The finance lease activity has remarkably increased since the start of the year to November, Chairman of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority Sherif Samy said.

The value of finance lease contracts rose by 183% in the 11-month period, recording EGP 17 billion, against the parallel period of 2014, which hit EGP 6 billion, Samy said according to an EFSA statement.

The number of finance lease contracts was up from 2,110 last year to 2,459 this year, marking a 17% hike, he said.

The real estate and land sector made up 41% (EGP 7 billion) of finance lease contracts, followed by heavy equipment 34% (EGP 5.9 billion) and machines and equipment 8.4% (EGP 1.4 billion) in the described period, the EFSA chairman said.

The number of finance lease companies registered with EFSA reached 216 compared to 214 last year, he added.

As for factoring, the value of the practice's invoices in the reported period hit EGP 3.7 billion, a figure it recorded in the 12 months of 2014, it said.