Egypt says it cut foreign debt by $14 bln in five months to May

CAIRO, July 22 (Reuters) – Egypt reduced its external debt by $14 billion in the five months to end-May, the sharpest such decline in the country’s history, a statement released on Monday by Egypt’s press centre said.

The country’s external debt fell to $154 billion as of the end of May from $168 billion at the end of December, according to the statement which quoted an unnamed high-level source at the central bank.

Egypt quadrupled its debt over the last nine years to help fund a new capital, build infrastructure, buy weapons and support an overvalued currency.

The government agreed on an $8 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund in March. It also sold a large tract of prime Mediterranean coastline to Abu Dhabi for $35 billion in February. (Reporting by Patrick Werr; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Click For Restrictions – https://agency.reuters.com/en/copyright.html