The economy dominated the conversation on an otherwise uneventful night on the airwaves. The nation’s talking heads did their best to put a positive spin on the ongoing FX crunch, voicing optimism that the incoming money from the IMF will help to stabilize the EGP and replenish the banking system’s supply of FX.

The IMF agreement is helping to reverse volatility in the parallel market, El Hekaya’s Amr Adib said, noting that the greenback has fallen 15% against the EGP since Friday (watch, runtime: 33:20).

The USD will eventually settle down, Egyptian Gulf Bank Executive Director Nidal Assar told Masaa DMC (watch, runtime: 8:57). “The IMF’s approval and bridging our gap in funds will help fulfill the high demand on hard currencies … it’s not a one way street,” said, referring to the EGP losing value against the USD, citing the 2016 devaluation when people were speculating that the EGP would fall to 23-24 against the greenback.

Privatization is one of the tonics: The state needs to shed some of its assets to acquire liquidity, Adib said, pointing the finger at cigarette producer Eastern Company. “If the government decided to privatize the company, it will be met with great demand from local and foreign investors,” he said.

More state transparency needed: The Madbouly government needs to work on relaying its every move to its citizens, rather than leave them in shock of surprise devaluations or rate hikes, Adib said.

ALSO ON THE AIRWAVES-

How did the Balmain-Azza Fahmy collab come to be? The household fashion brand wanted a pharaonic-inspired wearable piece and they contacted our very own jewelry designer Fahmy to get it done, Fahmy told Kelma Akhira last night (watch, runtime: 8:32). Fahmy took inspiration from Egypt’s rich history to create the Eye of Horus bustier and did so in only a three-month period.