Prepared by
Rania Imam – Eiman Rashed
Mahmoud Hammad
Alaa Abdelwanis – Moharram Fouad
Arab Investors Union Secretary General: Exchange Rate Liberalization will enhance international confidence in the investment climate.
Ambassador Gamal Bayoumi, The Secretary-General of Arab Investors Union, said, “The decision to liberalize exchange rate will greatly contribute stabilizing the market, encourage investors and enhancing international confidence in the investment climate”.
Bayoumi said in a press statement that the decision is part of an economic reform package implemented by the government.
In the same context, Bayoumi praised the recent decisions taken by the Supreme Investment Council with the aim of improving and boosting the investment climate and removing all obstacles facing investors in Egypt.
Bayoumi emphasized, “A stable stock exchange will significantly reassure the investor because instability of the stock market is not in the interest of neither the economy nor the investment”.
He expressed hope that this move would contribute to shrinking budget deficit and support the economic development process.
Dr. Medhat Nafie, an economist and a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), said, “The decision will had positive effects, which has been reflected over the Egyptian stock market trading in the early hours immediately after exchange rate liberalization”.
Nafie said in a press statement, “Positive returns of the rate exchange liberalization will soon be reflected in injecting new investments into Egypt due to the stability of the market and availability of the US dollar through banks”.
He added, “Following this important decision, the investor will not be overburdened with providing US dollars.”
He noted, “Exchange rate liberalization is in line with package of investment measures taken by the Supreme Investment Council with the aim of creating an environment that encourages investment”.
From his part, banking expert Ahmed Salim stated, “The Central Bank of Egypt’s decision has contributed to stabilizing the market and stopping significant increase in US dollar exchange rate over the past few months”.
Salim emphasized, “The positive returns of this decision is that it will attract investors, however further mechanisms must be adopted to support the decision, most importantly issuance of the investment law, increasing production and reducing imports in order to reduce the demand for US dollar as well as increasing sources of foreign income and strengthening of the central bank’s dollars reserve”.
