Egypt’s net foreign assets were positive for the second straight month in June after being deeply negative for more than two years, but were lower than the previous month, central bank data showed.
Net foreign assets fell to EGP 626.6 billion in June from EGP 676.4 billion at the end of May.
According to Reuters calculations based on the central bank’s official exchange rate at the time, these amounts were equivalent to $13.05 billion at the end of last June and $14.31 billion at the end of last May.
Egypt has been using its net foreign assets – which include foreign assets held by both the central bank and commercial banks – to help support its currency since at least September 2021.
Negative assets
Egypt’s net foreign assets have been negative since February 2022, but in February this year the government bolstered its finances by selling development rights to the Ras El-Hikma area on the Mediterranean coast for $35 billion, and by signing an $8 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund in March.
Egypt also sharply devalued its currency, leading to an outflow of investment in stocks, bonds and other financial assets, as well as an increase in remittances from Egyptian workers abroad.
Foreign assets at commercial banks fell in June, but rose at the central bank, while foreign liabilities at both commercial banks and the central bank increased.
