Egyptian currency falls to record low

Photo: Emiemihuimei

Egypt's currency has fallen to a record low this month, something that should prove a boost to the real estate industry.

The country allowed the Egyptian pound to fall to around 8 per dollar in the interbank market this week, reports Bloomberg, taking its loss this year so far to 11 per cent, one of the worst in the region.

"The central bank needed to allow the pound to lose some value as a basic step toward correcting the decline in its foreign-currency base," Hany Farahat, a senior economist at Cairo-based CI Capital, told the site, forecasting a slide to 8.2 per dollar by the end of 2015.

But currency devaluation is making the country's real estate market and tourism industry more appealing, notes JLL, particularly in Cairo.

"This has resulted in diversion of the local tourist industry from Russia and Eastern Europe, along with a 7% year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals, explains Ayman Sami, Head of Egypt Office at JLL MENA.

The lowering of sales prices of apartments and villas in New Cairo is also encouraging transactions to rise.

"A stable environment has also opened up foreign investment, particularly from Saudi Arabia and the UAE."

With the completion of the New Suez Canal as well as the New Cairo developments, the outlook is good for the fourth quarter of 2015, says JLL.