According to the latest Reuters report, Suez Cement is struggling to transfer shareholder profits out of Egypt because of a foreign currency crisis.
Egypt has been struggling to revive its economy since the uprising in 2011 that drove major sources of foreign currency such as foreign investors and tourists away.
Pressure for a devaluation of the pound has been building but the central bank has kept it fixed at 7.7301 pounds per dollar. The bank has been trying to conserve hard currency by prioritising its use for the imports of essential goods.
In an attempt to fight a currency black market, the central bank has also imposed restrictions on cash deposits, leaving businessmen powerless to access dollars for imports and resulting in goods piling up at ports.
Egypt’s Suez Cement, part of the Italcementi Group, will donate LE30 million to the Long Live Egypt Fund over a period of three years as part of its CSR programme.
Energy supply issues, combined with lower demand and the base effect from one-off earnings in 3Q12, contributed to a 72% decline in net profits for the Egyptian company.