Following an August 2022 change in its leadership, the Central Bank of Egypt has eased foreign currency restrictions by permitting lenders to use foreign currency account balances to obtain LCs.
To the extent this will make an appreciable difference in reducing the country’s sizable import backlog is unknown.
According to local reports, US dollars have dried up from the interbank market and traders have experienced considerable difficulty securing hard currency through LCs in order to import goods.
