The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Wednesday that its net cash reserves exceeded the $ 37 billion mark at the end of last December.
“The net international reserves reached 37 billion and 19.6 million US dollars at the end of December 2017,” the bank said in a statement on its website.
This is the highest balance of foreign exchange reserves in the Central Bank of Egypt in its history.
Thus, Egypt has succeeded despite the harsh economic conditions witnessed during the past years to return the rate of cash reserve to rates exceeded the level before the outbreak of the revolution of January 25, 2011, which is an achievement by all standards.
In its report on the outlook for the Egyptian economy, EFG Hermes forecast that foreign currency cash reserves will continue to rise to 39.8 billion dollars by the end of 2019.
An official source at the Central Bank, “The cash reserve increased in December, despite the payment of two billion dollars for the African Bank for Export and Import and international destinations,” according to the Middle East News Agency.
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) paid $ 30 billion in obligations and debts due to Egypt to third parties during 2017.
The source said that “the amount of 30 billion dollars paid by Egypt during the last year distributed between bonds and external debt for the benefit of international banks, including the African Bank for Export and Import, and deposits and loans from countries including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Turkey, in addition to commitments to government agencies including the Petroleum Authority, Also to the Paris Club of Creditors.
He stressed that “Egypt is committed to paying all its external obligations, as it did not delay payment of any installments even during the time of crisis in the period from 2011 to 2016, where it paid all its obligations.”
He pointed out that Egypt will pay the dues in 2018, estimated at about $ 12 billion.
Egypt’s foreign debt reached about $ 79 billion at the end of the fiscal year 2016-2017, which ended on June 30.
Economic reports attributed the rise in foreign exchange reserves to the reform measures taken by the Egyptian government under the economic reform program.
The reform measures contributed to this unprecedented improvement in the size of the cash reserve and led to the recording of new historical levels in light of the growing confidence of international investors in the Egyptian economy.
In August 2016, Egypt reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to obtain a $ 12 billion loan to support the three-year economic reform program.
The liberalization of the exchange rate on 3 November 2016 was one of the most important decisions that had an important positive impact on the Egyptian economy and managed to turn the Egyptian economy from weakness to recovery amid expectations of significant economic growth over the coming years.
The rate of growth of the cash reserve is commensurate with Egypt’s commitment to pay all external dues to it. This is confirmed by the Central Bank of Egypt repaying $ 30 billion in foreign liabilities in 2017.
As a result of the increase in the foreign exchange reserves, many sectors of the economy have been positively affected by the reform measures adopted by the Egyptian government. The most prominent of these sectors is the Egyptian Stock Exchange, whose indices and trading volumes have doubled and their attractiveness to foreign investors.
According to previous statements by Egyptian Investment and International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr, the number of new foreign investors on the Egyptian stock exchange reached 1,150 in 2017, a 26 percent increase over the previous year.
Trading on the EGX reached 292 billion pounds, the highest level since 2009, reflecting investor confidence in the Egyptian market.
The Egyptian monetary policy has succeeded in remittance of Egyptians abroad to normal course through banks after having been for long periods through the black market away from the banking system, which has caused the Egyptian economy significant losses over the past years.
