Egypt’s external debt rises to $74.9 billion at April end: minister

Egypt’s external debt rose to $74.9 billion at the end of April, said Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed on Saturday.

In February, the minister announced the country’s external debt had reached $71.8 billion, compared to $67.32 billion at the end of December.

In April, Egypt raised $3 billion in a Eurobond sale, about twice as much as targeted and at lower cost than when the same bonds were first sold in January, suggesting foreign appetite for the country’s debt is growing as it makes economic reforms.

Egypt signed a three-year $12 billion International Monetary Fund programme in November attached to sweeping reforms such as subsidy cuts and tax hikes aimed at luring back investment to its dollar-starved economy.

The country of over 90 million people has sought a variety of funding sources, from development loans to foreign grants and aid.