have been asked to stop by the House Economics Committee for budget-related talks.

Whose turn is it today? The IMF delegation visiting to review progress on our economic reform program as a condition to disbursing the next tranche of its USD 12 bn bailout package met yesterday with Social Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali and Planning Minister Hala El Said. The delegation is expected to be in town through week’s end.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi continues his GCC tour today. The president will wrap a two-day visit to Kuwait before heading to Bahrain. Talks on security, the war against terror, investment and trade top his agenda. We have the rundown in Diplomacy + Foreign Trade, below.

If you’re not a Eurosceptic, you may now breathe a sigh of relief: Emmanuel Macron has decisively won the French presidency, sending right-wing challenger Marine Le Pen down in flames. President Abdel Fattah El Sisi congratulated Macron on the victory, saying he looks forward to working with Macron to strengthen bilateral ties, Al Mal reports. The New York Times and the Guardian have decent coverage in English. Macron has pledged to “heal France’s divisions,” Bloomberg reports, while CNBC notes that although global markets will breathe a sigh of relief when they open today, his victory is now largely priced into the euro. Meanwhile, everyone from CNN to the UK tabloids is going nuts over the notion that Macron’s wife, Brigitte Trogneux, is his former drama teacher (and 20-some years older than he is). Trogneux will reportedly work in Macron’s administration without charge, focusing on education reform.

We’ve been spending a fair bit of time lately looking at what’s next for Enterprise and ourparent company. What macro trend will put the wind to our backs in the medium- and long-term? What’s our next product? What service do we add to our lineup? If you’re struggling with similar questions, check out “Buffett Confronts Search for Next Big Thing After Missed Chances,” wherein Warren Buffett — the so-called Oracle of Omaha — laments not having bought Google and says that it is “no fun” watching his cash hoard grow while waiting for the next investment opportunity to come down the pike.

Oh, and if you want to take a swipe at that hedgie pal of yours: Buffet also continued his roasting of the hedge fund industry at yesterday’s annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway. Or as Bloomberg headlines it: “Buffett Says Money Spent on Plumbers Better Than on Hedge Funds.”

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.