Egypt to face pain before gain after massive currency devaluation

The pain of Egypt's currency devaluation may be felt well before the benefits, creating a period of at least several months in which there is little positive news to offset rising inflation and falling living standards, businessmen and economists say.

By bringing the Egyptian pound down to levels which the markets consider fair value, the devaluation promises to attract fresh capital into the country and end a hard currency shortage that has plagued the economy for years.

Corporate executives say they will finally be able to make investment decisions based on a transparent, predictable currency market run by banks, rather than an opaque black market in dollars that swung wildly amid profiteering and speculation.