The Egyptian Central Bank offices in Cairo, Egypt (Reuters)
Egyptian expat remittances witnessed an increase in the first quarter of the current FY2020/2021 (July-September) to reach $8 billion, up from $6.7 billion in the same quarter of FY2019/2020, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Monday.
The remittances rose by $1.3 billion, with an annual growth rate of 19.6 percent, according to the CBE.
Preliminary data released by the CBE showed that workers’ remittances in September 2020 grew by an annual rate of 16 percent, recording $2.7 billion, up from $2.3 billion in September 2019.
From January to September 2020, remittances jumped to $22.1 billion, up from $19.8 billion in the same period of 2019, with an annual rate of 11.6 percent, according to the CBE.
On Sunday, the CBE revealed that Egypt’s net international reserves (NIRs) stood at $39.2 billion at the end of November, the same level it reached in October.
In the beginning of November, the CBE announced that Egypt’s NIRs witnessed a slight increase in October to reach $39.2 billion, up from $38.4 billion recorded in September.
In September 2019, Egypt’s NIRs recorded an all-time high of $45.117 billion; before witnessing a significant drop in March 2020, reaching $40 billion, driven by the unprecedented blow to global financial markets arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 has caused the sharpest portfolio flow reversal on record from emerging markets, including the Egyptian market, according to the CBE.
In December, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board is expected to consider the first review of Egypt’s stand-by agreement that the IMF’s staff team had conducted with the Egyptian authorities in November.
If approved, Egypt will receive about $1.6 million as a second tranche of a $5.2 billion loan that the IMF approved for Egypt in June.
Under the 12-months SBA loan programme, Egypt obtained the first tranche of the loan, worth $2 billion, in June.
The second and final SBA loan review for Egypt will be conducted between May and June that will allow Egypt, if approved, to get the remainder $1.6 billion of the loan.
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