More of our contacts are telling us that Egypt is the investment target du jour for those who want to deploy capital in the Middle East. The country certainly seems to be rebounding after a difficult period following the Arab Spring; as we have previously reported in the Fringe, Egyptian companies are listing on the London Stock Exchange with increasing frequency – and faring quite well.
The country’s balance sheet is also improving. In the end of April, the head of Egypt’s central bank announced that it received US$ 6 billion in deposits from Gulf countries to include the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The capital infusion will boost Egypt’s foreign currency reserves to US$ 20 billion — still far beneath pre-2011 levels. Gulf countries have been eager to support Cairo since the Muslim Brotherhood was ousted in 2013.
