President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi appointed Tarek Amer as governor of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), succeeding Hisham Ramez who resigned Wednesday, after nearly two years and eight months in the job. Amer is supposed to hold this position for four years, effective from 27 November 2015 to 27 November 2019. Ramez submitted his resignation from his post as CBE governor to the President about 35 days before the end of his term. He, along with the board of directors, was supposed to end their tenure on 26 November. This raised a lot of questions about the decision at this particular time. Al-Sisi met with Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, former CBE governor Hisham Ramez, Tarek Amer, the Managing Director of the National Bank of Egypt in London, and former chairman of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) on Wednesday morning. During the meeting, the Al-Sisi pointed out the importance of moving forward in the implementation of the economic reform programme and following prudent fiscal and monetary policies that meet their purpose and allow citizens to feel the positive results. He stressed that all measures should be taken to provide all basic commodities for citizens, especially food, medicine, and fuel, as well as working to adjust prices and activate relevant auditing measures. "I have done my best for my country, I feel relieved and wish all the best for my country and my dear friend Tarek Amer," said Ramez wrote on his Facebook page. The new CBE governor faces six major challenges in the upcoming period, including adjusting the exchange market, rebuilding reserves, controlling inflation, creating balance in domestic interest rates, helping banks in the employment of their accumulated liquidity, and covering the budget deficit. "There is great optimism in the market after the appointment of Tarek Amer as CBE governor and the departure of Hisham Ramez. This is expected to reflect on the price of the dollar against the pound," said Mohammed Al-Abyad, head of the General Division for exchange companies in the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC). Al-Abyad said, in exclusive statements to the Daily News Egypt, that Amer's name and his previous experience in the CBE had a major role in building optimism and satisfaction in the exchange market. He also anticipated that the dollar price will witness a notable decline against the Egyptian pound on the parallel market in the next few hours, and further decline in the upcoming days. Executive Managing Director of the Industrial Developmental and Workers Bank of Egypt (IDBE) El-Sayed El-Kosayer said Amer has administrative and banking expertise that qualifies him to manage the CBE with high efficiency. According to Mohamed Abdel Aal, Vice President of the Arab-Sudanese Bank and the Suez Canal Bank Board Member, Amer is best fitted to hold the position of CBE governor at the current time.
