The World Bank’s International Finance Corp is reportedly planning to conduct currency swaps in Egypt to help local firms meet their foreign exchange needs.
The International Finance Corp is considering whether to issue local currency bonds in several Middle Eastern countries to fund investments there, reported Reuters.
"In the Middle East the challenge is not the lack of capital but the access to dollars by local banks," Reuters quoted IFC Chief Executive Jin-Yong Cai as saying. "Just like we did in other places globally, we'll come up with an instrument to swap dollars for local currency in Egypt. We need local currency and some other private investors need dollars. It's in a way a hedging for investments."
Cai reportedly said that the IFC needed local currency supplies in Middle Eastern countries to finance its projects, and would use local currency bonds as one way to obtain them. "We're talking to governments in a few countries where we can issue local currency bonds," he is quoted as saying.
"In many countries there's plenty of money sitting not in use. We will sell local currency bonds and bring more investors into the capital markets. It's one way of mobilising money into bankable projects," he reportedly said.
