Egypt FDI inflows rose 29% in Q4-FY17; investment minister says

Egypt received about $1.35 billion in foreign direct investment in the fourth quarter of the 2016-17 financial year, a 29 percent rise from $1.05 billion the previous year, Investment Minister Sahar Nasr said Saturday.

Foreign direct investment in Egypt rose to $7.9 billion in the 2016-17 financial year that ended last June, compared to $6.93 billion the previous year, the country’s central bank said earlier in October.

Egypt late last year signed a $12 billion three-year International Monetary Fund loan agreement and floated its currency in a bid to lure back investors that fled after its 2011 political uprising.

Egypt may exceed its $10 billion target for foreign direct investment this year as the weaker pound reduces the cost of doing business in North Africa’s largest economy and a new investment law comes into force, the investment minister earlier told Bloomberg.

The Egyptian pound has halved in value against the U.S. dollar since the central bank removed most currency controls late last year, helping to end a foreign currency shortage and secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund. The government also embarked on a structural reform programme that includes subsidy cuts and new taxes to control its ballooning budget deficit.