President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi extended Hassan Abdullah’s term as acting governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for another year. This was announced in a presidential decree published in the official gazette. Abdullah’s new term will commence on 18 August 2023.
Abdullah was appointed as governor in August 2022 after Tarek Amer resigned due to the economic situation in Egypt, which was worsened by the war in Ukraine. During his tenure, Egypt’s net international reserves increased by approximately US$1.735 billion, or 5.2%, reaching US$34.878 billion by the end of July 2023. This is compared to US$33.143 billion at the end of July 2022.
Abdullah’s leadership has led to a stable and resilient banking system. He has also launched a crackdown on the black market, fixed the exchange rate system, and supported tourism and manufacturing. He has also helped national companies in default to rise again.
Before his appointment at the CBE, Abdullah served in various positions such as Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Chairperson of the Union Des Banques Arabes Et Francaises (UBAF) in Hong Kong, and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of We Owe It to Egypt Foundation (WOTE).
He started his career in 1982 at AAIB and was promoted several times before being named Vice Chairman and Managing Director in 2000. Abdullah also served on the Boards of Union Des Banques Arabes Et Francaises (UBAF) in Paris, the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Emerging Markets Advisory Council (EMAC) of the Institute of International Finance, and the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
