EGP WATCH- Investors see 14% deval ahead of IMF agreement: Three-month non-deliverable forwards on the EGP — i.e., where investors think the currency could end up in three months’ time — slipped to EGP 22.90 against the greenback on Monday, Bloomberg reports. That suggests the EGP could have another 14% to fall against the USD.

The currency is currently changing hands at EGP 19.73 / USD, having lost around a quarter of its value this year – including March’s sudden devaluation.

Some market watchers are expecting a steeper decline in the coming days on the back of the imminent agreement with the IMF on an assistance package backed by a reform program. “I would expect the fast pace of weakening to start now,” said one London-based analyst. Pundits see the EGP settling somewhere between 22-24 to the USD — and Enterprise readers think the EGP will settle at 22.12 on average.

MEANWHILE- Hassan Allam Construction was awarded a contract to build an irrigation water transmission line in the new administrative capital, according to a statement by parent company Hassan Allam Holding. The 6.5 km-long concrete double pipeline will link a wastewater treatment plant to irrigation reservoirs in the city’s R8 residential district. “We are always proud of our contribution towards developing the water sector in Egypt and adding value to the country’s infrastructure,” said HA Holding.

AND- Orascom Construction locked in new projects worth USD 670 mn in 3Q 2022, bringing total new awards in the first nine months of the year to USD 3.1 bn, according to an EGX statement. New projects in the Middle East made up 70% of total new awards in the quarter while the rest was accounted for by US projects, the statement reads. OC’s consolidated backlog stood at USD 6.1 bn as of the end of September.

Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:

• Schneider Electric launched three automated power distribution control centers worth a near EGP 1.8 bn in Greater Cairo. (Al Mal)
• Telecom Egypt and US-based internet provider Lumen Technologies will collaborate to build Lumen’s first regional network node in Egypt. (Statement)
• Teens may get their national ID cards a year earlier after the House’s Legislative Committee approved legislative amendments that would lower the age of issuance to 15 from 16.