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Egypt | To loosen its currency peg Egypt needs sustainable dollar inflows

CAIRO, Capital Markets in Africa: Egypt is rebuilding its foreign reserves with the help of loans and aid, easing a shortage of dollars and preparing the way for a loosening of its fixed exchange rate. But economists and bankers say that unless it finds a sustainable inflow of dollars the import-dependent country could soon find itself back at square one. Egypt has struggled to earn dollars since a 2011 revolt drove away tourists and foreign…

Egypt | Inflation at 20-Month High in Egypt Adds Pressure to Raise Rates

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CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Market in Africa: The rate increase that followed the biggest one-time devaluation of the Egyptian pound in March may represent the start of a tightening cycle, as prices rose at the fastest pace in 20 months. Annual core inflation, a gauge of price increases of non-volatile consumer goods, reached 9.51 percent last month, the highest level since August 2014, the official statistics agency said on its website. Headline inflation in urban areas rose to 10.3 percent,…

Corruption in North Africa: Nearly 1 in 3 paid a bribe …

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nearly one in three citizens who tried to access basic public services in the Middle East and North Africa paid a bribe, a Transparency International report said today, showing that governments across the region have failed to hear their citizens’ voices against corruption. According to a public opinion survey by the international anti-corruption group of nearly 11,000 adults in 9 countries and territories, the majority of people (61…

Central Bank of Egypt Keeps Policy Rate Unchanged at 10.75% in April

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CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — In its meeting held on April 28, 2016, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) main operation unchanged at 10.75 percent, 11.75 percent, and 11.25 percent, respectively. The discount rate was also kept unchanged at 11.25 percent. Annual headline CPI remained at around 9 percent in February and March 2016,…

Egypt Set to Name Ex-Banker as Finance Chief, State Media Says

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CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is set to appoint former investment banker Amr El-Garhy as finance minister as part of a partial cabinet change on Wednesday, the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper reported. El-Garhy, a former executive at investment bank EFG-Hermes, will replace Hany Kadry Dimian, the newspaper reported, without saying how it obtained the information. El-Garhy is currently a board member of the Cairo-based investment firm Qalaa Holdings. His possible appointment was also reported…

Egypt Approaches JPMorgan, FGB as Bank Markets Local Debt

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CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — National Bank of Egypt officials met with banks in the United Arab Emirates, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., as the North Africa nation seeks to attract foreign investors to its local-currency debt market after the biggest one-time devaluation of the pound since 2003 last week. Senior executives, including the bank’s treasurer, also met with First Gulf Bank and other investors to “explain” and market its product for hedging foreign-exchange risk aimed…

Egypt Slops Limits on Foreign Currency Deposits for Individuals

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CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — Egypt removed restrictions on the amount of foreign currency individuals can deposit and withdraw from banks, to ease the damage from an intensifying dollar shortage. However, Egyptian banks are still mandated to maintain caps on corporate accounts, Egypt’s central bank said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. The central bank had limited foreign currency deposits to US$50,000 per month since February, 2015, before easing the rule for…

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