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Send us a text◆ What happened at the EBRD's Annual Meetings ◆ Romania's new president and the fiscal fright that awaits him ◆ Investors distracted from FIG by US corporatesGlobalCapital was on the ground at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's Annual Meetings in London this week. We reveal what was discussed and decided, from the bank's capital situation and US involvement, to its support for Ukraine and beyond.Meanwhile, Romania goes to the polls this weekend. Whoever wins the presidential election faces the challenge of bringing down a big deficit. As one of the emerging markets' biggest bond issuers, that may have repercussions for its credit.Finally, we looked at the interplay between two different parts of the credit markets this week as US corporate issuers' stole European banks' thunder. We look ahead to how this will affect issuance to come.

Alături de Alina Marchiș, Associate SME Finance & Development, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, am discutat despre sprijinul pe care BERD îl pune la dispoziția micilor antreprenori de la noi, despre o rețea de peste 400 de experți în diverse domenii de business, la care fondatorii de IMM-uri și startup-uri au acces prin intermediul BERD, precum și despre impactul pe care programele instituției îl au în economia locală.Episodul de astăzi este susținut de către Unicredit. Ești IMM și vrei pachetul MicroStar? Intră aici

Egypt's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) recorded 50.1 in February declining from a 50-month high of 50.7 in January. The first phase of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt's (SFE) plan to take over all public enterprises will target some 370 profitable firms, over half of the total 709 companies owned by the stateCairo and Baghdad discuss transferring Iraqi oil to be refined in Egyptian refineries.The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has launched 13 new areas for exploration and search for oil and gas, including seven offshore gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea and six exploration areas in the Gulf of Suez and the Western Desert.Egypt is pushing ahead with plans to expand the role of renewables in its energy mix, targeting 42% by 2030. The country aims to add 4 GW of new renewable capacity this summer to help avoid power outages.The Egyptian government held talks with the European Union to discuss the second phase of the mechanism of “Macroeconomic Support and Budget Support” with funding of EUR4 billion.The Egyptian government has signed a soft financing agreement with the European Commission worth EUR90 million in the field of food security. The project is set to be financed by other partners, with a grant worth EUR100 million from the European Union and soft financing from the World Bank worth EUR110 million.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) have launched the National SME Champions Programme in partnership with local financial institutions, including the Export Development Bank of Egypt (EXPA), to accelerate the growth of high-potential SMEs. An unnamed Turkish leather company has requested the Industry Ministry allocate an 80k sqm land plot to establish a EGP 2 bn (c. USD 39.5 mn) leather factory in Robbiki Leather City.Chinese company Gold Star will set up a USD4.5 mn facility in the Qantara West Industrial Zone to produce ready-made garments following an agreement it inked with the Suez Canal Economic Zone.Scope International Engineering Company, affiliated with the Saudi Al-Suwailem Group, has contracted with Al-Nasr Housing and Development Company, affiliated with the Holding Company for Construction and Development, to develop the Maqtam Corniche project with total sales estimated at about EGP200 billion and total investments of EGP130 billion.The National Railway Authority targets USD10 million in revenues from sleeping car sector by end of 2025, a 25% growth.FAIT 4Q24 consolidated net profit recorded an impressive EGP3,344 million (+62% q/q , +414% y/y), bringing FY24 net profit to EGP12,441 million (+181% y/y) . BoD proposed cash dividend distribution of EGP3.05/share, implying a payout ratio of 15%, and DY of 8%. Also, BoD proposed the distribution of 1:20 bonus share. The stock is currently trading at P/B25 of 0.6x and P/E25 of 3.5x, with ROAE of 16%.Banque Misr issues a “Yomaty” savings certificate, which is a three-year savings certificate with a variable annual return rate of 27% paid daily and priced according to the corridor deposit rate - 0.25.JUFO subsidiary Tiba for Trade and Distribution signed a EGP400 million financing agreement with CIB to support its expansion and operational efficiency. 

The IMF is set to sign off on Egypt's fourth review of its USD8 billion loan program when the Fund's Executive Board meets on Monday, March 10. Indian plastic packaging manufacturer Flex PET opened its polyethylene terephthalate resin manufacturing plant with investments of USD175 million.Chinese textile manufacturer Zhejiang Cady Industry inaugurated its new USD100 million textile and ready-made garments factory in the Teda industrial zone in Ain Sokhna. French multinational Air Liquide officially opened its EUR80 million medical and industrial gas production factory in the Sokhna Industrial Zone.CBoard, a member of Saudi construction materials manufacturer conglomerate Beam, inaugurated the expansion of a cement board and wall manufacturing facility. India's Abdos opened its USD30 million cosmetics manufacturing plant. The state is set to spend some EGP170 billion on wage and pension hikes during FY 2025-26, according to a Finance Ministry statement. The net foreign assets of the Egyptian banking sector, including the CBE, rose by USD3.5 billion in January to USD8.7 billion. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lowered Egypt's growth forecast for 2025 to 4.2%, down 0.3 percentage points from its previous estimates in September.Egypt has no plans to alter its tax regime in the near future, a senior government official said.The Finance Ministry has secured a USD500 million loan from Deutsche Bank and Bank ABC.EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica is in Egypt today for high-level discussions on the New Pact for the Mediterranean and to ink a EUR90 million project, dubbed Egypt Food Resilience, with the government.The Sovereign Fund of Egypt has formed a committee to list all government companies for the purpose of adding them to the fund during the coming period.The government is reportedly considering imposing taxes on Egyptian companies that generate revenues from abroad, while avoiding double taxation.FWRY reported 4Q24 results. Net profit came in at EGP500 million (+119% YoY, +4.7% QoQ). In 2024, net profit recorded EGP1.606 billion (+125% YoY). FWRY is currently trading at 2025f P/E of 13.1x.ETEL's BoD proposed distributing cash dividends of EGP1.50/share (subject to the general assembly's approval), implying a DPO of 25.4% and a DY of 3.9%.GBCO reported attributable net profit recorded EGP1,135 million this quarter (+82.9% YoY, +52.0% QoQ). FY24 bottom line grew by 54.9% YoY to reach EGP2,928 million. GBCO is currently trading at a FY25 P/E of 4.3x.ORWE reported attributable net profit of EGP329 million in 4Q24 (-25.8% YoY, -46.5% QoQ), bringing FY24 bottom line to EGP2,192 million (+130.3% YoY). ORWE's BoD approved cash dividends distribution of EGP1.60/share for FY24, implying a dividend yield of 6.5%. ORWE is currently trading at a FY25 P/E of 4.1x.POUL attributable net profit of EGP584 million in 4Q24, an increase of 24.0x YoY and a drop of 14.3% QoQ. This brought FY24 attributable net profit to EGP2,387 million (+108.0% YoY). POUL is currently trading at FY25 P/E of 4.3x. ESRS repurchased EGP21.6 billion worth of shares from shareholders opposed to the group's voluntary EGX delisting. EMFD reported an increase of 177.5% y/y and 87.5% q/q in 4Q24 net profit to EGP5.1 billion, bringing FY24 net profit up 126.1% y/y to EGP15.4 billion.CICH 4Q24 net attributable profits post minority recorded EGP616.8 million (+79.4% q/q, +109.9% y/y), bringing FY24 bottom line to EGP2.2 billion (+114.6% y/y). CICH BoD proposed a cash dividend distribution of EGP0.70/share for FY24, implying a dividend yield of 11%. CICH is currently trading at P/B25 of 0.7x and P/E25 of 2.8x.

In his address to the IIEA, Governor Makhlouf shares insights into the nation's current economic position and the Central Bank of Ireland's priorities for 2025. His address offers perspectives on monetary policy, fiscal stability, and future economic priorities for Ireland and the euro area. About the Speaker: Gabriel Makhlouf took up his position as Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland on 1 September 2019. He chairs the Central Bank Commission, is a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, a member of the European Systemic Risk Board, and is Ireland's Alternate Governor at the International Monetary Fund. Prior to joining the Central Bank, Governor Makhlouf was Secretary to the New Zealand Treasury and the Government's chief economic and financial adviser from 2011 to 2019. During his time as Secretary, he led reviews of New Zealand's three macroeconomic pillars (monetary, financial stability and fiscal policy) and the development of a new framework for the development of economic and public policy focused on intergenerational wellbeing. In addition, Governor Makhlouf was New Zealand's Alternate Governor at the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He was also co-chair of the Trans-Tasman Banking Council.

Have you ever felt confined pumping or felt the need to seekout help to keep your milk supply up? Being a pumping and/or nursing mom can be extremely hard,but with the right support you can truly thrive and flourish. In this segment, Ece Filiz shares her journey and how she went about unlocking freedom for pumping moms to ensure you are equipped with essential items.   WHO IS ECE?Ece Filiz is the founder and CEO of Idaho Jones, a brand dedicated to making the breastfeeding journey simpler, more organized, and more comfortable for moms. Before that, Ece was part of the Corporate Strategy team atthe European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where she enhanced the Bank's planning and performance measurement processes, introduced scenario planning as a strategic tool, and identified new investment and policy engagement opportunities. She also worked on the EBRD's fund of funds team, leading and managing investments into private equity funds across Eastern Europe and North Africa. Ece began her career as a Financial Analyst in J.P. Morgan'sMergers & Acquisitions department. She holds a B.A. in economics and Public Policy from the University of Chicago. Ece has two young daughters and lives in London with herfamily. Her passion for helping moms navigate breastfeeding challenges is the driving force behind Idaho Jones.   ECE'S CALL TO ACTION & CONTACT INFOTo learn more about Ece's brand and how Idaho Jones is helping to simplify life for breastfeeding moms everywhere, head over to idaho-jones.com. You'll find thoughtfully designed pumping bags, bras, and more—plus plenty of resources to help you navigate your breastfeeding journey with a little calmer and confidence. https://www.instagram.com/idaho_jones/https://www.linkedin.com/in/ece-filiz-b712451b/   GENESIS'S CALL TO ACTIONSubscribe / Follow GEMS with Genesis Amaris Kemp podcast on audio platform & YouTube channel, Hit the notifications bell so you don't miss any content, and share with family/friends.  GENESIS'S INFOhttps://genesisamariskemp.net/genesisamariskemp

The government is currently working on preparing the budget for FY 2025-26, all while preparing a comprehensive three-year budget with a financial ceiling that can only be exceeded in exceptional cases, one of the sources said. Government entities will also submit another budget covering FY 2026-27 to FY 2029-30. Ministries will be given cabinet-approved financial ceilings that can't be exceeded.The Public Government Budget is set to rise to somewhere in the vicinity of EGP8 tn in the fiscal year 2025-2026, up from EGP6.6 tn in the current fiscal year, as the government looks to incorporate additional state economic bodies' budgets into the budget, a government source told local press.The budget pencils in growth of around 5-5.5%, reduced public debt, and a primary surplus amounting to approximately 4% of GDP.The government is also working on reducing the amount of funds allocated for fuel subsidies from the current fiscal year's EGP150 bn.The government is planning to further cut down public investments and is set to, instead, rely on self-financing through various entities and limit spending to highly urgent projects or those already nearing completion, the sources said.The Finance Ministry is looking to launch a new public debt policy document by the end of March.Phase two of the new capital's development will be offered to a French investment consortium in March.The Minister of Finance revealed the features of the proposed package of reforms of the customs system through 19 proceduresزCIEB released 4Q24 consolidated bottom line of EGP1,944 million (+4% q/q, +44% y/y ), bringing FY24 bottom line to EGP8,030 million (+55% y/y and perfectly in line with Al Ahly Pharos estimate of EGP8,039 million). CIEB is currently trading at P/E25 of 3.1x (based on bottom line post minority and appropriations) and P/B25 of 0.9x. CIEB's BoD proposed cash dividend distribution of EGP3.82/share, implying a payout ratio of 60% and DY of 20%, pending the CBE and AGM approvals.CCAP reported a consolidated net profit after minority interest of EGP114.5 million in 3Q24 (-94% YoY, -108% QoQ). The company is currently trading at FY25e P/E of 1.4x and EV/EBITDA of 4.8x.Minister of Petroleum appointed Maged Mostafa El Kordy as acting chairman and managing director for AMOC. State-owned El Nasr for Fertilizers & Chemical Industries (Semadco) is gearing up to set up a wind farm and solar power stations with a combined capacity of 500 MW to power its new green ammonia factory in Suez, according to local media.FWRY has acquired a majority stake in Code Zone, a manager of local hospitals and medical institutions, as part of its strategy to invest in complementary startups. The company is also in negotiations with Gulf firms to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In the first quarter, Fawry plans to launch new investment services focused on the stock market and gold, including various investment funds. Additionally, the company is considering applying for a digital bank license and has introduced Fawry Business, a platform designed to assist local companies with digital transformation, offering payment management, e-receipts, SME loans, and salary management solutions.EFIH and its sister company eHealth will work together to link the Universal Health Insurance System with social protection systems under an MoU they inked with the Social Solidarity Ministry and the Universal Health Insurance Authority (UHIA).ARCC signed a EUR25 million loan agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to fund energy efficiency upgrades and expand alternative fuel use. 

