Egypt launches initiative to offer loans of 5% to tourism businesses

Egypt is launching a new initiative to support tourism and hospitality sectors in face of the repercussions of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, its finance minister Mohamed Maait announced on Monday.

The initiative aims at helping businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors, including small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to meet their necessary operating expenses and pay the salaries of their employees.

The Ministry of Finance will issue a guarantee 3 billion Egyptian pounds ($190.2 million) to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) in favour of national banks to offer loans to tourism establishments and hotels at an annual interest rate of 5 percent over three years with a one-year grace period starting from the 1 May until the end of April 2021.

Loans will be repaid in monthly installments over two years. The establishment’s operating expenses shall not exceed 15 percent of the value of the loan.