The decline in foreign currency prices has led to a $2.5bn decrease in Egypt’s foreign debts by the end of the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year (FY) 2014/2015, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The foreign currency prices are the means by which the Egyptian government obtains loans from foreign markets, primarily in the euro and pound sterling.
Egypt’s total foreign debt declined by 13.5% to reach $39.9bn, compared to approximately $46.1bn in June 2014, with a decline of $6.2bn, according to a recent CBE report.
The CBE added that the Egyptian government has paid foreign debt worth $3.5bn by the end of March 2015. The prices of most of the currencies that the government borrows with have declined, leading to a decline in the foreign debt by $2.7bn.
The report also outlined that Egypt’s foreign debt declined during the period from July 2014 to the end of March 2015 by approximately $2.5bn, reaching $5.2bn.
The report emphasised the decline in the rate of Egypt’s foreign debt to approximately 12.5% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of March 2015, compared to nearly 15.8% the end of March 2014.
The bank added that total GDP reached nearly EGP 2016.5bn by the end of March, including: 88.3% overdue on the government; 0.3% on general economic bodies; and 11.4% on the National Investment Bank (NIB).
Net domestic debt on the government reached nearly EGP 1780.5bn during the period from July 2014 to the end of March 2015, with an increase of EGP 242.1bn. The net balance of the debts of general economic bodies reached EGP 6.2bn during the same period, with a decline of EGP 52.2bn, whilst NIB debts reached EGP 229.8bn, with an increase of EGP 10bn.
