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Sunday, 27 November 2022

Last Night’s Talk Shows: 20k expats register on car import scheme app

It was a mixed bag on the talk shows yesterday, with the talking heads focusing on the expat car import scheme, the USD-EGP exchange rate, and naturally, the football.

Some 21.6k expats have registered on the government’s app to import cars since it launched on 15 November, Customs Authority boss El Shahat El Ghatwary told Kelma Akhira (watch, runtime: 7:57). Around 2k people have obtained a payment order, with total orders estimated at USD 31.5 mn, El Ghatwary said. The government is trying to draw foreign currency into Egypt through the scheme, which allows expats to import cars using foreign currency in exchange for a full rebate on taxes and dues

Is the USD going to climb higher against the EGP? El Hekaya’s Amr Adib expects the USD-EGP FX rate to accelerate “slightly” in the coming days given that a “parallel rate” is now higher than the price set by the CBE and banks (watch, runtime: 4:26). “I hope I’m wrong,” he said.

Also on the airwaves last night:

  • The House’s response to a European Parliament resolution criticizing Egypt’s human rights record was described as “powerful” with a hashtag against the resolution reportedly trending on local Twitter. (Ala Mas’ouleety | watch, runtime: 3:27 | Al Hayah Al Youm | watch, runtime: 5:26)
  • Egypt is working on joining a bid to host the World Cup in 2030 or 2034, Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhy said. The country is not planning to sign up to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. (Ala Mas’ouleety | watch, runtime: 23:21)
  • The pundits commiserated over Saudi Arabia’s disappointing World Cup loss against Poland. (Ala Mas’ouleety| watch, runtime: 4:23 | Kelma Akhira | watch, runtime: 3:13)

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