IMF: Egypt has strong capacity to repay foreign currency obligations

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Tue, 29 Jun 2021 - 01:42 GMT

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Tue, 29 Jun 2021 - 01:42 GMT

IMF building- Reuters

IMF building- Reuters

WASHINGTON - 29 June 2021: Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team in Egypt Celine Allard stressed Monday that Egypt has a strong capacity to repay its foreign currency obligations.

Egypt has moderate levels of foreign debts, compared other emerging economies, Allard told MENA during a virtual news briefing on the completion of the 2nd and final review of Egypt’s economic reform program supported by a 12-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) and the IMF Executive Board's discussions on the 2021 Article IV Consultation with Egypt.

Allard also predicted that Egypt's foreign exchange reserve will continue to witness substantial growth, which will stabilize national economy even further.

Egypt's foreign debt is expected constitute around 36 per cent of GDP by the end of 2021, she noted.

Hailing the Egyptian government's policies in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the IMF representative said that these policies helped the government, "strike a balance between securing necessary funds to cover health and social care expenses and preserving financial stability while rebuilding foreign-exchange reserves."

The Egyptian economy is also poised for a higher growth rate of 5.2 per cent during the upcoming fascial (FY2021/2022), Allard expected.

She noted that the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) sought to fulfill the balance of payments (BoP) deficit due to the coronacrisis, support the government's efforts to maintain macroeconomic stability, safeguarding the economic achievements over the past few years and speed up structural reforms.

Allard also commended the government's move to restart its IPO program on the Egyptian Exchange, as part a structural reform program, applauding also the Central Bank of Egypt's (CBE) for its rational fiscal policies to curb inflation.

The IMF expects that Egypt will not be in need of any further international finance programs, Allard concluded during the virtual press conference, promising continued support for Egypt's reform programs. 

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