Egypt reserves hit $50 billion amid remittances, loans surge

Egypt’s foreign currency reserves rose to $50.07 billion at the end of October, up from $49.53 billion in September, according to a statement issued Sunday by the Central Bank.

Remittances from Egyptians abroad surged 69.6% between July and May of the last fiscal year, reaching $32.8 billion, up from $19.4 billion a year earlier. From January to May alone, remittances grew 59% year-on-year, climbing to $15.8 billion from $9.9 billion.

Egypt is set to receive an additional $6.5 billion in external inflows before year-end. This includes $2.5 billion from the IMF, representing the delayed fifth and sixth reviews of its loan agreement, and $500 million from the World Bank under a budget support package.

Another $3.5 billion will come from Qatar’s Diar Real Estate Company, as part of a $29.7 billion tourism and luxury urban development project in the coastal lands of Alam El-Roum. The deal, signed last Thursday, becomes the second-largest foreign investment project after the Ras El-Hekma agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk confirmed Sunday to Al Manassa that 50% of the government’s proceeds from the Diar deal will be allocated to public debt reduction.

Interest payments consumed the lion’s share of Egypt’s revenues in FY 2024/25, pushing the budget deficit to 1.2 trillion Egyptian pounds, more than double the 505 billion pound shortfall recorded the previous year, Kouchouk previously explained to Al Manassa.