Since the Central Bank of Egypt decided to liberalise the exchange rate on 6 March, companies linked to the three state-owned banks—National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du Caire—have collectively gathered an equivalent of EGP 22.3bn in foreign currencies up to last Thursday.
Al-Ahly Exchange, under the leadership of Chairperson Abdel Majeed Mohy El-Din, has drawn in EGP 12.386bn of these currencies within this timeframe, with EGP 2.183bn acquired in the past week alone.
Misr Exchange CEO Adel Fawzy reported that since the liberalisation, the company has seen a relinquishment of foreign currencies totalling around EGP 8.725bn, with the US dollar making up the majority.
Cairo Exchange CEO Mohamed Ragai revealed that the company has collected approximately EGP 1.191bn in foreign and Arab currencies since the exchange rate liberalisation until the end of last week’s transactions.
In a pivotal meeting on 6 March, the Central Bank of Egypt resolved to let market forces determine the exchange rate. This move, aimed at unifying the exchange rate, is pivotal as it helps to dissolve the backlog of foreign currency demand by bridging the gap between the official and parallel market rates.
Following this policy change, banks and currency exchange firms in Egypt have experienced a substantial influx of US dollars and other key foreign currencies.
