$1.29bn guarantees approved for petroleum, electricity firms

CAIRO_ 26 June 2017: Finance Minister Amr el Garhy approved issuing $1.29 billion financial guarantees for the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, Middle Delta for Electricity Production Co. (MDEPC) and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co. (EETC).

The move is meant to support the efforts being exerted by the ministries of petroleum and electricity to secure subsidized petroleum products in addition to electricity services.

The first guarantee is offered to the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation as per the fourth tranche of a murabha contract between the corporation and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation.

The fourth tranche of the interest-free loan contract stands at $450 million, he said.

Garhy also approved an LE 1 billion financial guarantee for the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to renew a $150 million credit facility offered to the corporation to bankroll local market needs of petroleum products and pay part of arrears to international companies.

The third financial guarantee is offered to the Middle Delta for Electricity Production Co. (MDEPC) in favor of the National Bank of Kuwait which extended a 700 million EGP loan to provide the company with cash to pay firms implementing one of its projects.

The minister also signed a guarantee agreement on a 690 million dollar loan offered by China's Exim Bank to bankroll the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Co (EETC)'s project on extending electric transmission lines