International report: 17% of companies in Egypt were asked to pay bribes

An international report issued by three prominent international credit and financial institutions revealed that 17 per cent of companies in Egypt have experienced at least one situation where they were asked to pay bribes.

The report, issued by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank Group, added that although only 6 per cent of companies considered corruption the most important drawback, it still exists on a large scale in Egypt.

The report said that the private sector can become a major engine of growth and the promotion of prosperity in the Middle East and North Africa region if effective policies are put in place to address the key challenges in the region.

With regard to the factors that hinder the private sector in the Middle East and North Africa, the report pointed to lessons drawn from surveys of business institutions in the area, covering more than 6,000 companies in eight countries. Many of those companies said that the most important factors that hinder them are political instability, corruption, the supply of electricity, which cannot be relied upon, and shortages of opportunities to access finance.