$ 500 millions surplus in balance of payment for the first time since 1997

Egypt's Prime Minister Atef Ebeid held yesterday a ministerial meeting to review the Cabinet's decision on transfer 75 per cent of the hard currency revenues of the commodity exports and services to the local banks in a bid to bridge the gap between foreign exchange supply and demand. The meeting discussed means of increasing the surplus in balance of payments which for the first time since 1997 scored $ 500 million surplus until last June.

Moreover, the banks scored an increase in the hard currencies worth $ 2.8 billion since the government's decision to float the Egyptian pound. The reports discussed in the meeting attended by six ministers and the Governor of Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), showed that a surplus in the current transactions was achieved.

These reports also indicated that the total exports in the past six months went up by 40 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. The reports showed an increase in the volume of goods and containers that arrived in the Egyptian ports.