Egypt borrows $1.3bn to cover national deficit 

Egypt’s central bank yesterday announced that the sale of 21 billion Egyptians pounds ($1.3 billion) worth of treasury bills has been launched to cover the country’s budget deficit.

In an official statement, the bank said that the value of the first offering amounted to nine billion Egyptian pounds ($575.3 million) for 182 days, and the second is 12 billion Egyptian pounds ($767.1 million) for 357 days.

Egypt has been negotiating billions of dollars in aid from various lenders to help revive an economy battered by political upheaval since the 2011 revolution that ousted long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak. A dollar shortage has crippled imports and hampered the country’s recovery. In November 2016, the central bank floated the Egyptian pound to attract foreign capital and to help the country secure a $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is tied to reforms such as spending cuts, tax hikes and an overhaul of its subsidy system.

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