The Egyptian Ministry of Finance announced the repayment of $25 billion of domestic and external public debt since last March. This came the day after what was mentioned in the Institute of International Finance’s report regarding the repayment of those same debts.
On Thursday, a report issued by the Institute of International Finance stated that Egypt has paid $25 billion of its domestic and external public debt since last March.
The Ministry of Finance said, “The new report of the Institute of International Finance on the Egyptian economy positively addressed Egypt’s repayment of $25 billion of domestic and external public debt since last March.”
He pointed out that the report also “shed light on the Egyptian state’s strategy to improve debt management and reduce refinancing risks to reduce government debt and its service burdens,” without details about debts and rescheduling plans.
The Ministry explained that for the first time, a ceiling has been set for the debt of the state’s general budget agencies in the new year at 15.1 trillion pounds ($313 billion), at a rate of 88.2% of the domestic product, compared to 96% in the fiscal year 2022/2023, targeting a decrease in interest payment rates and diversification of financing sources. Between internal and external instruments and markets, reducing financing needs, and extending the life of debt while improving interest rates.
According to data from the Central Bank of Egypt, Egypt will have to repay about $32.8 billion, which is equivalent to about 20% of the country’s total external debt, medium- and long-term debts due in 2024, according to media reports.
Last month, data from the Central Bank of Egypt revealed that the country’s external debt rose by $3.5 billion in the three months ending last December.
The total external debt rose to $168 billion, compared to $164.5 billion at the end of last September and from $162.9 billion at the end of December 2022.
The Central Bank said at the time that 82.5% of external debt is long-term, which is equivalent to 43% of GDP.
International financing
Last Monday, the World Bank Group announced that it would lend Egypt $700 million to support the country’s budget, within a 3-year program with a total value of $6 billion.
The bank said that Egypt “stands at a crucial point in the journey of economic and social development that it began with the economic reforms in 2016 that helped improve economic reserves.”
Egypt regained its monetary stability during the current year, after obtaining a loan from the International Monetary Fund with a total value of $8 billion, and other financing, grants, and investments, which increased the abundance of foreign exchange.
Today, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that more than 20 European companies signed agreements or memoranda of understanding totaling more than 40 billion euros ($42.85 billion) in Egypt during the Egypt-Europe Investment Conference that kicked off today in Cairo.
