Dollar-Hunting Egypt Investors Turn to Most Costly Trade Yet
- Conversion of local EFG-Hermes stock to GDRs gaining traction
- Investor demand is prompting more overseas share programs
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As one door for turning Egyptian pounds into dollars slams shut, investors are forcing open another.
Overseas shares of EFG-Hermes Holding have sprung into life in the past three months, as institutions desperate for hard currency buy the investment bank’s equity locally in Egyptian pounds and sell it in London for dollars. Underscoring the urgency -- and the paucity of options after a similar trade in the country’s biggest listed bank maxed out -- investors take a loss of more than 30 percent on the conversion.