Egypt’s net foreign reserves jumped from $42.611 billion in the end of March to $44.030 billion at the end of April, announced the central bank of Thursday. The announcement comes to complement Egypt’s constant rise of foreign reserves since it secured a $12 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the IMF’s three-year loan program.
“Egypt’s forex reserves have reached 44.03 billion dollars by the end of April 2018,” said the CBE, noting the forex reserves stood at about 42.6 billion dollars in March.
Egypt joined the program in 2016 in an attempt to re-position itself as a desirable investment destinaiton.
The IMF program included some severe acts on Egypt’s part such as floating the Egyptian pound, as well as fuel and energy subsidy cuts and tax increases. In exchange for the IMF loaning it 12-billion-dollars.
Last summer, the country’s foreign reserves reached $36.04 billion, surpassing the pre-2011 reserve levels for the first time. The IMF predicted Egypt’s economic growth will continue during the next few years.
“Growth is projected to rise to 5.2 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2018, compared to 4.2 percent in the previous one, and accelerate further to 5.5 percent in FY 2019, aided by an increase in gas production,” the IMF said in an annual report released Wednesday.
It added that the outlook for Egypt’s economy improved and increased confidence of investors in its economic and investment climates, citing the recent increase in Egypt’s exports and tourism as well.
The country marked in late January the early production of Zohr gas field, the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, which was discovered in the Egyptian offshore by Italy’s oil giant Eni in August 2015.