The National Wages Council decided to raise the minimum wage for private sector workers to EGP7k a month, up from EGP6k, starting March. The Council also set the value of the bonus granted to employees at no less than 3% of their social insurance wage with a floor of EGP250 per month.Hong Kong-listed United Energy Group (UEG) inked a sale and purchase agreement to fully acquire Apex's upstream oil and gas exploration and production operations in Egypt for an undisclosed sum.A consortium of Infinity Power, Hassan Allam Utilities, and the UAE's Masdar secured a 20 sq km land plot in New Valley Governorate's Dakhla Oasis for their 900 MW solar power plant and its accompanying battery storage.South Sinai is looking to pull in EGP500-600 billion in industrial investments. Both foreign and local investors will be offered plots to encourage investment.The Investment Authority is close to issuing a comprehensive decision which includes updating the financial and accounting standards and procedures for companies evaluation, including mergers, divisions, and amending the companies' financial structures, and updating the methods of evaluating in-kind shares.The Egyptian government is close to concluding negotiations with the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to obtain financing of up to EUR200 million to launch a new power line,  to transmit electricity produced from wind energy projects in Gebel El Zeit, which will take a year to implement.ADIB (FV: EGP85.00, OW) recorded a strong 4Q24 consolidated bottom line post minority of EGP2,207 million (-1% q/q, +97% y/y), bringing FY24 bottom line post minority to EGP9,009 million (+93% y/y and 6% higher than Al Ahly Pharos estimate). Board of Directors proposed to increase the bank's paid-in capital from EGP6 billion to EGP12 billion, through the distribution of one share for each original share before the increase, deducted from FY24 net profit. The bank is currently trading at P/E25 2.4x.OCDI reported strong FY24 sales of EGP50.3 billion, up 66.2% y/y, implying 4Q24 sales of EGP10.5 billion, up 0.5% y/y and down 63.5% q/q. Sales performance in FY24 was driven by the launch of Ogami on the North Coast, which contributed sales of EGP24.5 billion. OCDI plans to open five new hotels offering a total of 550 rooms, is studying acquiring land plots of no less than 300 feddans in East and West Cairo, and is looking into expanding into education.U.S. President said that he will introduce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S., on top of existing metals duties.Egypt steel production increased 12.3% YoY to 9.04 million tons in 2024, while steel sales inched up 6.1% YoY to 7.0 million tons throughout the year. Egyptian cement manufacturers received export orders of 1 million tons this month, driven by the reconstruction of neighboring countries, primarily Libya, Syria, and Iraq. Libyan market captures more than 50% of the received orders. Badr City's medical city Capital Med is planning to make its EGX debut through a direct listing in 1H25. The company will then move forward with a capital increase to fund the construction of the new phase of the medical city. Al Ahly Pharos will act as the financial advisor and offering manager for the listing.The Suez Canal Economic Zone signed a contract with ETRS and Nafith International to develop a smart truck yard in West Port Said Port at an investment cost of EGP250 million.Weekly Commodities UpdateLast Price | WoW Change, % Brent, USD/bbl | 74.7 | -2.7% Diesel-HSFO Spread, USD/ton | 259.2 | -1.6% Egypt Urea, USD/ton | 447.5 | 3.2% Polyethylene, USD/ton | 940.0 | 0.0% Polypropylene, USD/ton | 957.5 | 0.0%Iron Ore 65%, USD/ton | 123.3Steel/Iron Ore Spreads, USD/ton | 375.0 | -1

The IMF's Executive Board is to sign off on Egypt's fourth review “in the coming weeks,” IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack said in a briefing to the press. The meeting will also see the board look into a set of fresh funds under the IMF's Resilience and Sustainability Facility.BP's recent discovery at its King Mariout offshore concession could hold up to 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to early estimates cited by two unnamed government officials that spoke to Asharq Business.  The Industry Ministry has allocated 30 million sqm in Ras El Hekma for an industrial zone, Industry Ministry Kamel El Wazir said, adding that the Ministry is working on setting up three other zones across the country, in Borg El Arab, New Alamein, and Matrouh. The government has also broken ground on the Ras El Hekma airport.According to the Minister of Finance, Egypt will launch a customs facilitation package within weeks to increase competitiveness and ease of goods release, in addition to launching a facilitation package related to real estate tax before the end of this year.Trade balance deficit rose 0.5% y/y to USD3.7 billion in November 2024.The EGX and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are working together on a project to boost market liquidity in the EGX. The National Wages Council will meet later today to discuss the minimum wage for the private sector.The Finance Ministry is considering issuing a bookkeeping scheme to account for the FX rate difference between the official and parallel markets for profit earned before the Central Bank of Egypt liberalized the exchange rate in March 2024, with the Ministry currently preparing tax budgets for the upcoming corporate tax filing season, which ends on 30 April.COMI has cut interest rates on its local currency, high-yield CDs by 3 percentage points.  Emirati and Kuwaiti financial institutions have begun due diligence to acquire at least 60% of Banque du Caire (BdC). The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has raised the borrowing limit for micro enterprises by 10% to EGP266k.  ORAS's Orascom Industrial Parks is setting up a 3.5 million sqm industrial zone in Ain Sokhna with projected investments of EGP7 billion over the next ten years. Egypt plans to increase its aluminum production by 200k tons annually within three years, bringing total production to 510k tons, according to Minister of Public Enterprises. This expansion aims to meet domestic market needs and export the surplus. The Minister added that a new project is underway with the private sector to establish a new aluminum plant with modern furnaces, with a production capacity of 600k tons per year.The Ministry of Public Enterprises is developing EGCH with investments of USD400 million within three years. The development will include the production of nitrates, which will add value to the products.French pharma giant Servier's Egypt arm has inaugurated a new packaging and filling line at its 6th of October facility. With this expansion, Servier's total investments in Egypt reaches EGP1.6 billion.

The new social protection package will be announced “within days,” Prime Minister said. The package of minimum wage hikes and pension increases will come into effect starting the next fiscal year. Net foreign reserves inched up to USD47.3 billion at the end of January 2025, marking a USD156 million increase from December.Net foreign assets in Egypt's banking sector reached USD5.23 billion in December, down 12.2% from USD5.96 billion in November. The decline was driven by a widening deficit in the net foreign assets of commercial banks, which widened to USD6.4 billion in December, compared to USD5.8 billion in November.Energy giant BP has made a fresh discovery off the North Coast in its King Mariout offshore concession, with initial reports suggesting the site could yield both gas and oil. Cabinet approved five concession agreements that will see no less than USD225.3 million invested to drill at least 40 wells in areas including the Eastern and Western Deserts.US energy giant ExxonMobil is reportedly planning to dig two new exploratory wells in its Cairo and Masry offshore concessions in 1Q26, with an initial investment of USD240 million, an unnamed government official said.Egypt is reportedly planning to increase crude oil production by 18% y-o-y by the end of the current fiscal year, an unnamed government official told Al Arabiya. Demand for gold bars and coins in Egypt fell 21% y-o-y in 2024, hitting 24 tons, according to the World Gold Council's gold demand trend report for last year.The government is looking to see exports growing at an annual rate of 15-20% to achieve a trade surplus before 2030, Madbouly said, pointing to agriculture exports, which hit a record USD10.6 billion last year.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) the Finance Ministry inked a cooperation agreement that will see them set up a EUR10 million fund — dubbed the Egypt Account — to finance feasibility studies and advisory services for projects being set up under the public-private partnership model.The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank, signed Egypt's work plan for 2025, under which it will provide USD100 million in funds to support private sector projects in the country.The World Bank is preparing for the second phase of Egypt's budget support program to be paid during this year, after the completion of the first phase in the middle of last year, worth USD500 million, according to the World Bank's regional director, adding that the total value of the program is USD3 billion, as part of a package to support Egypt announced by the World Bank in March 2024 worth USD6 billion, half of which is allocated to support the general budget and the other half to support the private sector.CIEB 4Q24 consolidated bottom line recorded EGP1,944 million (+4% q/q, +44% y/y), bringing FY24 bottom line to EGP8,030 million (+55% y/y, and perfectly in line with Al Ahly Pharos estimate of EGP8,039 million). CIEB is currently trading at P/E25 of 3.1x (based on bottom line post minority and appropriations) and P/B25 of 0.9x. SWDY opened a EGP2 billion cable factory at its subsidiary Elsewedy Industrial Development's Industrial zone in the Tenth of Ramadan. The factory will have a production capacity of 4 million km of fiber-optic cables and 200k km of copper communication cables.EGCH decided to hold an auction to sell unutilized land plots in Aswan with total area of around 35k sqm. According to AMIC, auto sales increased by 24.6% YoY and 19.7% MoM to reach 13k vehicles in December. EGTS's court date for the 20.0 million sqm third phase Sahl Hasheesh land plot lawsuit is postponed to 4 March 2025.

Egypt's PMI recorded 50.7 in January, up from 48.1 in December, signaling a renewed improvement in the health of the Egyptian non-oil economy at the beginning of the year, on growth in output and sales as well as falling cost pressures to eight-month low.The government will lease a Turkish floating storage regasification unit starting June and for the duration of the summer, an unnamed government official said. It will cost some USD45 million to lease the unit from June and until November. The unit will liquify some 500 million cubic feet of gas a day for electricity generation in efforts to meet heightened domestic demand during the summer months.Turkey's Kipas Textiles plans to invest EGP1 billion to set up its second fabric factory in Egypt, expected to go live before the end of the year, a company representative said.A consortium of Egyptian, Turkish, and Chinese investors led by homegrown leather manufacturer Fabrica is looking into setting up a EGP200 million industrial complex for leather products. The three partners will hold equal stakes of 33.3% each in the complex, which will focus on export. Construction, facilities preparation, and production lines installation are scheduled to begin next year The House will “within days” introduce a draft law scrapping the capital gains tax on EGX transactions and reinstating a stamp tax, as part of measures aimed at boosting investment, deputy chairman of the Budget Committee Yasser Omar said.Cairo House Egypt inked an agreement with Tourism Investment and Marriott International to turn the Mogamma building into a 500-key Autograph Collection Hotel.The International Finance Corporation's full airport privatization plan should be out in the next six months.The Madbouly government is looking to introduce the unified financing initiative for startups, coordinating efforts between public and private entities to support over 5k startups.The Ministry of Finance collected more than USD1 billion from Egyptians working abroad as part of the initiative to facilitate the import of expatriates' cars, up to January-end, an official said.The CBE has adjusted its mortgage finance initiative for low and middle income groups, its changing income brackets, interest rates, and minimum downpayments. The low-income category, with a monthly net income not exceeding EGP10-12k for individuals and EGP13-15k for households, will be able to get their hands on subsidized mortgage financing at a declining 7.5-8% interest rate. The middle-income category, with a monthly income not exceeding EGP 20k for individuals and EGP 25k for households, can secure financing at a declining 12% interest rate. The minimum down payment for accessing the financing has been set at 20% for both groups.The Ministry of Finance is considering exempting the banking sector from the tax on international loan returns. The government previously introduced an amendment to Article 56 of the Income Tax Law, canceling the tax exemption that was granted to interest paid to non-residents on long-term international loans exceeding three years, and it is expected to have a significant impact on the ability of Egyptian banks to secure USD financing from foreign markets.The local consortium setting up the 300k sqm dry bulk terminal in Dekheila Port is expected to deliver it in 4Q25 with investments to reach USD450 million. The consortium includes Mediterraneo Egypt, Latt Trading and Shipping, a SWDY company, and the Transport Ministry's Holding Company for Maritime and Land Transport.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has sold the last 8.8% it held of ISPH.CNFN subsidiary, Contact Creditech, announced the launch of its Maestro program,available through the Contact Now application, enabling customers to customize repayment plans. 

