Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly (Al-Ahram)
Egypt will offer EGP 100 billion ($6.2 billion) to finance industrial activities with a view to boosting local manufacturing and cutting the import bill, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said.
The funds will be offered by state-owned banks at a reducing rate of 10 percent, Mabouly told reporters on Wednesday.
An estimated 96,000 industrial organisations whose annual sales are below EGP 1 billion are expected to benefit from the initiative, central bank governor Tarek Amer said during a news conference at the cabinet headquarters.
Also, the banks will drop up to EGP 31 billion ($1.9 billion) in accumulated interest on loss-making factories, which are estimated at around 5,200 facilities, Amer added.
Another EGP 50 billion will be earmarked for financing middle-income housing at an interest rate of 10 percent over up to 20 years, he said.
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