Finance Minister Amr El Garhy and Investment Minister Sahar Nasr are heading to Washington this week to attend the IMF and World Bank’s fall meetings which begin tomorrow. Senior members of the Egyptian business community will also attend, and we expect there will be at least one high-profile investment-promotion event on the other side of the pond at that time. The trip comes ahead of a scheduled visit from an IMF delegation later this month to conduct a second review of the reform program.

The House of Representatives is expected to discuss the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Act in a plenary session on Monday, after the Industry Committee signed off on the bill yesterday. New legislation is expected to give the IDA more autonomy, separating its budget and accounts from the Trade Ministry’s, and granting it authority to sell land without government approval, Industry Committee Chair Ahmed Samir tells Al Mal. The 37-article law will introduce the IDA to the “single-window” policy, in theory to facilitate processes such as applying for industrial permits.