Funds used by the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) Industry, Agriculture, and Contracting Support Initiative amounted to EGP 69bn at the end of June, according to an official CBE source.
The funds, which were granted under the initiative to about 4,291 beneficiaries, came out of an authorised balance of EGP 317bn, the source added.
In statements to the Middle East News Agency (MENA), the source also said that, in the five working days from 18 June to 25 June alone, the equivalent of EGP 8.6bn was used. The source said that the figure is equivalent to about 15% of the total amount of funds used in the initiative.
On 17 December 2019, the CBE issued the initiative valued at EGP 100bn and a decreasing return rate of 10%, to support Egypt’s industry sector. The CBE later added the agriculture and contracting sectors, whilst also reducing return rates to 8%.
The source indicated that the balance of used financing granted for purchasing raw materials and production requirements amounted to about EGP 66.5bn, or 96.6%, of the total funding granted under the initiative.
The balance of the used financing granted to finance machinery, equipment and new production lines amounted to about EGP 2.3bn or 3.4%.
He pointed out that five industries acquired about 60% of the total used balances granted under the initiative, amounting to EGP 41bn. The source identified these as the food and beverages; iron and steel; agricultural manufacturing; plastics; and paper, printing, and packaging sectors.
Meanwhile, five banks accounted for about 53% of the balances granted with a value of EGP 36bn. These were identified as the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, QNB Alahli, the Egyptian Export Development Bank (EEDB), and the Commercial International Bank (CIB).
The CBE has launched several initiatives, valued at over EGP 700bn, to support the Egyptian economy. Of this amount, the equivalent of EGP 360bn was granted to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and EGP 100bn was granted to support industry, agriculture, and construction. A further EGP 100bn was granted to support real estate developers and real estate financing for middle-income customers, along with EGP 50bn to support tourism.
