Over 1600 export companies submitted their requests to benefit from the cash repayment for exporters initiative in its third stage, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait announced on Thursday. The Ministry of Finance launched the initiative's third stage on 30 June, allowing exporters to submit requests as of 4 July through 29 July. The initiative allows export companies to obtain their arrears from the Development Fund as instant cash repayments. It was launched in implementation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directive to support the export sector, particularly amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis that affected the sector severely. Maait explained that the arrears of this stage are expected to be disbursed by the end of September through the end of October with an acceleration discount of 15 percent. In September 2020, the government launched the first stage of the initiative that targeted instant cash repayment of export companies' arrears before the end of 2020, which came into effect in November. A sum of EGP 16.4 billion was disbursed to 2,000 export companies that registered in the programme's two previous stages, according to the finance ministry. Since the launch of all initiatives that target cash repayments for exporters' arrears in October 2019, beneficiaries have received EGP 28 billion — the biggest support extended to Egypt's export sector ever. Nevine Mansour, an advisor to the deputy finance minister for financial policies, said that 2,500 export companies benefited from the other five initiatives, with a total of EGP 5.6 billion disbursed to exporters in FY 2019/2020 and EGP 2.4 billion handed out from July to November 2020. The cabinet has approved five initiatives since October 2019 to settle exporters' arrears through June 2019. The initiatives included repaying small investors a maximum of EGP 5 million, the repayment of 30 percent of all arrears to exporters, holding a set-off between exporters' arrears and the payable tax and customs obligations on them, the repayment of the total sum of arrears over four to five years while expanding their investments in return, and the land allocation initiative.
