Egypt's banks raise $3 bln since pound float decision

Egypt’s local lenders have collected around $3 billion since the decision to liberalise the pound’s exchange rate against the foreign currencies earlier this month, state news agency MENA reported on Monday citing a central bank official.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided in early November to float the pound and raise key interest rates as part of a set of reforms aimed at alleviating the dollar shortage, eradicating the black market and stabilising the country's flagging economy.

The central bank sub-governor Tarek Fayed said that the latest economic decisions will help Egypt’s competitiveness in attracting tourism, and that foreign investors have returned to invest in the local-currency treasury bills.

The average exchange rate for the US dollar at local banks currently registers more than EGP 17.5.

The CBE’s governor Tarek Amer said earlier this year in a televised interview that he expects to see $15 billion to $20 billion in foreign investments in Egyptian government treasury bills and bonds by the end of 2016.