CAIRO - 14 January 2023: Egypt will adopt a five-year initiative worth LE 150 billion to support the agricultural and industrial production sectors, especially by reducing their loans’ interests, in the face of the repercussions of the global crises, the Cabinet has announced.
The initiative will come into effect after the cabinet’s approval this week, the Cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday.
The initiative aims to enhance local production by focusing on priority sectors, especially the industrial and agricultural sectors, in order to achieve the state’s developmental and economic goals and increase capabilities of facing the repercussions of global crises, the statement added.
Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said the initiative mainly includes reducing interest rates on loans provided to these sectors so that they can face the negative repercussions of the global crises.
The total value of the proposed initiative is around LE 150 billion, of which about LE 140 billion will be allocated for financing working capital operations, and around LE 10 billion will be for financing the purchase of capital goods, Maait added.
The amount of credit available to each company will be determined in light of the size of its business and the banking rules in this regard, Maait said.
He stressed that financing will be provided to companies joining the initiative at a low interest rate of 11 percent provided that the state bears the cost of difference in the interest rate.
Mohamed El-Sewedy, head of the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), affirmed that the initiative will suit the largest segment of manufacturers and farmers.
For his part, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly affirmed that the government would take all steps that would support the productive sectors, especially regarding industry and agriculture.
Madbouly stressed that initiative will be implemented as soon as it is approved by the Cabinet during this week meeting.
Egypt has been implementing steps to support the agricultural and industrial sector amid the global economic crisis that have caused inflation to surge and multi-billion imported goods to be accumulated at Egyptian ports due to shortage of foreign currency.
Stuck goods worth $1.5 billion were released from Egyptian ports from 1 to 10 January, upping the total value of released goods since the start of December to $8.5 billion, the Cabinet said on Wednesday.
This includes more than $613 million worth of goods required for industrial purposes, including food products, primary industrial supplies, and spare parts, the statement said.
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