Egypt: Tourism companies liquidate assets to stay afloat

Egyptian tourism agencies are being forced to sell their assets in an attempt to stay afloat as a result of the drop in sales due to the global coronavirus pandemic, the head of the tourism and aviation division at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce announced yesterday.

Hossam El-Helou told local media that some of the companies had resorted to selling their assets at “any possible price as financial pressures increase.”

The country’s tourism ministry recently said that it had allocated three billion Egyptian pounds ($192.1 million) in loans for business owners suffering from the implications of the pandemic, granting a “maximum of 30 million pounds [$1.9 million] to businessmen with one company”, while lending “up to 40 million pounds [$2.56 million] for businessmen who own multiple firms.”

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The ministry explained that the move had come due to the “continuation of the global crisis”, noting that the loan was set at a five per cent interest “so business owners could retain their workers and pay their salaries.”

So far, a total of 174,426 people have contracted COVID-19 in Egypt, 10,050 of whom have died, and 135,349 others have recovered, according to Worldometer.