Cairo - Islam Abdel Hamid
Chairperson of Financial and Customs Committee in Egyptian Businesspersons Association Taha Khaled praised the decision taken by the Egyptian government to float the Egyptian pound, saying it was necessary to eliminate the dollar black market. He revealed that the Egyptian banks received $ 7 billion since the decision in November.
He added, in a statement to "Arabs Today", that the Egyptian government needed to take a number of decisions and measures to improve the economic situation, including liberalization of the exchange rate and raising the interest rate of the Egyptian pound. He signaled that Egyptians turned to sell the dollar for 20 percent-revenue saving certificates.
He attributed the current increasing prices of commodities to the decision to float the currency, stressing that the dollar exchange rate will not continue as it is now. He expected that the dollar will drop against the Egyptian pound during the coming period to reach to 12 pounds.
He stressed the need for increasing the exports and restoring the rates of tourism to pave the way for increasing the amounts of foreign currencies in the Egyptian banks before the end of the current year.
He praised the governmental success to restore the confidence of investors during the current period, saying that he is optimistic of the future of Egypt's economy. He expressed his confidence that the Egyptian economy will overcome the current crisis calling the government to take serious measure to attract the investors during the coming period.