Sisi asks CBE for fresh initiatives attracting foreign investments

CAIRO - 2 October 2023: President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met asked new Central Bank Governor Hassan Abdullah on Sunday to form fresh initiatives attracting foreign investments to Egypt soon.

Some of the first decisions by the new administration of the Central Bank  of Egypt (CBE), appointed in August, was to facilitate import operations. 

As a result, imported shipments worth up to $25,000 are now allowed to importers once every 6 months, while shipments with a value exceeding $25,000 are released using Form 4.

The CBE also excluded the foreign component from opening a documentary credit in the case of electronic goods that are assembled in Egypt and consist of local parts next to the imported parts, and shipping documents are accepted in light of the fact that they are a production requirement.

Meanwhile, on Sept. 22, the  Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep interest rates unchanged for the third consecutive meeting despite the global trend to raise the rates. 

The overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the rate of the main operation were kept on hold at 11.25 percent, 12.25 percent, and 11.75 percent, respectively.  The discount rate was also kept unchanged at 11.75 percent.

Further, the CBE decided to increase the required reserve ratio to 18 percent from 14 percent.