The House of Representatives will formally kick off its budget debate today,with Finance Minister Amr El Garhy and Planning Minister Hala El Said set to brief MPs on the state budget FY2018-19, according to Ahram Online. The House Budget Committee began deliberating on the budget a week ahead of schedule last Sunday, and initial reactions appeared largely positive. The Finance Ministry’s pre-budget report, which we delve into in detail below in the Speed Round, sees inflation dropping to a low of 10% during the upcoming fiscal year, despite the continued phase-out of energy subsidies.

The House Constitutional and Legislative Committee is set to discuss today amendments to the Competition Protection Act, Ahram Gate reports. The proposed amendments would allow the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) to review and approve mergers and acquisitions prior to their execution. The legislative change would effectively allow the authority to block transactions if it feels they would violate antitrust laws in a manner that would be familiar to readers who have worked in European Union or North American regulatory environments. The Egyptian Competition Authority had been expected to finalize drafting the amendments in March 2017.