Picking up from Part 1, hosts Lois Houston and Nikita Abraham continue their deep dive into MySQL security with MySQL Solution Engineer Ravish Patel. In this episode, they focus on user authentication techniques and tools such as MySQL Enterprise Audit and MySQL Enterprise Firewall.   MySQL 8.4 Essentials: https://mylearn.oracle.com/ou/course/mysql-84-essentials/141332/226362 Oracle University Learning Community: https://education.oracle.com/ou-community LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/oracle-university/ X: https://x.com/Oracle_Edu   Special thanks to Arijit Ghosh, David Wright, Kris-Ann Nansen, Radhika Banka, and the OU Studio Team for helping us create this episode.   --------------------------------------------------------   Episode Transcript:   00:00 Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast, the first stop on your cloud journey. During this series of informative  podcasts, we'll bring you foundational training on the most popular Oracle technologies. Let's get started! 00:25 Nikita: Welcome to the Oracle University Podcast! I'm Nikita Abraham, Team Lead of Editorial Services with Oracle University, and with me is Lois Houston, Director of Innovation Programs. Lois: Hi everyone! Last week, we began exploring MySQL security, covering regulatory compliance and common security threats.  Nikita: This week, we're continuing the conversation by digging deeper into MySQL's user authentication methods and taking a closer look at some powerful security tools in the MySQL Enterprise suite. 00:57 Lois: And we're joined once again by Ravish Patel, a MySQL Solution Engineer here at Oracle. Welcome, Ravish! How does user authentication work in MySQL? Ravish: MySQL authenticates users by storing account details in a system database. These accounts are authenticated with three elements, username and hostname commonly separated with an @ sign along with a password.  The account identifier has the username and host. The host identifier specifies where the user connects from. It specifies either a DNS hostname or an IP address. You can use a wild card as part of the hostname or IP address if you want to allow this username to connect from a range of hosts. If the host value is just the percent sign wildcard, then that username can connect from any host. Similarly, if you create the user account with an empty host, then the user can connect from any host.  01:55 Lois: Ravish, can MySQL Enterprise Edition integrate with an organization's existing accounts?  Ravish: MySQL Enterprise authentication integrates with existing authentication mechanisms in your infrastructure. This enables centralized account management, policies, and authentication based on group membership and assigned corporate roles, and MySQL supports a wide range of authentication plugins. If your organization uses Linux, you might already be familiar with PAM, also known as Pluggable Authentication Module. This is a standard interface in Linux and can be used to authenticate to MySQL. Kerberos is another widely used standard for granting authorization using a centralized service. The FIDO Alliance, short for Fast Identify Online, promotes an interface for passwordless authentication. This includes methods for authenticating with biometrics RUSB security tokens. And MySQL even supports logging into centralized authentication services that use LDAP, including having a dedicated plugin to connect to Windows domains. 03:05 Nikita: So, once users are authenticated, how does MySQL handle user authorization? Ravish: The MySQL privilege system uses the GRANT keyword. This grants some privilege X on some object Y to some user Z, and optionally gives you permission to grant the same privilege to others. These can be global administrative privileges that enable users to perform tasks at the server level, or they can be database-specific privileges that allow users to modify the structure or data within a database. 03:39 Lois: What about database privileges? Ravish: Database privileges can be fine-grained from the largest to the smallest. At the database level, you can permit users to create, alter, and delete whole databases. The same privileges apply at the table, view, index, and stored procedure levels. And in addition, you can control who can execute stored procedures and whether they do so with their own identity or with the privileges of the procedure's owner. For tables, you can control who can select, insert, update, and delete rows in those tables. You can even specify the column level, who can select, insert, and update data in those columns. Now, any privileged system carries with it the risk that you might forget an important password and lock yourself out. In MySQL, if you forget the password to the root account and don't have any other admin-level accounts, you will not be able to administer the MySQL server. 04:39 Nikita: Is there a way around this? Ravish: There is a way around this as long as you have physical access to the server that runs the MySQL process. If you launch the MySQL process with the --skip grant tables option, then MySQL will not load the privilege tables from the system database when it starts. This is clearly a dangerous thing to do, so MySQL also implicitly disables network access when you use that option to prevent users from connecting over the network. When you use this option, any client connection to MySQL succeeds and has root privileges. This means you should control who has shell access to the server during this time and you should restart the server or enable privileged system with the command flush privileges as soon as you have changed the root password. The privileges we have already discussed are built into MySQL and are always available. MySQL also makes use of dynamic privileges, which are privileges that are enabled at runtime and which can be granted once they are enabled.  In addition, plugins and components can define privileges that relate to features of those plugins. For example, the enterprise firewall plugin defines the firewall admin privilege and the audit admin privilege is defined by the enterprise audit plugin.  06:04 Are you working towards an Oracle Certification this year? Join us at one of our certification prep live events in the Oracle University Learning Community. Get insider tips from seasoned experts and learn from others who have already taken their certifications. Go to community.oracle.com/ou to jump-start your journey towards certification today! 06:28 Nikita: Welcome back! Ravish, I want to move on to MySQL Enterprise security tools. Could you start with MySQL Enterprise Audit? Ravish: MySQL Enterprise Audit is an extension available in Enterprise Edition that makes it easier to comply with regulations that require observability and control over who does what in your database servers. It provides visibility of connections, authentication, and individual operations. This is a necessary part of compliance with various regulations, including GDPR, NIS2, HIPAA, and so on. You can control who has access to the audited events so that the audits themselves are protected. As well as configuring what you audit, you can also configure rotation policies so that unmonitored audit logs don't fill up your storage space. The configuration can be performed while the server is running with minimal effect on production applications. You don't need to restart the server to enable or disable auditing or to change the filtering options. You can output the audit logs in either XML or JSON format, depending on how you want to perform further searching and processing. If you need it, you can compress the logs to save space and you can encrypt the logs to provide address protection of audited identities and data modifications. The extension is available either as a component or if you prefer, as the legacy plugin. 07:53 Lois: But how does it all work? Ravish: Well, first, as a DBA, you'll enable the audit plugin and attach it to your running server. You can then configure filters to audit your connections and queries and record who does what, when they do it, and so on. Then once the system is up and running, it audits whenever a user authenticates, accesses data, or even when they perform schema changes. The logs are recorded in whatever format that you have configured. You can then monitor the audited events at will with MySQL tools such as Workbench or with any software that can view and manipulate XML or JSON files. You can even configure Enterprise Audit to export the logs to an external Audit Vault, enabling collection, and archiving of audit information from all over your enterprise. In general, you won't audit every action on every server. You can configure filters to control what specific information ends up in the logs. 08:50 Nikita: Why is this sort of filtering necessary, Ravish? Ravish: As a DBA, this enables you to create a custom designed audit process to monitor things that you're really interested in. Rules can be general or very fine grained, which enables you to reduce the overall log size, reduces the performance impact on the database server and underlying storage, makes it easier to process the log file once you've gathered data, and filters are configured with the easily used JSON file format. 09:18 Nikita: So what information is audited? Ravish: You can see who did what, when they did it, what commands they use, and whether they succeeded. You can also see where they connected from, which can be useful when identifying man in the middle attacks or stolen credentials. The log also records any available client information, including software versions and information about the operating system and much more. 09:42 Lois: Can you tell us about MySQL Enterprise Firewall, which I understand is a specific tool to learn and protect the SQL statements that MySQL executes? Ravish: MySQL Enterprise Firewall can be enabled on MySQL Enterprise Edition with a plugin. It uses an allow list to set policies for acceptable queries. You can apply this allow list to either specific accounts or groups. Queries are protected in real time. Every query that executes is verified per server and checked to make sure that it conforms to query structures that are defined in the allow list. This makes it very useful to block SQL injection attacks. Only transactions that match well-formed queries in the allow list are permitted. So any attempt to inject other types of SQL statements are blocked. Not only does it block such statements, but it also sends an alert to the MySQL error log in real time. This gives you visibility on any security gaps in your applications. The Enterprise Firewall has a learning mode during which you can train the firewall to identify the correct sort of query. This makes it easy to create the allow list based on a known good workload that you can create during development before your application goes live. 10:59 Lois: Does MySQL Enterprise Firewall operate seamlessly and transparently with applications? Ravish: Your application simply submits queries as normal and the firewall monitors incoming queries with no application changes required. When you use the Enterprise Firewall, you don't need to change your application. It can submit statements as normal to the MySQL server. This adds an extra layer of protection in your applications without requiring any additional application code so that you can protect against malicious SQL injection attacks. This not only applies to your application, but also to any client that configured user runs. 11:37 Nikita: How does this firewall system work?  Ravish: When the application submits a SQL statement, the firewall verifies that the statement is in a form that matches the policy defined in the allow list before it passes to the server for execution.  It blocks any statement that is in a form that's outside of policy.  In many cases, a badly formed query can only be executed if there is some bug in the application's data validation. You can use the firewall's detection and alerting features to let when it blocks such a query, which will help you quickly detect such bugs, even when the firewall continues to block the malicious queries. 12:14 Lois: Can you take us through some of the encryption and masking features available in MySQL Enterprise Edition?  Ravish: Transparent data encryption is a great way to protect against physical security disclosure. If someone gains access to the database files on the file system through a vulnerability of the operating system, or even if you've had a laptop stolen, your data will still be protected. This is called Data at Rest Encryption. It protects not only the data rows in tablespaces, but also other locations that store some version of the data, such as undo logs, redo logs, binary logs and relay logs. It is a strong encryption using the AES 256 algorithm. Once we enable transparent data encryption, it is, of course, transparent to the client software, applications, and users. Applications continue to submit SQL statements, and the encryption and decryptions happen in flight. The application code does not need to change. All data types, table structure, and database names remain the same. It's even transparent to the DBAs. The same data types, table structure, and so on is still how the DBA interacts with the system while creating indexes, views, and procedures. In fact, DBAs don't even need to be in possession of any encryption keys to perform their admin tasks. It is entirely transparent. 13:32 Nikita: What kind of management is required for encryption? Ravish: There is, of course, some key management required at the outside. You must keep the keys safe and put policies in place so that you store and rotate keys effectively, and ensure that you can recover those keys in the event of some disaster. This key management integrates with common standards, including KMIP and KMS. 13:53 Lois: Before we close, I want to ask you about the role of data masking in MySQL. Ravish: Data masking is when we replace some part of the private information with a placeholder. You can mask portions of a string based on the string position using the letter X or some other character. You can also create a table that contains a dictionary of suitable replacement words and use that dictionary to mask values in your data. There are specific functions that work with known formats of data, for example, social security numbers as used in the United States, national insurance numbers from the United Kingdom, and Canadian social insurance numbers. You can also mask various account numbers, such as primary account numbers like credit cards or IBAN numbers as used in the European Bank system. There are also functions to generate random values, which can be useful in test databases. This might be a random number within some range, or an email address, or a compliant credit card number, or social security number. You can also create random information using the dictionary table that contains suitable example values. 14:58 Nikita: Thank you, Ravish, for taking us through MySQL security. We really cannot overstate the importance of this, especially in today's data-driven world.  Lois: That's right, Niki. Cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated these days. You really have to be on your toes when it comes to security. If you're interested in learning more about this, the MySQL 8.4 Essentials course on mylearn.oracle.com is a great next step.  Nikita: We'd also love to hear your thoughts on our podcast so please feel free to share your comments, suggestions, or questions by emailing us at ou-podcast_ww@oracle.com. That's ou-podcast_ww@oracle.com. In our next episode, we'll journey into the world of MySQL backups. Until then, this is Nikita Abraham… Nikita: And Lois Houston, signing off! 15:51 That's all for this episode of the Oracle University Podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please click Subscribe to get all the latest episodes. We'd also love it if you would take a moment to rate and review us on your podcast app. See you again on the next episode of the Oracle University Podcast.

Sam Fleming is the FT's Economics Editor, and this week he is reporting from the World Economic Forum at Davos, where much of the talk is about protectionism and industrial policy. Today on the show, Sam speaks to Beata Javorcik, the chief economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. They discuss the history of industrial policy -- and what it takes to get it right.Subscribe to The Economics show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With global business and finance leaders gathered in Davos, the focus on day three of the World Economic Forum turns to Ukraine's economy and its unexpected resilience. FRANCE 24 Business Editor Charles Pellegrin speaks to Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The term ‘fragility' is used to describe various complex challenges including protracted conflicts, weak state capacity, and vulnerability to climate-related shocks.Development progress has been the hardest in these contexts. But the landscape is changing, with new development players emerging – notably in the private sector. Private capital is reaching frontier economies (those in low- and middle-income countries impacted by so-called fragility), fuelled by an impact investing market of more than $1 trillion.Ahead of next week's World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, this episode examines who is shaping this new vision of development in frontier markets. Guests dissect the innovative approaches and collaborations needed to strengthen development efforts in areas affected by conflict and instability.Guests Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI GlobalJake Cusack, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, CrossBoundary GroupHeike Harmgart, Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)Andrej Kirn, Head of International Organisations and Humanitarian Agenda, World Economic ForumSurer Mohamed, Research Fellow, Politics and Governance programme, ODI GlobalRelated resourcesHumanitarian and Resilience Investing Initiative (World Economic Forum)Mobilising European Institutional Investors into Emerging Markets and Developing Economies: three critical areas to address (Insight, ODI Global)Trillions or billions? Reassessing the potential for European institutional investment in emerging markets and developing economies (Report, ODI Global)Blended finance's broken promise and how to fix it (Event, ODI Global)Trillions or billions? The Future of European Institutional Investment in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (Event video, ODI Global)

