Atef Abdel Latif of the Marsa Alam Investors Association said the tourism sector is optimistic about the appointment of Tarek Amer as the new governor of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Abdel Latif said the Egyptian economy will witness a major breakthrough to resolve the crisis of foreign currency with the new monetary policy to be established by Tarek Amer, due to his long experience and efficiency. Investors have seen him he as head of the National Bank of Egypt and the Union of Arab Banks. Abdel Latif said appointing Tarek Amer will have great impact on the tourism sector because he believes in the sector and have always stood by it. He knows its importance to the state and its ability to provide hard currency. Abdel Latif also welcomed the decision to establish a sovereign fund to stimulate investment with a capital of EGP 10bn, where EGP 5bn will be allocated for the fund within the current state budget along with an additional EGP 5bn untapped real assets. Abdel Latif said that Minister of Planning Ashraf El-Araby, who included many of funds of energy, tourism, telecommunications, and agriculture, will have great impact on the development of the Egyptian economy and stimulate better growth. He called for the necessity of setting a timetable for activating the EGP 10bn sovereign investment fund. He said the tourism sector has been calling for an EGP 4bn investment fund since the 25 January Revolution in 2011 to support the tourism sector and stalled unfinished projects or those that need maintenance and development. Abdel Latif also called on the state to form a committee of the tourism sector, represented by the Minister of Tourism and the Federation of Chambers of Tourism, to prioritise funding for tourism projects in the current period. He stressed on the importance of the fund to provide job opportunities for young people who have lost hope in finding jobs. Some youths have lost interest in participating in the parliamentary elections. Tourism can provide hard currency without any burdens on the government, he said, which can be used to import raw materials for industries. Tourism is directly and indirectly linked to 72 industries. He said part of Marsa Alam's 72 hotels and resorts have shut down for various reasons, either they were never completed in construction or inability to maintain hotels. These problems could be solved by this fund, where banks have been avoiding securing finances to tourism projects, describing them as high-risk investment. Abdel Latif said the banking sector will see an economic breakthrough in regards to currency policies for Amer's long experience and efficiency, which will have a great impact on tourism. Source: Daily News Egypt
