Foreign investment in Egypt treasury bills jumps to six-year high

Foreign investment in Egyptian government’s treasury bills is reaching its highest levels in six years since 2011 uprising, a recent official data from the central bank showed on Thursday.

Foreigners were significant investors in Egypt’s government bonds and bills and a major source of hard currency before the 2011 uprising that overthrew autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

The central bank’s decision in November to abandon a peg of 8.8 Egyptian pounds per dollar and freely float the currency, which has since halved in value, has helped revive foreign demand, in a bid to restore pre-2011 levels.

Foreign investment in treasury bills climbed 115 percent in February from January, according to the central bank’s monthly bulletin.