Saudi Arabia bolsters Egypt's cash reserves with $5.3B

CAIRO – 31 October 2021: Saudi Arabia deposited $3 billion in the Central Bank of Egypt recently, and also extended the term of current deposits, which amount to $2.3 billion, a high-ranking Saudi source revealed to Asharq Business.

The source, who preferred not to be identified, said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia possesses a wide range of tools to support countries in their battle against the repercussions of the Corona pandemic, including by supporting foreign currency liquidity, and was one of the main countries supporting the foreign exchange reserves of countries during the crisis.

Last week, Saudi Arabia announced that it had deposited $3 billion in the Central Bank of Pakistan and, moreover, provided $1.2 billion in trade finance to support Pakistan's balance of payments.

These facilities together amount to $9.5 billion, equivalent to 75 percent of the Kingdom’s Special Drawing Rights, which were recently distributed from the International Monetary Fund, and constitute, according to the source, a Saudi commitment to support low-income countries during these difficult times and to use the Special Drawing Rights in an optimal way. .