Egypt's Net Foreign Assets "Positive" for Second Month in Row

Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) data showed that Egypt's net foreign assets were positive for the second month in a row in June after remaining negative for more than two years.

Net foreign assets fell to EGP 626.6 billion in June from EGP 676.4 billion at the end of May. 

Egypt has been using its net foreign assets, which include foreign assets at both the central bank and commercial banks, to help support its currency since at least September 2021.

Egypt's net foreign assets have been negative since February 2022. But in February of this year, the government strengthened its finances by selling the rights to develop the Ras El Hekma region on the Mediterranean coast for $35 billion, and by signing in March a package Financial support worth $8 billion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Egypt also sharply devalued its currency, leading to an influx of investments in stocks, bonds and other financial assets, as well as an increase in remittances from Egyptian workers abroad.

Foreign assets at commercial banks decreased in June but increased at the central bank, while foreign liabilities at both commercial banks and the central bank increased.