Egypt lifts restrictions on GDR deals, letting investors take return in dollars

CAIRO - 30 July 2017: Egypt is lifting restrictions on Egyptian investors who buy global depository receipts (GDRs) by purchasing shares on the Cairo exchange in Egyptian pounds, allowing them to receive their returns in U.S. dollars, the bourse chairman told Reuters on Sunday.

The bourse said in 2015 returns could only be taken in that same local currency, a move which appeared aimed at eliminating an avenue for acquiring dollars amid a shortage in foreign currency, which has created a black market that the central bank is trying to stamp out.