The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) extended on Sunday its initiative to support companies operating in the tourism sector for additional three months, ending in March 2023. The initiative, which allows companies to obtain loans with a decreasing 8% interest rate, within which the banks will accept the beneficiaries' requests to delay dues repayment to the banks. The Tourism and Antiquities Support Fund or the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities shall compensate banks for the interest rate difference, up to a maximum of EGP 50bn, while raising the interest to a decreasing 11% instead of 8%. The value of compensation in that initiative is calculated on the basis of "the amount used under the initiative x the credit and discount rate plus 2% minus 11% decreasing." The initiative was first launched in 2013 and amended in 2021 to support the sector amid the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CBE also extended the retail loan initiative for workers in the tourism sector to March 2023. During the three-month period, the banks will be required to carry forward the dues on the initiative's beneficiaries, particularly for loans obtained by workers for consumption and personal housing. This action will benefit only those who were punctual in repayments according to their financial standing by end of September 2022 Last November, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly decided that the Ministry of Finance would manage and follow up on all existing initiatives instead of the Central Bank. Those initiatives covered by the decision included the mortgage finance initiatives for low and middle-income people, the tourism support initiative, the obsolete vehicle replacement initiative, and the modern irrigation initiative. The decision did not include other initiatives for the private sector, industry, and small and medium enterprises. According to the decision, the Central Bank shall, on a monthly basis, provide the concerned authorities and the Minister of Finance with all data and information related to each initiative, through reports agreed upon with those authorities every three months starting from November 2022.
