The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) plans to meet with central bank officials at the end of July to discuss the two-year delay in export subsidy payments from the government, committee member Hassan Mabrouk tells Amwal Al Ghad. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait had told us last month, however, that he would be working to devise a strategy to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We had heard before that the ministry was planning to disburse the late payments over an unspecified number of years after industry associations raised the issue several times. Mabrouk said that the committee would also discuss with the CBE the issue of higher fees for industrial licensing — which are currently being re-examined after they were said to be bad for business — in addition to its new initiative to help restart operations at idle factories.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly will lead a meeting to select the board of directors for Egypt’s EGP 200 bn sovereign wealth fund “within days,” Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said, Al Ahram reports.

Our friends at the American Chambers of Commerce (AmCham) will be hosting Finance Minister Mohamed Maait for its monthly luncheon on Monday, 30 July. You can register for the event here.

The sixth National Youth Conference is reportedly taking place by the end of the month. University students will be the focus of the upcoming edition. It’s still unclear where the conference will be held.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi might be visiting Beijing in September to attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.