Egypt external debt rose to $157.8bn in Q3 of fiscal year

Egypt’s external debt rose to $157.8 billion in March, from $145.5 billion last December, an increase of about $12.3 billion in three months, while total deposits with the Central Bank amounted to $14.9 billion.

Egypt’s fiscal year runs from 1 July to 30 June.

A statement issued by the Central Bank said Egypt paid about $16.6 billion in premiums and $3.4 billion in interest during the first nine months of the last fiscal year.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Egypt was in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure a new loan to cope with shocks caused by the war in Ukraine that has increased pressure on the country’s economy.

According to the agency, the two sides discussed a number of options, including a precautionary financing line, that is, credit that can be obtained when necessary.

Egypt has resorted to borrowing from the IMF twice in the past six years.

In 2016 Cairo secured a credit facility of $12 billion to support economic reforms. Egypt also borrowed $8 billion to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

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