Egypt poised to receive record net FDI this year

Athens: Egypt is set to see record net foreign direct investment flows of more than $10 billion in the current fiscal year ending June, the country’s investment minister said yesterday. Speaking in Athens, Mahmoud Mohieldin also said the country’s inflation was high but the government was working with the central bank to achieve the inflation target. Egypt is drawing interest from international firms, keen to benefit from the country’s privatisation programme. « This year, based on the three quarterly results, we are expecting [FDI] more than net $10 billion. Last year was $6.1 billion, » Mohieldin told reporters on the sidelines of an Institute of International Finance meeting. His previous estimate for the fiscal year, given in March, was $7.5-$8 billion. ——————————————————————————– ——————————————————————————– Mohieldin expected foreign investors to participate in the sale of the government stake in Bank of Alexandria, expected in October or November. « We are aiming for an IPO and as you know it’s an open market. So we expect it’s going to be a mix of Egyptian and foreign buyers, » he said. Egypt is offering 15 per cent of the shares in Bank of Alexandria on the stock market. It sold 80 per cent of the bank to Italy’s Sanpaolo in October for $1.6 billion.