Egypt’s external debt easily would cross $100bn within 2-3 years if the rate of borrowing remains as it is now, El-Shenety said. It’s also important to note that external debt is going higher due to the expected devaluation of the Egyptian pound, which would increase the rate of external debt from 30% to 40% of the GDP. Currently, Egypt’s external debt represents 16.9% of the GDP. El-Shenety believes that the problem with external debt is that Egypt lacks the necessary foreign currency reserves. She also said that domestic debt is increasing compared to international norms, while foreign debt is within safe limits, noting that the stability in exchange rates contributes to decreasing the return on instruments of domestic debt, as compared to foreign debt.

Source: Daily News Egypt October 19, 2016 09:00 UTC