Naguib Sawiris urges significant devaluation of the Egyptian pound

Naguib Sawiris urges significant devaluation of the Egyptian pound

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris criticized the delay in implementing the long-awaited devaluation of the Egyptian pound, proposing that authorities match the rising price in the black market to address the country’s chronic shortage of foreign currency.

In a post on the social media platform “X,” (formerly Twitter) Sawiris said that delaying reforms is a “disaster” that will deteriorate the nation’s currently critical situation.

The Egyptian currency has fallen to 68-70 pounds to the dollar recently, making it over 50 percent weaker than the official exchange rate of around 30.9.

Sawiris said the right course of action is to tackle the root issue of the skyrocketed price of the dollar in the black market.

If the official exchange rate of the dollar becomes equivalent to its price in the parallel market, everyone will agree to sell dollars through official channels, he stated.

Sawiris, who is ranked the seventh richest person in Africa on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, pointed out that Egypt needs more than just gradual adjustments to defuse the crisis.

Any attempt to solve the issue of the dual exchange rate through offering the dollar at a lower price than the black market will not succeed, he said.

Ongoing devaluation

The exchange rate of the Egyptian pound is