The latest report from the international finance institution said that political disorder in Egypt led to the withdrawal of $16 billion dollars of foreign capital since the beginning of this year. The report expected the withdrawal in capital flows to Egypt in 2011 of U.S. $17 billion. It said Egypt's economy is characterized by variety and activity, unlike Eastern and Central European countries in the early 1990s, and that the economy significantly developed in the period before the revolution. The report called on the new government in Egypt to renew its commitment to improving the business environment and modifying the fiscal deficit, which will lead to the continuity of rapid development rates. The report criticized western actions to help the Egyptian economy, saying that what the big countries have done, especially the United States and the European Union and other international forces, is not enough to boost the Egyptian economy and support reforms, which in turn will support the process of political transition to democracy. The report called on the international forces to reinforce trade and the private investments in Egypt, to direct assistance to encourage direct investment through the private sector, and the participation between both sectors, private and public, in infrastructure projects, which are more important to the Egyptian economy than facilitating loans from international institutions. The economic expert Ahmed el-Ghandor said the resolution of the investigation with members of the former regime reflects confidence in the Egyptian economy. He described this resolution as a start to consolidating the rule of law and building democracy, which encourages the arrival of foreign capital. He pointed out that this should be quick to refresh economic activity in this difficult transition period. El-Ghandor said the repercussions of the revolution on economic activity are normal, but what is important is to bring the situation back to its normal state, especially the sources of foreign change in tourism and exports. Sherif Sami, a member of the general authority board for investment and free zones, said the economic cases that are being adjudicated before Egyptian courts and are related to the former regime are influencing the investment climate more than political cases. He said most of these cases are old cases from 10 years ago, such as the cases of selling Ideal company and Marsa Matrouh lands and building resorts. Sami encouraged adopting clear techniques in the entrance and exit of foreign investors to the Egyptian market, in addition to putting fixed laws, in case of committing any financial or administrative irregularities, as happened before in selling public sector companies to Arab and foreign investors through the privatization program. He said the recent rumors about nationalization of properties and removing them from the investors and returning them to the state lead to the questioning of whether foreign investors will agree to contract with the government with these prices, which will need to respect the old contracts. A member of the general union of the investors' institutions, Nasser Bayan, said the current trials of members of the former regime and businessmen related to these cases are badly influencing the appeal of foreign investments. Nasser pointed out that the current trials do not raise good investor's fear towards working in Egypt, but give an impression of the instability of the situation in Egypt. This will need to differentiate between good investors and bad ones, he said, which requests studying each case separately, and putting convenient solutions with cordiality, like the Toshka lands case
