What will happen to Egypt’s debt if US dollar hits LE38?

The Standard Chartered Bank said that nearly a third of Egypt’s debt is denominated in foreign currencies, and any additional movement in the US dollar exchange rate against the Egyptian pound will raise the debt-to-GDP ratio.

In its recent report the bank explained that the rise in the value of the US dollar to about LE 38 (as traded in the black market) would push the debt-to-GDP to more than 100 percent by the end of June 2023, the privately-owned Masrawy website reported.

Egypt’s foreign debt increased by 5.2 percent during the last quarter of last year to reach US$162.9 billion at the end of December, compared to $154.9 billion in September, according to data issued by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.