Egypt ranked first in Africa in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI). The foreign direct investment (FDI) increased markedly, and the total private investment increased by 47%, with foreign direct investment increasing by 15%.
The country aims to increase the net foreign direct investment to $11 billion in the current year 2019 and gradually increase to about $20 billion in 2021-2022.
In contrast, the data of the Egyptian Central Bank revealed a widening current account deficit to $3.85 billion in the first half of the fiscal year 2018-2019, compared with 3.54 billion a year ago. Egypt expects an improvement in the figures after turning into a natural gas source. Whereas Egypt's liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports have accelerated since October 2018 and five tankers have been loaded in March, the highest level since April 2013.
Moreover, the Egyptian pound rose by about 3% against the dollar since the beginning of 2019. The average selling price of the dollar in the Egyptian banks reached EGP 17.38 and buy at EGP 17.28. Suez Canal revenues rose to $2.928 billion from $2.768 billion in the first half of 2017-2018, while tourism revenues were $5.4 billion, up from $3.8 billion a year earlier.
Source: (Al-Arabiya.net, Edited)
