CAIRO: Egypt is looking to bolster its foreign investment in the country despite the continuation of a global financial and debt crisis that is pushing economies down. With investors not wanting to risk investments, the Egyptian Stock Exchange is planning to launch a new derivatives product later this year in the hopes of attracting foreign investment. According to Maged Shawki, who told reporters on the sidelines of investment bank Beltone Financial's conference on the Middle East “Egyptian depository receipts would allow foreign corporations to get listed on Egypt's exchange, much like the New York Stock Exchange.” With a growth rate at around five percent despite global economic downturns, Egypt “has the second best stock market performance in the emerging world, according to MSCI,” Shawki told investors in New York. Government statistics say the country is expected to attract some $7.5 billion in foreign direct investment for the current fiscal year and projections put the figure around $10 billion for the next fiscal year. The announcement comes as analysts say Egypt could be heading towards a bear market, with recent drops in the Stock Exchange becoming a major worry. Overall on Tuesday, the EGX 30 Index dropped 6.1 percent, the largest drop since November 30. Orascom Construction Industries, the largest traded builder, dropped to its lowest levels since last November. Other companies dropped to their lowest point in months on worries that Egypt's financial institutions are not immune to global problems. Since the end of March, the index has dropped 13 percent as Europe continues to struggle with its credit crisis and the euro continues to drop against the dollar and yen. BM
