On the drop of direct foreign investment and outflow of capital and financial accounts, Egypt's balance of payment recorded a deficit in first 6 months of fiscal year 2011/2012 Egypt's balance of payments swung into a $8 billion deficit in the last half of 2011 from a $571.1 million surplus the year before, the country's central bank said in a statement on Sunday. The Balance of Payments (BOP) shows international transactions in goods, services and money. Data released by the central bank shows the deficit is mainly due to capital and financial accounts, which saw a net outflow of $2.4 billion between July and December 2011, compared to a net inflow of $2.8 billion the previous year. The trade balance deficit reached $15.6 billion against $14.5 billion in the same period last year. Egypt's foreign investment portfolio also saw an outflow of $4.6 billion on the foreign sales of Egyptian treasury bills. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) also dipped into the red with an outflow of $418.1 million. This contrasted with a net inflow of LE2.3 billion in the first half of the 2010-11 fiscal year. Remittances were the only major factor to improve, rising 28 per cent to $7.9 billion, compared to $6.2 billion the year before.
