THIS EVENING: EGAS set to launch new int’l tender for oil and gas exploration blocks next week + Japanese bond yields jump again
Good afternoon, ladies and gents. It’s almost-THURSDAY — and it appears to also be almost time for the full holiday news lull.
THE BIG STORY TODAY
Energy companies can bid for 12 new oil and gas exploration blocks starting next week in an international tender set to be launched by state-owned Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Bloomberg Asharq reports, citing an unnamed Oil Ministry source. The door for bidding will close five months from the tender’s launch, the source added.
THE BIG STORY ABROAD
There’s no single big story driving the conversation in the international business press this afternoon. Among the stories getting play:
- Sovereign bond yields in Japan rose again today after the Bank of Japan announced yesterday a surprise loosening of its “yield curve control” policy (Financial Times)
- Twitter would have suffered a USD 3 bn shortfall if it weren’t for significant cost-cutting measures, CEO Elon Musk said (Bloomberg | CNBC)
** CATCH UP QUICK on the top stories from today’s EnterpriseAM:
- The IMF is watching what happens to the EGP in January: The IMF will be keeping an eye on what happens to the exchange rate when the central bank ends import restrictions at the end of the month.
- Suez Canal fund not privatization via the back door, gov’t says amid controversy: The Madbouly government yesterday denied claims that a proposal to set up a fund for the Suez Canal Authority will enable it to privatize assets by the back door.
- A Chinese company and a Japanese company have submitted bids to the Electricity Ministry to invest over USD 4 bn in renewable energy projects in Egypt over the next eight years.
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FOR TOMORROW-
It’s the Central Bank of Egypt’s final policy meeting of the year: Most analysts in a Reuters poll are expecting policymakers to close out 2022 with another king-size 200-bps rate hike to support the currency and tackle rising inflation — chiming with the majority of those we surveyed last week. Seven of the nine analysts and economists we spoke to are forecasting the central bank to raise rates when it meets tomorrow, with five of those surveyed expecting a 200-bps hike. This would take the policy rate to 15.25%, its highest level since early 2019.
???? CIRCLE YOUR CALENDAR-
The Senate will be back in session next Sunday, 25 December, while the House of Representatives is in recess until Monday, 2 January.
????️ TOMORROW’S WEATHER- There’s a chance of showers in Cairo tomorrow, with the temperature expected to rise to 20°C during the day before falling to 13°C at night, our favorite weather app tells us.