Kuwait extends its $4 billion deposit with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to support Egypt’s foreign currency reserves, according to two unnamed government officials speaking to Ashraq Business.

The deposit involves two tranches of $2 billion each. With the extension, the initial tranche will expire in April 2023 followed by the second tranche, which is due in September 2024.

International reserves were recorded at $35.1 billion in October, with Egypt looking to attract $25 billion in foreign direct investments (FDIs) within the next 5 years.

Egypt is currently seeking additional fresh FX to close a financing gap of around $17 billion by 2026, with a target of $6-8 billion by the end of FY2023/2024. The CBE’s recent report added that the country’s external debt declined to about $164.7 billion at the end of June 2023.

Deposits from Gulf countries have been a significant support for the country’s FX reserves, with deposits from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar reaching around $29.9 billion, according to the CBE. The countries have also expanded investments in various companies throughout recent years.

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Local media have reported that the CBE will be receiving new funds from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with a potential $5 billion to be injected into the local market.

Officially, Saudi Arabia’s deposits in the CBE stand at $10.3 billion, of which $5 billion are short-term deposits, and $5.3 billion are medium- and long-term deposits.

The UAE’s CBE deposits currently amount to around $10.65 billion, of which $5 billion are short-term deposits, and the rest are medium and long-term deposits.

At the CBE, Qatari deposits are worth $4 billion, according to the bank’s latest report.