Finance min. announces launch of 2nd stage of initiative on cash repayment of export companies’ arrears

CAIRO - 31 January 2021: Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced the launch of the second stage of an initiative that allows instant and cash repayment of the entirety of export companies’ arrears from the Export Development Fund (EDF) before the end of the current fiscal year at a discount of 15 percent.

The door is open for joining the second stage from February 7 to February 28.
 

Egypt’s exporters were handed over EGP 21 billion under six initiatives that had been launched to support them amid the COVID-19 crisis, Maait said.
 

The initiatives are aimed to provide exporters with cash liquidity in order to meet their financial obligations and maintain their workforce, Maait explained.
 

About 2,500 exporters benefitted from five initiatives, receiving around EGP 8 billion, according to Maait.
 

Under the latest prompt cash payment of the exporters initiative, a total of LE 13.5 billion was disbursed to export companies during November and December.
 

The disbursed sums were due arrears owed to exporters from the Export Development Fund, according to the minister.
 

Since October 2019, the government has launched six initiatives, per the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi, with the aim of settling the exporters’ arrears through June 2019 and supporting the sector that was among the hardest-hit sectors by the pandemic.
 

The initiatives included the repayment of small investors with a maximum of LE 5 million; the repayment of 30 percent of the whole arrears to the exporters; holding a set-off between the exporters’ arrears and the payable tax and custom obligations on them; the repayment of the total arrear sums over four to five years while expanding their investments in return; in addition to the land allocation initiative.