Individual’s share of Egypt’s foreign debt increases to $812

CAIRO – 25 October 2017: The individual’s share of Egypt’s foreign debt increased seven percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal year 2016/2017 to reach $812.3, compared with $759.4 in Q3 of the same year, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed on Wednesday.

Egypt’s foreign debt increased 41.7 percent during fiscal year 2016/2017, which ended June 30, to around $79 billion by the end of June 2017, the CBE said.

The bank attributed the hike to an increase in the usage of loans and facilities by some $23.6 billion and the fall in the exchange rate of most currencies used by the bank against the U.S. dollar by some $300 million.

The CBE added that servicing the debt reached $7.2 billion in the same period and that paid installments amounted to $6.1 billion, while paid interests stood at $1.1 billion.

The percentage of Egypt’s foreign debt to the GDP has also increased to 33.6 percent by the end of June 2017, the CBE said, adding that the percentage is still within the safe limits according to international standards.