Egypt: Pandemic Highlighted Necessity of Resettling Some Industries

A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. (Reuters)
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Egypt: Pandemic Highlighted Necessity of Resettling Some Industries

A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. (Reuters)
A general view of buildings by the Nile River in Cairo, Egypt July 2, 2019. (Reuters)

Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development Dr. Hala el-Said said that the pandemic has demonstrated the necessity of resettling some industries, including medical products.

Said participated in the regular meeting of the“British Investors Forum” in Egypt, during which she addressed the situation of the Egyptian economy after the COVID-19 crisis.

She stressed the need to boost self-sufficiency and deepen agricultural industrialization and the localization of products in the telecommunications sector, trains and railway supplies, home appliances, as well as furniture industries.

She also highlighted the national strategy for the transition to a green economy that was adopted by the Egyptian government.

"Egypt was at the forefront of the countries in the region that issued green bonds in international markets,” she noted.

Said stressed her country's determination to move forward with the comprehensive and sustainable reform and development process that requires years of serious and continuous work in cooperation between all development partners from the private sector and civil society with the government.

"Structural reforms aim to diversify the structure of the Egyptian economy, increase its flexibility, raise the ability to absorb external and internal shocks, as well as transform the Egyptian economy into a productive economy that is based on knowledge and has competitive capabilities in the global economy," she said.



Egypt's Net Foreign Assets Slid in October

A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
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Egypt's Net Foreign Assets Slid in October

A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)
A general view shows Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt July 13, 2020. (Reuters)

Egypt's net foreign assets (NFAs) dropped by $1.12 billion in October after a rise in September, central bank data shows.

NFAs declined to the equivalent of $9.21 billion at the end of October from $10.33 billion at the end of September, according to Reuters calculations based on the official central bank currency rates. The decline followed a $591 million gain in September.

Egypt had been using NFAs, which include foreign assets at both the central bank and commercial banks, to help to prop up its currency since as long ago as September 2021.

NFAs turned negative in February 2022 and only returned to positive territory in May this year.

Foreign assets rose at the central bank in October but dipped at commercial banks while foreign liabilities climbed at both commercial banks and the central bank.