Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (social networking sites)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that part of the amounts announced in the agreement that Egypt signed with the UAE regarding the project to develop the Ras El-Hekma area had reached the Central Bank, but he did not indicate a specific value.

Al-Sisi added that a “similar” amount will arrive next Friday.

The head of wisdom

Last Friday, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the details of the largest foreign direct investment project ever, according to these details:

  • A tourist real estate project called “New Ras El Hekma” with an area of ​​170.8 million square meters (about 40,600 acres).

  • The project is expected to generate $35 billion within two months, including $24 billion in direct liquidity, and $11 billion in Emirati deposits that will be transferred into Egyptian pounds in the project.

  • The project is part of Egypt's urban development plan for the year 2052.

  • There are expectations that the huge city will attract at least 8 million additional tourists to Egypt.

  • The UAE expects to invest at least $150 billion throughout the duration of the project’s implementation, with Egypt receiving 35% of the project’s profits.

Part of the Ras El Hekma deal announcement last Friday (Egyptian Council of Ministers via Facebook)

Parallel market

This comes amid confusion in the scene of the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market that has flourished during the recent period, with the price of the dollar declining from more than 70 pounds last month to 50 pounds or less today.

As part of Egypt's efforts to resolve the dollar scarcity crisis amid growing financing needs, it seeks to expand the agreement with the International Monetary Fund from the current $3 billion agreed upon in late 2022 to $10 billion according to the expectations of the American investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Reuters quoted the Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, as saying yesterday that the Fund had succeeded in resolving the basic issues with the Egyptian authorities regarding its review of a loan program with Egypt worth $3 billion.

She added that an additional financing package is expected to be finalized within weeks.

The Fund calls on Egypt to lower the exchange rate of the pound despite the proceeds from the Ras El Hekma deal, to increase the economy’s ability to withstand shocks, according to what the Director of the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia Department at the IMF, Jihad Azour, said in a recent television interview.

Egyptian economic circles expect a reduction in the exchange rate of the Egyptian pound against the dollar in the official market during the next few days, marking the end of the crisis of the decline in Egypt’s dollar resources in exchange for increased financing needs.

Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters