Cairo - Mubasher: The chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) said that the unexpected decision to raise interest rates will worsen the suffering of the Egyptian industry.

Mohamed Zaki El-Sewedy added in a statement on Monday that the time is not right considering the challenges facing the industry.

Industrial investors exerted maximum efforts to help the sector reach the brink of recovery, after being affected by the corrective measurements and recent economic reforms, such as the increasing taxes and energy prices, as well as the implications of floating the local currency, he explained.

The recent decision will add more burden that will limit expansion and development abilities as well as the access for new investments, El-Sewedy added.

According to the FEI chairman, the decision will also harm the Egyptian products competitiveness to imported goods, both locally and globally.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should allocate low-interest rate funds to finance the Egyptian industry and help its progress and growth, El-Sewedy stressed.

Yesterday, the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to raise interest rates by 200 basis points, increasing the overnight deposit rate, overnight lending rate, and the main operation rate to 16.75%, 17.75%, and 17.25%, respectively, while the discount rate was also raised by 200 basis points to 17.25%.