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Tuesday, 30 October 2018

Economist trolls Egypt on Eastern Company share sale delay

** #7 When the Economist trolls, it trolls hard:Even a firm that sells cigarettes to addicts is a hard sell” the magazine (no, dudes, you’re not a newspaper) declares in its headline about the delay in Eastern Company’s share sale. Eastern’s share sale could have been the success story the government was hoping for to kickstart a privatization program through which it looked to raise EGP 10 bn to tighten its ballooning budget deficit. This would have been the case had it not been for the dark cloud that has left emerging markets stock indexes 25% down, the publication notes. The state-run company delivered a profit of USD 239 mn in its most recent fiscal year, a 43% increase from the previous year, thanks to Egyptians being very fond of their favorite vice despite costs going up 20% since 2016. After describing Egypt as a minor basket case, the piece concludes by suggesting that “Stressed bureaucrats may need a smoke.” Better that than a firing squad had they sold 4.5% of Eastern and seen the share price tank in the aftermarket as the global Emerging Markets Zombie Apocalypse continues to unfold. There are times when the Economist marries rapier wit, sarcasm and deep analysis to teach us a thing or two. Then there are times when it’s just…sophomoric at best. This is the latter.

Other headlines worth noting in brief

  • The House of Representatives is working on a bill to shut down Islamist websites, Asharq Al-Awsat claims, citing sources in parliament.
  • Irish-Egyptian Ibrahim Halawa is speaking again to the Irish Independent on his four-year spell in Egypt’s prison.
  • The recent Egypt-Russia strategic cooperation protocol agreement will ramp up bilateral ties and reaffirm a long-held relationship, Menna Farouk writes for Al-Monitor.
  • It’s someone else’s fishermen for a change: Six Pakistani sailors have been stuck for six months in Egypt’s Safaga Port, as their ship owner has not yet cleared disagreements over port charges, Pakistan’s Geo TV reported.
  • Match fixing? Algeria’s national team manager claims the team was instructed by Algerian authorities to throw its 2010 AFCON semifinal against Egypt, according to Ghana Soccer Net.

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