Egypt foreign reserves rise to $36.723bn at end-November

Egypt’s foreign reserves rose slightly to $36.723 billion at the end of November from $36.703 billion at the end of October, the central bank said on Monday.

Cairo’s foreign reserves have been climbing since the country secured a $12 billion, three-year International Monetary Fund loan programme last year in a bid to lure back foreign investors and revive its ailing economy.

An IMF team last month completed its second review of Egypt’s performance under the loan programme and the IMF board is expected to approve a third, $2 billion, disbursement of funds this month.

The central bank said earlier that it had paid back $2 billion to the African Export-Import Bank on Monday and would pay an additional $1.2 billion to the lender by the end of December in order to pay back in full a $3.2 billion loan, according to state news agency MENA.