Egypt's external debt increases by 17.2 percent at the end of June 2018

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) declared, Thursday, that Egypt’s foreign debt increased by 17.2 per cent on an annual basis to reach $92.6 billion at the end of June 2018, compared to $79 billion in the same period of 2017.

The CBE said in its monthly report that Egypt’s total external debt rose by about $13.6 billion at the end of June 2018, in comparison with the same period of 2017, with an increased rate of 17.2 per cent.

The bank stated that the burden of foreign debt service amounted to $13.227 billion during the fiscal year 2017/2018, compared to $7.320 billion in the previous fiscal year.

The external debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 37 per cent in the fiscal year 2017/2018, in comparison with 33.6 per cent in the last fiscal year.

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Egypt’s foreign per capita debt rose to $883.9 during the fiscal year 2017/2018, compared to $ 754.1 in the previous fiscal year.

Earlier this year, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced that the ministry is preparing a plan to manage public debt, including setting a debt limit, as part of a future strategy to reduce and structure government debt.

Since 2016, Egypt has stepped up its international borrowing plan by getting loans from global financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, in addition to issuing external debt instruments to increase foreign-exchange reserves.