13/03/2003
Al-Alam Alyom Newspaper 2003/MARCH /13
Investors and importers have set a package of demands they see necessary for the success of liberalizing the exchange rate and achieving its goals. They have requested that transactions in dollars be through legal channels and that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should intervene to strike a balance in the market when the need arises. They also urged Egypt to request assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in order to increase its foreign monetary resources, particularly as both international organizations have recommended that the exchange rate be liberalized. They also offered to assist in this process.(Available in Arabic – German in PDF)
Investors and importers have set a package of demands they see necessary for the success of liberalizing the exchange rate and achieving its goals. They have requested that transactions in dollars be through legal channels and that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should intervene to strike a balance in the market when the need arises. They also urged Egypt to request assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in order to increase its foreign monetary resources, particularly as both international organizations have recommended that the exchange rate be liberalized. They also offered to assist in this process. Dr. Nader Riad, advisor to the Industry and Energy Committee at the People’s Assembly says “It is necessary to provide enough time before assessing the experience, as we still pass through the high limits of the experience, which will decrease later so that dealing with the market mechanisms will achieve a fair rate of exchange.” Mohamed Abul-Enin, Chairman of the Housing Committee at the People’s Assembly and Head of the Investors Division, sees that the issue has become a matter of national security and should be assessed from all directions. He also believed that speculators should be deterred in order to provide the dollar liquidity necessary for opening documentary credits for factories and national interests and buying necessary requirements. He notes that the decision has no defect, but it should have been accompanied with other decisions like fixing the rate of customs dollar in order to alleviate importers and consumers’ burdens.