MOSTAFA MADBOULI

Booking.com, a Dutch online travel agency for lodging reservations & other travel products, announced Wednesday the stoppage of supporting the Egyptian pound starting from Thursday, Sept. 22.

This announcement means that users of the website will no longer be able to use the Egyptian currency in paying for their bookings.

The company attributed the decision to the currency fluctuations, stating that it’s to ensure the currency fluctuations don’t affect the customer’s rewards and wallet experience.

The company will convert the wallet currency and balances for users who apply the Egyptian currency to dollar (USD) using the exchange rate at the time of each conversion.

The Egyptian pound has witnessed an accelerating decline in recent weeks, amid expectations of experts that the Central Bank will continue to gradually reduce the currency until it reaches levels ranging between LE 21-22 per dollar. This is in order to ensure the flexibility of the exchange rate required by the International Monetary Fund, with which Egypt is seeking to sign an imminent agreement with which to obtain a new loan.

Previously, Jihad Azour, director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, said that negotiations to obtain new funding are continuing with Egypt and things are progressing according to the set schedule.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said earlier that the Egyptian government is in the final stage of talks with the International Monetary Fund on a new funding.

In July, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said Egypt is working out the remaining points of difference with the IMF over a new extended fund facility.

Maait affirmed to Al-Arabiya that the talks with the IMF are ongoing and that they have achieved “very, very good progress”, noting that the value of the loan has not yet been set.

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli issued a decree on Thursday appointing Ramy El-Dokany as head of the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) board and Hebatallah El-Serafy as his deputy for a one-year term.

Dokani was the secretary-general of the Arab Federation of Exchanges and enjoys a long experience in the stock market. He worked in a number of financial sector companies and also served as the CEO of Pride Capital, a venture capital and early stage fund focusing on Fintech.

Madbouli’s decision comes a day after Acting Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Hassan Abdullah appointed two senior bankers as his advisors; a decision that won a standing ovation in banking circles and financial markets.

Abdullah decided in his first meeting with heads of banks in the Egyptian market to choose both Hisham Ezz Al-Arab and Mohamed Naguib as his advisors.

Last Thursday, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi issued a republican decree appointing Hassan Abdullah as acting governor of the Central Bank, succeeding Tarek Amer, who resigned after serving in his position for seven years.

The decisions come while the Egyptian economy, as part of the global economy, is facing mounting pressures due to the global economic woes resulting from the Russia-Ukraine war and subsequent soaring inflation.

ALSO READ: Central bank of Egypt cancels maximum deposit limits, increases cash withdrawals to LE 150,000.

In mid-August, Egypt also saw a major Cabinet reshuffle in the government of Madbouli, who took office in 2018. The reshuffle included the 13 ministerial portfolios of education, irrigation, higher education, immigration, tourism, trade, civil aviation, manpower, culture, local development, public enterprise sector, and military production.

However, the ministries of the economic portfolios have maintained their posts.

Source: Egypt today

Booking.com no longer supports Egyptian Pound

Prime Minister appoints new head, deputy for Egyptian Stock Exchange

ALSO READ: Central bank of Egypt cancels maximum deposit limits, increases cash withdrawals to LE 150,000.