Ongoing political uncertainty, muted GDP growth and the threat of reduced business volumes that these factors carry with them has resulted in a number of ratings agencies giving Egypt’s banking sector a negative outlook. However, Egypt’s largest banks have demonstrated a high degree of resilience to date, with their bottom lines supported by the...
Although summer 2013 has seen increased political risk and uncertainty in the country’s broader macroeconomic environment, the positive financial results of Egypt’s banking sector over 2012 and into 2013 attest to its overall resilience. A process of regulatory reform, which began in 2004, underpins this solid performance, and continues to this day...
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have occupied a prominent place in government policy since 2002, when the Ministry of Finance introduced a more favourable tax regime for the segment. Since then, further government initiatives have sought to diversify the economy and provide employment for a rapidly expanding population by enhancing SMEs’...
Since the start of the nation’s difficult political transition in 2011, Egypt’s capital markets have faced a number of challenges. An economy that was growing at a rate of 7% has given way to a more modest GDP expansion of 2.2% in the 2011/12 fiscal year, while foreign direct investment fell from a net of LE6.76bn ($971.96m) in 2009/10 to just LE2....
Even amidst the broader turbulence and upheaval in Egypt, the country’s financial markets have avoided worst-case scenarios in part thanks to a robust regulatory regime and careful intervention. The creation of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) in July 2009 was widely welcomed by both the financial community in Egypt and interested...
Entering Egypt’s banking sector has long been a challenging proposition. The large number of domestic players serving a bankable population limited by low salaries and high informal employment has left the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) reluctant to license new lenders. The last major alteration to the sector’s ownership came in 2004, when the Central...
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