CAIRO – 29 September 2024: Egypt’s total public debt fell by 2.1 percent during the final quarter of the 2023/2024 fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The debt stood at LE 12.52 trillion at the end of June, down from LE 12.78 trillion recorded in March 2024. The majority of this decline was attributed to a reduction in domestic debt, which dropped by 2.7 percent, reaching LE 8.72 trillion from LE 8.96 trillion.
According to data released by the ministry, short-term domestic debt saw a reduction of 2.9 percent to LE 7.33 trillion, while medium-term debt decreased by 2.5 percent to LE 276.1 billion. Long-term domestic debt also recorded a slight drop of 1.1 percent, settling at LE 1.11 trillion. Meanwhile, Egypt’s external government debt experienced a modest decline of 0.8 percent, reaching LE 3.79 trillion in the second quarter, compared to LE 3.82 trillion in the first quarter.
The year-on-year comparison indicates that Egypt’s total public debt remains higher than its level in June 2023, when it exceeded LE 10 trillion. However, as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), public debt has improved, dropping to 91 percent compared to around 96 percent in the previous fiscal year.
This positive shift is partly credited to the "Ras El Hikma" deal, which generated $24 billion in inflows, with half directed to the public treasury. The Ministry of Finance utilized the substantial primary surplus recorded in the fiscal year to reduce the debt further.
Egypt’s budget achieved a primary surplus of 2.5 percent of GDP in the 2023/2024 fiscal year, which increased to 6.1 percent after incorporating non-tax revenues from the "Ras El Hikma" deal, as stated by the ministry. Moving forward, the Ministry of Finance aims to maintain financial surpluses to bring the public debt down to below 80 percent of GDP by 2027. This goal will be pursued through the government's structural reform program, focusing on state ownership policies and ensuring financial discipline by rationalizing subsidies.
In a related development, the Ministry of Finance also disclosed the results of its latest treasury bill auction held on Saturday, offering 182-day and 364-day bills totaling LE 50 billion. The average yield for the 182-day bills was recorded at 29.178 percent, peaking at 29.249 percent and dipping to a low of 28.999 percent. The 364-day bills, on the other hand, had an average yield of 26.236 percent, with the highest yield at 26.241 percent and the lowest at 26.15 percent. These treasury bills were previously offered last Thursday, with the 182-day bills amounting to LE 30 billion and the 364-day bills to LE 20 billion.
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