The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) revealed Wednesday that Egypt paid $23.8bn in external debt service from July 2023 to March 2024.

According to the CBE, the country settled $8.168bn in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023/2024, $7.384bn in the second quarter, and $8.255bn in the third quarter.

The CBE report also noted a reduction in Egypt’s total external debt, which decreased to $160.6bn in March 2024, compared to $164.5bn in September 2023.

In a related context, the CBE highlighted a significant increase in foreign investments in local treasury bills, which reached the equivalent of EGP 1.765trn in June 2024, compared to EGP 388.421bn in June 2023. This surge in foreign investment followed the Central Bank’s decision in March to liberalize the exchange rate and raise interest rates to record levels.

Additionally, the CBE reported an increase of EGP 1.511bn in net foreign assets within the banking system from July 2023 to May 2024. This growth was driven by a rise in the Central Bank’s net foreign assets by EGP 763.5bn, alongside an increase of EGP 747.5bn in foreign assets held by other banks.

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