Africa bank lends Tunisia $700m

The headquarters of Tunisia Central Bank, also known as Banque Centrale de Tunisie SA, in Tunis, Tunisia, on 21 Monday, 2020 [Amira Karaoud/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

The Tunisian central bank said yesterday it had signed a $700 million loan deal with Africa Export Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The deal was signed in Egypt on 13 April and the loan falls within the framework of mobilising external resources included in the state budget for the year 2022.

The loan, which has a 5.76 per cent annual interest rate, will be repaid over seven years, including a two-year grace period.

Tunisia is suffering from an economic crisis, the worst since its independence in the 1950s. The crisis was exacerbated due to a political crisis that began on 25 July, when President Kais Saied imposed “exceptional measures“, starting with the suspension of parliament. He later dissolved the chamber completely on 30 March.

The Tunisian government is seeking to secure a $4 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to finance its reform programme.

Official: Tunisia to raise fuel prices by 30% until end of 2022

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