Egypt Set to Name Ex-Banker as Finance Chief, State Media Says

CAIRO, Egypt, Capital Markets in Africa — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is set to appoint former investment banker Amr El-Garhy as finance minister as part of a partial cabinet change on Wednesday, the state-run Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

El-Garhy, a former executive at investment bank EFG-Hermes, will replace Hany Kadry Dimian, the newspaper reported, without saying how it obtained the information. El-Garhy is currently a board member of the Cairo-based investment firm Qalaa Holdings. His possible appointment was also reported by Youm7 news website.

The cabinet reshuffle is expected to include the ministries of tourism and transport, local media reported, as El-Sisi seeks to restore investor confidence in an economy struggling with a dollar shortage hampering growth.

The central bank devalued the currency by more than 10 percent this month and said it will adopt a more flexible exchange rate to attract investments. Policy makers also raised the benchmark interest rate the most since at least 2006.

The most-populous Arab country has struggled to attract investments since the 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak, while aid from Gulf Arab allies is drying up and the tourism industry was dealt a new blow after the downing of a Russian passenger plane last year over Sinai.

Source: Bloomberg