Gripes from the private sector on interest rate hikes, inflation hit the pages of the Financial Times: With the end of the FX crunch, Egypt’s private sector has been squeezed by inflation and the 700 bps in interest rate hikes pushed through in its wake, the Financial Times’ Heba Saleh writes. Despite making Egypt an attractive destination to some foreign investors, the combination of the float, inflation, and the hikes have driven operating costs of companies to new highs, with many being unable to pass the costs on to the consumer. “We have increased prices on average by 15% because consumers’ purchasing power cannot take more, whereas the increase should have been more like 30%,” says Ibrahim Soudan, who heads cheese manufacturer Riyada. These gripes come despite reassurances from the IMF’s Chris Jarvis that raising rates will lead to inflation falling to 11-13% by mid-2018. “It is ‘imperative for interest rates to go down as quickly as possible,’ said Pharos Holdings COO Angus Blair. ‘Without private sector investment, economic growth will remain below par and there won’t be an improvement in employment figures,’ he says.”