CBE received close to $1B in Chinese Yuan from China Development Bank

Cairo – October 31, 2023: The China Development Bank (CDB) announced in a release on Tuesday that it has successfully deposited ¥7 billion (¥ - Chinese Yuan) - worth around $956.61 million - into the Central Bank of Egypt.

The funds, deposited on Monday, are part of a loan agreement signed during the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summit held in Beijing earlier this month, the CDB explained.

The ¥7 billion will be used to finance projects agreed upon at the BRI summit as well as the nine programs outlined in the Africa-China Cooperation forum in 2021.

The Beijing-based bank added that the funding will stimulate continued in-depth integration of the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Egypt Vision 2030, as well as promote financial momentum to increase economic, trade, and financial cooperation between China and Egypt.

At the end of the third quarter of 2023, the CDB issued more than $6.48 billion worth of loans to Egypt, including a line of credit worth $1 billion, and loans for small and medium-sized companies through the National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr.

The statement added that it has also helped finance the electricity transmission network in Egypt with a capacity of 500 kilowatts.

The bank highlighted that, as a new member of BRICS and a key country in Africa for China’s BRI, it was important to increase financial cooperation with Egypt, fueling positive results in production capacity cooperation, cross-border RMB cooperation, and more between the two countries.

During the Belt and Road Initiative summit earlier this month, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, discussing expanding investments in the TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone (SETC-Zone) across various industrial fields such as the electric car industry and green hydrogen production.

Jinping emphasized China’s eagerness to cooperate with Egypt in multiple fields including infrastructure, energy, aviation, tourism, renewable energy, healthcare, and more.