Thursday March 28th, 2024
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Egypt Pays Back Billions to its Neighbours

Egypt has shown commitment to its regional allies while showing it's a safe place for investment, however still having major problems with Saudi.

Staff Writer

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is set to repay Libya’s $2 billion deposit over eight equal instalments ending in April 2018, Al Mal reported. The central bank has already paid $750 million over three instalments since mid-2016 and will pay a fourth in April. This is a part of Egypt’s commitment in showing that it is a responsible country to invest in.

Libya had made an interest free deposit in the Central Bank in 2013 when Egypt was desperate for foreign reserves, even more impressive is Libya could assist Egypt in the midst of a civil war. Talk about commitment to regional allies… just don’t mention Saudi.

Egypt had been known as a country that never repaid its debts, a big part of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s international acceptance has been his commitment to repaying the many debts Egypt owed, particularly to international oil companies which ceased production in 2013-2014. Egypt’s acceptance from international creditors, World Bank, and the IMF has been because the government has stepped up repayments of past debts, amounting to more than 1/3rd of government expenditure from 2014-2016.

Egypt has also repaid Qatar’s $2 billion deposit and French conglomerate Paris Club $3.5 billion deposit; however, Egypt has been resistant to repaying Saudi Arabia, hoping to extend the time Saudi money is in Egyptian Central Bank. This is due to political difference over the Syrian war, the lack of Egyptian army’s intervention in Yemen, Egypt’s oil transactions with Iran’s ally Iraq, lack of Egyptian movement on giving the islands of Sanafir and Tiran and Aramco’s decision to cease oil shipment to Egypt, according to banking expert, Hany Aboul Fotouh, to Daily News Egypt.