Foreign investment in Egyptian government securities jumped 13 percent in the past week to hit 136 billion Egyptian pounds ($7.53 billion), the head of public debt at Egypt's Finance Ministry, Sami Khallaf, announced Wednesday. It was at 120 billion pounds a week earlier. Egypt used to attract higher inflows into government bonds and bills before the 2011 uprising drove off foreign investors. The central bank ditched its foreign exchange peg of 8.8 pounds per dollar in early November, and to help stabilise the newly floated currency it raised interest rates by 300 basis points. The central bank raised its key interest rates once again by 200 basis points on May 21 in an attempt to curb soaring inflation of over 30 percent. Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer has said nearly $1 billion in new foreign investment entered the country following the last rate hike. Source: Reuters
