EGYPT – Foreign investors have made a strong comeback in Egypt, injecting US$440 million worth of investments into the Egyptian market, Egypt Today has reported.

The rising number of foreign investors rushing into the Egyptian market has been associated with the growing confidence in the Egyptian economy and the fiscal policies adopted by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

A financial analyst explained that Egypt regained its good standing among foreign investors especially after the Central Bank of Egypt reached a new deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The analyst further noted that this confidence among foreign investor was further buoyed by the positive outlooks issued by global credit rating agencies and international financial institutions, topped by the IMF.

Fitch Rating Inc, an American credit rating agency which is one of the big three, currently rates Egypt credit status as at B+ with stable outlook.

Moody’s and S&P the other two have their rating for the North African country as B2 with stable outlook and B with stable outlook respectively.

The Egyptian pound is predicted by analysts to continue its steady rise against the US dollar in tandem with a projected increase in foreign cash flows following the Egyptian government’s decision to reopen the economy and resume international flights.

The come-back of Egypt to the table of Africa’s preferred investment destination has had a positive impact of Egyptian based startups.

A report conducted by MAGNiTT, a leading data platform for start-ups, revealed that Egypt acquired the lion’s share of investments in Middle East and North African startups in the first half of 2020.

According to the MAGNiTT report, investments in Middle East and North African startups jumped 35 percent during the first half of the year with companies in the United Arab Emirates raising the bulk of the funding.

Explaining the rise in investments on startups, MAGNiTT Chief Executive Officer Philip Bahoshy said that it takes an average of six months to raise funds and that many deals that were completed in the first quarter had been in the works for a while

The MAGNiTT Chief Executive however noted that the full impact of Covid-19 is likely to hit later in the year.

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