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Sunday, 8 January 2017

Coptic Christmas and bankruptcy are the big stories on Egypt in the international press on 8 January 2017

International media coverage of Egypt focused this weekend on the status of the nation’s Christian minority heading into Coptic Christmas, with offerings from the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and AFP typical.

The top business story of the weekend is bankruptcy, with Asma Alsharif’s piece for Reuters getting wide pickup. The CBE’s decision to float the EGP without first covering importer backlogs has left many importers facing bankruptcy, she writes. Importers took out credit lines from their banks, depositing collateral of about 120% at the official rate of EGP 8.8 per USD, assuming the CBE would first cover backlog if it decided to float the EGP, like it did when it devalued the EGP in March 2016. The piece comes as the House of Representatives is discussing a draft bankruptcy and restructuring law recently approved by the Cabinet that would scrap what amounts to debtor’s prison for bankruptcy cases.

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