Investments by international funds and foreign investors in the Egyptian market has increased in recent weeks due to the $5.2 billion agreement Cairo signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June.
The IMF’s Executive Board is expected to consider the agreement on Friday, amid expectations that it would allow investors to have more confidence in the Egyptian economy and its central bank’s good management of monetary policies.
According to economic experts, officials in investment banks and bankers, Egypt has succeeded over the past few weeks in obtaining about $8 billion from the international market in the form of bonds, which received unprecedented record demand from international funds.
They told the Middle East News Agency that it also obtained nearly $3 billion from the IMF’s Rapid Financing Facility (RFI).
Head of the Treasury at Egypt’s Industrial Development Bank Haytham Adel said foreign investments in Egyptian treasury bills have jumped to more than $10 billion in June.
He pointed out that they have started to restore their previous rates, which exceeded $23 billion, compared to about $15 billion in late December 2019.
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) had previously announced that investors pulled a record $83 billion from developing-world equity and debt markets in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Egypt's reputation in international markets now exceeds all emerging countries, and possibly other major countries, Adel noted.
He pointed out that this is the result of its Economic Reform Program and the international confidence in its central bank’s policies.
The Central Bank of Egypt follows “free market” policies in the exchange market, allowing freedom of entry and exit for foreigners, which increased confidence in the Egyptian market.
According to Adel, foreigners left Egypt taking with them more than $15 billion in March and April without any problems and without the waiting lists as in the past.
He said these lists and problems constituted the biggest obstacle to foreign investors to carry out investment projects in Egypt.
However, the central bank succeeded over the past four years in restoring confidence of international institutions and foreigners in the Egyptian market, which reflects the rapid return of international funds to investment in Egypt and their pumping of billions of dollars.
