https://arab.news/96yuz
CAIRO: Egypt's net foreign assets jumped by $2.74 billion in January, boosted apparently by the sale of $2 billion in dollar-denominated bonds, central bank data showed.
NFAs climbed to the equivalent of $8.70 billion from $5.96 billion at the end of December, according to Reuters calculations based on the official central bank currency rates. The increase followed three months of decline late last year.
Egypt completed the sale of $2 billion in international bonds on Jan. 29 in its first dollar-denominated international bond issuance in four years.
Egypt had been using NFAs, which include foreign assets at both the central bank and commercial banks, to help prop up its currency since as long ago as September 2021. NFAs turned negative in February 2022 and only returned to positive territory in May last year.
Egypt needed to pay dollars in December as Egyptian pound treasury bills held by foreign investors matured and nearly $1 billion in International Monetary Fund loan repayments and payments for natural gas imports came due, bankers, brokers and analysts said.
Foreign assets increased in January at both the central bank and commercial banks, but foreign liabilities rose at both as well.