CAIRO -- Egypt's stock exchange market has been deteriorating over the past few weeks and suffered major losses of over 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in the last two sessions due to the ongoing political chaos, bloody clashes between anti- government protesters and security men across the country, as well as the recent travel ban imposed by prosecution-general on leading business tycoons.

On Tuesday, stock exchange lost around 770 million dollars while it lost about 1.07 billion dollars a day ago due to the country's current turmoil and the travel ban the prosecution imposed on billionaires and business tycoons Onsi Sawiris, founder of Orascom Constructions Industries (OCI), and his son Nassef Sawiris, OCI chairman over charges of tax evasion.

Egyptian financial experts believe that the travel ban on Sawiris family, whose companies represent leading indicators in Egypt's stock exchange, created a state of panic among Arab and foreign businessmen and urged them to offer massive sales of their shares in the Egyptian market.

"The prosecutor's decision of banning Sawiris family from travel and placing them on watch list was a major factor for the stock market losses as it created fears among businessmen over the mechanism the state will use to deal with investment and business disputes," financial expert Mohsen Adel, also chairman of Egyptian Association for Finance and Investment Studies, told Xinhua.

Adel added that traders, particularly foreign businessmen, feared that the government would continue this policy with businessmen, "causing sharp decline to the main EGX30 index of the stock market, which is greatly affected by the shares of foreign investors."

The expert told Xinhua that there were three other reasons for the great losses suffered by the stock market besides the prosecutor general's travel ban decision.

"The first is the concerns of businessmen regarding Egypt's chaotic political and economic situations. Second, there is an excessive shortage of liquidity inside the stock exchange. The third reason is that businessmen are pressured by the Egyptian government that intends to impose extra tax on stock trading," Adel noted.

Adel believes that the solution for the ongoing financial issue is "very clear," but it has to be done "immediately." He recommended the government to find a "non-judicial mechanism" to settle disputes with businessmen and investors to guarantee the rights of both sides without scaring off businessmen. He also noted that resolving the political crisis is the second factor to resolve the problem.

Ibrahim Abdullah, economics professor at al-Azhar University and the American University in Cairo, echoed the opinion of Adel that banning Sawiris family from travel horrified businessmen and was the main reason for the current losses of Egypt's stock exchange.

"Sawiris family members have four leading companies registered in Egypt's stock exchange, which is like a glass house that could be affected by the slightest crack," Abdullah told Xinhua.

Abdullah argued that the legal action against business tycoons made other businessmen, particularly Arab and foreign investors, feel "insecure" in the Egyptian market, urging them to get rid of as many shares as they can and causing recession to the leading shares.

"The shares of Sawiris' Orascom Constructions Industries itself fell by 75 percent," Abdullah noted, warning that such legal practices against investors worsen the economic crisis the country is going through.

Adding fuel to the fire, recent studies said that over 4,500 factories shut off their gates in Egypt since the 2011 unrest that toppled the former regime, causing more recession to the country's already-ailing economy.

"In fact, around 4,750 factories suspended their work. Some minimized manpower to only 30 percent, reducing working shifts to one instead of three and using also one production line instead of three or four," Abdullah lamented.

He said that the closed factories caused a decline to the local productions and their exports and it also reduced purchase power of citizens.

Abdullah also disagreed with the state intended policy of raising taxes as a means of reform program to overcome the growing budget deficit that is expected to vary between 27 and 30 billion dollars by the end of the current fiscal year if turmoil goes on.

"The more taxes imposed by the government, the more tax evasion practiced by taxpayers," Abdullah warned, urging the government to make tax affordable for businessmen to encourage such a source of income that would help bridge budget deficit.

Abdullah added that finding legal channels for smuggled commodities and unregistered enterprises and include them under government supervision could also be among the methods of overcoming budget deficit.

"Disclosure and reconciliation" was Abdullah's recommended policy as a way out of the economic crisis. He stressed that if citizens trust the government information, reports and statements, they will cooperate and unite willingly to rescue the country's economy.

"Rationalizing spending and increasing resources are the basic procedures to be taken for resolving the issue of budget deficit," Abdullah said.

Egypt is currently suffering a financial hardship after two years of political chaos and turmoil that tremendously reflected on its economy.

Besides a sharp budget deficit, the country is challenging an alarming level of foreign currency reserves, falling from 36 billion dollars in January 2011 to about 13.508 billion dollars at the end of February, according to the latest statement of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).