Egypt’s int’l reserves increased to $35.1B in October, CBE

Cairo - November 5, 2023: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed that its foreign reserves grew to record $35.1 billion in October, compared to September’s $34.97 billion, according to a recent report.

The central bank’s foreign reserves contain a diverse package of gold, special drawing rights (SDRs), and major international currencies, including US dollars, Euros, Japanese Yen, and Chinese Yuan.

Last week, the CBE revealed that its gold reserves dropped by 2.8 percent in September to LE 235.64 billion ($7.64 billion) from LE 242.42 billion ($7.86 billion) in August.

The Egyptian government has increased its efforts to attract additional foreign currency and diversify its external financing sources to bolster its reserves, narrow its financing gap, and repay external debt.

Egypt is seeking to bring in foreign direct investments worth $25 billion within the next five years, according to a recent interview by Chairman of the General Authority of Free Zones and Investment (GAFI) Hossam Heiba.

In a Thursday cabinet meeting, Planning Minister Hala El-Said revealed that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows hit $10 billion in FY2022/2023, representing a 12.8 percent increase compared to the previous financial year.

In early October, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait explained that Egypt looks to reduce a financing gap worth between $6-8 billion for fiscal year 2023/2024. As part of its strategy to meet this goal, Egypt’s Ministry of Finance has issued FX-denominated bonds.

Egypt launched Japanese-yen-denominated “Samurai” bonds twice this year, once in August and another in October, worth around a combined $1 billion. The government also issued its inaugural Chinese-yuan-denominated “Panda” bonds worth $500 million.

The foreign reserves were supported by recent deposits by the China Development Bank’s recent ¥7 billion ($956.61 million) to the CBE.