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Raising dollar deposit cap is unlikely during current period, our target is to purify imports: Salman Imports, which are not committed to international import requirements, are valued at $9bn, says source in Ministry of Industry
Raising the cap on dollar deposits is unlikely during the current period as it was not issued in the Coordinating Council agenda, Minister of Investment Ashraf Salman, who is also a member at the Coordinating Council for fiscal and monetary policies, said. In March, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) limited the cap on dollar deposits, imposing a maximum deposit of $ 10,000 per day and $50,000 per month, anticipating the elimination of the unofficial market for foreign currency exchange. The importers objected to the decision and demanded that the cap be extended to $250,000 per month but the CBE did not respond. Salman said regulating the import process is a priority for the coordinating council, which will mandate those factories that export to Egypt to register at the Egyptian Exports and Imports Supervisory Authority. Meanwhile the value of imports received by Egypt, which do not comply with international requirements and standards, reached $9bn from a total of $80bn in imports received by Egypt in 2015, a source in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry, who wished to remain anonymous, told Daily News Egypt. Egypt is currently negotiating with Chinese financing bodies to take a loan of EGP 8bn to fund the revamp its electricity grid. The loan will have a lower interest rate than local lenders would provide, according to Salman. He said these negotiations will be finalised during the Chinese president's visit to Egypt. Egypt will also present to the Chinese delegation a number of projects for investment including the electric train and the eleven government buildings in the new administrative capital. Salman revealed that negotiations with Chinese company Jushi Group Co. Ltd to increase its investments to Egypt will be finalised soon. Coordination between the Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry is taking place to decrease export fees, which are applied on imports of the factories operating in Egyptian free zones, particularly fees on raw materials imported. Chairman of the Federation of Egyptian industries (FEI) Mohamed El- Sewedy told Daily News Egypt Thursday that the foreign currency deposit cap for industries is expected to be raised soon and be completely removed by the end of 2016.
