Egypt’s foreign debt increases to $80B: CBE

CAIRO – 7 February 2018: Egypt’s foreign debts reached $80 billion at the end of September 2017, up from the $79 billion recorded at the end of fiscal year 2016/2017, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said Wednesday.

The CBE said that the foreign debt rate to GDP amounted to 36.2 percent by the end of 2017, which is still in the safe limits as per international standards.

Egypt repaid $30 billion in foreign currency debt in 2017, according to MENA. The CBE said it had closed 2017 by paying back over $2 billion in debt to AfreximBank and other international creditors.

In January, the CBE paid $700 million to the Paris Club of debtors as part of its total debt to the club which currently amounts to $3.7 billion.

The repayment is part of the bi-annual installments owed to the club, usually paid in January and July. The Paris Club is an informal group of creditors whose role is to find coordinated solutions to payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries.