NBE Negotiates With Chinese Banks Over US$ 800 Mln Finance

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) negotiates with China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China to receive financing package of US$ 800 million that will go for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Tarek Amer and Sherif Elwy, chairman and deputy chairman of NBE respectively, are in Beijing to conduct such negotiations.

Sources told Amwal Al Ghad that NBE has been in talks with both Chinese banks from a while but the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s visit to China has made the Chinese banks resume the negotiations. Sources expected both parties to reach an agreement within the next few days.

The financing package will go for the importing of tools and equipments from China to be used by SMEs with soft interest rate with repayment period of 10 years. NBE signed yesterday a memorandum with China Development Bank to receive a loan amounting to US$ 200 million to finance SMEs. The total value of loans that is received by NBE from Chinese banks is about EGP one billion.