UAE renews $1 bln deposit at Central Bank of Egypt

The Emirati deposits at the CBE reached $5.65 billion at the end of June 2023, the report showed.

The data in the report also revealed that total deposits by Arab countries reached $14.95 billion at the end of June, including $5.3 billion by Saudi Arabia and $4 billion by Kuwait.

Arab deposits account for 42.59 percent of the CBE’s $35.1 billion international reserves.

The data further indicated that Egypt owes 28 percent of its $164.73 billion external debt, amounting to $46.2 billion, to Arabs.

Egypt owes $20.9 billion to the UAE, constituting 12.7 percent of its total external debt. Saudi Arabia comes next in the list of debtors with $12.2 billion, followed by Kuwait ($7.1 billion) and Qatar ($4 billion). 

Despite the acute shortage in the US dollar, Egypt should pay $29.23 billion in external debt service in 2024, $19.43 billion in 2025, and $22.94 billion in 2026.

The country is under review for a $3 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The review has been delayed multiple times, with no final date been yet set.