Egyptian banks dole out EGP 69 bn from CBE’s EGP 100 bn subsidized loan initiative

Banks dole out EGP 69 bn to local industry under CBE’s EGP 100 bn subsidized loan initiative: Egyptian banks — primarily CIB, the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, QNB, and the Export Development Bank — have handed out EGP 69 bn in loans to over 4k businesses under Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) EGP 100 bn subsidized loan initiative, according to Hapi Journal. Some 60% of the loans have been doled out to manufacturers in the food and beverage, printing and packaging, plastic, iron and steel, and agricultural industries.

Background: The initiative, which was launched in December, allows companies access to subsidized loans at a declining 8% interest rate. The funding pool was originally geared towards medium-sized factories with annual sales revenues between EGP 50k and 1 bn, but was expanded in April to include manufacturers of all sizes. The program was then broadened to include agriculture companies and contractors.