Egypt’s interest rates remain the biggest hurdle for investments, says Emirates NBD’s Mark Haddad

Egypt’s economic progress is “remarkable,” but high interest rates remain the biggest hurdle to investment in the real economy, Emirates NBD Senior Portfolio Manager Marwan Haddad told Bloomberg TV. “It’s very tough for anyone sitting in Egypt to let go of a 20% return” by parking cash in banks and government instruments and instead choose to put money in investments that might not pan out, Haddad notes. Recent government policies including scrapping the discounted customs exchange rate for non-essential imports will encourage investors to look at the market again, but businesses are waiting for the central bank to resume its easing cycle. Haddad says he is optimistic that Egypt will be “one of the few markets globally that might have an interest rate cut next year” (watch, runtime: 2:31).