The CBE's MPC is scheduled to meet today. We remind you that we expect the CBE to prefer to hold rates unchanged in today's meeting due to persistent inflationary pressures, among other factors.Senior private and public sector figures from Egypt and the UAE inked numerous investments:Cabinet greenlit two power purchase agreements for two separate solar projects for a consortium made up of the UAE's Masdar, Hassan Allam Utilities, and Infinity Power.Cabinet approved a draft decision to establish a USD10 million private freezone for ready-made garments in Sadat City. Sources in the Ministry of Electricity revealed that USD3.5 billion are expected as investments in the renewable energy plant project located in Zaafrana.Egypt's fourth IMF review is set to wrap by tomorrow, with only procedural stages left before the Fund's Executive Board formally greenlights the decision that will unlock USD1.3 billion in financing. Sources said that although the Suez Canal Authority's contributions to the state coffers plummeted 92% y-o-y to EGP1.0 billion in the first quarter of FY24-25, the shortfall was partially offset by a 108% surge in revenues from special funds.Turkish Investment group Erciyas Holding is looking to establish a USD60 million oil, natural gas, and water pipelines factory in Egypt.Turkish clothing manufacturer Eroglu Holding has broken ground on its USD51 million garments factory in the Qantara West Industrial Zone.The government is getting ready to launch the EGP115 billion second phase of the universal health insurance system in the next fiscal year.Egypt may need to seek alternatives to Russian wheat, as Russian farmers are turning their backs against the grain, saying they will sow less wheat in favor of higher-margin crops like peas, lentils, and sunflowers, Reuters reports. HRHO 3Q24 net profit after tax and minority interest recorded EGP697 million (-12% q/q, +76% y/y), bringing 9M24 attributable bottom line to EGP3,309 million (+97% y/y). The company is currently trading at 7.7x P/E25 and 0.9x P/B25.The coverage rate of the private offering of United Bank on the EGX reached 1.06 times yesterday, Wednesday, on the first day of opening the subscription door, which lasts for five days, while the public subscription starts on November 27 until December 3.ValU Consumer Finance Company's financing recorded EGP1 billion during the first half of November, which witnessed the White Friday offers, according to Walid Hassouna, the company's CEO. CANA and Mint Real Estate Assets, a joint venture between Al Ahly Sabbour and the National Bank of Egypt, have set up a new real estate development company called Anchors for Real Estate Development. CCAP's consolidated revenue grew 64% YoY to EGP38.2 billion in 2Q24 supported by solid performances across all subsidiaries. However, the Group's net loss expanded by 255% YoY to EGP1.4 billion during the quarter as a result of an increase in non-operating expenses, including revaluation of Allied Corp and TAQA Arabia shares, as well as legal costs associated with the restructuring and settlement of bank debt.ECAP released weak 3Q24 financial results, with net profit dropping to only EGP2.6 million (-96% YoY, -97% QoQ) on the back of a contraction in operating margins, a surge in net interest expense, along with a FX loss of EGP32.8 million. The stock is trading at FY25e P/E of 6.4x.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is set to provide some USD21.3 million in new funding to the Red Sea Wind Energy (RSWE) — a JV between ORAS, France's Engie, and Japan's Toyota Tsusho/Eurus Energy. 

ウクライナ復興で脱炭素化を推進する方針を確認した環境省の松沢裕地球環境審議官と欧州復興開発銀行のマーク・ボーマン副総裁、１４日、バクー【バクー時事】ロシアの侵攻が続くウクライナの復興に関し、脱炭素化の視点を重視した街づくりを支援するため、日本の環境省と欧州復興開発銀行は１４日、覚書を締結した。 Japan's Environment Ministry and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Thursday concluded a memorandum of understanding to support the reconstruction of Ukraine with a focus on decarbonization in urban development.

Japan's Environment Ministry and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Thursday concluded a memorandum of understanding to support the reconstruction of Ukraine with a focus on decarbonization in urban development.

Mixed reactions in the financial world about how a second Trump term will impact the economy. On one hand, markets have been rallying. The S&P 500 is up about 3.5% since Election Day, and the Russell 2000 Index of small cap companies is up about 6%. But on the other hand, officials like the Bank of France, who is also a European Bank member, said that president-elect Donald Trump's economic agenda risks returning inflation to the United States, as well as hurting economic growth worldwide.

The role of development banks in climate financeThe COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, have climate finance at the top of the agenda. As global leaders and experts gather to deliberate on pathways to a sustainable future, the focus is on how funding from richer nations might facilitate decarbonization and resilience in poorer and middle-income countries. These discussions are not just about altruism, but recognize the economic interdependence and shared benefits of global climate action. Put simply, poorer countries need financial help to commit to ambitious goals for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Development banks have emerged as pivotal actors in the climate finance landscape. Defined by their mandate to lend money for social and economic development on a not-for-profit basis, these banks are uniquely positioned to leverage limited resources for maximum impact. For example, with every dollar invested, a development bank can secure an additional seven to nine dollars from capital markets, a feat not readily achievable by direct government funding. Harry Boyd-Carpenter, Managing Director for Climate Strategy and Delivery at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and Avinash Persaud, Special Advisor on Climate Change at the Inter-American Development Bank, join our host, Ed Crooks to highlight that development banks are central to the current climate finance discourse. Their ability to mobilize large sums of money and finance long-term, low-cost projects makes them indispensable to the climate goals set at COP 29. Champa Patel, Director for Governments and Policy at the Climate Group, also joins the discussion. She points out that although there is much at stake, the multitude of unresolved issues makes optimism challenging. Even so, the potential benefits of achieving a robust and effective climate finance mechanism justify the effort and dedication of all involved. The goals are ambitious, but the path ahead is fraught with challenges. Key issues include defining what constitutes climate finance, setting a quantitative goal, determining who can access these funds, and on what terms. The lack of consensus on these crucial aspects makes the discussions at COP 29 particularly intricate. Listen to our first in a series of episodes recorded live from COP29 in Baku for all of the key developments, insights and commentary from this important global event.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we chat with Paul Ferneyhough, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Eldorado Gold Corporation, a listed gold and base metals producer with mining, development and exploration operations in Türkiye, Canada and Greece.  As a qualified chartered accountant with a degree in Physics, Paul has over 20 years in the resources sector specialising in finance, investor relations, strategy, commercial, planning, and business performance management. He gives us an overview of Eldorado Gold, an update on their projects, how they work with Indigenous communities, how they prioritise sustainability and responsible mining, financial strategy, and what we can learn from the oil & gas industry. Paul will be attending the Resourcing Tomorrow Event (3-5 December, London) which is Europe's largest mining event, designed to foster innovation, drive collaboration, and accelerate growth in the mining industry. Use code DIGDEEP10 for a 10% discount on Delegate Passes when you register here: https://hubs.ly/Q02WXjzd0  KEY TAKEAWAYS Eldorado Gold is a growing precious metals miner with operations in Canada, Turkey, and Greece. The company is focused on increasing production, with significant projects like the Skouries mine expected to boost production by 40% over the next two years. Eldorado Gold prioritises sustainability through its Sustainability Integrated Management System (SIMS), ensuring compliance with environmental and social obligations. The company is committed to using advanced practices, such as dry stack tailings, to minimise environmental impact. The company emphasises building strong relationships with local communities in its operating regions. This includes investing in education, healthcare, and local employment, as well as addressing community concerns about environmental impacts. Eldorado successfully secured financing for the Skouries project through partnerships with Greek banks and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This collaboration highlights the importance of aligning financial strategies with local and regional development goals. BEST MOMENTS "I think it really was a very important part of the experience and the leadership that I now bring into the mining sector."  "We want to be operating in places where people want us." "Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do."  "We prefer to employ local people as much as we can, especially in our operating assets." "If an opportunity comes up, grab it with both hands, see what happens, take a chance because it can completely change your life." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        rob@mining-international.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ X:              https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast  Web:        http://www.mining-international.org Website: https://www.eldoradogold.com/ Eldorado Gold on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eldorado-gold-corporationEldorado Gold on X: https://www.twitter.com/Eldorado_Gold Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ferneyhough/ ABOUT THE HOST Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first-world to third-world countries from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent through a targeted approach and search methodology and have a proven track record in sourcing and positioning exceptional candidates into our clients' organisations in any mining discipline or level. Mining International provides a transparent, informative, and trusted consultancy service to our candidates and clients to help them develop their careers and business goals and objectives in this ever-changing marketplace. CONTACT METHOD rob@mining-international.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people's experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics. 

The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on Saturday that the 7% flat rate in the Old Rental Law for residential properties is unconstitutional and called on the Egyptian parliament to amend the law.The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the second time, this time by 25 bps, bringing them to 4.5%-4.75%.The Oil Ministry launched the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Company, which will invest USD530 million to develop production facilities and integrate the facility with other petroleum companies in Alexandria governorate. US multinational conglomerate Honeywell has finished its feasibility study with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development for SAF production in Egypt, according to a statement from the Ministry.Emirati oil and gas giant Dana Gas is waiting for USD24 million out of a total USD59 million of outstanding dues owed by the government to be paid before it launches a USD100 million project to develop production, the company said.Tourist footfall is expected to reach a record high of 15.3 million in 2024, increasing 5% YoY, according to a statement from the Tourism Ministry. An unnamed Chinese company is looking to set up a USD360 million tire factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) in partnership with the state-owned Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI). Austrian wood panels manufacturer Kronospan wants to partner with Nag Hamady Fiberboard Company to set up a 150k sqm production line in the Egyptian company's existing factory to produce MDF, according to a statement by the Industry Ministry. Egypt is committed to repaying loans worth USD3 billion to Gulf banks in November. Egypt will repay some USD1.3 billion in USD-denominated bonds today for debt issued in 2016, according to Al Arabiya, citing unnamed sources. The Shalatin Mineral Resources Company, affiliated with the Ministry of Petroleum, aims to deliver gold to the CBE amounting to a ton by the end of this year 2024.ISPH reported positive 3Q24 results: Bottom line amounted to EGP185 million, up 49.8% QoQ and 3.4x YoY. 9M24 bottom line came in at EGP407 million, up 1.3x YoY. ISPH is trading at 2025 multiples of EV/EBITDA of 3.0x and P/E of 9.8x.EBRD gave its initial approval to a USD120 million equity bridge loan to Obelisk Solar — a special purpose vehicle owned by Norway's Scatec — to fund part of Scatec's 1-GW solar power plant in Nagaa Hammadi to power EGAL's industrial complex with 2 GW of green energy.Ministry of Electricity set the feed-in tariff for solar panels using the battery energy storage system at USD0.023/kWh for privately-owned solar panels and USD0.014/kWh for state-owned solar panels. CCAP's subsidiary, Egyptian Refining Company (ERC), plans to repay USD200 million of its outstanding USD742 million debt by December, company head Mohamed Saad stated. EFID announced the signing of a toll manufacturing agreement in the biscuit business with Misr Food Additives (MIFAD). Phillip Morris increased the prices of its tobacco products for the the third time this year, raising prices by EGP5 across its offerings in the local market.

Egypt is preparing three possible revisions to the loan agreement to present to the IMF delegation when they land in Egypt mid-next week.The first scenario proposes extending the loan program by two years so Egypt ends up having five years to implement the reforms and unlock the entire USD8 billion in funding.The second scenario would give the government a year to carry out a stimulus package that includes pausing energy price hikes and slashing interest rates in efforts to boost growth.The third scenario suggests securing additional IMF funding, while maintaining the program's current structure and timeline. This increase would enable the government to strengthen social protections.The Finance Ministry sold some EGP52.4 billion in EGP-denominated three-month t-bills this week at an average yield of 30.0%. This marks the highest yield on three-month bills since March.Egypt asked the World Bank to extend the period of the USD500 million local development program in Upper Egypt to end in October 2025 instead of the current month.The EGX Head said that a package of measures are currently being studied, including launching a new index that combines sustainability and Islamic compliance. He also revealed a study on amending the rules for registering and delisting companies from the market.Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib laid the foundation stone for Arab Otsuka Nutraceuticals subsidiary Egypt Otsuka's factory for nutritional products in Tenth of Ramadan.The Ministry of Electricity is looking forward to receiving a EUR65 million grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) during the coming period.A new ro-ro shipping line connecting Damietta Port with Italy's Port of Trieste will begin operations by the end of November.Global consulting firm Deloitte kicked off its new innovation hub in Cairo yesterday, pledging a three-year USD30 million investment to employ 5k of the country's “top-tier talent” in several service export sectors.United Bank will be going ahead with plans to float 330 million of its shares, equivalent to a 30% stake, on the EGX. The bank plans to make its EGX debut before the end of 2024.ATLC signed a financing contract worth EGP275 million with the Arab Forum for Investments Company to strengthen the capital base.According to local media, GBCO signed an agreement with Japanese truck manufacturer UD Trucks, granting it distribution rights for 2 models in the Egyptian market.According to local media, Philip Morris International, disclosed that it has allocated USD45 million in anticipation of potential tax obligations in Egypt. ABUK agreed with the Arab Organization for Industrialization to implement a solar energy station with a capacity of 2.5 MW and a cost of EGP90 million. MICH released 1Q24/25 results, posting an 8% increase in revenues to EGP260.3 million and 14% growth in net profit to EGP155.9 million. The government will offer private sector companies the chance to set up hospitals on 21 land plots as it works to add 173k beds to the country's residential capacity by 2030. Weekly Commodities Update

