14 foreign companies halt investments in Egypt

Some 14 foreign companies have halted their investments in Egypt because of the dollar crisis, a member of the Egyptian Investor Relations Association (EIRA) said.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the American General Motors halted its business in Egypt last Sunday because it was unable to bring its factories’ equipment into Egypt through customs.

In an interview with Quds Press on Tuesday, the source said that the companies “withdrew one by one” from the Egyptian market for many reasons. He pointed out that the central bank prevents companies and importers from depositing more than $250,000 per month in banks.

In a memorandum to the Egyptian prime minister EIRA warned of the withdrawal of companies from the market “due to the dollar shortage”, explaining that it is a bad image for the country, and causes “the displacement of hundreds of thousands of employees.”

Egypt has been suffering from a severe currency shortage for the past few years, a problem that has worsened in the past two years with the reduction in tourist numbers, the withdrawal of foreign investors and the decline of Egypt’s foreign reserves from $36 billion in 2011 to around $16.477 billion at the end of January this year.

Central Bank of Egypt Governor, Tarek Amer, stressing that banks in the country have offered $8.3 billion to cover import orders and outstanding dues of foreign investors, but more is needed.