Egypt aims to take private, public sector loans to EGP 2tn

No intention to postpone $5.2bn Afreximbank loan, to be repaid before end of 2017

Tarek Amer, the governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), said that the banking system aims to take the loans of the private and public sector to EGP 2tn, compared to the current EGP 1.3tn.

Amer said that Egypt has implemented procedures of economic reforms, without relying on any aid from abroad, during a brief period of time. During the “Helm Bukra” (Tomorrow’s Dream) conference in Port Said city, Amer said that the result of the economic reforms made Egypt reap $80bn in only 11 months. In addition, there are international financial portfolios creating a basis for more investments in Egypt over the upcoming period.

“Companies achieve major profits with their investments in Egypt, ranging between 30 and 40% annually,” he said.

He also added that the monetary policies recently made have resulted in reforming policies that could no longer be used, which resulted in a change in the trade deficit’s decline.

He added that the state has launched a large group of major projects over the past period, and the banking system provides all the financial resources to fund them.

Amer demanded the banking sector meet the needs of investors by solving outstanding issues, saying that public banks have instructions to support all serious investment opportunities.

Amer said in an exclusive statement to Daily News Egypt that there is no intention to delay the loan of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), worth $5.2bn, which is scheduled to be paid before the end of 2017.