Tom welcomes a well known and interesting guest for the first time to the show, Dr. Judy Shelton. Judy is Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and author of Good as Gold, passionately advocates for sound money as a moral obligation of governments to their citizens. Sound money, according to Shelton, should maintain its value over time, acting as an unchanging standard for economic planning and transactions. She criticizes the Federal Reserve's policy of debasing the U.S. dollar through inflation targeting, which undermines its purchasing power and creates inequality in society. The Federal Reserve was initially established to provide an elastic currency that addressed seasonal economic fluctuations. However, the role of the Fed has shifted significantly over time, leading to concerns about its growing dependence on the government for budgeting needs and potential consequences for the economy and small businesses. Shelton argues for market-determined interest rates, pointing to historical examples like the gold standard. She also highlights the importance of accurate data in monetary policy decision-making and critiques central banks' conflicting policies on a global scale that can lead to currency wars and instability in international trade. Shelton advocates for a new international monetary system anchored by a gold convertible long-term US Treasury bond, which would promote stability and accountability in international transactions. She recalls her unsuccessful nomination to the Federal Reserve and expresses her belief that economic growth under President Trump's agenda and Elon Musk's involvement could lead to controlling the budget and promoting sound money. Shelton urges for less central planning by governments, believing there is a collective yearning for trustworthy, stable money in society. The interview concludes with Dr. Judy Shelton expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to discuss her ideas and the success of her book "Good as Gold" on Amazon's charts. She encourages listeners to get radical and demand sound money from their governments for a more prosperous economy based on individual liberty. Time Stamp References:0:00 - Introduction0:45 - Sound Money & Morality2:27 - Money Vs. Currency4:32 - Price Stability?11:52 - Fed Control & Hubris18:30 - Central Planning & Mkts24:03 - Fed 'Independence'27:20 - Pricing Money Free Mkt.36:10 - C.B. Global Effects39:34 - BRICS & Gold?44:34 - U.S. Gold Bonds?55:30 - Golds History of Restraint59:15 - Politics & Financial Plans1:01:59 - Nominee & 'Extreme Views'1:10:22 - Book 'Good as Gold'1:11:50 - Get Radical & Wrap Up Talking Points From This Episode Dr. Judy Shelton advocates for sound money as a moral obligation of governments to ensure economic stability and planning through unchanging currency value. The Federal Reserve's inflation targeting policy weakens U.S. dollar purchasing power, leading to inequality and potential consequences for the economy. Shelton proposes a new international monetary system anchored by a gold convertible long-term US Treasury bond for stability in global transactions. Guest Links:X: https://x.com/judyshel Book: Good as Gold: How to Unleash the Power of Sound Moneyhttps://www.amazon.com/Good-Gold-Unleash-Power-Sound/dp/1598133896 Dr. Judy Shelton is a senior fellow at Independent Institute, former chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, and former US director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. She has provided testimony before the Senate and has been consulted on international monetary issues by the White House and the Pentagon. She is the author of multiple books and has written for the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.

Mike Ferguson in the Morning 10-10-24 (8:05am) Mike talks about his recent interview on his syndicated show American Viewpoints with author Judy Shelton on her new book "Good As Gold." Judy is a monetary economist, a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute, former Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, and former U.S. Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Her book, which was released on Oct. 8, 2024, offers something new: an explanation of how we can use gold for a new international monetary order. She lays out how gold can provide a universal measure of value across borders, create new financial opportunities, and dramatically increase prosperity around the world. Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Gold-Unleash-Power-Sound/dp/1598133896 Here's Mike's interview with Judy: https://american-viewpoints.simplecast.com/episodes/judy-shelton-discusses-good-as-gold-how-to-unleash-the-power-of-sound-money   Hurricane Milton picked up some speed yesterday and hit the Florida Gulf Coast last night at Siesta Key, next to Sarasota and Bradenton, in-between Tampa Bay and Ft. Myers. It was a Category 3 storm and left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power. It also spawned numerous deadly tornadoes. It's bad in many areas, but it could've been much worse. Thankfully, the storm picked up speed, going from 10mph to 16mph which helped it move across the peninsula instead of slowing down or stalling. Story here: https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-tampa-florida-5f6a112986eb6e21720f0f17c504afe8     (8:20am) Do we give up our rights in an emergency, like a hurricane or tornado? Tampa's mayor said a weird guy who wanted to ride out the hurricane could've been arrested "for his own protection." The gentleman who goes by the name of Lieutenant Dan, in honor of the Forrest Gump character, went viral for refusing to evacuate in favor of riding out the storm on his boat moored in Tampa Bay. Story here: https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2024/10/09/watch-tampa-mayor-outrageously-says-that-city-may-baker-act-residents-who-refuse-to-evacuate-n2180369   (8:35am) MORNING NEWS DUMP Hurricane Milton picked up some speed yesterday and hit the Florida Gulf Coast last night at Siesta Key, next to Sarasota and Bradenton, in-between Tampa Bay and Ft. Myers. It was a Category 3 storm and left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power. It also spawned numerous deadly tornadoes. Areas from Tampa Bay over to Daytona Beach got over a foot of rain. Damage included the roof being torn off of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. It's bad in many areas, but it could've been much worse. Thankfully, the storm picked up speed, going from 10mph to 16mph which helped it move across the peninsula instead of slowing down or stalling. Story here: https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-milton-tampa-florida-5f6a112986eb6e21720f0f17c504afe8O'Fallon and Highland, IL, are among the departments on the Illinois side which are sending firefighters and equipment to Florida to help with rescue and relief efforts. Missouri is sending 100 National Guard members, over 20 Highway Patrol troopers, and 5 disaster relief teams. Jury selection is underway in the case against former Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan in a racketeering and bribery case connected to the utility company ComEd (formerly known as Commonwealth Edison) which provides electricity to over 4 million customers across northern Illinois. Blues face the Sharks tonight in San Jose. Faceoff at 9:30pm CT.    (8:50am) We continue the discussion (from 8:20am) about giving up our rights in an emergency.   NewsTalkSTL website: https://newstalkstl.com/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsTalkSTL Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewstalkSTL Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NewsTalkSTL Livestream 24/7: bit.ly/NEWSTALKSTLSTREAMSSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development issued an updated report this Thursday on growth prospects in all the regions where it operates. Its Chief Economist Beata Javorcik spoke to FRANCE 24 specifically about the challenges facing the economies of conflict-hit countries like Lebanon, Ukraine and Russia.

Fadi Lama discusses his fantastic book "Why the West Can't Win" and the Money Powers that rule the world. He explains how everything in the West is fake and a Virtual Reality (e.g. fake democracy, fake economy, false flag operations). Democracy was created by the Money Powers as the new means of control (e.g. only individuals with money can run for office). He argues that the East has overtaken the West economically and militarily. The world will have a hard split between East and West. The West will collapse into a globalist dystopia (e.g. 15-minute cities). Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rokfin / Rumble / Substack Geopolitics & Empire · Fadi Lama: Money Powers & West Collapsing Into Dystopia as East Rises #445 *Support Geopolitics & Empire! Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donationsConsult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultationBecome a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.comBecome a Sponsor https://geopoliticsandempire.com/sponsors **Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors! Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopoliticseasyDNS (use coupon code GEOPOLITICS for 15% off!) https://easydns.comLegalShield https://hhrvojemoric.wearelegalshield.comWise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics Fadi Lama Websites WHY THE WEST CAN'T WIN: From Bretton Woods to a Multipolar World https://www.claritypress.com/product/why-the-west-cant-win-from-bretton-woods-to-a-multipolar-world Fadi Lama Substack https://fadilama.substack.com About Fadi Lama Dr. Fadi Lama is an International Adviser for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a partner in DNL Strategic Consulting, offering consulting services in the fields of geoeconomics, industry, SMEs and academia. He is founder and general manager of a testing equipment and industrial automation systems manufacturing company. Dr. Lama received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, his MSc in Manufacturing Technology from The City University of London, and his BE in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Fadi Lama discusses his fantastic book "Why the West Can't Win" and the Money Powers that rule the world. He explains how everything in the West is fake and a Virtual Reality (e.g. fake democracy, fake economy, false flag operations). Democracy was created by the Money Powers as the new means of control (e.g. only individuals with money can run for office). He argues that the East has overtaken the West economically and militarily. The world will have a hard split between East and West. The West will collapse into a globalist dystopia (e.g. 15-minute cities). Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rokfin / Rumble / Substack Geopolitics & Empire · Fadi Lama: Money Powers & West Collapsing Into Dystopia as East Rises #445 *Support Geopolitics & Empire! Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donations Consult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultation Become a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com Become a Sponsor https://geopoliticsandempire.com/sponsors **Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors! Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopolitics easyDNS (use coupon code GEOPOLITICS for 15% off!) https://easydns.com LegalShield https://hhrvojemoric.wearelegalshield.com Wise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics Fadi Lama Websites WHY THE WEST CAN'T WIN: From Bretton Woods to a Multipolar World https://www.claritypress.com/product/why-the-west-cant-win-from-bretton-woods-to-a-multipolar-world Fadi Lama Substack https://fadilama.substack.com About Fadi Lama Dr. Fadi Lama is an International Adviser for the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and a partner in DNL Strategic Consulting, offering consulting services in the fields of geoeconomics, industry, SMEs and academia. He is founder and general manager of a testing equipment and industrial automation systems manufacturing company. Dr. Lama received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, his MSc in Manufacturing Technology from The City University of London, and his BE in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Beirut. *Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

In this episode of the IMPACT= Podcast, we talk to Manfred Schepers, the founder and CEO of ILX Management, the Amsterdam-based manager of emerging market-focused private credit fund, ILX Fund. He believes that not only are development finance institutions among the best emerging market investors in the world, but pension funds should be looking to commit capital alongside them. ILX provides institutional investors access to investment opportunities of the development finance asset class, by investing in private-sector loans arranged by Multilateral Development Banks and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). The rationale for his approach? Because DFIs have a proven track record of producing solid and long-term financial results and have very low rates of investment failures, despite investing in some of the least developed markets in the world. Manfred has over 30 years' of senior-level experience in both development finance and international capital markets. Prior to founding ILX Management, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and led the Bank's Institutional Investment Partnership program. He has also worked at SBC Warburg and UBS where he was Global Head of Debt Capital Markets from 1990-2004.

To hear about developments in the factoring and supply chain finance world, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke with Çağatay Baydar, Chairman at FCI and Irina Tyan, Principal Banker, TFP at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).   Read the article here: https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s2-e12-adapting-to-change-the-future-of-factoring-and-supply-chain-finance/

John Christmas is a former banker whose banking career ended when his whistleblowing against his employer was covered up by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, thus, His experience as a whistleblower inspired him to author KGB BANKER. He earned a BA at Dartmouth College and an MBA at Cornell University. He has lived in the United States, Latvia, Spain, United Kingdom, and Malta. He authored the dystopian novel DEMOCRACY SOCIETY which was released in 2011. Now he enjoys time reading, writing, and boating in Europe. His book KGB BANKER is set to become a movie project. https://kgbbanker.com/http://www.yourlotandparcel.org

In the fifth episode, Nancy Jacklin delves into the realm of multilateral banks that have a regional orientation, known as Regional Development Banks (RDBs). Although there are over 30 RDBs worldwide, this podcast will spotlight just three of these banks: the InterAmerican Development Bank, the African Development Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The guest for this session will be Nancy Lee, currently Director for Sustainable Development at the Center for Global Development and a former senior policy official in the US Government and in the IADB,  experienced in development issues. The discussion will highlight how these RDBs often mirror the operational model and objectives of the World Bank but also how each has its unique character.

What makes Canadian cities such as Waterloo, Ottawa and Toronto hubs of high-tech entrepreneurship and successful Intelligent Communities? Since moving to Canada, Professor Darius Ornston, author of When Small States Make Big Leaps, which chronicled how the Nordic countries developed the ability to enter new, tech-based markets, has similarly studied two Intelligent Communities of the Year in Canada and tells us how these Canadian communities represent a collaborative approach which has resulted in Canada having more designated Intelligent Communities than any other nation. Darius Ornston is an associate professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto where he specializes in innovation policy, specifically the relationship between cooperation and economic change. His first book, When Small States Make Big Leaps, illustrates how the Nordic countries use cooperation to enter new, high-technology markets. In Good Governance Gone Bad, he demonstrates how the same, tight-knit networks which accelerate reform and restructuring can lead to policy overshooting, overinvestment, and economic crisis. Professor Ornston's work with Dan Breznitz on the politics of innovation and the design of innovation agencies has been published with multiple outlets, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the OECD. Since moving to Canada, Professor Ornston has focused on high-technology entrepreneurship in Ottawa, Waterloo, and Toronto. 

