Egypt witnessed a decrease in its external debt during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-2024, with a decline of approximately $206 million attributed to cuts in both government and commercial bank debts. Nevertheless, an escalation in the central bank's debt has softened this decrease.
Egypt's external debt decreased to roughly $164.52 billion by the end of September 2023, in contrast to about $164.73 billion at the conclusion of June 2023. This marks the second consecutive decline, as per the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The extensive external debt constituted the majority, accounting for 81.6%, totaling about $134.25 billion by the end of September. Conversely, short-term debt represented approximately 18.4%, amounting to $30.27 billion at the conclusion of September, easing the burden of debt repayment.
Government external debt, making up over 50% of the total external debt, experienced a decrease of around $901 million during the first fiscal quarter. The overall balance dwindled to about $82.527 billion by the end of September, indicating a 1% quarterly decrease.
The external debt of Egyptian commercial banks, forming 12.7% of the total debt, diminished by about $73 million, reaching a total of $20.905 billion by the end of September, indicating a 0.34% quarterly decrease.
Factors Influencing the Downturn
The augmentation in the external debt of the Central Bank of Egypt, representing 27% of Egypt's total external debt, has decelerated the rate of decline. The central bank's external debt increased by roughly $769 million during the first quarter of the fiscal year, summing up to around $44.386 billion by the end of September, compared to about $43.617 billion at the end of June, signifying a 1.7% quarterly increase.
The extensive external debt for the central bank reached $24.563 billion by the end of September, in comparison to about $25.729 billion at the end of June, reflecting a decrease of roughly $1.166 billion or a 4.5% quarterly decline.
Simultaneously, the short-term debt for the central bank totaled about $19.82 billion, an increase of $1.93 billion or a 10.8% quarterly rise.
The debt balance for other sectors, unspecified by the central bank, remained constant at approximately $16.7 billion by the end of September, constituting 10.1% of the total external debt.
CBE
