Egypt to tackle US dollar shortage with land sales to foreign companies
Egypt to tackle US dollar shortage with land sales to foreign companies
The relaxing of rules around land sales comes as the Egyptian government tries to overcome a shortage of foreign currency.
2 min read
Egypt approves sale of lands to foreign companies amid a severe economic crisis [Getty]
Egypt's cabinet Wednesday thatÌýit would approve the sale of some tracts of land to foreign companies in US dollars, in an apparent bid to overcome a shortage of foreign currency.
The land up for sale in US dollars will be for a range of uses, including commercial, administrative, and residential projects, the cabinet said in a statement, without specifying prices.
This could allow foreigners toÌýÌýwithout restrictions and expatriates toÌý.
In recent months the Egyptian government has started selling state assets, including army-owned firms, to wealthy Gulf nations.
This move is meant to attract foreign currency and loosen state and military control over the economy - a ±è°ù´Ç²µ°ù²¹³¾³¾±ðÌýsignedÌýby the IMF and Egypt.
In March last year, the governmentÌýdeclared it would allow foreigners to acquire Egyptian citizenship, provided the person purchases real estate valued in US dollars.
Also on Wednesday, Egypt's planning ministry said thatÌýremittances from Egyptians working abroad in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023/2024 had dropped by almost 30 percent when compared to the same period last year.
The payments fell fromÌý$6.39 billion in July-September 2022 to $4.52 billion in the same months of 2023.
"Such a decline echoes the concerns by Egyptians working aboard as to the instability of the local currency against the US dollar," economic researcher Ahmed Abdel-Thaher told °®Âþµº.
"Egyptians abroad are refraining from depositing their savings in foreign currency at local banks, fearing they would have to withdraw them in the local currency."
The state-owned National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, the two banks in Egypt where most of the citizens' savings are kept, had earlier last yearÌýÌýtwo US dollar-denominatedÌý (CD) in a bid to attract much-needed foreign currency.
The Egyptian pound has beenÌýÌýagainst the US dollar for months leading prices for goods to rise, due to Egypt depending heavily on imports.
At the time of this article's publication, oneÌýUS dollar is equal to 30.95 EGP, while a US dollar is valued at about 52 EGP in the shadow market.
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