Building bridges of trust & trade

CAIRO – 3 July 2019: In a remarkable event that witnessed the presence of a number of Egyptian ministers, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) announced the successful completion of $1.13 billion of trade financing in favor of Egypt’s energy and food sectors.

The event marks the implementation of the financing under the fifth Framework Agreement signed in 2018, in favor of Egypt, represented by the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC).

In his opening speech, ITFC Chief Executive Officer, Hani Salem Sonbol, said “this financing package comes as a clear proof for the trust the investors and financial institutions bear towards Egypt, which plays a leading role on the international, regional, Arab and African levels.”

Sonbol described the financing as a new milestone in the long-term and strategic relationship between the ITFC and Egypt, citing Egypt’s belief in ITFC’s goals, and the country’s commitment to fulfill its obligations with all financial institutions despite economic challenges.


Minister of Supply Ali Moselhy, Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr, and Minister of Petroleum Tareq el-Molla during the announcement of the completion of the 1.130M financing provided for Egypt's food and petroleum sectors - Courtesy of ITFC

ITFC, member of the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) Group, has signed five framework agreements to date with the Egyptian government, totaling to $9.2 billion, with the last batch directed to support two essential sectors: energy and food.

“The ITFC has taken a new and vital aspect by financing food security in Egypt through supporting GASC with funds to purchase more than 1.3 million tons of wheat and 125,000 tons of rice, besides several projects and programs to facilitate trade and build capacities and institutional support,” Sonbol said.

The ITFC chief further highlighted enthusiastic projects the institution implemented in Egypt, like the Youth Training and Employment for Trade Project that has achieved successful results by training 529 youths specialized in export, in addition to the high number of graduates that were employed by export companies in Egypt.

The ITFC has also launched two ambitious projects: She Trades that supports women in global trade, and Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) that aims to address some of the challenges facing the business communities in Arab countries and Sub-Saharan African countries.

Under the AATB, a lot of trade transactions and opportunities worth $180 million opened in the African market provided by the program after meeting with both Arab and African importers and exporters in the fields of pharmacy and food products.

For her part, Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr signaled the importance of the financing for low-income citizens since the executive framework of the project guarantees affordable price and high quality.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsIDB) has a portfolio of $21.6 billion in Egypt, including $10 billion with the ITFC, said Nasr.

She further added that Egypt will be a partner with the ITFC in its AATB program, as the country seeks to pump more investments to finance the private sector.

Egypt’s petroleum sector, with the ITFC, has had the lion share of $8 billion since 2008 to date, said Petroleum Minister Tareq el-Molla, who assured the continuity of the cooperation with the ITFC.


Minister of Petroleum Tareq el-Molla (L), Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr, and ITFC Chief Executive Officer, Hani Salem Sonbol (R) during the announcement of the completion of the 1.130M financing provided for Egypt's food and petroleum sectors - Courtesy of ITFC

“The ITFC has provided immediate support, especially when Egypt’s credit ratings recorded low during the transitional period following the June 30 Uprising,” Molla added.

Minister of Supply Ali Moselhy said that, per Egypt’s agreement with the ITFC, the country was able to import 170,000 tons of rice worth $68 million, in addition to 1.3 million tons of wheat. “It is important if the ITFC will finance the infrastructure of internal trade, like stores and wholesale markets.

The Ministry of Supply’s financing of $393 million was directed to aid the procurement of more than 1.3 million tons of wheat and around 170,000 tons of rice. Around 22 million households, support by GASC, will benefit from the imports of these essential commodities.

The other amount of $737 million has been allocated to EGPC for the procurement of petroleum products including LPG, the main product used for cooking, heating, water heating, and vehicle fuel.

From 1985-2007, the Islamic Development Bank (IsIDB), the parent group of ITFC, has financed the importation of petroleum and refined petroleum products as well as wheat.

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. It was established with the purpose of advancing trade among OIC member countries, which would ultimately contribute to the overarching goal of improving socioeconomic conditions of the people across the world.

Commenced operations in January 2008, ITFC has since consolidated all trade finance and trade development businesses that used to be handled by various windows within the IsDB Group.

Since 2008, ITFC has provided more than $45 billion of trade financing to OIC member countries, making the corporation the leading provider of trade solutions for OIC member states’ needs.