دبي – Egypt’s net foreign exchange reserves surged by more than 247 percent over the last ten years, climbing from $16.47 billion at the start of 2016 to approximately $57.21 billion by the end of August, according to data compiled by Independent Arabia.
The Central Bank of Egypt reported that reserves increased by $921 million in August alone, rising from $56.289 billion in July. This growth reflects an average annual increase of 24.7 percent over the decade, equating to a yearly value addition of roughly $4.074 billion.
IMF Final Review and Funding Gap
Egypt is expected to host an International Monetary Fund delegation in November to commence the eighth and final review of its eight-billion-dollar Extended Fund Facility program. This review also covers the third assessment of the Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
Upon completion of this review, approximately $2.35 billion will be disbursed across two tranches: $1.52 billion for the final tranche and $823 million for the third tranche, stated Muhammad Maait, Executive Director of the IMF and representative for the Arab Group.
A subsequent vote by the IMF Executive Board on the agreement is anticipated in December or January 2027. Earlier, the Fund identified a financing gap of $9.7 billion for the current fiscal year, stemming from a difference between external funding needs of $32.6 billion and available sources of $30.5 billion, alongside $7.7 billion targeted for reserve buildup.
Debt Reduction and Fiscal Performance
The Egyptian government announced a reduction in external debt for budgetary agencies by nearly $2 billion, lowering it to 19.6 percent of GDP in March compared to 21.8 percent in June 2025. Total budget agency debt stood at 83.9 percent of GDP in March, down from a peak of 96 percent in the 2022/2023 fiscal year.
The average maturity of the budget agency debt portfolio extended to 10.52 years. For the 2025/2026 fiscal year, the budget recorded a primary surplus of 985.1 billion pounds ($19.662 billion), representing 4.6 percent of GDP, alongside a total deficit of 6.1 percent.
Tax revenues rose 27.5 percent year-on-year to reach 2.49 trillion pounds ($49.7 billion) during the first eleven months of the previous fiscal year. Finance Minister Ahmed Kouch clarified rumors regarding a $62 billion repayment obligation, noting that over two-thirds consists of renewable deposits from Arab nations.
Total obligations for budget agencies in 2026 amount to $9.5 billion, lower than the previous year. World Bank data indicates $62.8 billion in external loan repayments due between April 2026 and March 2027, including $55.8 billion in principal and $7 billion in interest.
This story was produced in the newsroom from the disclosed sources named above.
