Egypt Repays External Debt Worth $10.3 Bln

Official government data revealed on Thursday that Egypt has repaid foreign debts during the first nine months of the last fiscal year 2018-19 worth $ 10.363 billion, compared to $ 10.989 billion in the same period of last year.

According to a report by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Egypt has paid installments in the first nine months of 2019 amounting to $ 7.96 billion, compared to $ 8.09 billion during the same period last year.

The Bank added that Egypt repaid interest on debt amounting to $ 2.405 billion, compared to $ 1.727 billion last year.

Data showed that Egypt paid off debts of $ 2.244 billion in the Q1 2018-19, compared to $ 1.814 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The country also repaid debts of $ 5.072 billion during the Q2 2018-19, compared to $ 6.805 billion a year earlier.

Moreover, Egypt repaid external debts worth $ 3.045 billion during Q3 2018-19, compared to $ 2.369 billion during the comparative period of FY 2017-18.

According to the CBE, Egypt's external debt stood at $ 106.2 billion at the end of last March, compared to $ 96.6 billion a year earlier.

The government's share of external debt in Q1 FY 2019 rose to about $ 53.8 billion, compared to $ 48.1 billion at the end of 2018, rising 11.1874%.

It is noteworthy that the CBE has cut the overnight deposit and lending rates as well as the bank’s main operation rate by 150 basis points to 14.25 percent, 15.25 percent, and 14.75 percent, respectively.