How do you create purposeful success?As a leader it can be challenging to define what success means to you. To achieve this, you need master your inner journey by reflecting, collaborating, and reinventing yourself.My guest in this episode, Paolo Gallo, is an expert in developing leaders who do just this. We talk about the importance of foundational beliefs that guide how leaders think and behave. As well as how we should think about what success means, and what it implies for who you spend your time with, and what you spend your time on. We reflect on what it takes to refresh and reinvent your identity as you look to amplify and enhance your leadership impact. Paulo also discusses why leaders can have such narrow definitions of success.“What unites people with organisations is not what you do, but how you are doing it” – Paolo GalloYou'll hear about:·      Why personal beliefs are important to Paolo·      Paolo's most important belief·      How do so many people lose their identity?·      What leads to narrow definitions of success?·      What does it take to find peace with oneself?·      Knowing yourself vs playing the outer game·      Achieving spiritual levels of leadership·      Myths about leadershipAbout Paolo Gallo:Paolo is an executive coach, bestselling author and keynote speaker. He collaborates with Bocconi and Ashridge Business Schools. He was the chief human resources officer at World Economic Forum in Geneva, chief learning officer at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and director human resources at European Bank for Reconstruction & Development in London, with previous experiences at International Finance Corporation in Washington, D.C. and Citigroup in London, New York and Milan, his hometown.His resources:•          Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paologallo-coaching-keynotes-/ •          Book ‘The Seven Games of Leadership': https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/seven-games-of-leadership-9781399405478/  My resources:Take my new Becoming a Strategic Leader course (https://bit.ly/3KJYDTj). Sign up to my Strategic Leader newsletter (http://bit.ly/36WRpri) for stimuli, ideas, guidance and tips on how to lead your team, organisation or self more effectively, delivered straight to your inbox: Subscribe to my YouTube channel (http://bit.ly/3cFGk1k) where you can watch the conversation. Take the Extraordinary Essentials test (https://bit.ly/3EhSKY5) to identify your strengths and development areas as a strategic leader:    For more details about me: ●      Services (https://bit.ly/373jctk) to CEOs, entrepreneurs and professionals.●      About me (https://bit.ly/3LFsfiO) - my background, experience and philosophy.●      Examples of my writing (https://bit.ly/3O7jkc7).●      Follow me and engage with me on LinkedIn (https://bit.ly/2Z2PexP).●      Follow me and engage with me on Twitter (https://bit.ly/36XavNI).

After an award ceremony and a concert on Monday, serious business starts this Tuesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Chinese Premier Li Qiang are taking the centre stage amid a challenging global context with heightening tensions. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer spoke to Beata Javorcik, the Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, about how geopolitical fragmentation is affecting global trade.

Now there are many reasons why I knew that today's guest would be someone you'd really enjoy learning from, not least the title of his most recent book, “Exploding Turkeys and Spare Trousers, Adventures in Global Business”!Ken Pasternak has a unique background that combines executive education, keynote speaking, management consulting, institution building, and corporate banking. Like me, he started out on a path to medicine but pivoted into a very different career. Prior to his more than twenty-five years advising and teaching business leaders around the world, Ken was Director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and before that Vice President at Citibank while based in six countries. Ken focuses on building high performance organisations through visionary leadership, team effectiveness, creating a winning culture and improving cross-cultural understanding. Still a keen world traveller, he has taught at business schools around the world and splits his time between Florida and Helsinki.Ken has a particular interest in Formula 1 – he co-authored a book entitled “Performance at the Limit, Business Lessons from Formula 1 Motor Racing” which sparked an eight part BBC World television series called Formula for Success.I'm looking forward to hearing his take on what the rarefied world of Formula 1 can teach us about achieving success in leadership and in life, and of course to hear about the Unlock Moments of remarkable clarity that helped him to navigate the straights, the chicanes and the unscheduled pitstops of his own life journey.--Ken Pasternak: https://www.kppasternak.com/Exploding Turkeys And Spare Trousers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exploding-Turkeys-Spare-Trousers-Adventures/dp/1788602811 --The Unlock Moment podcast is brought to you by Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD. Downloaded in over 100 countries. Find out more at https://garycrotaz.com and https://theunlockmoment.com

The Paris Climate Agreement, established at COP 21 in 2015, calls for leaders and institutions across society to work towards reducing their carbon emissions with the aim of reaching net zero by 2050. Multilateral development banks, or MDBs, which have a critical role to play in the climate finance landscape, are in the process of figuring out what it means to deliver on their commitment to “Paris alignment”. “Delivery means really, for us, implementing what we have committed to do and working with the countries in which we invest in order to accompany them in this green transition,” said Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in the latest episode of the Climate + podcast. EBRD aims for 50% of its investments to be in support of the green transition by 2025, she added. Renaud-Basso joined Devex senior reporter Adva Saldinger to delve deeper into EBRD's climate priorities, the bank's approach and timeline for phasing out investments in fossil fuels, what MDBs can do to mobilize more private capital for climate investments, and how MDBs can work better together to support countries with their climate goals. This podcast episode was recorded with a live online audience as part of Devex's wider Climate + event programming at COP 28. The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.

On October 31st, Max moderated a conversation between Maria and Sergei Guriev on the ideology of Putinism. Does Vladimir Putin have an ideology? If so, will this ideology help him retain power in Russia? Maria recently co-authored a report on this same topic, and the paper's findings were the main topic of discussion. Dr. Sergei Guriev is the Provost at Sciences Po in Paris, and a renowned professor of economics. Previously, he led the New Economic School in Moscow from 2004-2013. Additionally, he served as the Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 2016-2019. Learn More: "The Ideology of Putinism: Is It Sustainable?" by Maria Snegovaya, Michael Kimmage, and Jade McGlynn "Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century" by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman

Spin dictators have fewer political prisoners, fewer political killings. This is good. This is really good. On the other hand, we want to tell everybody that they are still dictators.Sergei GurievAccess Bonus Episodes on PatreonMake a one-time Donation to Democracy Paradox.A full transcript is available at www.democracyparadox.com.Sergei Guriev is a professor of Economics at Sciences Po in Paris. He was a former chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the former rector of the New Economic School in Moscow. He is the coauthor (along with Daniel Treisman) of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century.Key HighlightsIntroduction - 0:46Spin Dictatorships and Fear Dictatorships - 3:12Popular Support - 25:21Putin - 39:44Beyond Spin Dictatorship - 43:49Key LinksSpin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman"Informational Autocrats" in the Journal of Economic Perspectives by Sergei Guriev and Daniel TreismanFollow Sergei Guriev on Twitter @sgurievDemocracy Paradox PodcastAnne Applebaum on Autocracy, IncLarry Bartels Says Democracy Erodes from the TopMore Episodes from the PodcastMore InformationDemocracy GroupApes of the State created all MusicEmail the show at jkempf@democracyparadox.comFollow on Twitter @DemParadox, Facebook, Instagram @democracyparadoxpodcast100 Books on DemocracySupport the show

"In Russia, I ran a university, a new economic school. And as an economist and a public intellectual, I was engaged in interactions with the government, including with Vladimir Putin. And there, of course, the situation was that Russia was already a nondemocratic country, meaning that it was a country where elections were not free and fair and partial censorship was already in place. Yet in those years, we could express ourselves openly, not on national TV, but at least in newspapers and on radio. And that eventually brought me into trouble with Vladimir Putin, who at some point suggested that I talked too much and I should not be in the same country. He's never expressed that clearly to me. He passed this message through various common friends. I was also interrogated. My office was searched. And at some point, common friends told me, 'Look, you shouldn't be here.' And I bought a one-way ticket for the next day and just left Russia."What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13.https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

"It breaks my heart to see that this is an existential issue for our civilization. And instead of focusing on environmental transformation, on sustainability, we have to deal with these unnecessary costly wars which destroy a lot of resources. And what is very, very painful as an economist, if you compare the forecast made for global GDP in 2022 made before the beginning of the war, and right after the beginning of the war, the difference would be 1 trillion. And this is exactly the problem with what we are facing today. We need to focus on green transition, and instead, we focus on how to stop Putin from killing people." What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13.https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

"The dictators in the 20th century used military or paramilitary uniforms to project brute force and fear. Today, the situation is different. Successful dictators pretend to be democrats, so they put on civilian suits and travel to Davos to talk to the business elite. They talk to democratic counterparts to pretend that they are like them. And that's exactly the challenge to understanding that these are still non-democratic regimes. We still need to. do something about them because otherwise, we see the encroachments on democracies. And we see also the weakening of our democratic world.If you think about Viktor Orbán, he started off as a democratic leader, but eventually turned his country into a place where the opposition doesn't have an equal chance to come to power. Another one would be Donald Trump. Trump will very much try to come back and basically, these leaders build a spin dictatorship, want to gain power and stay in power using propaganda and misleading and false information. And so far, American institutions have stood up to those challenges, but who knows what happens next?"What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13.https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

"I think young people should not panic. I think we are in a very difficult situation. But we do have amazing technology. We do have a way to invent more technology. And as an economist, I believe that we should remain optimistic. I think there are many things we can do, both in terms of taxing dirty production, but also subsidizing clean production, and investing in infrastructure, that itself can create incentives for the green transition. And in that sense, I think we should work more together. We should learn more in order not to panic. We should also understand the exact challenges, the numbers, and the science, and listen to the experts. But what I can say as a political economist is, of course, the political system is stuck in the status quo. And in order to refocus the priorities of the current political class, you need to become politicians. You need to participate in politics. You need to talk to experts and try to come up with constructive solutions. And what I like about young people is they are very much aware of those issues. And they're very mobilized, especially regarding the issue of environmental transformation, which I think is what creates hope."What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13.https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

"How do we reinvent our democracy? And indeed, the model where you have a representative democracy, then once in four years you vote and delegate, this is a model which is much better than dictators. People criticize Western democracies, but as somebody who lived in a non-democratic country, I will tell you that I'm not surprised that people don't move us to Russia, right? Life is better in a democracy, even if you have criticisms. But there is a major problem here, which is when you vote, do you actually invest in thinking about who you vote for? And the answer to that is most people remain ignorant about the programs of candidates and about the problems of society.And so we need to engage people more in the deliberation of our problems. And indeed, whether digitally or offline, there are now many more experiments and many more ideas on how we can complement representative democracy. Some people even say, 'Replace representative democracy.' But a compliment for me, it's a more complimentary representative democracy with deliberative democracy where we take, for example, what's called a mini public, take a thousand people or maybe 150 people randomly picked, so these are not elites. These are normal people who are randomly picked, who are asked to think about a specific issue, and talk to each other, talk to experts, talk to politicians for several months, and propose a solution. And this is something that has been used a lot now in Western countries. In France, after the Yellow Vest movements, President Macron first launched a great debate at the national level and then created an ecological, social, and economic convention to think about what we can do about climate change in a just way. Because one of the things we faced during the Yellow Vest movement was Macron's promise to impose a fossil fuel tax, which would be good for fighting climate change, but was done in a technocratic way without thinking about people who are left behind. Without thinking about distributional consequences.And so we need to involve everybody in this discussion. And I would say that likely we've now seen that mechanisms experiments like this can work. And of course, digital technology can do even more for this because it's cheaper to launch operations online, and you can involve more people."What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13.https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13."In Russia, I ran a university, a new economic school. And as an economist and a public intellectual, I was engaged in interactions with the government, including with Vladimir Putin. And there, of course, the situation was that Russia was already a nondemocratic country, meaning that it was a country where elections were not free and fair and partial censorship was already in place. Yet in those years, we could express ourselves openly, not on national TV, but at least in newspapers and on radio. And that eventually brought me into trouble with Vladimir Putin, who at some point suggested that I talked too much and I should not be in the same country. He's never expressed that clearly to me. He passed this message through various common friends. I was also interrogated. My office was searched. And at some point, common friends told me, 'Look, you shouldn't be here.' And I bought a one-way ticket for the next day and just left Russia."https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13."It breaks my heart to see that this is an existential issue for our civilization. And instead of focusing on environmental transformation, on sustainability, we have to deal with these unnecessary costly wars which destroy a lot of resources. And what is very, very painful as an economist, if you compare the forecast made for global GDP in 2022 made before the beginning of the war, and right after the beginning of the war, the difference would be 1 trillion. And this is exactly the problem with what we are facing today. We need to focus on green transition, and instead, we focus on how to stop Putin from killing people." https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13."The dictators in the 20th century used military or paramilitary uniforms to project brute force and fear. Today, the situation is different. Successful dictators pretend to be democrats, so they put on civilian suits and travel to Davos to talk to the business elite. They talk to democratic counterparts to pretend that they are like them. And that's exactly the challenge to understanding that these are still non-democratic regimes. We still need to. do something about them because otherwise, we see the encroachments on democracies. And we see also the weakening of our democratic world.If you think about Viktor Orbán, he started off as a democratic leader, but eventually turned his country into a place where the opposition doesn't have an equal chance to come to power. Another one would be Donald Trump. Trump will very much try to come back and basically, these leaders build a spin dictatorship, want to gain power and stay in power using propaganda and misleading and false information. And so far, American institutions have stood up to those challenges, but who knows what happens next?"https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13."I think young people should not panic. I think we are in a very difficult situation. But we do have amazing technology. We do have a way to invent more technology. And as an economist, I believe that we should remain optimistic. I think there are many things we can do, both in terms of taxing dirty production, but also subsidizing clean production, and investing in infrastructure, that itself can create incentives for the green transition. And in that sense, I think we should work more together. We should learn more in order not to panic. We should also understand the exact challenges, the numbers, and the science, and listen to the experts. But what I can say as a political economist is, of course, the political system is stuck in the status quo. And in order to refocus the priorities of the current political class, you need to become politicians. You need to participate in politics. You need to talk to experts and try to come up with constructive solutions. And what I like about young people is they are very much aware of those issues. And they're very mobilized, especially regarding the issue of environmental transformation, which I think is what creates hope."https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

