Egypt’s external debt receded in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year (FY) 2022-2023 to $154.9 billion, down from $155.7 billion at the end of FY2021-2022, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) reported.
Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, Egypt’s external debt has started to rise in the Q3 of FY2021-2022 to post $145.5 billion, up from $137.4 billion in the previous quarter, before easing in Q4 of FY2021-2022.
The second half of FY2020-2021 witnessed a considerable increase in Egypt’s external debt to $137.8 billion from $129.1 billion.
CBE data also showed that the government debt restored the level recorded in the Q3 of FY2021-2022 to reach $80.3 billion by the end of Q1 FY2022-2023, down from $82.2 billion by the end of FY2021-2022.
For the first time since May 2022, Moody’s recently downgraded Egypt’s credit rating, Egypt’s long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer ratings, from B2 to B3, changing the outlook from negative to stable.