Your top 5 pieces of business and economic news in April:

• Egypt will be the only country in the region to maintain growth as the world tips into recession -IMF: The IMF predicted that Egypt will be the only MENA country to see its economy expand, anticipating 2% GDP growth this year before a slight acceleration to 2.8% in 2021. This came in the lender’s latest World Economic Outlook which forecast the global economy to contract by 3% this year — the worst global recession since the Great Depression.
• March’s PMI reading wasn’t overly reassuring: Non-oil private sector activity shrunk to three-year lows in March, with the PMI gauge falling to 44.2 from 47.1 in February.
• No need to worry just yet, say credit rating agencies: Moody’s and S&P Global Ratings both maintained Egypt’s B credit rating.
• Income tax filing deadline pushed: The presidency has ordered that the income tax filing deadline be extended for two months to 30 June to help businesses weather the corona storm. Guidance about which businesses are eligible for corporate income tax relief is set to be provided by the end of the month.
• CBE takes its foot off the gas: The CBE left interest rates on hold in its first meeting following the record 300 bps cut in the middle of March.