What is a spin dictator? What does tyranny look like in the 21st century? Why is populism on the rise? And how do we reinvent democracy?Sergei Guriev is the co-author of Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century. Guriev is Provost and a professor of economics and at Sciences Po in Paris. He is a former Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London, and a former Rector of the New Economic School in Moscow in 2004-13."How do we reinvent our democracy? And indeed, the model where you have a representative democracy, then once in four years you vote and delegate, this is a model which is much better than dictators. People criticize Western democracies, but as somebody who lived in a non-democratic country, I will tell you that I'm not surprised that people don't move us to Russia, right? Life is better in a democracy, even if you have criticisms. But there is a major problem here, which is when you vote, do you actually invest in thinking about who you vote for? And the answer to that is most people remain ignorant about the programs of candidates and about the problems of society.And so we need to engage people more in the deliberation of our problems. And indeed, whether digitally or offline, there are now many more experiments and many more ideas on how we can complement representative democracy. Some people even say, 'Replace representative democracy.' But a compliment for me, it's a more complimentary representative democracy with deliberative democracy where we take, for example, what's called a mini public, take a thousand people or maybe 150 people randomly picked, so these are not elites. These are normal people who are randomly picked, who are asked to think about a specific issue, and talk to each other, talk to experts, talk to politicians for several months, and propose a solution. And this is something that has been used a lot now in Western countries. In France, after the Yellow Vest movements, President Macron first launched a great debate at the national level and then created an ecological, social, and economic convention to think about what we can do about climate change in a just way. Because one of the things we faced during the Yellow Vest movement was Macron's promise to impose a fossil fuel tax, which would be good for fighting climate change, but was done in a technocratic way without thinking about people who are left behind. Without thinking about distributional consequences.And so we need to involve everybody in this discussion. And I would say that likely we've now seen that mechanisms experiments like this can work. And of course, digital technology can do even more for this because it's cheaper to launch operations online, and you can involve more people."https://sites.google.com/site/sguriev/https://spindictators.com/www.sciencespo.fr/department-economics/en/researcher/sergei-guriev.htmlwww.creativeprocess.infowww.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast

