Egypt not threatened by its inability to pay its debts

CAIRO - 13 December 2022:  The Egyptian Cabinet denied allegations that Egypt is threatened with its inability to pay its debts, stressing that Egypt has been committed for decades to paying its foreign debts, and there are many economic indicators that enhance Egypt's ability during the coming period to pay its debts.

 

The report issued by the Cabinet indicated that among the indicators, the improvement of many sources of foreign exchange, on top of which is the increase in the growth rate of Egyptian exports by 53.1 percent during the fiscal year 2021/2022, to record $43.9 billion.

 

It also referred to the increase in tourism revenues by 121.1 percent, to rise to $10.7 billion, in addition to the significant increase recorded in the Suez Canal revenues, which amounted to about $7 billion in the same period, and the increase in foreign direct investment flows to reach nearly $9 billion in the same year.”

 

The report pointed to the announced economic decisions that would further empower the private sector, including the liberalization of the exchange rate policy and the tendency to adopt all policies that would solve the problems facing investors and manufacturers, all of which led to a significant decrease in the chances of Egypt defaulting on its debts.

 

The Cabinet drew attention to what was confirmed by "Bloomberg" agency, which, in light of emerging markets' exposure to pressures resulting from high debt, declining economic growth and noting a historical default on debt repayment, prepared a model to estimate the risks of non-payment in 41 emerging countries over the next year.

 

Bloomberg stated that, except for the countries that have already defaulted, there are 11 other countries that have a probability of being unable to repay by 10 percent or higher in the next year, not including Egypt.

 

On the other hand, It indicated that Egypt is expected to benefit during the coming period from the support resulting from the exchange rate liberalization policy in attracting more foreign exchange inflows.