USD 263 MILLION FUND TO DEVELOP TOURIST FACILITIES IN EGYPT
The governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced the launch of an USD 263 million (EGP 5 billion) fund to help investors develop and upgrade tourist facilities, including hotels, resorts and Nile boats, nationwide. The financing will be in the form of loans with a 10 percent interest rate. In order to be eligible, the applicant must own at least 30 percent of the property. Tourism in Egypt has been struggling since Russia and a number of European countries suspended passenger flights in late 2015. Egypt's tourism revenue dropped by 49 percent to USD 3.8 billion in 2015/16 from USD 7.4 billion in 2014/15, according to CBE. The challenging economic climate prompted the central bank to extend its initiative to support the tourism sector, including more flexible economic measures on payments. The bank is currently considering delaying loan payment deadlines for the sector to December 2018.