The U.S. dollar's status as the global reserve currency is diminishing, which reduces the power that U.S. leaders have over the global economic system. In this episode, hear highlights from recent Congressional testimony during which financial elites examine the current status of the global financial system and what Congress is being told to do to address perceived threats to it (and to their own power). Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! View the show notes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/cd276-the-demise-of-dollar-dominance Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD269: NDAA 2023/Plan Ecuador CD230: Pacific Deterrence Initiative CD195: Yemen CD187: Combating China CD102: The World Trade Organization: COOL? International Monetary Fund “IMF Financial Activities List 2023.” Updated June 21, 2023. International Monetary Fund. “Weekly Report on Key Financial Statistics.” June 9, 2023. International Monetary Fund. “IMF Lending.” Updated December 2022. International Monetary Fund. Argentina “Argentina: Letter of Intent, Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies, and Technical Memorandum of Understanding” October 17, 2018. International Monetary Fund. “Argentina Policy Memorandum.” January 11, 1999. International Monetary Fund. Ecuador “Ecuador—Supplementary Letter of Intent.” March 13, 2003. International Monetary Fund. Smaller Banks within the World Trade System International Finance Corporation China “Members and Observers.” World Trade Organization. “ China and the WTO.” World Trade Organization. “From ‘China Shock' to deglobalisation shock: China's WTO accession and US economic engagement 20 years on.” Stephen Kirchner. January 24, 2022. United States Studies Centre. “The China Reckoning: How Beijing Defied American Expectations.” Kurt M. Campbell and Ely Ratner. February 13, 2018. Foreign Affairs. The World Bank “Who can borrow from the World Bank?” December 10, 2020. Bretton Woods Observer. “Domination of the United States on the World Bank.” Eric Toussaint. April 2, 2020. Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt. “Why Is the World Bank Still Lending to China?” Yukon Huang. January 15, 2020. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Congressional Stock Trade Tracking Quiver Quantitative Unusual Whales US Abuse of Sanctions “The Other Counteroffensive to Save Ukraine.” Lawrence Summers et. al. June 15, 2023. Foreign Affairs. Allies Pivoting “Europe must resist pressure to become ‘America's followers,' says Macron.” Jamil Anderlini and Clea Caulcutt. April 9, 2023. Politico. “US State Dept backs latest raft of Saudi, UAE, Jordan arms sales.” February 2, 2022. Al Jazeera. Witnesses Mark Rosen on Linkedin Daniel F. Runde on Linkedin “Membership Roster.” Accessed June 24, 2023. Council on Foreign Relations. Tyler Goodspeed on Linkedin Carla Norrlof - “Board of Directors.” Atlantic Council. Daniel McDowell bio Marshall Billingslea on Linkedin Audio Sources Dollar Dominance: Preserving the U.S. Dollar's Status as the Global Reserve Currency June 7, 2023 House Financial Services Committee Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Dr. Tyler Goodspeed, Kleinheinz Fellow, Hoover Institution at Stanford University Dr. Michael Faulkender, Dean's Professor of Finance, Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland Dr. Daniel McDowell, Associate Professor, Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University Marshall Billingslea, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute Dr. Carla Norrlöf, Senior Fellow, The Atlantic Council and Professor, University of Toronto Clips 34:05 Dr. Tyler Goodspeed: In 2022, as the Ranking Member highlighted, 88% of all foreign exchange transactions by value involved the United States Dollar, a figure that has been roughly constant since 1989, which is testament to the substantial path dependence in international currency usage due to large positive network externalities. As the Ranking Member also highlighted, 59% of all official foreign exchange reserves were held in US dollars, which is down from a figure of 71.5% in 2001. By comparison 31% of all foreign exchange transactions by value involve the Euro, which is the second most commonly transacted currency, which accounted for 20% of official foreign exchange reserves. 34:50 Dr. Tyler Goodspeed: The fact that 90% of all foreign exchange transactions continue to involve the United States dollar, and that global central banks continue to hold almost 60% of their foreign exchange reserves in US dollars confers net economic benefits on the United States economy. First, foreign demand for reserves of US dollars raises demand for dollar denominated securities, in particular United States Treasury's. This effectively lowers the cost of borrowing for US households, US companies, and federal, state and local governments. It also means that on average, the United States earns more on its investments in foreign assets than we have to pay on foreign investments in the United States, which allows the United States to import more goods and services than we export. Second, foreign demand for large reserves of US dollars and dollar denominated assets raises the value of the dollar and a stronger dollar benefits us consumers and businesses that are net importers of goods and services from abroad. Third, large reserve holdings of US currency abroad in effect constitutes an interest free loan to the United States worth about $10 to $20 billion per year. Fourth, the denomination of the majority of international transactions in US dollars likely modestly lowers the exchange rate risks faced by US companies. Fifth, the given the volume of foreign US dollar holdings and dollar denominated debt, monetary policy actions by foreign central banks generally have a smaller impact on financial conditions in the United States than actions by the United States Central Bank have on financial conditions in other countries. 36:40 Dr. Tyler Goodspeed: However, the benefits of the US dollar's global reserve status are not without costs. The lower interest rates in the United States benefit US borrowers, especially the federal government. They also lower returns to US savers. In addition, though a stronger dollar benefits US consumers and businesses that net import goods and services from abroad, it does also disadvantage US firms that export goods and services abroad as well as firms that compete against imported goods and services. Furthermore, the perception of the US dollar as a safe haven asset means that demand for the dollar tends to increase in response to adverse macroeconomic events that are global in nature. As a result, the competitiveness of US exporters and US firms that compete against imported goods and services are likely to face an increased competitive disadvantage at times of elevated global macroeconomic stress. 37:35 Dr. Tyler Goodspeed: However, despite these costs, studies generally find that the economic benefits of the dollar's prominent global status outweigh the costs, providing a modest net benefit to the United States economy. This does not include the substantial benefit to which the chairman referred of the United States dollar's centrality in global transactions, allowing the United States to utilize financial sanction tools when appropriate in support of national security objectives. 44:50 Dr. Daniel McDowell: With little more than the stroke of the President's pen or through an Act of Congress, the US government can use financial sanctions to impose enormous economic costs on targeted foreign actors, be they individuals, firms, or state institutions, by freezing their dollar assets or cutting them off from access to the banks through which those dollars flow. The consequences for individual targets, known as specially designated nationals or SDNs, are severe, significantly impairing targets capacity to participate in international trade, investment, debt repayment, and depriving them of access to their wealth. Over the last two decades, the United States has used the tool of financial sanctions with increasing frequency. For example, in the year 2000, just four foreign governments were directly targeted under a US Treasury Country Program overseen by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Today that number is greater than 20, and if we include penalties from secondary sanctions the list gets even longer. The more that the United States has reached for financial sanctions, the more it has made adversaries and foreign capitals aware of the strategic vulnerability that stems from dependence on the dollar. Some governments have responded by implementing anti-dollar policies measures that are designed to reduce an economy's reliance on the US currency for investment in cross-border transactions. But these measures sometimes fail to achieve their goals. Others have produced modest levels of de-dollarization. Notable examples here include Russian steps to cut its dollar reserves and reduce the use of the dollar and trade settlement in the years leading up to its full scale invasion of Ukraine, or China's ongoing efforts to build its own international payments network based on the Yuan, efforts that have taken on a new sense of urgency as Beijing has become more aware of its own strategic vulnerabilities from Dollar dependence. 47:05 Dr. Daniel McDowell: The United States should reconsider the use of so-called symbolic financial sanctions. That is, if the main objective of a tranche of sanctions is to signal to the world or to a domestic audience that Washington disapproves of a foreign government's policy choices, other measures that can send a similar signal but do not politicize the dollar system ought to be considered first. Second, the use of financial sanctions against issuers of potential rival currencies in particular, China and its Yuan should face a higher bar of scrutiny. Even a small targeted sanctions program provides information to our adversaries about their vulnerabilities, and gives them time to prepare for a future event when a broad US sanctions program may be called upon as part of a major security crisis, when such measures will be most needed. Finally, whenever possible, US financial sanctions should be coordinated with our allies in Europe and Asia, who should feel as if they are key stakeholders in the dollar system and not vassals to it. Such coordinated efforts will prevent our friends from seeking to conduct business with U.S. adversaries outside of the dollar system and send a message to the whole world that moving activities into secondary currencies, like the Euro or the Yen, is not a safe haven. 48:35 Marshall Billingslea: I'll say at the outset that I agree with you and others that to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the dollar's demise have been greatly exaggerated. That said, we need to remind ourselves that in the 16th century the Spanish silver dollar was the dominant currency, in the 17th century it was Dutch florins, in the 18th century it was the pound sterling. The link between a nation's currency and its role as the relatively dominant political actor on the world stage is pretty clear. And that is why people like Lula from Brazil, Putin and Xi all aspire to undercut the role of the dollar as the global reserve currency. 50:00 Marshall Billingslea: If we look at what Russia did in the run-up to its further invasion of Ukraine, they began dumping ownership of treasury bonds in 2018. In that year, they plummeted from $96 billion and holdings down to $15 billion and they also started buying large amounts of gold. China is now, as the Ranking Member has observed, embarking on its own its own gold buying spree. I haven't seen the data for May, but April marked the sixth straight month of Chinese expansion in its gold holdings, and I'm not sure I believe the official figures. We have to recall that China is the dominant gold mining player around the world and half of those gold mining companies are state-owned. So the actual size of China's war chest when it comes to gold reserves may be far higher. In fact, I suspect inevitably far higher than official numbers suggest. Last year China also started dumping its treasuries. 2022 marked the largest or second largest decrease on record, with a drop of about $174 billion, and China stood at the lowest level since 2010. In terms of its holdings, though, this past March they did reverse course. This bears close watching because a sell-off may be a strong indicator of planned aggression. 51:20 Marshall Billingslea: The sheer size of the Chinese economy dwarfs what we've been contending with in the form of Iran, Russia, and so on. And one of the first things that the Biden administration did in the wake of Russia's attack was start sanctioning Russian banks and de-SWIFTing them. That's one thing when you're going after an economy smaller than the size of Texas; it's quite another when you consider that out of the 100 largest banks in the world, China has 20, and all four of the top four are Chinese banks. And that is why many within the Treasury contended when I was there, and they will contend to this day, that these Chinese banks are simply too big to sanction. I don't agree that we can allow that to stand but I do believe we have to start taking very swift action to put us in a situation where we could take punitive measures on these banks if necessary. 54:10 Dr. Carla Norrlöf: I will note that the Dollar's dominance is not quite as strong amongst private actors and private markets as it is with governments. In private transactions, it averages about 45% of the world's total. That includes FX transactions, but also things like issuance of international debt, securities, and cross-border banking. 54:55 Dr. Carla Norrlöf: The Chinese Yuan poses no immediate threat to dollar dominance. It accounts for roughly 3% of overall reserves. So far China has been successful in promoting the Yuan with its trade partners, but the Yuan is scarcely used by countries outside trade with China. China is a potential long term challenger due to its active pursuit of trade and investment relationships. If the Yuan is increasingly used by third countries, it will pose a greater threat to the dollar. 55:30 Dr. Carla Norrlöf: And in addition to these external threats, there is also a domestic threat. Flirting with the possibility of a voluntary default puts dollar dominance at risk. What should the US do to maintain dominance, to curb the domestic threat? Congress should consider creating an alternative mechanism for resolving political differences on government spending and its consequences. 56:00 Dr. Carla Norrlöf: To rein in external threats the United States should, whenever possible, implement multilateral sanctions in support of broadly endorsed goals to shore up the liberal international order. This is likely to limit dollar backlash. 59:40 Marshall Billingslea: The thing I do worry -- I come back to this fact that they've been buying a lot of gold -- that one of the things that they could do, which would be very concerning, if they wind up having larger reserves of gold than we believe, is they could start issuing Yuan or gold denominated, gold-backed Yuan contracts and that would further their ambition for introducing the Yuan onto the world stage. 1:05:00 Marshall Billingslea: China considers the actual composition of its foreign exchange reserves to be a state secret. So they don't publish and they they view it as a criminal offense to try to obtain that information in terms of the balance of how much is gold, how much Dollar or Euro denominated. But the numbers I've seen suggest that still at this moment, about 50% to 60% of their Foreign Exchange reserves are still in Dollars or Euros, which means that they are at high risk of sanctions; we can affect them. The problem is that that war chest that they've built up is enormous. It's more than $3 trillion that they have in Foreign Exchange reserves. Compare that with what Russia had at the onset of its assault, which was around $680 billion, of which we managed to freeze overseas half of it, but Russia is still keeping its economy going despite the Biden administration sanctions. So imagine how they're going to be able to continue with that sizable war kitty in Beijing if they do decide to go after the Taiwanese. 1:09:00 Dr. Tyler Goodspeed: Short term I think the risk is that we continue to see diversification away from the dollar, PRC continuing to push other countries to use trade inverse invoicing and Renminbi, that they continue to promote the offshore Renminbi market, that they continue to promote or force bilateral clearing. Longer term, I think the bigger risk is that foreign investors no longer perceive the United States federal government debt to be as safe and risk free as it is today perceived. 1:41:20 Dr. Daniel McDowell: The demonstration of US control over the actual flow of dollars, of communication, absolutely provides information to adversaries to prepare for events where they may face similar circumstances. And so I think what we're seeing is China, we're seeing Russia, we're seeing other countries try to create alternative payments networks. Russia has its own SPFS payment messaging system. It's quite small. It was launched in 2014, not coincidentally, after the initial round of sanctions targeting Russia. In terms of CIPS, China's cross border payments network, Belarus announced it was having banks join immediately following the 2022 sanctions. So what I'm saying is there's a pattern between when the United States mobilizes control over the pipes and the messaging of cross-border payments and adversaries looking for alternatives. It doesn't mean they're using them, but they're getting plugged into the system as at least sort of a rainy day option in the event of a future targeting. 1:45:35 Dr. Daniel McDowell: I look at China not just as a typical country, because I think they're an alternative service provider. Most countries fall into alternative service users; they're looking for an alternative to the dollar. China, you could perhaps put Europe in this as well, are the only two sort of economic BLOCs capable, I think, of constructing an attractive enough cross-border payments network that could attract those alternative service users that are looking for that network. And so that's why I think again, with China, there should be a higher bar of scrutiny. 2:02:20 Dr. Tyler Goodspeed: As deficits mount and as the debt burden rises above 100%, I think the Congressional Budget Office has it ending the budget window at about 119% of our economy, then we will probably observe an acceleration of diversification away from the dollar as a hedge. Again, I don't see another single currency displacing the dollar as the major international currency or as the major reserve currency, but continued diversification. International Financial Institutions in an Era of Great Power Competition May 25, 2023 House Financial Services Committee Watch on YouTube Witnesses: Jesse M. Schreger, Associate Professor of Business, Columbia Business School Mark Rosen, Partner, Advection Growth Capital and former Acting Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Daniel F. Runde, Senior Vice President, Center for Strategic & International Studies(CSIS) Rich Powell, Chief Executive Officer, ClearPath & ClearPath Action Daouda Sembene, Distinguished Nonresident Fellow, CGD and CEO, AfriCatalyst Clips 39:55 Mark Rosen: The IMF is the global lender of last resort to countries that are in economic distress. IMF borrowers usually have a balance of payments problem, are running out of foreign exchange reserves, and so cannot meet their obligations. The IMF negotiates a set of economic policies with the borrower in government to alleviate the crisis, and, conditional on the government implementing the agreed policies, provides a loan in tranches, normally over a three year period. 41:00 Mark Rosen: The biggest challenge the IMF faces today is China which, as we've heard, has lent vast sums to emerging market and low income countries in a non-transparent and irresponsible manner. Many IMF members are now struggling to repay China. 42:05 Mark Rosen: The United States is the largest shareholder in the IMF and has veto power over certain key decisions and it's critical that the US continues to maintain its ownership of more than 15% which enables it to have this veto power. 42:20 Mark Rosen: China for some time, has been pressing for an increased quota share at the IMF. However, given its irresponsible lending, and then willingness to provide debt relief to developing countries, this is not the time to reward China with increased ownership at the Fund. Two other issues I'd like to focus on are anti-corruption and the catalytic role of the private sector in the work of the IMF. Corruption is a severe problem for many emerging market countries, which do not have strong institutions that can confront and root out corruption. The IMF is certainly doing a much better job than it did historically on anti-corruption, but I believe it's critical that it continues to make anti corruption laws and policies front and center in the conditions of its lending programs, as well as a focus of its technical assistance. Only by reducing corruption will many of these countries be able to attract the vast amount of private sector investment which is potentially available and remains the ultimate key to reducing poverty. Establishing a rule of law, including laws to protect private property is key to unlocking this investment. And it should be a focus of the IMF and World Bank to encourage these countries to improve the rule of law and to fight corruption. If they do that, emerging market countries can attract private capital and grow rapidly as many countries that have followed that path have already done so successfully. 44:45 Daniel Runde: Multilateral development banks, MDBs, under US and Western leadership are one way that we can respond with something. The United States built and strengthened the MDB system. MDBs provide money, advice, data and convening power to help developing countries solve problems. If the US exerts its influence over these institutions, they are forced multipliers of a US-led global system. If we disregard our leadership role, then other actors, including China, can exert influence over them. The World Bank Group is a series of institutions: it lends money to national governments, it has a private sector arm, and has an insurance arm. There are a series of other regional development bank's including the InterAmerican Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank -- Taiwan is a member of the Asian Development Bank -- the African Development Bank and the EBRD, the European Bank for Reconstruction Development Bank, focused mainly on countries that used to be behind the Iron Curtain. The United States has been instrumental in creating the majority of these institutions and remains the largest, or one of the largest, shareholders of every afformentioned MDB. Since the founding of these institutions, the US has used its shareholding power to shape the policies and activities of MDBs in indirect support of American foreign policy. 47:10 Daniel Runde: What role does China play in the MDBs? They're a shareholder. China continues to borrow from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. That is crazy. That needs to stop. China is a shareholder. Also, Chinese firms can bid on MDB projects. China wins a lot of in terms of dollar value, a lot of the dollar value of World Bank contracts. Something to take a look at. 47:35 Daniel Runde: How does the Belt and Road figure into the MDBs? You all have heard of the Belt and Road. Infrastructure is now a strategic issue. China's Belt and Road Initiative is a combination of construction and financing projects for roads, airports, and energy around the world. Unfortunately for us, BRI is an ambitious project that speaks to the hopes of China's friends and potential friends. To counter the BRI, the US needs a positive alternative that says more than, "Don't work with China." Right? That's not a strategy. We've got to have an alternative. 1:12:50 Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY): How do we end China's eligibility to borrow from the World Bank? Daniel Runde: The Asian Development Bank has said they're going to end their eligibility by 2025. We should absolutely hold them to that. There is a temptation for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to continue to loan for a couple of reasons. One is they say, "Well, this is a window into how we can understand China better." There's lots of other ways to understand China better. And or this is a way for us to -- for a bunch of lending reasons that they do it. You all have the power of the purse, you have an ability, I think you should have blunted conversations with the administration about this. I suspect it's an open door, but it's going to require, I think, some pushing from Congress. I would encourage this committee to push the administration on ending lending to China. 1:14:30 Jesse Schreger: So fundamentally right now, the Renminbi is not yet positioned to compete with the US dollar for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the reason that the dollar plays the role it does in the international financial system is it provides the global safe asset. You're confident, except for the upcoming debt ceiling, that you will always be paid back if you own US dollars. That's fundamentally what you know. When you contemplate investing in China and holding Chinese Renminbi as reserves, you're not necessarily sure that you're gonna be able to turn that piece of paper into the goods and services that you need or intervening in FX markets. 1:21:15 Jesse Schreger: First and foremost, what China is trying to do is essentially convince countries around the world that the Renminbi is an alternative asset to invoice your trade and to invest in. And so on the investment side, they've been working very hard to actually allow in foreign capital, encouraging foreign central banks to hold Renminbi denominated bonds as their reserves. And on the trade side, they're encouraging firms to invoice, basically price their goods, in Renminbi. There's a few areas in which they've had challenges there. So first, we actually don't know who are holding most of these Renminbi denominated assets. What you can see is after the US sanctioned Russia back in 2014, it was the Russian Central Bank that effectively announced they were moving out of US dollar denominated assets and into Renminbi, so they did that publicly. And so China has effectively been trying to attract foreign capital of that form and a lot of the reasons for that is that China finds itself vulnerable in the dollar-based financial system. And so what I would say the fundamental area in which the United States can assure the dominance of the dollar is making everyone understand that US Treasuries are the world's safe asset that there is no state of the world in which the United States can or will default. 2:03:25 Jesse Schreger: I think the real way in which people start being able to issue and borrow in Renminbi is when people start thinking in terms of the goods that they need to buy and consume are in Renminbi. Fundamentally, most countries around the world, if they issue a bond in Renminbi, the calculation they have to do is then "okay, I'm going to take my renminbi and convert it into US dollars to buy the thing in which I need." And so while actions in the US financial system are certainly going to affect other countries decisions to borrow in Renminbi, the kind of underlying challenges in Chinese financial markets and fundamentally the lack of goods priced and sold in Renminbi are going to continue to hold back kind of a growth of this market for a while. And in particular, the fact that many countries are reluctant to try to raise money inside of China's liquid onshore capital markets for, effectively, fear of capital controls. If you've raised renminbi in China, you can't get that out and to your projects the way you can if you raise money in the US in dollars. 2:14:55 Daniel Runde: The business model of the World Bank is they lend money to richer countries with a pretty good credit rating and then they cross subsidize that by lending to poor countries with a poor credit rating. My view is, China can finance its own development, we should stop this practice. I think the Asian Development Bank has sort of gotten the memo, but the World Bank has not fully gotten the memo and they'll give you kind of World Bank-y answers to this sort of thing. We got to stop it. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA): Mr. Runde, I could not agree with you more. And you highlighted earlier, you know, by 2025, China should graduate from this program. I'd offer that 25 is two years too late. We can start funneling them off that now. Daniel Runde: I agree, sir. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA): I think you're in the right spot. Thank you. Music Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) Editing Pro Podcast Solutions Production Assistance Clare Kuntz Balcer Cover photo Eric Prouzet on Unsplash