Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said net foreign direct investments registered a negative value of US$ 858.2 million by the end of the second quarter of FY 2011/2012, the lowest value registered since years. Inflows to the country retreated to US$ 1.293 billion at the end of the second quarter of this fiscal year, down from US$ 2.697 billion at the end of the first quarter, while outflows registered US$ 2.151 billion, according to CBE's report. European Union inflows to Egypt registered US$ 696.7 million, Arab countries inflows registered US$ 362.1 million, USA inflows registered 70.2 million and other countries inflows reached US$ 164.5 million at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal year. A number of bankers have attributed this retreat in net foreign investments to the absence of new expansions or investments in the Egyptian market that made cash outflows exceed cash inflows. This came as the profits achieved in the country were transferred to the external parent companies, instead of being used to expand in Egypt or increase the capital of the local company.
