EGYPT’S NON-OIL PRIVATE SECTOR DOWNTURN stretched to 12 months. Business conditions worsened for the twelfth straight month, according to the Emirates NBD Egypt PMI compiled by Markit (pdf), which recorded a reading of 46.3 in September, down from 47.0 in August. Alarmingly, the rate of decline accelerated as output fell, demand deteriorated domestically and abroad, and inflation spiked with the introduction of VAT and falling currency value. Employment fell at the same survey-record pace recorded in August. Emirates NBD Senior Economist Jean-Paul Pigat commented that while economic reforms in 4Q2016 will “ultimately prove beneficial for long-term stability, in the near term they could result in a further deterioration in business conditions for the private sector.”

AT LEAST 19 COMPANIES HAVE PLEDGED TO LOWER PRICES 20% on some of their products for the coming three months as part of an initiative between the Federation of Egyptian Industries and the government first announced by Amr Adib on his show Kol Youm. At least 13 food manufacturers, including Domty and Juhayna, have signed on to the initiative. Six retail chains including Fathallah Market, Spinneys, Carrefour, Kazyon, and Hyper One will also be participating. Top executives from these companies sat down with Adib on Wednesday to announce the initiative, which will launches today. The initiative, which will also include a number of government and armed forces-run outlets, came after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met with food industry executives last week to discuss mitigating inflation. As we noted last week, ride-hailing app Ousta announced it would offer 20% discounts on the prices of all rides for a three-month period as well.

You can catch the episode with Adib and the executives discussing the initiative and the products included here (runtime: 52:12) and the episode where Adib first announces it here (runtime: 1:07:36).