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Wednesday, 6 March 2019

What we’re tracking on 6 March 2019

Tourism forum ITB Berlin is kicking off today, according to the convention’s website. Tourism Minister Rania Al Mashat is taking part in the sessions of the first day.

A Port Said criminal court will rule today in a graft case involving former Customs Authority head Gamal Abdel Azim who was accused last year of accepting bribes worth EGP 1 mn in exchange for facilitating the clearance of goods from customs, Mubasher reports.


China has lowered its target range for GDP growth this year, “blaming in a rare admission the slowdown on the impact of the trade war with the US”, the Financial Times reports. The country previously set its target at 6.5%, but has now lowered it to a flexible range of 6-6.5%. Beijing needs a greater degree of macro policy flexibility amid softening growth, high corporate default rates and bank debt reaching a 20-year high.

And South Africa hasn’t been faring any better: The country’s GDP growth posted 0.8% in 2018, marking the fifth year of growth below 2%, according to the Financial Times.

Why are international investors still flooding the Chinese domestic market in the face of declining growth and still unresolved US-China trade talks? Because they take a long-term view, argues Fabiana Fedeli in the FT. MSCI China A International Index underperformed the MSCI World index by just over 30% in 2018, which is seen as “a good cushion for international investors.” While economic growth is down, earnings growth is positive. And both ongoing trade negotiations and continued stimulus measures by the Chinese government are seen as positive steps, while the inclusion of China’s mainland stocks in emerging market indices is also expected to increase.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump plans to end trade preferences for India and Turkey, Bloomberg reports. India and Turkey enjoy no-duty entry to the US of about 2,000 products including auto components, industrial valves, and textile materials. Trump can backtrack his plans if both countries address his administration’s concerns. India said the decision, if taken, wouldn’t have significant impact. Reuters has the story.


ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum’s discovery of a gas field offshore Cyprus “could add fuel” to the tension between Cyprus and Turkey over gas resources in the former’s Exclusive Economic Zone, Oil Review Middle East says. The Glaucus-1 field, hailed as “one of the biggest discoveries of the year,” represents a boon for the aspirations of both Cyprus and Egypt to become regional gas hubs, but the plan to bring the gas to the market “will not be straightforward,” Rystad Energy has announced.

In September last year, Egypt and Cyprus had signed a landmark USD 1 bn agreement to link gas fields offshore Cyprus with Egypt’s liquefaction plants, from where it could then be exported to the EU. However, the construction schedule, cost, and financing of the pipeline is still unclear.


Qatar is hoping to raise around USD 10 bn with a jumbo bond issuance that it will announce this week, sources with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Reuters quotes a senior analyst from Moody’s Sovereign Risk Group as saying that the bonds’ proceeds will cover a USD 1 bn international bond repayment this year, as well as “taking out insurance against a potential downturn in oil prices” and pre-financing scheduled external redemptions due next year to the tune of USD 10.5 bn.

A second patient is reported to have been cured of HIV in a scientific breakthrough occurring 12 years after the first, according to the NYT. In both cases, the cures resulted from bone-marrow transplants given to the patients to treat cancer, a risky and difficult process that is unlikely to be the basis for a long-term cure. There is, however, hope that the treatment may be modified.

Saudi Arabia is looking to ease entry proceedings for tourists in what is the latest of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s efforts to liberalize and diversify the economy, according to the WSJ. Officials familiar with the matter noted that there is still much to be finalized, but current plans may allow citizens of the US, Europe, Japan and China to obtain visas on arrival to the country or enter sans visa by the end of the year. The Saudi cabinet also approved plans for an electronic tourist-visa system for those seeking to attend special events in the kingdom.

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