Limited access to finance is still one of the major impediments to private sector growth and expansion, Yasser Sobhi reports
Borrowing from banks is still a complicated process and a privilege that most firms do not enjoy. Although the banking (...)
The NDP's economic team recently showcased how policies adopted in the past three years are paying off. Yasser Sobhi reports
Gamal Mubarak, head of the National Democratic Party (NDP) Policies Committee, accompanied by the cabinet's "three (...)
Recent amendments to the executive regulations of the mortgage finance law may be a step towards its full utilisation. Yasser Sobhi reviews recent developments
"2005 will be the mortgage finance year," Mahmoud Mohieddin, minister of investment, (...)
Are controversial Qualified Industrial Zones -- which involve cooperation with Israel in exchange for preferred export status to the US -- about to become a reality? Yasser Sobhi and Niveen Wahish report
Foreign Trade and Industry Minister Rasheed (...)
Last week's sweeping banking sector reforms were met with much controversy, reports Yasser Sobhi
Just a few days after reducing custom duties and tariffs, the government also announced a comprehensive strategy to undertake much needed banking sector (...)
Is an entrepreneurial family history and experience in managing a private business an asset or a liability for a new cabinet minister? Yasser Sobhi searches for answers
We are not just talking about businessmen from well-to-do families: we are (...)
Unfavourable market conditions are wreaking havoc on government attempts to engineer an economic recovery. Yasser Sobhi reports
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has increased interest rates to control inflation, but other banks' deposit rates are not (...)
Conservative traditions, widespread discrimination, less education and other factors combine to keep women marginalised in the work force. Yasser Sobhi reports
Public awareness of the need to enhance the economic role of women is on the rise. The (...)
The appointment of Farouk El-Okdah as the new governor of the Central Bank of Egypt has been met with cautious optimism. Yasser Sobhi reports
Markets showed indifference to the appointment of Farouk El-Okdah to the thorny position of Governor of the (...)
Despite government promises, a mechanism that could help solve Egypt's forex market problems has failed to materialise. Yasser Sobhi investigates
Lending between banks in foreign currency, known as the interbank in dollars, has once again been (...)
The pace of local reforms and political tension in the region are not helping attract investors to the market. Yasser Sobhi reports
The Egyptian economy is badly in need of foreign investments. In the first nine months of the last fiscal year (July (...)
A rise in the euro rate is wreaking havoc on the Egyptian economy, reports Yasser Sobhi
The euro has soared against both the US dollar and the Egyptian pound on international markets recently. This appreciation has compromised the position of (...)
Need a loan? You could try a bank. Yasser Sobhi finds it is not that simple
In Egypt, the concept of personal loans is still in its infancy. Yet banks, led by a handful of foreign players, are betting on the untapped potential of this new market. (...)
The Central Bank of Egypt's decision to cut the discount rate last week was hailed as a good step, but plenty still remains to be done to boost the economy. Yasser Sobhi investigates
In a step aimed at reviving the economy, the Central Bank of Egypt (...)
A new generation of bankers has taken the helm at the country's most strategic banking institutions. They come with no dearth of plans to reform and modernise Egypt's flailing banking sector. Yasser Sobhi writes
More than a dozen banks have changed (...)
For the first time since 1999, the International Monetary Fund has issued an encouraging report on the Egyptian economy. Yasser Sobhi sifts through the signals that have improved prospects for higher rates of growth in the coming year
The Egyptian (...)
Although not yet fully recovered, the foreign currency market is significantly more stable at present. Yasser Sobhi reports
Exchange offices around the country are not doing much business these days. New Central Bank of Egypt regulations have helped (...)