Egypt finance ministry raises interest rates of Suez Canal certificates to 15.5 pct

Egypt's finance ministry has raised interest rates on Suez Canal investment certificates to 15.5 percent, minister Amr El-Garhy announced on Sunday. El-Garhy said that the increase will be for the remaining three years of the five-year certificates. "This decision was made in coordination with the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Mohab Mamish and central bank governor Tarek Amer," the minister added. The decision comes in accordance with the central bank's decision to raise key interest rates by 300 basis points after the floating of the local currency on Thursday. The overnight deposit rate, the overnight lending rate and the rate of the CBE's main operation have been raised to 14.75 percent, 15.75 percent and 15.25 percent respectively. Suez Canal investment certificates, which were sold in September 2014 in Egyptian pounds only, were issued to finance the digging of the new Suez Canal project, a parallel waterway to the first canal.