Foreign debt hikes $18B to $73.9B in 9 months: CBE

CAIRO – 31 July 20017: Egypt’s foreign debt hiked $18 billion in nine months to reach $73.9 billion by the end of March of fiscal year 2016/17, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said Monday.

“Egypt has not and will not fail to pay its due foreign debts’ in time,” top banking official said, adding that “Egypt had paid around $700 million dues to the Paris Club in July.”

Egypt’s total debt to Paris Club dropped to about $3.4 billion at the end of December, down from $3.6 billion at the end of September, according to the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) quarterly report.

The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world’s largest economies. The group provides financial services, including debt restructuring relief and cancellation, to indebted countries and their creditors.

In January, Cairo repaid a $670 million six-month premium on the foreign debt owed to the Paris Club.

Egypt's foreign debt jumped to $67 billion at the end of December, from $48 billion at the end of December 2015, marking an increase of $19 billion (40 percent), according to the CBE.

The total amount of Egypt’s external obligations has doubled since 2010 when they stood at $34.7 billion.