Subsidies were the topic of the night on the talkshows as Supply Minister Ali El Moselhy phoned into Ala Mas’ouleety to discuss the government’s plans to increase the price of subsidized bread (watch, runtime: 8:14 | 7:39 | 3:52). The ministry is considering several scenarios — which include targeted subsidy cuts that ringfence the most vulnerable people and replacing bread subsidies with cash payments — and will take a final decision by the end of March, he said.

Price rises were signposted last summer by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who suggested that the government would make a “modest” reduction to bread subsidies for the first time in a generation. Bread is currently sold for EGP 0.05 per loaf but costs EGP 0.6-0.65 to produce.

Mahmoud Mohieldin on Min Masr: To secure a high economic growth rate, Egypt needs to secure public, private, and foreign direct investment equivalent to 25% of its GDP, IMF Executive Director Mahmoud Mohieldin told Min Masr’s Amr Khalil. Over the past decade, that figure has averaged 15-18%, meaning we need to work to attract more investments. The government’s megaprojects are a key contributor to the country’s overall investment levels, Mohieldin said, but private sector investments and FDI need to be tripled from their current figures to spur job creation and sustainable growth. This growth, especially when it is underpinned by a strong base of local industry and exports, will help keep inflation from biting citizens’ pockets too hard, Mohieldin said, noting that the current national inflation rate is “reasonable” (watch, runtime: 26:24).

You can read more on the proposed changes to the subsidy system in today’s newswell, above.