New governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer held a number of meetings over the past days with bank leaders and representatives of various economic sectors.
Senior sources told Daily News Egypt that Amer aims to address the issues faced by the banking sector and other economic sectors before he officially takes charge of the CBE on 27 November.
Amer met midweek with a number of leaders of public banks, at the headquarters of one of the banks. The meeting addressed the challenges faced by the banking sector during the past period, most prominently the dollar crisis.
Amer also met with Mohamed El-Sewedy, chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI).
During the meeting, Amer promised to reconsider the industry’s banking procedures, as well as end the crises of the cargo stuck in ports, and the provision of currency. In addition, he said he would prioritise certain industries, such as food and medicine, according to El-Sewedy.
El-Sewedy added that Amer also promised to reduce the duration for opening letters of credit, especially those allocated for importing the requirements for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Amer also met with Secretary General of the Social Fund for Development (SFD) Soha Soliman. Soliman said Amer highlighted his complete confidence in future of the SMEs sector.
Soliman explained that the fund’s management told Amer it is willing to cooperate with the CBE to launch initiatives to enhance SMEs, in addition to working to reach solutions for sensitive issues facing the sector.
Awni Abdel Aziz, Chairman of the Securities Department at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), said the associations of stock market investors requested to meet with Amer.
Abdel Aziz explained that the meeting will include representatives of all workers, associations and authorities that are represented in the stock market, with the aim of demonstrating the problems that hinder the investment climate in the stock market and securities, especially regarding foreign and Arab investments.
Amer previously said he will announce his vision regarding the monetary policy once he officially takes office the end of November.
He added that he is keen on maintaining effective communication with all parties, whether the government, the economic community or the media.
