On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that the country's foreign debt fell during the first quarter (1Q) of FY2022/2023 (July-September) to $154.9 billion, down from $155.7 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of FY2021/2022, t
Egypt’s short-term debt rose to $27.4 billion in the 1Q of FY2022/23, up from $26.6 in the same quarter of FY2021/2022, according to CBE.
The total debt services during the 1Q of FY2022/2023 inched down to $4.7 billion, compared to $6.2 billion registered in the 1Q of FY2021/2022, the CBE added.
The figures show that Egypt’s total external debt to GDP ratio receded slightly in the 1Q of FY2022/2023 to 32.4 percent, down from 32.6 percent in the corresponding quarter of FY2021/2022.
Arab direct investment inflows into the Egyptian market jumped in the 1Q of FY2022/2023 to over $2.6 billion, up from about $1 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY2021/2022.
Saudi Arabia topped the countries that invested during the 1Q of FY2022/2023 with total investments valued at $1.3 billion, followed by the UAE with $837.6 million, according to the CBE.
Total foreign direct investment inflows into Egypt during the same course also rose to $2.3 billion, up from $1.7 billion in the 1Q of FY2021/2022, said CBE.
The balance of payments during the 1Q of FY2022/2023 attained an overall surplus worth $523.5 million with a 20.2 percent improvement in the trade deficit.
On the other hand, the investment balance deficit increased in the 1Q of FY2022/2023 by 16.8 percent to record $4.5 billion, while Egyptian expats' remittances declined by 20.9 percent compared to the 1Q of FY2021/2022 to post $6.4 billion, the CBE data revealed.
Egypt is currently under an IMF-backed loan deal worth $3 billion which ends in FY2025/2026.
Egypt received the first tranche of the loan in December with a total of $347 million, while the second tranche will be disbursed based on the assessment of the deal’s first review scheduled for 15 March.
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