The Cabinet Media Center on Sunday said that Egypt has successfully reversed its external debt curve, declining for the first time in over four years.
The total external debt decreased in the first quarter of 2020 by 1.2 percent compared to the last quarter, according to a Cabinet Media Center report.
The report explained that Egypt’s external debt remains reassuring and within internationally safe levels compared to other countries in emerging markets.
It credited the economic reform program’s success in increasing the state’s resources in various economic sectors and preserving the balance of fiscal and monetary policies – especially as world economies struggle under COVID-19.
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The total external debt made an increase of 9.9 percent during the first quarter of 2019, 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018, 9.8 percent in the first quarter of 2017 and 11.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016 – each compared to the previous quarters.
The report also highlighted the decrease in the ratio of short-term debt to total external debt, recording 9.3 percent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 11.7 percent in the first quarter of 2019, 13 percent in the first quarter of 2018, 17.1 percent in the first quarter of 2017, and 12.8 percent for the first quarter of 2016.
And there was a decrease in the ratio of short-term debt to net international reserves, reaching 25.7 percent in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 28.1 percent in the first quarter of 2019, 27 percent in the first quarter of 2018, 44.2 percent in the first quarter of 2017, and 41.3 percent in the same quarter of 2016.
Finally, the report noted that lower levels of short-term external debt contribute to making the economy’s financial conditions stable and not subject to deterioration, according to the International Monetary Fund.
