A handful of topics got the nation’s talking heads chattering last night. Among the highlights were the Finance Ministry’s new fiscal targets for FY2020-2021, and a late-night, one-hour talk with Naguib Sawiris.

Lamees spends an hour with Naguib: Al Kahera Alaan’s Lamees El Hadidi sat down with for an hour-long chat with Naguib Sawiris. During lengthy interview, Naguib praised the 2016 EGP float, and the central bank’s decision to cut interest rates over the past two months. He was however critical of the public sector crowding out private investment, and said Egypt has to decide where it stands on the economic spectrum.

Sawiris turns philanthropist? Sawiris repeatedly said that he wants to dedicate the rest of his professional life to “large-scale” charity work. You can watch the interview in full here: watch, runtime: 55:20.

The ministry's release of the FY2020-2021 preliminary budget statement won some airtime, with Al Hayah Al Youm’s Khaled Abu Bakr taking note (watch, runtime: 2:29). We have the story in this morning’s Speed Round, below.

Abu Bakr made sure to highlight economic praise we received from foreign news outlets after inflation recorded its lowest level in nine years, and hot money inflows into Egyptian treasuries increased (watch, runtime: 10:54).

Another late night mention of the ‘train ticket incident’: El Hekaya’s Amr Adib phoned Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir for an update on the probe into the death of 23-year-old Mohamed Eid Attia, who is believed to have been forced to jump from the a moving train by a conductor disgruntled by the fact he wasn’t holding a train ticket (watch, runtime: 12:59). El Wazir said that the victim was ordered to leave the train after he refused to stop smoking and pay a fine for not having a ticket. The investigation is still running its course, he added.

AOI launches first smart electric bus route: El Hadidi reported that the Arab Organization for Industrialization has started running an electric bus route under an MoU signed earlier this year with China’s Shanghai Wanxiang Automotive, (watch, runtime: 3:19). The first M9 route will link Maadi to the Fifth Settlement. Commuters will pay their fares using prepaid smart cards scanned by a contactless machine. The move is part of the state’s digitization drive and the transition toward a “cashless economy.” Hona Al Asema’s Reham Ibrahim also took note (watch, runtime: 1:56).

El Sisi meets Chinese delegation: The news came during the second day of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference’s official visit to Egypt. Vice Premier Wang Yang met President Abdel Fattah El Sisi for talks yesterday, which was picked up by Masaa DMC’s Eman El Hosary (watch, runtime: 1:09) and Hona Al Asema’s Reham Ibrahim (watch, runtime: 1:24). We have the story in this morning’s Diplomacy + Foreign Trade, below.