Finance Minister: Egypt mobilizes all capabilities to increase investment

The Egyptian pound dropped again against the dollar on the black market on 21 July 2016, extending its recent decline despite central bank efforts to close the gap between demand and supply in the dollar-starved economy. Egypt, which relies heavily on imports, is facing a shortage in foreign currency inflows after a 2011 uprising drove tourists and foreign investors away, causing the country's reserves to tumble to $16.56 billion from $36 billion. A black market for dollars has sucked up liquidity from the banking system while the central bank kept the pound artificially strong and rationed dollars through weekly auctions, putting a strain on foreign reserves. (Photo by Fayed El-Geziry /NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Egypt mobilizes all its capabilities to prop up investment and local production, affirmed Finance Minister Mohamed Maait.

The government has taken effective steps in implementing structural reform programs and luring more local and foreign investments, added the minister during his meeting with members of the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commerce in London.

He further referred to the launch of the State Ownership Policy Document, which identifies the economic sectors that the state plans to withdraw from entirely or increase or reduce its involvement in over the coming three years as part of a plan aimed at creating an attractive and conducive environment for the country’s stagnant private sector to expand and attracting local and foreign investments.

The minister, meanwhile, noted that Egypt managed to attain an initial surplus by about 1.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP) over the past 11 months of the current fiscal year that ends on 30 June.