Hi - without wanting to cast gloom and despondency around (there's enough of that on the TV at the moment regarding this) - does anyone have any thoughts on this with the Egyptian economy.

Will this country escape it and if so why?

Any comments please in this period of uncertainity ?

would have thought it has to lots of europeans buying and everones going to feel the pinch also as the prices are now higher i think this will effect sales in a big way.May see some pull out before commiting there deposits.would like to see developers finishing what they have instead of starting more and more the place is full of empty shells as it is

As far as I know there aren't so many mortages in Egypt and people were mainly paying their properties in Egypt with cash so from this point of view I see no problems. But from other side people have taken mortgages in their countries and buying properties in Egypt and this will stop or at least slow down so it may have impact on sales. Maybe some of agents can tell us better if sales are on same level as for example year ago or 6 months ago.

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Egypt won't get away with it I'm sure. It's going to affect most countries wouldn't you think? The stock market in Egypt fell by 16% today which was the highest fall among the Arab countries. I still think that money is safer in property than in the bank but that's just my opinion!!

That's a point - any agents out there willing to give their two penneth on how the Egyptian market will be affected by all that's currently going on around the world please?

Is Egypt's economy that well protected?

Sorry Lsab - didn't see your post - beat me to it!

sorry could I ask a slightly different question on the stability of the banks out there

and what guarantees there are

I'm waiting for an agent to indicate that a developer will complete with me and am then intending to CHAPS 40% deposits on 2 units

but I'd be a bit concerned now about a developer putting that in an egyptian bank and as to how protected (i) the bank and (ii) the developer is as banks continue to get into difficulty

anybody any views on this

Ask which bank they are using, quite a few use HSBC and if that folded i think we will all be in trouble. I know HSBC wanted to stay out of talks with the government last night but even they have included themselves so if using HSBC i would assume you would be ok.

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I do not know about the bank laws and protection here, however, I do not see banks getting in difficulty at all.

There can be a problem beacuse of Egypt's dependency on currencies, and while they are unstable as they are, the economy can fluctuate slightly.

However, Egypt at all does not depend on imports, as the economy is supplying itself with practically everything it needs.

I would see a decrease in interest from investors in Europe and mainly the time gap to decide on wether to buy has increased a lot The tourist flow should diminish slightly. However, the Red Sea area is changing its focus to Russian market, which is turning away from stocks to property markets and the interest is constantly growing. This happens also because the Russian community here is quite big.

Of course financial indicators will be affected by the global recession, however, I see minor impact to Middle East region (however, it will also depend on government economic policies during the period).

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Whilst it is not possible to define the Egyptian economy in a few lines, I think the above is slightly misleading (though I am certainly no economist). Imports - you say Egypt does not depend on these - merchandise imports reached a level of almost US$ 38,000 million against exports which were US$ 22,000 million in 2007.
Egypt earns most of its income from oil, the Suez Canal, tourism, and workers' remittances with some other areas looking promising for the future. (Sources of figures can be seen on Wikipedia - Egypt)

The GDP is rising well around 7-8% growth with inflation now showing at about 12%. I think the real key and to a large extent worry is the population which grew from 65 million in 2001 to some 75 million in 2007/8 and is likely to keep growing at quite a rate. The land and other resources can not sustain this population and it really is a potential time bomb if not handled.

It is also worth mentioning that the income from oil, the Suez Canal, tourism, and workers' remittances is largely out of the control of the Egyptian Economy - and dictated by World events - with the credit crunch all of the above sources of earning look likely to fall.

Of course one can argue that Egypt is in a good position at present and that is to some extent true, but it can be damaged quite quickly by World events.

The point is for me that it's a great place to find the sun, good people (but they must also benefit from our investment) and we can afford the living costs.

For now I'm glad to have invested in a property in Egypt than bought more UK bank shares.

Iain