What we’re tracking on 2 December 2018: News triggers and things you can attend this week
We still can’t quite get over the fact that it is now December, and it is shaping up to be a very busy week. Among the highlights:
News triggers:
- Finance Minister Mohamed Maait will hold a presser today on a decision that will see Egypt use the market rate for USD in calculating customs duties. The move is a potential boon for local manufacturers, as we report in this morning’s Speed Round, below;
- The defense expo EDEX 2018 kicks off tomorrow;
- An Irish business delegation will be in town Tuesday and Wednesday, our friends at the Irish embassy said in a statement (pdf);
- Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is due in Cairo on Tuesday for “an important announcement” with Investment Minister Sahar Nasr;
- The central bank will release its net foreign reserves figure for November this week;
- The purchasing managers’ index is due out on Thursday;
- OPEC is under pressure heading into its meeting in Vienna this Thursday as members jockey for output cuts as crude has plunged more than 25% since October;
- News from the House will be limited to the committee level as the general assembly is on hiatus until the week after next.
Things you can attend:
- AUC’s knowledge portal Business Forward marks its first anniversary with an event tomorrow.
- Consumer finance is in the spotlight at a French Chamber event on Monday;
- Startupfest RiseUp runs from Friday, 7 December through Sunday, 9 December.
We’ll know by February who will lead Egypt’s first sovereign wealth fund and the fund itself will open for business in the first quarter of next year, Planning Minister Hala El Said announced.