Online Reporter
CAIRO. — Egypt is set to allow Chinese firms to register and operate using the Chinese currency, the yuan — an important step to facilitate investment and enhance economic relations between the two countries, according to Egyptian economic experts.
Egyptian Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Hassan El Khatib, recently announced that “Egypt will allow Chinese companies to register using the yuan in financial transactions, under the Central Bank of Egypt’s support.”
The Egyptian investment law generally permits 100 percent foreign ownership in most sectors, according to a statement by the ministry.
Licencing Chinese companies to use yuan in Egypt means these firms can open bank accounts in Egyptian banks with the Chinese currency, said Waleed Gaballah, a member of the Egyptian Association for Political Economy, Statistics and Legislation.
The move will encourage more Chinese companies to pump investments in Egypt, which will further expand bilateral economic relations by facilitating trade in local currencies, he added.
Chinese companies don’t have to use mediating currency, such as the US dollars, during transactions. Instead, they can use yuan directly within Egypt and transfer their profits back to China in the same currency. — Xinhua
