NBE receives $300m dollars last week

Vice President of the National Bank of Egypt Yehia Abul Fotouh said the bank received 300 million dollars all through the past week, citing a tenfold increase of money transfers by Egyptians abroad.

Most of received funds, around 220 million dollars, were used to finance imports and exports, he said during a session of the economic conference of Akhbar el Youm that will wind up tomorrow.

Money transfers by Egyptians increased following the Central Bank of Egypt's decision to float the Egyptian pound.

The NBE official said industry is on top of the bank's priorities within the coming period and that most of dollar-valued funds will be used in serving industry.

He said the bank has been always keen on financing small and medium-sized industries, noting that around 35,000 clients were granted 77-billion-pound loans in 2009 to set up their businesses.

He also referred to the global rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P) that revised Egypt’s sovereign credit outlook from “negative” to “stable”, expecting more progress of national economy.