Egypt sees portfolio investment outflows of $7.9bn in July/March of FY20

Egypt’s portfolio investment registered net outflows of $7.9 billion from July to March of the financial year 2019/2020, compared to net inflows of $1.1 billion amid the coronavirus, the central bank in its balance of payments report on Tuesday.

Egypt’s capital and financial account of the balance of payments witnessed a net outflow worth $ 1.1 billion from January to March of the financial year 2019/2020, while the same period of this financial year recorded a net inflow of about $4.1 billion due to the virus.

“The impact was particularly felt in the January/March period of 2020, in the wake of the pandemic, where portfolio investment in Egypt recorded net outflows of $8.2 billion (compared to net inflows of $6.9 billion in the same period of 2019)”, the report said.

Total inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Egypt saw an increase by $277.6 million to $12.7 billion, up from $12.5 billion, while total outflows went up by $872.6 million to  $6.8 billion, up from $5.9 billion, according to the report.

Such an increase led to a contraction of $595 million in net FDI in Egypt, recording a net inflow of $5.9 billion, down from $ 6.5 billion, basically because of the drop of $58.5 million in net FDI in Egypt in January/March of 2020, to register a net inflow of $970.5 million, down from $2.3 billion in the same period of 2019 amid heightened uncertainty unleashed by the COVID-19, which dramatically impacted foreign investors’ plans and FDI flows worldwide, according to the report.

Net disbursements of medium- and long-term loans and facilities declined as well from January to March 2020 with $1 billion, recording net disbursements of $2 billion, down from $3 billion.