Egypt's central bank amends initiative to finance payment of wages for workers in tourism sector

CAIRO – 19 May 2021: The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided to amend some provisions of the initiative to finance the payment of salaries and wages of workers in the tourism sector and basic maintenance and operating expenses with the guarantee of the Ministry of Finance at an amount of LE 3 billion (a decreasing rate of return of 5 percent).

CBE stated in its periodic book on Wednesday, that it decided to extend the period of validity of the initiative until the end of December 2021 (instead of June 2021), or to exhaust the amount allocated to it by LE 3 billion, whichever comes first.

It also decided to extend the grace period until the end of June 2022, with the first installment to begin in July 2022 for a period of two years.

The Central Bank confirmed the possibility of recruiting clients who have previously benefited from the initiative since its issuance, provided that the maximum total funding within the framework of the initiative does not exceed LE 30 million for the client and LE 40 million for the client and the parties associated with him, regardless of the number of months that have been funded.

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt decided to amend some provisions of the initiative to finance the replacement and renewal of accommodation hotels, floating hotels and tourist transport fleets with a decreasing rate of 8 percent.

The Central Bank asserted that the Egyptian shareholding companies operating in the field of tourism will benefit from the terms of the initiative, regardless of the percentage of the foreign partner.

It noted that with regard to the initiative to finance the payment of salaries and wages of workers in the tourism sector, in addition to financing maintenance and basic operating expenses at a reduced rate of 5 percent, with the guarantee of the Ministry of Finance, it is not required that customers achieve profits during the past years.

CBE stressed that the remaining conditions for the initiatives will remain in effect, as they are not stipulated in any text.